The View from Above

I'm a nose-to-the-window kind of person. There are photos of me as an infant standing in front of a screen door for hour upon hour, just watching and nothing much has changed since then.

Especially when I'm on a train or plane, I covet the window seat and unless it's dark or cloudy, my head is usually blocking the view for anyone else that wants to look out that window. My recent flight to Vancouver was no exception.

Upon take-off from Pearson, the plane headed northwest up the Bruce Peninsula on a beautiful late spring morning.

over Manitoulin Island

and Presque Isle, Michigan

just south of the Sault, MI and Sault Ste. Marie, ON

and then over the upper part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the south shore of Lake Superior and over Paradise, Michigan, the home place setting for Steve Hamilton's excellent Alex McKnight mystery series. Such a fun coincidence to see it from the air and have it identified on my iPhone, 

Sadly, as we got over the middle of the lake, the clouds took over

so I spent the next few hours with my nose in a book listening to some excellent music.

Jack Perks

For a year now I've been following Jack Perks on Facebook and Twitter. Mr. Perks is a British wildlife enthusiast and photographer who is very generous about sharing his amazing photos on social media.

There seems to be no limits as to where he will take his gear - up mountains, under the ocean, into small English brooks, his own backyard. He captures images of mammals, reptiles, insects and fish that most people will never otherwise see. It's such a treat to see what he finds.

In addition to his photography, Perks lectures, gives workshops and volunteers as a conservationist. He is currently working on crowd-funded project filming all of Britain's freshwater fish and the threats they face. It's called Beneath the Waterline and you can get more information  here.

Check out Jack Perks' website

and his Facebook Page

for more information.

Want to impress your guests?

Happy Solstice!

Cooking with Dog

In case you were inspired by the last cooking video, here's something a little different and a bit more adult-oriented ;)

Cooking with Dog is a YouTube cooking show featured by a canine host Francis and a mysterious Japanese Chef whose real name is not disclosed. While Chef cooks a variety of popular dishes in Japan, Francis calmly sits next to her and narrates the recipes step-by-step in English. He sometimes gets sleepy and closes his eyes but don't worry, you will still hear his voice. The show started in September, 2007. Now it has more than 200 recipes and currently publishes a video every weekend. Enjoy Chef's authentic Japanese cooking skills and Francis' exotic Japanese accent.

Charli's Crafty Kitchen

More YouTube fun: adorable sisters in Australia with weekly " cooking videos".

CharlisCraftyKitchen began in 2012 when Charli was 6 years old and Ashlee was 3. Charli, now 9, has always been passionate about her craft and being in front of a camera. Ash, now 6, enjoys being chief taste tester.

Charli and Ashlee will teach you how to make some great party foods that are simple and cute. There are tutorials for every occasion! Cake pops, cupcake toppers, party favours, cake decorating and easy no bake recipes. Lots of great ideas for being in the kitchen with kids.

By the way, in case you're wondering....

According to Outrigger's estimates, Charli's channel generates an average of $127,777 in ad revenue per month. That's taking into account YouTube's cut of revenue. The channel gets an average of 29 million views each month — in March, it had 29,133,270. Source: Business Insider

Mariele

from YouTube:

Published on Aug 9, 2013

Mariele, the German Shorthaired Pointer is the top model of http://www.piccobello.eu/shop/en/home/ She likes to eat in high-class places.
This little show took place in summer 2013. Mariele is sitting at the table and is looking forward to getting served. It took just a few training lessons for Mariele to get used to the situation because there is nothing further to do for her as to sit quite comfortable on a cushion and wait patiently for the food to come. Mariele is 12 years old and in younger years she worked as a rescue dog. She loves to make new experiences and she is very gentle. The temptation to wolf down sausages and meat would have been too strong to her. So we decided to serve carrots and potatoes which she likes too -- but not too much...
We got inspired by TWO DOGS DINING -- thank you very much.

Mesmerizing Art

Mikhail SADOVNIKOV (Russia), working with clay on a pottery wheel

ALIHAN SAMEDOW Music, improvisation...music:song "Sen Gelmez Oldun"

Derek

Don sent me this link a while ago and I thought it was so amazing. It's from 60 Minutes and features Derek Paravicini, the blind and otherwise challenged nephew of Camilla Parker-Bowles. He cannot do very much, but he can certainly play the piano! The segment is a bit long, but worth watching.

Forced Perspective

Sometimes life just doesn't seem to make sense. Maybe it all depends on our point of view.

Bernard Pras is the artist who created this installation. The depiction is of Ferdinand Cheval (1836-1924), a French postman who is well-known in France for having spend 33 years building Le Palais Idéal in Hauterives, a commune in south-eastern France. That is also a very interesting story which you can find out about by clicking on Ferdinand's name.

Le Palais Idéal