This is sad … I can almost hear the loons themselves sending their mournful cry over a northern Minnesota lake. The Gulf Oil Spill may be a disaster waiting to happen for our state bird. This fall, over 1/2 our flock will migrate to the Gulf of Mexico, and specifically regions directly affected by oil. Thanks BP (British Petroleum).

Learn more about the impending disaster (via KARE TV), and pray for a solution. I want my new grandson to hear a loon's cry through the morning mist, not the mourning mist.

Ski Cam Man became Marathon Cam Man for the last four miles of today's 2010 Grandma's Marathon. I wore my wide angle lens digital camera towards the end of the race (see Ski Cam Man Photos). Enjoy the slideshow … you'll find Elvis, Belly Dancers, the Aerial Bridge … and oh yes … runners. Sorry about some of the moisture on a few photos. After 26.2 miles I was sweating quite a bit! Link to my Picasa site to view and download any photo directly w/o charge.

My middle son, Carl, is studying Arabic in Morocco this Summer. His host family's daughter was married this weekend. Wow! I repeat, Wow! You need to see Carl's post on his blog. He has some amazing photos and videos. I will never again complain about the size / cost of my daughters American Wedding!

Enjoy a few moments of solitude as the Northstar Nerd takes you on a ski hike at French Park in Minnesota. The photos cycle between the same trail section … first the Summer view, and then the Winter! (see some of my SkiCam Man photographs from last Winter's races)

Summer / Winter Ski Hike on PhotoPeach

Benjamin Louis Kennedy arrived this afternoon at 2:07 p.m.! Everyone is doing fine (Karen, Matt, and little Benjamin). The Northstar Nerd is now Grampa Nerd!   (watch the slideshow embedded below or this short video).

As a fyi I am introducing Benjamin to his new bear. You need to understand that when each of my three children were born, I "found" each of them a bear on their "birth days" and introduced them to their new friends. Tradition!

I still have the bear given to me when I was born (Tommy Bear)!