TOTALLY RANDOM WEEKEND

This guy (or gal) was on the ceiling of my porch last night. I grabbed the camera. This was the best I could do since he was on a surface many feet above my head. I used the telephoto zoom lens.



Ended up driving to Oklahoma. It was so long since I'd been out of the state of Texas that tears of joy came to my eyes as I crossed the state line. I was thrilled. Not that I hate Texas; crossing into Oklahoma felt like a true getaway! Took a drive through the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge again (on the Texas side of Lake Texoma). Here are the Great Egrets which are very common and high in number.

A Great Blue Heron. We saw quite a few of these large birds. The wingspan is approximately 6 feet.

Some of the flora.

Practicing stop action as the waves crashed against rocks.

Here is yet another Gena "accident" shot. I saw the shot of the lake framed between the trees with the rocks in the foreground and thought "terrific". Just as I snapped the picture a sailboat entered the frame. How was I to know this was going to be one of my favorite shots of the entire adventure!

Rusty silos at a cotton gin (still in operation).

From the truck as we drove to Dallas Farmer's Market. Apparently something about RUST appeals to my senses because I find it of great interest in photographs.

Until the next post.....

NEW CHAPTER .....OR NEW BOOK????

I can't decide. In many ways it is some of both... chapter and book. For both of us!

I cried.

For many reasons.

I cried with worry that I'd forgotten to tell or teach so many things he'd need to know about being on his own. I cried because I'd have given anything to be the one embarking on a collegiate adventure. I cried because I will miss him. I cried because I love him.

Mostly I cried because this was not what I had on my mind in that first instant I laid eyes on ... and fell in love with .... him 18+ years ago. I wasn't ready for this day to be here. It was much too soon.

We still had more Little League practices and games. We still had more homework to do. More science projects to complete. More scraped knees to bandage. More rehearsals to get to. More miles to put on the "taxi". More tears to dry after a break-up. More confidence to bolster after a bombed test.

And then there were no more. Today was the day.... no longer a little boy living at home with his mommy.

Did I mention I am proud of him? My college freshman!!

Now I need to "un-nest"... to purge. I agree it is the opposite of nesting before a new baby arrives, as my sister pointed out.

I want to get rid of all the tattered furniture that was never replaced because the boys were too rough and tumble for new. I don't need 4 extra beds. I don't need 5 night stands. I don't need all the chests of drawers. I don't need all the plastic drinking glasses that were collected from ballgames, school events, outings at fast-food chains, and 7-11. I don't need multiple clothes baskets in the laundry room for sorting which clean clothes go to which room. I can get rid of the faded beach towels, the grease-stained rags, the cans of touch-up paint "in case one of the boys nicks the wall", etc.

Yes, it is time to de-clutter.

Until the dust settles....

IMPROMPTU ESCAPE

It had been a while since we'd hit the open road and headed to an unknown destination. Last Saturday afforded the opportunity for adding a county courthouse to the ever-growing file of Texas courthouses. This is the courthouse in Hillsboro, Texas - seat of Hill County. [Note: there are 250+ counties in Texas. At last count I had photos of 51 courthouses. That is only 20%! I don't imagine it will be any time soon that I get all 254 of them.]



Another 19th century architectural showcase.



Playing with foreground blur in a photo.

Then it was on to Lake Whitney. This is what we saw under the brush in the McGown area operated by the Corps of Engineers. Quite a few deer were visible despite the noon hour and the high temperatures.

This is the lake with the lowest water level due to drought in all of Texas at the present time. Lake Whitney is 12 feet low as of this writing. The yellow "pipes" are actually floating devices to indicate the safe swimming area when the lake level is much higher. The white things on the beach are buoys with 8 - 12 foot chains fastened to the dry beach. However, this is a beautiful lake. White rocks line the sandy shores. The water is clear and you can see the sandy bottom before the water becomes deep. Clear, blue lakes are not very prevalent in North Texas. The lake closest to Dallas is a murky green-brown at best with no underwater visibility.

This catfish was no doubt a tasty meal. Interesting how the skeleton is intact.

The beautiful sandy beach.

These stumps were not used to the drying rays of the sun. They are typically under many feet of water.

Many wild critters seem fascinated with these protrusions from the sand. Tracks of deer, raccoons, and coyotes wove in and out of the bleached wood.

Abbott, Texas.... birthplace of Willie Nelson. The small-town greeting on the prominently placed marquee conveys to the astute visitor the diminutive size of the town.

This grocery store proudly mentions Willie's name.

This is more for my boys than anything. This defunct department store in Corsicana, Texas displays their surname. (No relation to the previous owners is known).

Until the next adventure.....

NIGHT-TIME QUIRKINESS

A couple of weeks ago my side-kick and I headed to the light rail station and boarded the train northbound to Downtown Plano. We intentionally departed around sunset so I could capture photos of the area at night. I used full "M"anual and no flash. The most fun part of photography [to me] is experimenting with the settings and the various combinations.

Downtown Plano, Texas is a lively place at night. You can hear laughter coming from open air patios as patrons listen to music and share meals. The downtown area has been revitalized as a result of the rail station. A repeat visit is definitely on the agenda!

Until a little later when I post photos from my weekend travels....

MANY MILES OF ROAD

Last weekend I left Dallas headed to the West Texas panhandle for a mini-vacation. It was 1,092 miles of pure relaxation and adventure. We stopped to take pictures of 17 county courthouses. I won't share them here as they are a topic all their own. These pictures will be scenery and other interesting highlights of the trek.

In addition to the 17 courthouses, I was able to add 6 more hat pins to the collection on my camera gear bag.

This first picture was a row of wind towers in a field of growing cotton. These electricity-generating towers are numerous in the flat plains of West Texas. They are very majestic in my opinion. They do little in the way of marring the scenery and turn so gracefully. Of course, each blade on the propeller can be as long as 60 feet, so even moving fast they still appear to move slowly!


By early evening we were at our overnight destination of Turkey, Texas. It is known for little more than the birthplace of Bob Wills and the annual Bob Wills Festival in his honor each April. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys are a big thing in these parts. They defined western swing in the early days.


Surprisingly, the new rage seems to be restoring old gas stations. Before arriving in Turkey where this Phillips 66 is located, we'd already seen 2 H.C. Sinclair station restorations in other cities.

This is the entrance to the Turkey Hotel. We were the only guests the night we stayed. It is the headquarters for the surviving members of the Texas Playboys when they come to town for the annual festival. Each room has a different theme.... cowboy, sweet rabbits, railroad, Gone with the Wind, etc. George and Laura Bush supposedly have stayed in the Gone with the Wind suite.

To make this even more of an adventure, we went to the drive-in outside of Turkey. We were the oldest patrons. Gone are the days of pulling the speaker box into the car and hooking it on the window. Now you tune your car radio to a specific frequency to get the movie audio. Clever!!

After leaving Turkey the next morning, we entered Caprock Canyons State Park - home of the state bison herd which are direct descendants of the Goodnight herd. (Goodnight of Goodnight-Loving trail fame). His family ranched much of the area in the canyon on his J A Ranch.

More of the exquisite rock formations.

This formation is the "signature" rock of the Caprock Canyons Park. Caprock Canyons State Park is at the south end of the Palo Duro Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon State Park is at the north end. The canyon itself is over 120 miles long and is considered the second largest canyon in the United States - the Grand Canyon of Arizona of course being the largest.

As we were leaving the park we noticed 2 roadrunners by the entrance sign. One immediately ran into the brush, but this one posed for the camera. If you click on the picture it might enlarge so you can see the roadrunner more easily.

We drove along the rim of the canyon, which is called the Escarpment, from one end to the other. Coming around a bend we found this beautiful lake... Lake Mackenzie.

As we drove this vantage point was beyond description. I literally stopped the car in the middle of the highway to take a picture. (No worries.... sometimes we drove miles before passing or even seeing another vehicle.)

We made it to Palo Duro Canyon State Park and checked into the office. We spent the night in a stone cabin on the rim of the canyon. As we took our luggage from the car to the cabin this six-striped lizard greeted us on the portico outside the front door.

This was the view from the front portico.

Sunset lengthening the shadows across the canyon.

The next morning we went to Elkins Ranch for a chuckwagon breakfast. Jeeps drove us down to the cowboy camp and I couldn't resist the urge to keep shooting pictures. It felt like we were going straight down. You can barely make out the Jeep on the trail in front of us.

After we had our fill of cowboy grub ...literally.... biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, fruit, ham, coffee..... we were entertained by Ed Montana (he has a YouTube video) and Hodie "Longbow" Porterfield. We had a very diversified group. There were quite a few visitors from Europe. Some spoke little or no English. There was even a family who are parishioners at my church! Small world.

The view from the picnic table as we listened to the entertainment.

The entire time we were at the campsite they kept reminding us not to stray from underneath the awning because of all the unfriendly critters. As we were leaving to board the Jeeps to get back "up top" as they call it, all of the sudden 2 of the cowboys pulled their REAL pistols and each took a shot. Seems a western diamondback rattlesnake was trying to join the party. After shooting the snake... which was still wiggling... one of the cowboys picks up a shovel and cuts off the head, and then tosses the remains(?) carcass (?) in the trash. Some of the people thought it was part of the show, but we were assured it was not... that rattlers are taken very seriously in these parts and their danger would never be trivialized by adding them to a show. This picture below was the entrance to the Elkins Ranch for breakfast. It is a working ranch... meaning they still have cattle and the like on the property.

One last drive around the rim of the canyon before we headed back home. This gorgeous home is inside a gated community on one part of the escarpment. Oh to live in that house! The view must be breath-taking!

My favorite picture of the entire trip..... we had seen several dead snakes on the road as we drove to our destination, but this time I stopped to look. Yup... a dead rattler. I should have cut off the rattle for a keepsake, but I chickened out.

We saw a great deal of wildlife. We were driving along and found 3 bucks standing on the side of the road. We saw does, jackrabbits, bison, longhorns, roadrunners, snakes, hawks, dead boars on the side of the road, and more. All in all the trip was WONDERFUL and I'd do it all over again if given the opportunity. It was really sad to head back to Dallas. [Addendum: I forgot to mention the mother and young wild turkeys I nearly hit with the car as they crossed the road. I assumed they would fly away as I approached. they didn't.... ]

Until I get over enjoying these pictures enough to take some more.....