Second View

As one can see, Bar would be a rather nice place (disregarding the war ships and some of the ugly buildings). The country side, at least what I have seen so far, is very nice. There are a few places along the coastline, which are very touristy (the type of very cheap holiday packages for Serbs and Russians) but as soon as you go inland, one will find unspoiled nature. Since Montenegro became independent from Serbia in May of this year, I would assume the government will try to develop the tourist industry, which will take and money. They have the right assets in term of location and nature, now it takes good polices and foresight to move into the right direction. One shall see.

First View

On May 24, I arrived in Bar (Montenegro) of what is supposed to be the last sailing cruise with Cooky. The Marina in Bar is a rather inexpensive place to park a boat. However, the flip-side is being surrender with water in which no one should go for a swim. The view from the boat down into the water is capture in the picture. What you don’t see in the picture is the human manure, which adds a strange odor to the whole marina! Apparently, the city of Bar is dumping everything into the sea, a habit, which many countries have done in the past, before realizing what damage they do to the environment. I only hope for Bar and Montenegro that they can get their act together and pay more attention to the environment.

They’re back!

The hummingbirds are back in upstate New York. We have feeders around the house and it is taking us pleasure observing these colourful birds. Their heartbeat can reach as high as 1260 beats per minute, a rate once measured in a Blue-throated hummingbird. They also typically consume more than their own weight in food each day, and to do that they have to visit hundreds of flowers daily.

Turning 50!

On April 29, I turned 50, a threshold to reflect and to look forward. Rather then buying a Porsche, which is a common symbol for a mid-life crisis, I decided to buy a nice bike!

As good as it gets

Today, the weather is as good as it can be in the Ticino. With temperatures in the mid tens (in Celsius) one can sit outside and enjoy a good cup of coffee or something ells. 

Snow

What a surprise! Today we got about 10 cm of snow, which is not unusual for the Ticino, though I am not a big fan of winter. Our plan was to take a shortcut from the Upstate New York winter, so this is rather unpleasant.

Today's Joke

Here is the proof:

http://walter.no.sapo.pt/humor/2001-06-28/humor-044.gif

View from the hiking trail 

Harry on his daily morning walk!
 

One can find some big Mushroom in the woods!