Thanks Leicaflex for the thumbs-up.

LittleRed (Ron)

Thanks for looking in Katydid. Big lenses and telephotos help a lot to get close up.

Thanks for looking chevman. Helps to have a few good lenses to work with.

LittleRed (Ron)

Thanks for looking, apprecitated.

LittleRed (Ron)

Thanks for looking JoAnne, tis appreciated. I do get to see quite a diversity of birds, but none like those whom you have on the Islands. Every day about lunchtime I check with the yung'uns online at Kauai, Hawaii (Laysan Albatross chicks). They can be viewed 24/7 via webcams on the Cornell website (cams.allaboutbirds.org). This year we were lucky enough to have 3 productive nests within sight of the webcam. Last year there was only one successful nest to be seen. Give it a try. It also shows webcams for about 11 types of birds now, with more coming in the future. Be sure to look at the one for Ontario, tis situated in my neck of the woods.

LittleRed (Ron)

Thanks for looking JoAnne, tis appreciated. I do get to see quite a diversity of birds, but none like those whom you have on the Islands. Every day about lunchtime I check with the yung'uns online at Kauai, Hawaii (Laysan Albatross chicks). They can be viewed 24/7 via webcams on the Cornell website (cams.allaboutbirds.org). This year we were lucky enough to have 3 productive nests within sight of the webcam. Last year there was only one successful nest to be seen. Give it a try. It also shows webcams for about 11 types of birds now, with more coming in the future. Be sure to look at the one for Ontario, tis situated in my neck of the woods.

LittleRed (Ron)

Had the pleasant opportunity to spend a wee bit of time escaping the meter of white snow on my yard on the white sand beaches of Northern Florida (Bald Point State Park). Sadly a lot of the birds we were hoping to catch had already headed north (idiots) to their breeding grounds in the Arctic and a lot of the migrants from South America had not arrived as of yet. (This is called the 'doldrums' to us birders) But there were still plenty to see and admire. These are my Beauties On The Beach. Was able to take a few fair to middling pics of them while there. My favourite is the first pic, the Piping Plover. This bird is on the endangered species list but lately seems to be holding on. Almost all the ducks were gone and also a lot of the shorebirds. But there were sufficient there to keep me and my partner busy. (anyways, there's always the Pelicans) I've attached a few of those pics for your perusal. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did when capturing them.

Most if not all were taken with my Tamron 150-600 or my Canon 300 Prime. Most are cropped somewhat as I do not like to get to close to the birds when they are busy feeding during their migration. Some of them have just completed the arduous journey across the Gulf of Mexico. The last thing they need is the stress from an old man with a camera standing on top of them. So I stay back a bit and by lying on the sand let them approach me instead of the other way around. If you make no sudden moves you usually are able to get some pretty good shots.

This area is a marvelous area, a boon to nature photographers such as I and my wife. I hope that you you Yanks keep it that way. There are so may rumours about what mite be happening to a lot of the Nature Preserves/Refuges that one wonders if the next time I visit I will be vastly different. I sure hope not.

Thanks for looking.

LittleRed (Ron)

Piping Plover

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Dunlin

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Least Sandpiper

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Ruddy Turnstone

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Sanderling

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Black-bellied Plover

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I don't know if this applies in your area but up north one of the best places (sadly) to see that bird is at the local land fills ( garbage dump ). These birds are like some have posted "fisheaters" but also scavengers. Another place where we see them are the areas where road kill is present, especially if the victim is fairly large (like a deer). Having birded in your area I realize there are very few places for these large birds to go fishing, so the land fills would be a possibility. Perhaps somebody from that area can chime in on whether this is true way down south.
For example on last Saturday we checked into a large dump near Dafter Michigan (Upper Peninsula ) to check on the eagles. Count was fair to middling with close to 30 all in one large maple tree along with a few in flight checking out the dump. About 75% were adults with the remainder juveniles. With all those white heads sticking up reminded us of Christmas tree. Twas surely a sight to behold. 😁👌

LittleRed (Ron)

I do most of the cooking in my house. Was retired 10 years before my wife and took that job over then. Has become "one" of my most pleasurable hobbies, along with photography and genealogy.
Been hooked up with my best friend (and foto taking partner) for almost 47 years 😍❤️😍. Learnt very early in that partnership that a successful marriage is made and continues to be made with the use of 2 simple words ---- Yes Dear --- Youse yung'uns ought to try them, guaranteed to work!!! 😜😬

LittleRed (Ron)

A lexophile of course!

• Venison for dinner again? Oh deer!
• How does Moses make tea? Hebrews it.
• England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool .
• I tried to catch some fog, but I mist.
• They told me I had type-A blood, but it was a Typo.
• I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
• Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
• I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
• I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, then it dawned on me.
• When chemists die, they barium.
• I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down.
• I did a theatrical performance about puns. It was a play on words.
• Why were the Indians here first? They had reservations.
• I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
• Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
• When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble.
• Broken pencils are pointless.
• What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.
• I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx.
• I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.
• Velcro - what a rip off!

And last not least, one that is for most of us on this forum

• Don’t worry about old age; it doesn’t last.

Just keep shooting as much as the good old "Man" up there allows us 2.

Enjoy

LittleRed (Ron)

Neat pic taken recently of one of America's prime weapons. Perhaps it would be advisable for Russia to buy some of these Canon cameras, might be better to find the stealth bombers than their radar. 😜😁😜😁

LittleRed (Ron)


https://fstoppers.com/aerial/photographer-catches-stealth-bomber-flying-over-stadium-and-its-not-drone-shot-210766

It appears to me that the B&H ad contradicts itself. As shown in the copy of the ad posted by MT in the main body of the said ad (at the very bottom) B&H says "The item is in pristine condition and INCLUDES THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY". One would presume from this statement it would be the Nikon company one.
However, in the area that shows what is included "in the box" B&H shows something a tad different, this being the lens comes with only a LIMITED 1 YEAR B&H WARRANTY. Doesn't add up, does it😵.
I think that possibly B&H made an error in their posting of this ad and that the last line in the main body of the ad should have been omitted. It appears this ad is for a USA-Nikon lens and not a grey market one. Remove this one line and it would fit the description of grey market.😜
However, saying all that, if the purchaser would have read all the ad the fact that 2 different warranties are shown in the ad should have raised a red flag. A further investigation by contacting B&H would have been advisable in order to clear up the problem. When making any online purchase one MUST read everything posted on the item to make sure you are getting exactly what you want. If all does not appear to be kosher, then one MUST seek further information. But, at the same time the seller has to make sure what is selling is advertised correctly, something that B&H in this case IMHO they failed to do.

LittleRed (Ron)

So, after all is said and done, your translation fits perfectly that being "Mother of a Priest". Maria was in fact the mother of Herbert, the head priest (rector) of the Catholic Parish in Namba at the time of her death. As a genealogist ( hobby) I have seen similar scribings on headstones within Catholic cemeteries. When I was a youngster many moons ago my grande-mere tried to make me an altar boy ( unsuccessful) and at that time ( late 40ies ) a lot of the prayers were still done in Latin. Probably all the congregation didn't understand any of what was said, I know I didn't. But 'twas the way of the Catholic faith at that time.

LittleRed (Ron)

Thot this obit may be of some help.

LittleRed (Ron)

Maria Merzbach
BIRTH 6 Dec 1880 Germany
DEATH 10 Jul 1960 Canyon County, Idaho, USA
BURIAL Mount Calvary Cemetery Nampa, Canyon County, Idaho, USA
MEMORIAL ID 101519049

The Rosary will be recited at 9 p.m. Tuesday at St. Paul's Catholic Church for Mrs. Maria Merzbach, 79, mother of the Rev. Fr. Herbert Merzbach, rector of the St. Paul's Catholic Church, Nampa, who died Sunday after an extended illness. Requiem Low Mass will be celebrated at the church at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Interment will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery under in direction of Shepherd Mortuary. Mrs. Merzbach was born in Germany Dec. 6, 1880, and moved to the United States in 1947, residing in New York City until about three and a half years ago when she moved to Nampa to make her home with her son at 810 Fifteenth Ave. So. Mrs. Merzbach resided in Berlin prior to coming to this country. Mr. Merzbach died in Germany in 1935. She was a member of St. Paul's Church.

Survivors also include a daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Gallienk of New York City, and a grandson, Dr. Willfred Gillienk with the U.S. Army Medical Corps stationed in Texas.

The News-Tribune, Monday, July 11, 1960 - 2