Your Sunday Squirrel

This guy is from this morning.  Even though it kind of looks like he was shaking his squirrel-fist at me, that wasn't the case.  Speaking of anger, I was at the park earlier this week, taking what amounted to some very nice pictures when some park bum started yelling at me.  Apparently, he didn't like the idea of me taking pictures.  I wasn't taking pictures of him; he just didn't like me taking pictures.  I ignored him and took some more really good shots.  Then he came over in my direction and started threatening me.  This was definitely weird.  Most of the park bums just lay around all day and don't bother anyone.  This guy was different.  He wasn't crazy, just kind of generally angry.  I told him to mind his own business, but he kept shouting at me to stop taking pictures.  Since all that shouting scared away the squirrels, I pretty much had to stop.  As I walked away, he just kept yelling.  Why on earth would anybody get so mad about something like that?  Well, it beats me.  I was back the next day and the guy wasn't there.  I'm just figuring that he was so intent on conflict that he got himself thrown in jail.  It's funny, though, all during this whole thing (a couple of minutes at most), I didn't even think once to call the cops.  I mean, some guy threatening complete strangers in a park is something that would interest law enforcement, no?  Yeah, it never even crossed my mind.  Next time, maybe.

Your Sunday Squirrel

Here's a nice fall squirrel from today at Denny Park.  I'm making a concerted effort to get down to the squirrel's level these days and this is the result.  I've been taking lots of pictures with my phone and it's been really effective.  Here are two shots from this week:

The advantage to the phone is that you can snap pictures off like crazy at the spur of the moment.  However, as limited as my camera is, it does take some superb shots - the colors and resolution are much better than with a phone.  The only problem is - and I've mentioned this many times - you have to take about 20 pictures before getting something worthwhile and even then, your results might not be that great.  The phone photos are also a different size, so even if they're super-good, sizing them to fit onto my swell-o-riffic calendar is a challenge.  Either way, since I'm now unemployed, you can probably expect some very good pictures in the coming weeks.      

Orphans!

After a Saturday night in Belltown, the sidewalks are often strewn with abandoned clothes.  And yes, you get the odd shoe every so often.  But you rarely see a matched pair.  With shoes, there are always bigger questions, like, how did their former owner get home?  What was their condition if or when they got there?  Did they lose any other clothing items?  These shoes raise those questions and others.  But more importantly, ladies (and gents with very dainty feet), if these look to be your size, they're still hanging out at Tula's as of noon Sunday.  Like all heels, they look really uncomfortable.  But hey, they're free!

Your Sunday Squirrel

Well, I didn't see a single squirrel in Turkey.  They have them - or so I'm told - but they're just not anywhere I went.  But once back here, there were squirrels aplenty at Denny Park.  Pardon the focus here.  This fellow got way too close way too fast.  I'm trying to get down to the squirrel level more often, but that means that they'll attempt to climb all over you.  Yes, even the most skittish squirrel will want to do that.  Since their claws are sharp, I try to discourage them from getting too close.  I was only partly successful.  He did jump into my lap right after I took this shot, but abruptly realized that I was a really big predator and bolted away.  I coaxed him back with a peanut and we called it even.

I've Been Away...

OK, I did a good enough job posting over on Facebook.  Why no blog posts?  Because Blogger wouldn't let me log in.  Stupid Blogger.  I might be outgrowing you.  I don't know.  All I know is that this trip was the best one yet.  There were no drunken political arguments with my relatives this time around, because Ukraine wasn't on the itinerary.  This was also the most solitary trip I've ever taken.  I rarely talked with anybody, maybe a few Brits here and there, and quite a few Turks for sure.  I wasn't excluding anybody from my sparkling presence for any reason; it's just that I felt like I was reaching for a different experience than most, as this was my eighth visit.  And I really achieved that, especially in Central Anatolia.  There's just something about the entire area that I find endlessly intriguing.  Anyhow, here are some photos.  If you want more elaborate descriptions, just go over to my FB page.

 

 

 

 

 
Blogger was kind enough to scramble the order up, so there's no chronology to this.  But who needs linear time?  Anyhow it was a great trip.