fish tank update

Here are some new pics of the fish tank. As you can see, the previously white rocks in the lower part of the tank are starting to pick up some color. We are expecting to get some new critters for the tank tomorrow, so another update will come soon. The second picture shows the tank with its night lighting.

Windows

This last week, the weather has been really nice, so we have been opening the windows in the evening to let some fresh air in. The ferrets really like it, since they can hear many new sounds (like birds, cars, etc), can smell new smells (other animals, plants, etc) and can feel the wind sometimes. They enjoy climbing up onto the windowsill to press up against the screen, or even climbing up next to the window when it is closed. Sometimes, they will sit in their cage at window level and look out. It is pretty cute. Here is Eve peeking back into the room after looking out the window. Even the blinds don't discourage curious ferrets!

Gardening update

This weekend, Brian and I spent some time gardening. We got some gardening soil and pink flowers to plant along the side of the house, around the bushes that are already there.


We also got some flowers to plant under the windows at the front of our house, hopefully to attract butterflies for us and the ferrets to watch. The flowers are purple, blue, and white. I also put a couple pink flowers in front, since we had some extras.


Finally, we planted some hydrangeas last weekend, but I haven't posted a picture yet, so I wanted to do that too. They are behind the house, in a shady spot where there are some nice bushes between our house and the neighbors. They seem to be doing well back there so far.

Lake Macatawa

I almost missed Holland when I was flying from Detroit to Seattle, but I'm pretty sure this is Lake Macatawa, so my parent's house is just south of this lake. Check out the lake shape on mapquest and tell me if you think I'm right.

Vancouver

It has taken me a while to get caught up here at home after my trip to Vancouver, so these pictures are a little tardy. I went to Vancouver for a conference the last week of March. It was quite pretty, but a lot of things would have been simpler if we had gone to Seattle instead (money conversion, cell phones, hotel room size, etc). It is a very pretty city though, and aside from the day that it sleeted, the weather was pretty nice too. I even got to enjoy a little snow. Here is the view flying into Vancouver.


I went to a really nice park with some of my friends for part of an afternoon. I think it was called Stanley Park. Here is a picture from my walk in Stanley Park.


The park is famous for its totem poles. Here I am in front of some of them. they were really fantastic to look at. There is a little stream that separates the totems from the viewing area, which keeps people from touching them and trying to climb them. (The kids who were looking at the totem poles at the same time as I was were quite disappointed.)


This stream is used by salmon to spawn. Unfortunately, they were not spawning when I was there. But it is still a very pretty stream.


One of the most beautiful parts of Vancouver is the mountains. It was usually too cloudy to see them, but we did have a couple clear morning hours. The building that looks like it is made of giant white sails is the conference center where the meetings were held. The brown lines at the picture's base are train tracks. Just beyond the conference center is a large bay, although it is not visible from this angle.

Fish Tank

As many of you know, we have been working on getting a saltwater fish tank set up at our house. This weekend, we made it to a major milestone: we now have a tank, with saltwater, with live rock, and (last but not least) with fish! Here is the current configuration. The rocks that are darker in color came from the aquarium store covered in helpful microbes. They should spread to the lighter colored rock in time.

Tri for Gey

The Tri for Gey was yesterday morning. About 70 Tri for Gey team members swam/biked/ran the triathlon, which I understand to have been about 1/5th of the membership in the event. As you may recall, the purpose of the Team Gey's participation was to raise money to fight ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), in honor of our good friend Professor Steve Gey. Steve continues to battle ALS, and we continue to support him.

Because I work for the Court, I may not fundraise. So, I did not compete in the Tri for Gey. Instead, I volunteered to create a training video for them. After several weeks of filming and many days of editing, the "teaser" version of that video is done. I plan to make a full version at a later date that focuses more on Steve generally; the "teaser" focuses on the Team and, by obvious connection, to Steve as the reason the Team exists. It is a blend of humor and sincerity. I hope you enjoy it.

Things that may be useful to know:
- Curtis Bridgeman is a professor at the College of Law
- The Red Hills triathlon involves swimming 1/3 of a mile, biking 16 miles, and then running 3.1 miles
- Barbara is a team member of Team Gey

Tri for Gey 2008 Short Version Video (medium quality, ~176MB, <13 minutes):