Beautiful Fall!  

 John stopped in Columbus to spend the weekend with me before heading to a conference in Pittsburgh.   We went on a tour of a local winery and did some wine tasting.  We also went to another gorgeous Columbus church to a Tridentine Mass.  It was unique and I enjoyed it.  

OSU has a fantastic combined residency and PhD program...and this lovely painting of a Percheron stallion.  

 Snowflakes!!  Presents from Hurricane Sandy.  

This lily in the snow echos the sharp change in weather we've had here.  

I went to Mass at one of the most beautiful churches that I've seen in the US.  The homily was outstanding because the majority of it consisted of reading a speech given by the pope upon the opening of this "Year of Faith" in the Church.  It was phenomenal!  He talked about the history of the Church, the secularism that dominates most people's lives today, and how to cultivate our own and others' faith.  It was truly inspirational.  That man knows what he's doing!  I talked to the priest after Mass and he said, "Yes, wasn't that beautiful.  I'm going to put it in the bulletin next week for everyone to have."  

Here is a link to it:

<http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/porta-fidei>

 Our Lady of Guadalupe.  

 Sacred Heart of Jesus.  

 A morning glory.  

 The one-speed bike that I use to get around.  The chain invariably comes off every time I use it.  

 The Stations of the Cross are depicted in ornate mosaics.  

 Fall!!

My last morning in Baltimore.  I will miss the residents and the Italian woman, Vittoria, who kissed me goodbye in traditional Mediterranean fashion.  

 The trees have turned to beautiful hues of red, gold, and brown during the two weeks that I was in Baltimore.  The view of the land and trees from the air was quite beautiful.  

Now, I have left the east coast and traveled back to land with many farm fields (Columbus, Ohio).  I'm staying in a hostel and have made instant friends here.  The guy sitting next to me was just showing me the view of the tallest mountains in the world from his parents' house in India.  He is from a gorgeous area that grows tea and has some of the oldest Christian missionary schools.  

I went to the aquarium on Wednesday and got a behind-the-scenes tour of their veterinary facilities.  

 Checking a bearded dragon for snake mites.  

 A black-headed boa.  

 Jeremy, the other path extern.  

 An Australian frogmouth.  

 Fish and turtles.  

 Crocodiles.  

 Camo.  

 Paranas.  

 A submarine.  

Last night, I went to trivia night at a local bar.  The last question is worth however many points you wager and I insisted on a certain answer and was right!!  And we won $50.  Unfortunately, I'll be gone next week when they spend the $50, but I was still happy.  And the secretary just walked into our office and said that I'm going to have an interview here next month.  Yeah!