UPDATE AT LAST

Exactly 6 months have passed since I last shared some photos and adventures. WOW!! Much has happened in the interim. I've gone to many events, walked hundreds of miles (literally), and had many changes take place in my life. Mostly positive, too! Let's get to the good stuff... the adventures and photographic evidence.

There was a street festival in Hillsboro, Texas and this was seen along the highway as we drove to the venue. My love affair with rust is well documented by now.



In September and October we went to the State Fair of Texas multiple times. I had free passes and I used the opportunity to put many miles on my pedometer and walking shoes. In the past, we always rode the Texas Star at night. This year it was such a clear day I wanted to ride in sunlight. Here is the Dallas skyline taken from the car of the Ferris wheel.

Many pretty colors on the ground below.

I've never ridden Bumper Cars, but those who braved the foray looked and sounded like they were having a blast.

Big Tex is the voice of the fair. He greets the visitors with friendly banter and his traditional "Howdy, folks".

Each evening after dark there is a laser light show and fireworks display along the reflecting pool and fountains. This year I challenged myself to capture decent photos.

The heat from the pyrotechnics could be felt at quite some distance.

As the fall weather began to settle in, we attended an annual Bluegrass Festival in a nearby community park. Musicians simply show up with their instruments and start jamming with each other. It was a wonderful day.

Then H's daughter and her boyfriend came to town from the gulf coast and again we went to the State Fair. Every year there is a contest among the food vendors to develop the tastiest fried goody. This year featured Fried Bubblegum and other artery-clogging snacks. This pictured below is Fried Peanutbutter and Jelly Sandwich, a winner from a prior year.

Our young adults braved the torture of the wildest rides they could find.

I sat in the shade taking photos of everything around me while they stood in line for rides.

And then, our brave, fearless kiddos opted to go on one last, "tame" ride. Every one of them got off the Swing ride dizzy and sick to the stomach. Too funny!!

How's this for a crew??

Look at the steak on this big boy!!!!

The Longhorn cattle were arriving for their competition the next day. These young longhorns didn't have a care in the world as long as someone kept them supplied in hay.

Then I saw him. A brand new, baby longhorn.... complete with baby-sized horns. He was so young they didn't even bother to tether him to anything. He wasn't about to leave mama's side.

Finally he decided to do some posing for me. He got up and nudged his mama with the signal he wanted to eat. He wasn't too sure what I was doing.

Bath time. After the cattle arrive in their trailers, the young contestants take them to the washing area for a good scrubbing. The cattle don't seem to mind one bit.

One of the main reasons I went to the Fair a third time was to see Randy Travis on the last weekend of the event. I have always wanted to see him but had never paid the steep ticket price. All this cost was the price of admission at the fair gate. Randy Travis was excellent.

A week or so ago, there was a Hot Air Balloon Festival in a nearby community. I've always wanted to attend the Balloon Glow after dark, but in the 2 previous attempts to see the sight, the wind was uncooperative and the event had to be cancelled. This time I watched the weather closely and decided Friday night was the night.... I was not disappointed on my third attempt.

Last weekend we attended a street festival in yet another neighboring community. It was low-key, fun, and provided many hours of merriment and walking.

After the extraordinary heat of the summer and the unprecedented lack of rainfall, autumn colors are practically non-existent this year. These photos below are about as good as it's going to get this fall.

And last night was the final night of the horse racing season in this area. We went to enjoy the sights. None of us won any wagers on the horses, but both H and my cousin won drawings for $50 gift cards.

For the most part, that gets me caught up. There are many Christmas festivals and celebrations around the corner. Thanksgiving is nearly here, too. Will try to be better about sharing adventures throughout the remainder of the year. Thanks for stopping by.

Until I decide to spend more time blogging...

RESTORATION

The other day severe storms blew through the area right at rush hour. Naturally. By 7:00PM the storms were ended and the calm beauty of Nature was restored just as the sun was sinking. Here is the sunset.

.... and a few minutes later.

I could have taken many more photos, but I'd pulled over to the side of the street and had some place to be within the next few minutes. At least I was able to capture this much.

Until the next post...

RATHER FISHY (if you ask *me*)

Lately the fish population in my aquarium has been exploding! This is the culprit. He seems to be the only (and very prolific) male among 4 similarly sized OB Zebras. In the past weeks three of the females have either "had" their babies or are about to spew them forth. The male below has been displaying this vibrant coloring for the entire duration. The picture doesn't do justice to the iridescent blue he flashes as he swims.



Here is proof of his spawning abilities.... newly arrived baby cichlid; no bigger than 1/4" long.

Recently I was gifted with a card to use at my favorite fish store. Today I used the gift card to add some color other than the orange blotch. This is a powder blue cichlid and he (or she) is gorgeous.

Another addition: yellow lab. I have a lone yellow lab and decided it was time to add some potential mates.

More demasoni cichlids. For some reason it is very difficult to keep these alive. But I keep trying.

This is a red jewel cichlid. Another gorgeous show of colors. Turquoise spots against a reddish-salmon color.

Naturally after adding the fish to the tank I had to take photos. The challenge of capturing the details of the fish with clarity as they swim is overpowering at times.

Until the next time...

SPRING FLOWERS

The other day I was the lucky recipient of 2 spring floral bouquets; one from my parents and the other from my sister. There are definitely some advantages to having a birthday in springtime. Here I share some of the photos. I was playing with closeups without benefit of a macro lens.

Beautiful lilies!

Look at the fallen pollen on the petal. Wow! No wonder we sneeze so much in the spring.

Lime green flowers. I once saw a rose this color at the Tyler Rose Festival.

Several weeks ago I noticed some female cichlids in my aquarium were incubating fry in their mouths. This weekend I discovered they had been released and were hiding in the plants and rocks. Trying to take their photos proved more than a bit difficult. I tried numerous times without much success. Manual focus is the best way to shoot.... but even though this photo below is very out of focus, I loved the colors.

Finally I was able to capture a tiny fish among the leaves. Total length is about 1/4 inch!

It's been an eventful few days.... depending on your perspective. I broke a tooth over the weekend; visited the dentist this morning to learn the best he could do was pull the dang thing. Not very good news, but at least I was able to get into the dentist quickly. Hopefully the residual pain will subside in a few hours.

Until another day....

A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY....

I reached my 56th year earlier this week. I celebrated by taking a day off work (I never take vacation so I decided this year I will at least take a day here and there for "me") and going to the Dallas Zoo. I hadn't made a return visit in several years and was anxious to see the new exhibits being heavily advertised. Besides, it was a great excuse for toting the camera gear.

The last time we went to the Zoo, it was a very cold, winter day. I think there were a total of ten visitors that day. Needless to say, many of the animals had stayed indoors rather than brave the elements like their stupid human counterparts. So last time there were no gorillas to photograph. This time I headed to their habitat first! I share now a brief "show" of what was seen. No commentary necessary.

And that was that!

Until another post...