My cell phone ("mobile") takes crappy pictures

I've had this phone for at least six months (as you can tell from the range of weather depicted) but have only just managed how to work out how to get the photos off it without paying to email each one individually. Turns out it wasn't really worth it, as the post heading indicates. However, the wildlife photos are at least interesting...


This creature was on a flooded path in a big park that Frederick and I like to walk through. Jami thinks it's an escaped pet lobster, but it was only about the size of the width of my hand.


He is indeed.


Mmmm. That's good eatin'.


Frederick climbed up this himself (with a little boost) but was at a loss how to get down. This park is by a lake near us. It's only occasionally closed down because of e coli scares.


Yes it is a fawn, and no it isn't dead. I think it was feigning death so we'd go away.


I looked up this device online - apparently it's used to catch frisbees. I kid you not - we were walking around here once and people showed up to play Frisbee Golf. They had professional grade Frisbees and everything!


This is the other side of the e coli lake, both geographically and thermically. Yes, those are picnic tables embedded out in the ice.

Pac-Man follies

I know this isn't family-related, and I should set up a separate blog for this, but I found the following two items strange and amusing. For the uninitiated (can there be any such?), Pac-Man was THE game of 1980, and the first hint to the west that people in Japan were completely unhinged: you are a happy face that eats dots and is chased by ghosts, which you can eat if you eat one of the special "energy dots" in the corners of the maze, whereupon the ghosts turn blue for a short while. But be careful, because when they start flashing, they're ready to turn on you again. Periodically a fruit of some kind (usually a cherry) appears for a time in the middle of the screen and you get bonus points for eating it. Strange but (so we thought at the time) completely entrancing. Anyway, apparently some of those people who encountered it at the time were permanently marked by it, and it has influenced their creative endeavours thereafter. First, a clever shift of perspective from Pac Man - the Movie:



Or, from a less ghost-centric viewpoint:

What Do Frederick and Emily Do All Day Long?

Emily has been helping out with Frederick for almost five years. What do they get up to in a typical day? Let's find out.

To the Children's Museum

The local children's musum, full of stuff you can wear, climb on and bang, is a favorite place for Frederick.
The portal to the magic inside.
Why do kids always insist on doing this? Thomas was exactly the same.
Why does the red car have lips?

A Quick Dip in the Pool

The day is getting warm so a trip to the pool is next.
Yes, just right, Frederick thinks.

This welcoming oasis is in Emily's mom's backyard. I am told that the two of them often go there to unwind on a warm day. (Actually, Frederick was quite scared of the water at the start of the summer and wouldn't go in unless Emily was holding on to him but, as you can see here, is getting quite confident in the water.)

Home for Lunch and Some Chicka, Chicka

Home for a quick pit stop, Frederick gets lunch and spends a bit of time working on his Chicka, Chicka 1, 2, 3 piece. I have no idea how many hours it took to cut out all these pieces, but more time than I would spend on the project I am certain.

And Now, the Park

This place looks full of promise. I have no idea where this park is, since Emily often takes Frederick to places near where she grew up. All part of Frederick's secret life.

The Slide

Once anxious of slides, Frederick now proves that they are no big deal