someday

Someday I will be fast enough/the birds will be slow enough that I will get a picture of a bird in one of my cute little trees. Today was not that day, although I did see a cardinal in Fireglow and sparrows in Summer Gold. It is fun to see birds try to land on any vegetation, even giant hostas. 

I look forward to going to Iceland and getting in the Blue Lagoon and I'm starting to think that I'll just stay there and not get out. Of course, we do have lunch reservations. Still.

The tree pieces were removed, we got to walk past and go to the park. The giant tree didn't just take out the lines and the transformer, it also smashed part of the retaining wall to smithereens. What an exciting opportunity to see what was behind the wall! Behind my retaining wall I got to see cicada trails that went several feet below the surface. Behind this retaining wall was ... an empty soda bottle. What a disappointment. Thank goodness it wasn't a sarcophagus being opened on television. 

A dog trainer rescued 35 German Shepherds from Ukraine and brought them to San Diego County, California. 53,000 Euros. Chartered plane. 


Mamuka Mamulashvili, commander of the Georgian Legion, a sniper team in Ukraine, wanted a fast, quiet vehicle to get sniper teams to a location where they can fire off shots for about five to 10 minutes, then quickly get out. He wanted ..... an electric bike. The Atom Military electric motorbike is small, light, fast, and,  .... quiet. They have a low heat signature (and are less detectable by Russian heat imaging systems), a top speed of 90 kph, can travel up to 150 km on one five-hour charge, and can carry up to 150 kg. They have a motorcycle suspension, brakes, and wheels which allow them to be durable off-road. https://eleek.com.ua/en/ 
When the war began, the company gave all of this kind that they had in stock to Ukraine. In response to feedback, they then removed unnecessary parts, changed the coloring, and added a 220v outlet. 

A Russian couple in Budapest opened their home to Ukrainian refugees. This is a very sensible video about the situation:   https://www.rferl.org/a/russians-ukraine-refugees-budapest-hungary/31845057.html

On Victory Day (May 9) some brave Russians were still protesting. In Yekaterinburg a group was charged with "discrediting the armed forces" for releasing origami swans into the Islet River.