I bet you didn't know this, but parrots are into recycling and composting. Tyler can recycle 4 feet of packing paper into a cave/nest/playground and then compost it into tiny shredded bits while playing hide and seek. Who needs a paper shredder?
I made pizza for dinner tonight. Garlic and herb dough topped with a bruschetta topping because I didn't have any tomato sauce. Mushrooms, olives, red onion, marinated artichoke hearts, a few pepperoni, and shredded assiago, provolone, parmesan & fontina cheeses covering the whole thing like a winter blizzard.
My assistant, who doubles as a walking vacuum tells me I should take fewer photographs and add more pepperoni.
Melty goodness ready to be enjoyed with more wine. Mmmmmmm
My stat counter isn't showing much activity for the Flatland blog over the past few days. I guess everyone is out shopping till they drop, or working too hard at school & work to come by and read.
Nothing much to report here except it's my one year anniversary at work today. Whoop! What have I gotten besides a pay raise, and sleep deprivation? Sore wrists, epicondylitis, a few colds, and poor sleep habits. I guess the pay wins out in this equation where the other factors are negative. I wonder how long I'll last physically and mentally.
For your viewing pleasure I present to you Truck Pull fashion. Yes, I admit I went to a truck pull.. it wasn't my idea but I knew if I took my camera I'd have an okay time. I had an okay time. Along with all the grimy jeans, backwards baseball caps, endless spitting and a cigarette in nearly every hand there were the t-shirts. This one was better than most.
My friend once told me that I should consider selling my photographs to an online image gallery. I have been giving that idea some thought and have found a place to sign up with. I realized that I have a very diverse collection of images that many people could find useful.. and so why not try and sell some of these photographs? M has been telling me that I should do the same thing with my photographs, but you know how it is when you hear things from friends vs. hearing the same things from people who are close to you...
Can you tell what this is a picture of?
WHITE BALANCE Magazine...A special publication for those photographers who can never seem to get a firm grasp of digital technology.
I was looking at someones photographs on Flickr this morning and in their photo set they had made a magazine cover using a picture of their cat. I didn't want to use the Flickr program so I went into Photoshop and designed my own magazine cover. Feel free to subscribe in the comments section.
White fluffy stuff fell from the sky this morning, and Jack couldn't bark enough about how excited he was to see it (and eat it) again. 
Ack.. it's in my eyes... blink, blink.
Appropriately brought to you by Garnier Fructis: 
skullet:
"This subspecies of mullet refuses to let go of its cherished plumage. Too many years of Pabst Blue Ribbon and 7-11 hookers have made this mullet confused and nonsensical. What isn't on top, it more than makes up for in the back. It keeps its locks locked-up in a ponytail for good luck and to keep the chicks hot".
Jane: Bobby your daddy has a skullet!!!
Bobby: No he aint go no dog gone sku-let.
Jane: oh yeah he do Bobby
Bobby: Hey woman how bout you go get me a beer?
Jane: *heads for the fridge*
That is what she was saying as I took this photograph. I didn't really understand why until the horse got closer and I could see all the restraints it was wearing. Clearly this woman wasn't proud of what she was doing.
I was at this stable in California for a natural hoof trimming clinic, and the barn adjacent to where the lecture was being given was as quiet as a morgue. The word morgue is what keeps coming to mind because the horses that were in the stalls were alive but they weren't living, if you know what I mean. It was really, really sad.
When the people from the hoof clinic walked into that barn during the lecture break there was no nickering, no whinnies heard. Instead we saw horses tied to the walls IN THEIR STALLS, wearing these contraptions to "train" their tails to stay in this upward bent position. It was AWFUL!! The horses were miserable.
I started to feel this anxiety, and I couldn't understand why then I realized that it was coming from the horses. I left the barn and went as far away from it as I could to clear my head before the lecture resumed. For the rest of that weekend I stayed away from that barn.
How uncomfortable does this horse look? This is about as far from Parelli Natural Horsemanship as one can get. I think it's a perfect illustration of how humans inflict unnatural standards upon animals. "It should move like this, it should carry its head, and tail like that" etc.. I felt bad when I saw these pictures so I decided to post them so that everyone can see how gross and unharmonious this is.
Here is something much nicer to look at..
One night when I was driving home, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw this beautiful sight.
I met these small mouth bass in Florida, where they live in a very large home made tank that sits inside a partially enclosed shed that functions as a photography set. The man who owns these fish films bass fishing videos and commercials for fishing lures. The diffused sunlight coming in through the side window of their tank was the only light I had inside the shed, but it was enough light for the fish to see me moving around in front of their window, and as I moved from left to right to set up a photograph they would follow me. I'd never been followed by a small school of fish before.. except while snorkeling in the ocean.. But THIS was different- I was on dry land and these guys were following me. The greenish light in the shed and the splashing sound of their aerator would make for a relaxing place to hang out, and I would sit with them several times while I visited in Florida. 
These guys live at the Chinese restaurant not far from my home. They don't have such a pimped out underwater palace as the bass do. They have a bright light shining down on them all day long. And they don't have much room to swim around in either. I hope they don't end up on somebodys plate one night. 
