GOOD-BYE 2009!!

Another year has ended. Where did the days, weeks, and months of 2009 go? I was trying to select a favorite adventure from 2009. Obviously, Palo Duro Canyon is the hands down winner. However, of the weekend jaunts, the one which stands out is the trip to the Ouachita National Forest. When asked the question of favorites, Harry selected the journey to Possum Kingdon Lake when we saw all the deer. We've had some good ones, haven't we, Harry?

Catching fish in the river with makeshift gear
Deer walking up to us as though tame
Beautiful, blue Lake Whitney
Hagerman Wildlife Refuge... for a variety of reasons, least of which is the wild boar
Rattlesnakes!! (and wild turkeys)
Daingerfield State Park in its autumn finery
Lake Texoma
.... not to mention the myriad of podunk towns and their churches we love to visit:
     Mineral Wells
     Commerce
     Pilot Point
     Ladonia
Cemeteries with historical figures of yesteryear
Abandoned military forts
Rusted out cotton gins and mills
Buying socks and shoes at a WalMart many counties from 'home' because my feet were frozen and wet after searching for just the right Christmas tree in the woods
....plus so many more I can't list them all!

Most of all, thanks to my compliant, willing, and adventurous navigator without whom these treks would not have been the same. There surely would not have been the laughs, the wrong turns, the sudden stops, the nicked bumpers, nor the same calibre of captured photos.

Thank you for accompanying me when I am too chicken to ride the DART train by myself late at night. Thank you for letting me freeze our tushes off when I drag you to Southlake to take pictures at night. Thank you for insisting if we are going to stop in a small town to eat we should experience the local flavor rather than the recognizable franchise fare. Simply put, thank you for being G.W. ...

Wow!!! I never intended this to turn into a "thank you" ......... oh well. It comes from the heart so I'll let it stay.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! And a great 2010 to all.

Until 2010.....

ONE LAST CHRISTMAS POST

This is a very special Christmas gift; yet another Jim Shore angel. Jim Shore does figurines that feature quilt block designs. One year Harry gave me one of the angels for my birthday. This year he added the Angel of Joy. She is beautiful.

Thank you, Harry. I will cherish her for years to come.

Until another day....

WHITE CHRISTMAS

It started snowing the morning of Christmas Eve. In and of itself, that occurrence is uneventful. Unless you happen to live in Dallas, Texas. We have been treated to the occasional snow flurry on various winter celebrations across the years, but do you know when the last time was that Dallas had snow ON THE GROUND for Christmas? According to the news sources, it was 1926!!

This is what the camera saw this morning after the sun had risen....

This is what the lens saw last night....

It was a first for my son and he loved every second of it. About 11 p.m. we took sleds to the sloping lawn at the nearby community college. The "children" played until we were all so frozen we could barely walk. Playing on a sled was also a first for Ross (the boy is almost 19 years old). It was truly a memorable Christmas. Hope yours was, too!!

Until the next post....

MERRY CHRISTMAS - 2009

Merry Christmas!! Today is made more special by the fact it is SNOWING!! The last time I experienced snow on Christmas Eve was likely in 1965 when I still lived in Wisconsin (we moved to Texas in 1966).

Christmas will be very low-key this year, as has become the norm. It will only be Harry, Janelle, Ross, and me. We will go to Mass today at 4 p.m. and then come back to my house where I will fix the Christmas Eve dinner. This year we are having Tur-duc-hen. Tomorrow morning I will fix breakfast, at which time we will be rejoined by Harry and Janelle so we can open gifts, and then switch houses for Christmas Dinner at Harry's house. Unhurried. Uncomplicated.

The picture below shows the new Christmas decor I made for the kitchen table. Sadly, I only had 2 cloth placemats to my name and decided it was time to change that. (Up until this year I always protected the table from the boys with a vinyl tablecloth. No longer.) One of the 2010 vows will be to make more placemats and tablerunners for my kitchen. Janelle helped make the decisions on which prints and colors. Thank you, Janelle, for your invaluable input.

We put the Christmas tree in a different location this year. It has always been in the diagonally opposite corner, necessitating the rearranging of furniture so that our backs weren't to the tree. Now we can sit comfortably in the chairs to enjoy package opening.

Break time is over. Back to the kitchen I go. I'm making broccoli soup at the moment. Already have the corn casserole assembled and all the pre-dinner snacks ready to put out. I feel organized, but doubt that is the case. I am probably forgetting the most important thing!

And finally, as penned in 1843 by Charles John Huffam Dickens in his ageless, heartwarming tale of redemption, "God bless us every one!"

Until I share the next pictures....

STAY TUNED.....

The forecast is calling for SNOW beginning this morning and ending this evening. I've not seen snowfall on Christmas Eve since I was a young girl living in the Midwest. Stay tuned for updates and possible photographs!

Until later..............

WINTER DARKNESS

Despite the fact it was very cold last night, I'd planned an after-dark outing to take pictures of the Christmas lights in the retail area in the town of Southlake, Texas. I'm still working on taking pictures at night without a flash and continue to get interesting results. The one below is "by accident". It has no redeeming value other than the unique way the leaves of the tree were captured.

I'll keep practicing!

Until after the adventure on Saturday....

GOOD ON A COLD DAY

Thanks to my cousin, Paulette, for sharing this!

Until I take walk-about photos tonight.....

FISH STUFF

I was able to get a photo of one of the baby fish. I have blown the picture up and used the fastest ISO, hence the noise/grain. If you look inside the circle you can just barely make out the fish.

Until new photo ops arise.....

A SECOND SURPRISE

I saw a second baby fish tonight as I fed the aquarium. I saw 2 of them simultaneously so that is how I know it wasn't the same fish.

Until further developments....

A TALE OF TOM SAWYER AND BECKY

Saturday was a beautiful day and thoughts of recent stressful events weighed heavily on my mind. I needed to "get the hell out of Dodge" as I call it when things are bothering me and I need to seek solace in more peaceful surroundings. The plan was to take a lawn chair to Lake Ray Roberts and just relax. We never did use the lawn chairs!

The Texas Parks and Wildlife department runs many Texas State Parks. Unlike in neighboring states, admission is charged per adult to enter the state parks. The fee varies from park to park, anywhere from $2 per person up to $5 per person. (For $5 a person I expect something spectacular like Palo Duro Canyon!)

Lake Ray Roberts State Park between Pilot Point, Texas and Sanger, Texas was of the $5 variety. Why I don't know! There was certainly nothing outstanding in the way of scenery. The only possible explanation is that the park was HEAVILY used. We were there on a windy day; the wind whipping off the lake made the temperature in the upper 60s feel much cooler. But there were people boating, sail boarding, fishing, canoeing, hiking, riding bike trails, riding the equestrian trails, picnicking, and camping. I was there to take photos and relax. We walked around some of the picnic areas and followed a bit along the cement pathways (not my idea of very rustic; even the bike trails were paved in concrete).

The lake itself is nice enough as far as lakes go. The water level was high and the wind was causing white caps far from the shoreline. I preferred the quiet inlets.

Eventually we exited the main park and ventured to the park on the other side of the dam. The lake is a result of damming the Elm Fork of the Trinity River so on the south end of the lake we again found the river. It too was swollen after all the autumnal rains we've experienced, but a quiet canoe launch lured us to its offered calming sights.

And then as fate would have it, things took a turn toward the adventurous. The canoe launch was actually a set of stairs leading to the water. We walked down to the river level.

Testosterone took over or perhaps it was an unfulfilled secret desire from childhood that he wanted to be just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn... who knows!!

First he found a couple of abandoned fishing hooks (including a sinker?) near the railing, as well as one of those rubber worm things. Then he noticed a length of fishing line. He tied the line to the hook and said he needed a stick. As he foraged on the other side of the railing for an appropriate stick, he spied a discarded or lost bobber floating in the water near the edge. After a bit of coaxing he was able to rescue it from the river. In a few minutes he had a line on an improvised pole all rigged up. About that time he noticed a dead minnow floating near the steps of the canoe launch. Using that as bait, he tossed the hook into the river. Just when I finished teasing him about having to go without supper because he hadn't caught our meal, the bobber went under the surface a couple of times and this is what he found when he pulled his line from the water......a white bass.

We laughed so hard!!! The fish was released back into its habitat since we were not exactly prepared to clean and then transport fish.

But Tom Sawyer wasn't yet sated. He found a piece of a dead minnow on the steps and again baited his hook. Now, I firmly believe in that lightening-never-strikes-twice rule, but I'll be danged if within a few minutes another fish hadn't taken the hook! This one managed to escape from the hook and leap back into the water before I could get the camera pointed its direction. At this point I had no option but to agree that my Tom Sawyer had proven he was a capable provider. I felt just like I should be Becky Thatcher looking up through fluttering eyelashes. TOO FUNNY!!

Tempting fate a third time, all that remained for bait was the plastic worm left by the previous owners of the now well-proven hook. After a good 20 minutes of attempting to snag yet another fish, Tom Sawyer decided these fish preferred dining on minnows and we called it a day.

Some memories were made. Some stories were written. Some laughs were shared. Some photos were taken. Life doesn't get much better than this!

Until the next adventure....

A SURPRISE

Oh my!!! I just fed the fish and saw a baby OB Zebra come out for some food. So I guess at least one of them made it. Its dead mama would be proud. I am so excited!

Until I figure out if I am going adventuring tomorrow...

MORE THANKFULNESS

Spent a wonderful afternoon with some of my favorite people. Here is Ross with Janelle.



This guy looks so serious... but he is doing important work!

Until I take more photos....

THANKFUL

There are many things for which to be thankful on any given day. To be thankful on Thanksgiving Day seems a moot point if one's heart is filled with love the other 364 days of the year.

All the same, I am thankful for many things. A few days ago we helped my dad celebrate his 75th birthday. Quite a milestone. We shared a lovely dinner with friends and family. Here are Mom and Dad.

The other morning it was very foggy. I had hoped that the sun would begin streaming through the fog and present some excellent photo opportunities. Sun never happened, but the beauty of the fog was not diminished. I took this photo right before work as I took a brief walk in the park near the office.

Yes, I am thankful for many things.... and although it is hard for me to list them for sharing, those things I cherish are held firmly in my heart. So love to my dear family... love to my friends... and thank you for being part of life!

Until another time...

A DAY OF FIRSTS...

Saturday was a day of firsts... first time to use the new camera; first time to go to Nacogdoches, Texas; first time for Ross to visit his friend Logan at SFA; first time to come face to face with so much of Texas' beginnings.

Nacogdoches, Texas is touted as the "oldest town in Texas" and the only one to "fly under Nine Flags". In other words, Nacogdoches seems to have been the seat of any government under which Texas was ruled prior to modern times. The history of the area goes back to the early 1500s and the Native American tribe known as the Caddo. It is from the Caddo language that the word Texas was originally coined.

We took an instructional stroll through Oak Grove Cemetery, where a veritable smorgasbord of early Texas founding fathers are laid to rest. Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico, fighters at the Battle of San Jacinto, one of the two first U.S. Senators to represent Texas upon its admission to the Union, statesmen who voted to secede from the Union and then went on to be leaders in the Confederacy. It was a course in Texas History to rival any required 7th grade subject.

As for camera time, most was devoted to the drive home. This photo of the swollen Trinity River yielded a surprise or two when uploading from the camera. It seems there are bats on the bridge standards waiting for the right moment to take off into the darkness of night.




This photo was in the Oak Grove Cemetery. This is the base of the largest magnolia tree I've ever seen. It has completely overtaken this family plot and indeed has grown over the marble boundaries.


The remainder of the time was spent playing with silhouettes against the sunset. These were taken through the windshield of the moving vehicle. Full Manual; ISO 400; f/14 (+/- a stop or 2 every now and then to experiment); 1/800 shutter speed.

Until I experiment further with the camera....

I'M A GRANDMA.... X 14!!!!

I have a fish that has stopped eating. Tonight she appears to be taking her last breaths (so to speak). The other fish are picking on her and after consulting my aquarium guru/expert (aka my cousin) he convinced me to flush her so she doesn't get tortured by the others.

I trapped her in the net and then curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know what the black stuff was in her mouth that was obviously preventing her from eating. It looked like rotten leaves. A baby popped out!!! Then I noted the black was still there so shook her (probably to death) until her mouth was clear. In the net I had FOURTEEN baby fish, all about 3/8" in length. These are mouth breeders so I wasn't surprised there were fry in her mouth.... just that she had so many. She is also no bigger than 2 or 2-1/2 inches in length so she seemed too small to be breeding.

I couldn't grab my camera, but someone posted this picture on the web and I borrowed it to show what the fry look like... and I sincerely apologize for not recognizing the owner of the pic. It was not labeled.

As I released them into the tank the big fish took after them like piranhas. I did see a few hiding in the rocks and in the plants. Perhaps one or two will make it.

At least I don't have to change diapers!!!



Until I can try to take a photo....

UPGRADE

I upgraded. I went from this.....



To this....

Because this.... (approx. 1.5" screen)

Is now this..... (3" LCD screen)

And my eyes, which give me so much trouble, are thankful. I upgraded for no other reason. And as luck would have it, Canon happens to be offering an upgrade rebate right now. Life is good.

Until I can take more photos....

SHADES OF AUTUMN

Heading: East
Region: Piney Woods
Destination: Daingerfield State Park
Location: Daingerfield, Texas

A sampling of what we saw. The sky was clear; the colors glorious. Oh that it could stay this crisp and clear year 'round.

Until I post again....