Ventimigila, Italy

This is where we get our fresh veggies and the home of Septembre XX, one of our favorite restaurants

Formaggi !!!

Pesce!

 

 My best friend in Italy, Anna.

Dolche Aqua, Italy

 

Fungi & Cep

Pets

"Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will percieve the divine mystery in things. Once you percieve it, you will begin to comprehend it better everyday. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."      

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

There is no shortage of living things in our house, counting plants there are 73 things that require water food and love...  Three aquariums, two dogs, five cats, barking tree frogs and plants! When Nicole and Luke get their place, I will be down to a more manageable three aquariums, two cats and plants!

OK Wine doesn't need food and water, but it breathes and all those Cuban Cigars were plants!

Max

Miles

Miles wrestling with Lexi

 

This tank is for Dempsys.  The last resident lived 15 years! 

Every fish in this tank (110 Gallons) was born in there.  These are "Silver Dollars.

All fish from Lake Victoria, Tanzanita

More OIL under the US than all The MiddLe East

Here's an interesting read: and some important and verifiable information :
About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes brothers was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer;  how much oil does the U.S. Have in the ground?"  Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "More than all the Middle East put together."
Please read below:
The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big!  It was a revised report (which had not been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota , western South Dakota , and extreme eastern Montana .....
Check THIS out:
The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska 's Prudhoe Bay , and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable. At $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.
"When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea." says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature' s financial analyst.
"This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years," reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.'  It stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada .  For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end.  Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves. We now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!
That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years straight.  And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because the information is from 2006!
U. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World
Stansberry Report Online - 4/20/2006
Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world. It is more than 2 TRILLION barrels.  On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction.. In three and a half years of high oil prices none has been extracted. With this 'mother lode' of oil why are we still fighting over off-shore drilling?
They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:
- 8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
- 18-times as much oil as Iraq
- 21-times as much oil as Kuwait
- 22-times as much oil as Iran
- 500-times as much oil as Yemen
- and it's all right here in the Western United States .
HOW can this BE? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this? Because the environmentalists and others have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil! Again, we are letting a small group of people dictate our lives and our economy.
WHY?
James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION barrels untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post.
Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find?  Think again!  It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to.
Do ya' think OPEC just might be funding the environmentalists?
Got your attention yet?  Now, while you're thinking about it, do this:
Pass this along.   If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you complain about gas prices -
By doing NOTHING, you forfeit your right to complain.
--------
Now I just wonder what would happen in this country if every one of you sent this to every one in your address book.
By the way...this is all true. Check it out at the link below!!!
GOOGLE it, or follow this link.  It will blow your mind.
<http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911>

Dear Mr. President

Dear President Obama

 

     What you experienced and understood (hopefully) from this weeks coup de tat is usually referred to as "The Two by Four" approach.  It is generally used when all else has failed and desperation reigns.  It appears to me that all but Nancy Pelosi got the "message." As you now fully understand, Nancy marches to her own drummer, regardless of  the entire band and even the musical director! I wouldn't call the far left's agenda  your Achilles tendon. It is much more like two torn ACL's combined with a severe groin injury....sustained at the same time as your concussion. (excuse the sports reference, but it's super bowl season)

 

     Given that we are all in this together it is certainly time to take pause, at least long enough to fully understand the situation.  One could say that your canoe was heading for the waterfall. It is a fact that "the river" you were on was of your choosing.  I ask you this...  It it wise to immediately change canoes and continue down the same river?  Changing from health care reform to your other liberal agenda items is not going to fool anyone. It may put socialistic ideas back 50 years though.

 

      I don't think 3 days is sufficient to analyze your predicament, and since the message came from (70% Democrat) Massachusetts, there is absolutely no point in a Town Meeting in Ohio.   Just my thoughts.

 

     I am not certain your advisors have told you yet, but the campaign is over. The honeymoon is over. You may be presiding over the most amazing election in our history, a mandate from the people, as well as the fastest request for a mulligan in history. 

 

     You have gone from a 70% approval rating to 50% in record time. Your approval rating had dropped much, much faster than George Bush's, your personal scapegoat. 

 

 My primary question is this... What do you want your legacy to be?  How will history view you, your decisions, your policies and your effectiveness?  In my opinion, right now history will view you as someone who turned your 15 minutes of fame into a TOTAL DISASTER in record time.  I certainly don't want to hear MLK's "I HAVE A DREAM" turned into "The Dream became a Nightmare."

 

     As an academic, study the situation. Understand how to recover the economy. Infrastructure has an useful life of roughly 50 years. The average age of our bridges, roads etc is 46 years.  The new job tax credit you said you were for was a good idea.  There has NEVER BEEN a better time for PAYGO.  And paygo doesn't mean offsets from phantom savings, such as medicare fraud. Allowing health insurance to be purchased over state lines works for auto insurance?  Tort reform doesn't "COST" anything.  You have a plethora of great options in front of you.

 

      As an academic, study Ronald Regan.  He took the disaster of President Carter and turned things around. President Regan LEFT OFFICE with an approval rating that rivals your initial ratings. 

     

     At this point, you should have a pretty good handle on what isn't going to work. You have an incredible opportunity ahead of you.  For all our sakes, I hope you listen, learn and  seize the opportunity.

 

 

                                                                                          Rip Lonergan

 

 

    

Thank You!

Thank you for contacting the White House.
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Florida and Alpha Male

I told the girls that I wanted to travel with them "while I was still the alpha male" in their lives...Florida was one of the trips... This trip was Orlando, Tampa, Daytona Beach  and points between.

 

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It was breeding season at Daytona Beach so all the hotels and resorts turned all their beach lights off at night.  The girls called these times "Turtle Porn" time!