Hi all,

Valentine’s Day was spent pet-sitting 26 cats, 13 dogs (including my 2 deliriously happy mutts)and 2 gorillas. Yes, gorillas!  Jane and Stuart Dewar built Gorilla Haven in Morganton, GA, (north of Ellijay) to temporarily and permanently house gorillas from all over the world.  Wonderful people, wonderful cause.  It’s open to the public, check it out at www.gorilla-haven.org.  It was the BEST Valentine’s Day EVER!!

My nuclear power plant tour was fascinating to say the least – can’t wait to show you all!

The rain headed our was this week is good news for us and great news for the Lion Fish off the coast of Savannah.  My photog AJ and I were all set to travel to the Atlantic coast with our friends at the Georgia Aquarium to help collect Lion Fish for display in their newest exhibit.  Lion Fish are being released by aquarium enthusiasts at an alarming rate.  Alarming because the Lion Fish have no natural predators and are wreaking havoc on the local marine life populations.  We want to help the aquarium high-light how dangerous it is to release ANY kind of critter into a non-native habitat.  Oh well, the weather system coming our way on Wednesday could cause 5 – 8  foot choppy  seas and that forced us to cancel our trip.  Hopefully next weeks’ forecast will be more cooperative.

Until then,
D

I’ll leave the station at 6:30 am to go face to face with a reactor core this Friday!  We’re heading to Augusta to tour the Vogtle nuclear power plant, and we’ll show you what we saw coming up next week.

Saturday the 7th will be spent helping Kim Fettig  shred your private stuff at the Great Shredder event at Perimeter Mall and I’ll be at the station with the evening crew on Sunday for the Grammy Awards.

My nutty yellow lab is still convinced all the other rescued critters were placed in the apartment solely for his amusement but there is hope on the horizon.  Animal Planet’s show “It’s Me Or The Dog” is interested in shooting a show with me and the bunch.  We’ll wait until I move us all to our new home, a wonderful little oasis in the city.  It a butterfly garden, herb garden, bog pond, raised vegetable bed and even a back-yard babbling brook and a Martha Stewart-style chicken coop complete with 8 chickens!  Did I mention the new home is located on an Autobahn Certified Wildlife sanctuary?

This is going to be the BEST SUMMER EVER!!

The new year is off to a rather insane start.  My wallet and I are a combined 12 pounds lighter but the newest members of my family are doing well.  The lab (still waiting to find the perfect name for this nutty dog) and the Husky mix, Dolly, are still in the process of understanding that I am the pack leader.  Then again, I’m not so sure I’m convinced of this myself.  I have yet to find the time to read Ceasars’ book cover to cover but from what I have gleaned from the first few pages, it will be my saving grace.  I’m very good with animals of all shapes and sizes but this lab has had pushed me to my limits on a daily basis.  And yet, I love the goofy thing.

The three legged cat still hates both the newbies and my bird Wiki, tries to dive bomb them with empty wallnut shells at every turn.  The bunnies, Bella and Cody are happy as can be when farthest away from the dynamic duo.

I know that it’s just a matter of time and patience on my part to fit these clowns into my family so we can all co-exist peacefully.  I WILL SUCCEED!!!!

Hello all you future Health ‘Nuts’!

I hope you enjoyed our health segment tonight – Stephany and I sure had fun shooting it

As promised I’ll pass along two of my favorite raw recipes:

1. Pineapple Ginger Apple Reviver

This is a fairly easy drink to make, provided you have a juicer.  If not, you can still mix the ingredients in a powerful blender and make a smoothie out of it.  It will have pulp in it, but just consider that your daily dose of fiber. If possible, try to stick to organic ingredients. Also try to eat all ingredients at room temperature, it’s not such a shock to the body that way.

I large, ripe pineapple

4 – 5 medium Granny Smith apples

A 1″ chunk of fresh ginger root

Juice or blend all ingredients and enjoy! 

2. Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime

This is from one of my favorite raw cook books, Raw Food – Real World.  It’s filling and easy to make and you can even warm it slightly (under 118 degrees) to help take the chill out of a winters night.

3 cups carrot juice

1 small, ripe avocado

1/3 cup coconut meat (from young Thai Coconuts)

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teasppon sea salt

a few sprigs of cilantro for that extra kick

2 tablespoons lime juice or oil (to drizzle as a garnish)

Yummy!

With the Raptor package leading the way, I’m now getting ready to put together the story on retro-fitting the C-5 Galaxy.  It was all part of our incredible 6-hour tour of the Lockheed Martin facility.

Next on my checklist of adventures:  Getting a lesson from the Thrashers goalie.  As a good Canadian, I really miss playing hockey!:   A track day with Skip Barber at Road Atlanta:  and anything to do with animals! 

Got any ideas?  Send them my way!

On the critter side – my funny little guy is here.  It was a long, exhuasting day for Wiki as he made his way from Vancouver, BC to the Deep South.  The cat can’t stand him (in particular his shrill voice) and the rabbits think he’s a miniature hawk.  With these guys around I’m never at a loss for entertainment!

It’s been a hectic, but a very, very good week

Dreams come true!  I had the chance to strap on a parachute and fly in a rare aerobatic plane yesterday morning in Kennesaw. The pilot, Major John Klatt, an F-16 pilot, is getting ready for his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq this Christmas. When not on combat duty he thrills civilians like me with a crazy series of loops, an barrel roles!  Loved it!  What an amazing pilot.  He’s flying at the Wings Over Marietta air show this weekend. 

If you want to see one slightly green-faced, red-head, tune in to the 11pm Thursday night. 

The F-22 Raptor tour airs Friday.

All is well on the critter front. My bird Wiki (a member of the Nanday Conure species originally found in North Eastern South America) is finally coming home!  It’s taken me far too long to get him over the border, but he’s on his way.

The entire week has been about ‘wings’ in one shape or another – just the way I like it.

Yes, it’s been a while – keeping very, very busy at work and loving every minute of it.

Visited the ‘Raptor’s Nest’ on Wednesday morning for a full Lockheed facility tour.  The C-130 Hercules and C-5 Galaxy were next on the list.  Segments should air sometime this and/or next week.

I LOVE my job!

Thursday morning: it’s off to Road Atlanta for a few quick laps around the track.  The Petit Le Mans was in town for the weekend.  Digging deeper: The Green Challenge was a hi-light of the weekend.  Over 40 cars ran on alternative fuels during the 10 hour, 1000km race.  Everything learned on the track will be passed on to us and hopefully the planet

Friday evening: my very first Atlanta Greek Festival.  They really do open their hearts, their arms and their kitchens to the community!  Astoundingly delectable desserts – i still have syrup on my shoes.

My newest family member is doing very well.  A three-legged cat I adopted a few weeks ago is settling nicely into her new home.  She was abandoned by her owners, and after living as a stray for 5 years, a lovely neighbor shot her left rear leg off.

She’s had a few volatile moments with Bella and Cody, my two adopted rabbits, but they’ve all since taken their place on the Totem Pole of Authority. 

I hope I’m still at the top

D

It took a while but I finally managed to join the rest of my CBS team in the wonderful world of ‘blogs’

I’m still figuring out this all works so hang in there with me

Have to get back to tracking Ike now – wishing that I were on the next flight into the eye!!

D