Welcome to Steam Locomotive week here at OPOD. I was excited by the comments yesterday, as it appears we have some real railroad enthusiasts in our midst. Hopefully they will comment on the technicals of these trains. I will say that I pick the train pictures based on the locomotives I like. I really like the classic looking ones from about the Civil War time frame. Big smoke stacks, big light on the front, big bell, open cab, and huge cattle guard. I will have to say that this one come close to the ideal in my mind. The picture was taken about 1890 near Queretaro, Mexico. If you click on the picture you can get a better look at it. I also like the picture because is looks like this is actually burning wood, and not coal. I like the passenger cars as well.
DOMESTIC UPDATE:
Handsome Jack and the flock of peacocks are doing great. I think I had kept you up to date this last summer on Lovie and Miss Kitty and their two nests of eggs. Lovie and Miss Kitty both decided to lay their eggs in the peacock palace. Each laid a nest of 4 eggs. Then when Miss Kitty stepped outside, Lovie stole her eggs and she then had a nest of 8 eggs. Miss Kitty was going to have none of that, so she sat on top of Lovie, who was on top of the eggs. Finally, they worked out something where they co-sat on the eggs. Each sitting side by side on top of the large nest. Well, then the eggs hatch and the girls split the babies four and four. Then the next day we notice Lovie has 5 and Miss Kitty has 3. The next day, Lovie tries to take another one, and a fight breaks out. It was not a little scuffle, but was one of those that was going to be a fight to the death, so we realized we had to split them apart. So we put Lovie in a pen with her five babies, and Miss Kitty in her pen her with 3 babies. A few days later one of Miss Kitty's babies escapes and wants in Lovies pen. So, then Lovie had 6 babies, and Miss Kitty had two. Then when we let them out of the pens when the babies got bigger, Miss Kitty roosted on top of the peacock palace with her two babies, and Lovie roosted on my little office with her six babies. After about a week we noticed one of Miss Kitties babies abandoned her and joined Lovie on the office. Now Miss Kitty is down to one baby. After about another week, that last baby abandoned her and started roosting with Lovie. At this point, Miss Kitty then goes over and joins that whole group on the office, and roosts with them, and once again assumes the role of co-mother of the flock. That lasted two nights, and then last night I noticed Lovie kicked Miss Kitty off the office. Lovie has now achieved her desire of having the whole flock of 8 babies. Poor Miss Kitty is roosting in the tree by herself.