Colin, I hope good things will happen to you in the near future. Looks like you've got your plate full.
As for us I guess we asked too much for cool weather. Not much in model boating going on lately in our area. Very unusual. Already missed three meets and tomorrow will be the fourth, including me being sick missing one.
A good chance to catch up on things that need to be done, especially getting the house back in order, and doing some model fix up. I am currently working on modifying a 1/16 scale toy semi trailer into RC control.
This is a good scale and it matches my Springers and my armor.
To all of you in the northern hemisphere I hope you stay warm.
Lew

Hi Colin, great to hear from you. Wishing you all the best. Similar situation here as well so can appreciate where you're at. Take care.

I've posted a number of "nature" pictures, but I don't believe I've posted any of our dog.
This is Hudson, a 10 year old Morkie.
This past October we inherited him from our daughter.
She has a very demanding job, and also a 1 year old child. Her relatively new husband came with a large rambunctious dog as well.
She was struggling to keep up, so we volunteered to take Hudson and give him the life he deserves.
We had "dogsat" him many times over the years, so coming to live with us was not stressful for him.
He is now the master of the house ....
Dave

Hi Colin, knowing you're here and reading the posts is comforting and pleasant for me, even if you don't actively participate.
It's strange to say, but I have a lot of respect for you. It's strange because I don't know you, but I'm basing my opinion on your comments and the posts you've made so far.

I knew you were a lover of animals and reptiles because we'd talked about them, and your profile picture/avatar speaks volumes.

I love Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) and I've discovered that many get sick from overfeeding.

It's understandable that you can't actively devote yourself to modeling, but that's more than understandable given your family situation. In any case, you remain a pillar of this forum.

Dear Colin, I wish you much happiness and serenity.

Good evening Alessandro and other fellow boaters.
Yes I am still around although not able to do any modelling at present, family health problems keeping me away from my workshop, hopefully it will get better in the near future.
Now I must say I agree 👍 with you about the reptiles, having had many over the years.
My personal favourite was my Bearded Dragon, she was rescued with major health issues, only 3 legs and missing some toes.
She was a real character and would often sit on my shoulder watching TV in the evenings. Or on my dogs back sunbathing by the window.
We often rescue injured animals from road accidents, and our local vet always approves.
I may not be active on here at present, but I'm always watching and reading the posts.
Cheers Colin.

Hi ColinH, nice to hear you're here on the forum.

Hi Wolle, it's a "gargoyle gecko," its scientific name (and therefore unique and universal) is Rhacodactylus auriculatus.
It's native to New Caledonia, but has been successfully bred in Italy for some time and is never captured from the wild.
It's not afraid of humans and will even let you pick it up without running away.

Yes, Wolle, sorry, I checked. In English, it's actually called a "hump-headed gecko." The term "gargoyle" is used only in Italy because its head is distinctive and resembles some gargoyle statues.

is that a hump-headed gecko?
are they native to you?

I also really like animals; many people don't like reptiles, but I find them fascinating and beautiful.
Are you familiar with this one?

What a cute animal. Is it a hamster?
Is your avatar named after one of them?

Haven't been out in days though have my two companions at home. Haggis on the left and Dudu on the right. Both come out for cuddles in the evening and both have seperate enclosures that are 1.5m long x 80cm wide and 80cm tall so are spoiled rotten but life wouldn't be the same without them. They distract me from my illness better than the medication 😊

Ron
We only got 20 cm in the balmy south. . . of Ontario. Just got a new snowthrower the other day, already put about 4 hours on it

December 18th backyard and today

The only thing white outside our home are my wife's two Peking ducks. Temp outside is now 56F as a cold front came through. Sunday at our RC tank meet it was 80F.
Lew

Hei Dave-B!
It's so unfair! We want snow too!
It's green here... But there's plenty in the mountains...
It's just not fairly distributed! Saint Peter is going to get a good telling-off, but it's up to you again to activate the snowstorm!
🤬🤬🤬🤬
Your Michel-C.

While Ron and Jumpugly got some white stuff, we had BITTER cold (-25F) for the last few days.
This has encouraged some new neighbors to show up. I'm not sure if the fishing is really good in that spot, or if they all gathered close together to make partying easier .....
Dave B

Got over 20 inches down here. Making sure my boss's furnaces were still working properly. Thankfully they were!

Woke to 40 cm/14” of fresh powder snow on Monday morning.
Glad the snowblower was working fine!

this morning in Stade.

Not as bad here in Boston MA.

Hello
Things have been looking like this in Stade since yesterday. And it should continue like this all week.

Few more from my travels - some I've been on.

Chris

Best I can do in the garden!

I've seen a few "pet" Bobcats on you tube, just like a domestic moggy only bigger...

A Bobcat on the prowl caught on my game camera at my boss's house on the December, a rare site in South Western Connecticut indeed.

As for the doe, she seems to be saying, "I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille."
👍😉

"Aligators and snakes"? a bit dodgy for sailing model boats!

Very nice launch cradle. If its still sitting there in the morning i might put it in my car before i search for the owner.🤔

Where did Joe go? He was here a moment ago.

(Photo taken 21 Dec 2025 at the SSMBC meet.)

A few canal boat photographs.

Chris

Someone having a good feed on the bird food this morning. Was there for a good 20 minutes!

Wolfe, isn’t Google Earth amazing!

May this Third Advent be special for you too. PEACE. God offers us peace with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. He did the work - and invites us to follow Him in being peacemakers too.

Hello everyone, happy 3rd Advent
Here are a few contemplative pictures from our last short trip to the Baltic Sea in Sassnitz.

Lew,
Yes, we were at the Albuquerque Balloon Fest last year (2024).
It's an amazing event, one that everyone should try to experience at least once.
A high school classmate of mine flies the POW-MIA balloon. When he heard we were going to be in the area for the Balloon Fest, he signed me up as a crew member for his balloon. As such, we got to partake in more activities than we otherwise could have.
It was a magical experience!
Dave
PS, The last picture, with my wife and daughter on the mountain trail was taken at the top of Sandia Peak.

Dave, were the balloon fest photos taken in Aberqueue? Used to take business trips out there and one year they had that festival. Pretty neat, especially watching them climb Sandia peak.
Lew

Thanks Alessandro. No, I don't unfortunately, though I have Googled some of them in the past. Last time we stayed there was just before Covid, so some years ago and I was a bit disappointed as none of the tall and other interesting ships were there. I seem to remember that at least one of them featured in the Onedin Line TV series.

We have been back to Cornwall since, we go most years, but have stayed elsewhere, partly due to the Pier House Hotel being refurbished on one occasion following a change of ownership.

Wow, Chris, those are beautiful ships, thanks for sharing these magnificent images.
These deserve to be archived.
Do you remember anything about them?

Chris, a few years back we rented a house on the cliff in Duporth. It was a short walk to the closest pub in Charlestown, great atmosphere.

I'm in the process of updating my computer and whilst looking through my photos saw these which may be of interest. Some will recognise the location as Charlestown in Cornwall. We stopped at the hotel for many years but haven't been back recently but hope to sometime.

The port is used on and off for some interesting craft, including tall ships which have been used in film and TV series and training vessels.

Incredible, what a spectacle! Thanks for sharing.

Spectacular Dave, simply spectacular!

Great shots DW!!!! My nephew saw them all the way down in North Carolina! It was a major solar flare.
👍

I'm not sure how widespread the viewing area was. BUT, last night the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) were spectacular where we live. These pictures were taken literally out our back door. In the past, there were occasions where one could capture them using a camera, but last night they were vivid to the naked eye, and filled the entire night sky.
Dave B

Spectacular images, what wonderful places, the canyon is spectacular, unique. I would love to visit them in person.
Thanks for sharing, Dave.

Mary wants a Class B now!!! That’s a beauty!
And yes I will keep you looped in on our travels as we are both road warriors. Advice always gladly accepted.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😁

Thank You, Jump ...
We have a Roadtrek 210 Popular Class B. We've had a Class A and a couple different Class C's over the years. My wife worked for an RV dealership, so we got to try out a lot of different rigs in the 10 years she worked there. We tried everything from 35' Class A's, and various configurations of Class C's. Now that we are retired, we chose to downsize to the Class B. It has everything the bigger ones have, just built more compact! It's easier to drive, gets 20mpg on the highway, and we never run into size restrictions in State or National Parks.
Northern Cali and Utah are definately on our "Bucket List".
When you are coming to Minnesota, let me know! It'd be great to get together while you are here. We can point you to some "must see" spots in MN.
Dave B

Dave! These are awesome pix! God’s country out there. Next time hit northern Cali and Utah. Which camper van are you running? Just had to ask.
Next year we are going to rent a Class C to head way up into Minnesota etc. Done towing so want to go up in class. Used to drive a 24’ booze truck from Syracuse to Utica with the labor pool with convicts on work release, so can handle something bigger. 😂😂😂

A year ago this week, we took our camper to New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado.
Some pictures came up in one of my "A Year Ago" feeds.
It got me thinking they are appropriate for this thread ....
Dave B
PS The last picture is my wife and daughter, hiking a mountain trail. My daughter gave birth to our granddaughter the next day ....

Hi Chris, your photos are truly splendid too.
Norway must be truly fantastic. Meanwhile, we Italians are also experiencing the current strength of their national football team.

Beautiful photos and beautiful places Dave, you are a great traveler and you do well.

Looks like you had some nice weather as well. The scenery is certainly beautiful. We did the train journey at Flam. The waterfall maybe doesn't look that big until you look for the small red object about half up, which becomes clear in the next photo!

Wolle - it was the Spirit of Adventure.

We had the opportunity to tour Norway in 2018. Beautiful country. We took the Fjord tour out of Flam.