Weekend at the Parents 12/30//2003 The day after Christmas saw us leave for my parent's place after another day of work. Mrs offered to sit in the back so that the family "baby" ( 6' 3" or 190.5 cm) could have a bit more leg room in the front of the car. We arrived in Traverse City about 10:00 pm and talked and snacked till about midnight. Just before we went to bed however, I took Mauritzio and Laura outside so they could have a look at the night sky. The carpet of stars that we know as the Milky Way was something that Moritzio had never seen before, and he suggested that if it was summer he would lay in the grass for hours and look up at the night sky. I told him that sometimes in the summer I wold lay pads for the chairs down on the driveway and lay there till I fell asleep. The clear northern night sky is truely a wonder to behold. The next day we all slept in late and spent a lazy day at the house, and sure enough, I dragged out the camera shortly after I got up. My parents have this thing about feeding the birds, and I figured that it would be a good chance for me to try out the new camera and lens. I was told that the Pilated woodpecker is a a rare bird to be seen at their feeder, and my parents were quite happy that I was able to burn them a CD of images. The nuthatch walks with a very funny walk and is one of my mother's favorites as it struts across the top of the deck railing. Take a look at those feet. If all of us had feet in that kind of proportion we'd probably walk funny as well. The bird's nemesis of course had to show up, but I find them attractive. Even up close and very personal.... That afternoon my daughter and her friend took off on a tour of the area and as I looked out on the setting sun I suggested to my wife that we borrow a car and head on down to the beach just in case there was a nice sunset. The pattern of light on the hill suggested to me that we just might find the right conditions down on the shore. I grabbed my father's tripod and we headed on down to the lake. After spending about half an hour in the cold wind we walked back to the car and returned to the warmpth of the house. Just after we arrived Mauritzio and L came home and the first words out of M's mouth were, "I bet L that you were out taking pictures of the sunset. Did you get them?" I smiled and said "What Sunset?" I guess he has me figured out. After their trip around the area M also said that now he understood why my parents had chosen that place to live. For Ivano and Mariella: sono solo alcune foto, ma sono sufficienti a dimostrare quanto questa cittadina sia meravigliosa.