Sweet Home Alabama.

It's always nice to come home. Sometimes more so than others. After a particularly stressful trip to New Orleans last Sunday, it was REALLY nice to be home again. I love New Orleans, God knows I do, but does everything there really have to be so damned difficult? The roads have disintegrated into a vehicle destroying nightmare, parking doesn't exist in any part of the place that's worth visiting, and there's no easy way to get from one part to the other. Dining is universally over-priced. And the crowds of visitors seem to be at record levels recently, making the whole experience even more difficult. I used to find myself sad to be leaving the city after a day or two there, but now I'm glad to be heading home.

Sandhill Cranes.

This one is purely nostalgic. When I was in high school, my aquatic ecology teacher had a special interest in the sandhill crane. He would bring it up often, and in many contexts. My dear friend, Shannon, finally reached a breaking point on a field trip to the Mississippi Gulf coast, and every time that she saw any bird, she would exclaim, "Look! It's a sandhill crane!" Our teacher was about ready to throttle her by the end of the weekend. So, every time I pass these signs for the refuge, I laugh because I can still hear her saying it over and over. 

I know that I have continued to ignore this blog, but things are going to get better. Soon.