I went on two family trips to Crystal River. I was very happy to find this article via National Geographic :

January 16, 2007—A young manatee named Pilo rests placidly on the deck of a research ship as scientists give him a physical on Florida's Crystal River in November 2006.
The five-year-old male was captured during the first of three planned expeditions to the northwest Florida river, where manatees migrate every fall to take advantage of the warm, spring-fed waters.
The expeditions, which resumed this month, will amount to one of the most comprehensive studies yet done of Florida manatees in the wild.
During Pilo's half-hour-long checkup, biologists collected all manner of data from their peaceful patient—from pulse readings taken with a portable heart monitor to urine caught in a Frisbee placed under his genitals.
Pilo weighed in at 916 pounds (415 kilograms) and measured 9 feet (280 centimeters) long. The scientists gave him a clean bill of health.
"I'd give him a [rating of] perfectly normal, excellent condition," said Robert Bonde, a marine biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) who coordinated the expedition.
"He's a great-looking manatee."
—Blake de Pastino

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070116-wild-manatees.html

Take a moment to consider this....

DId you know that 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, Sudan? Each day, they face threats that are hard for us to even imagine including rape, disease, and starvation.These people need our help to put an end to the genocide and they need it NOW.


Please join me in taking the first step to stopping the violence. Sign the Save Darfur Coalition's petition urging President Bush and the UN Secretary-General to take immediate steps to stop the killing. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of people in the region who desperately need outside help.The Save Darfur Coalition is urging the international community to prevent further killings, displacement, and rape by deploying the UN peacekeeping force that has already been authorized, strengthening the understaffed African Union force that is already in Darfur, establishing a no-fly zone, increasing humanitarian aid, and ensuring access for delivery of food, medication and other essential supplies.


Please do not stand by while the violence continues - you can make a difference.Go to http://www.SaveDarfur.org to get involved.Then please forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to join you.If you'd like to make a donation to support the campaign, you can do so at: http://www.SaveDarfur.org/Donate Thank you for your help-



---Donate to Help Save DarfurHelp build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition's crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation: http://www.SaveDarfur.org/DonatThe Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 175 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region.

To learn more, please visit http://www.SaveDarfur.org.

Click on link below to watch informational well done video on this subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnDmPD6Nnkc

City at Night

Water front view of downtown and "Batman"Building

Country Music Hall of Fame

Take a minute and enjoy some art!! watch Shadow Box Sand Painters , it is very relaxing and very entertaing, not too mention the music~ Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJE2qWUtZuQ

Jip and Major @ Dec. visit to Sewanee

It is a lot of fun to watch these two play when I visit Lyle and Jerin.

Major is just yawning, and showing us his impressive set of teeth and large jaw....Good for Jip that Major likes him.

Jip with Miss Kitty aka Nicorette....he loves chasing her and she seems to like him now that she has become more used to him.
** Lyle and I found the cat during a day trip to ReelFoot Lake in W. Tennessee. She was in the middle of the interstate median. I convinced Lyle to try and rescue her...he did and she was receptive to being rescued and curled up at my feet and fell asleep after polishing off some chicken nuggets. She turned out to be a nice addition to their home and is quite a "talker"as well as a great mouser. Lyle was trying to stop smoking at the time she arrived , and she became the No Smoking mascot, hence the name.