The Pneumatic Nail Guns are going wild with no end in sight.

Four years ago I still recall thinking: is there any empty ground available in Dallas? Since then, I have seen 30-40 houses built on a half block empty lot. Same thing, where a couple of warehouses once stood. Two empty lots and a for sale sign next to one of the lots. About a year later, a 8,000 sq foot home stood on the two lots and the third one with a house on it was bulldozed down giving enough area to build the 8K square foot home. This sight has gone on for the past four years since I really started paying attention to the need for new homes and we have not even begun to go back in the archives and check on the massive residential apartments pattern, although I can say that when I came back to Dallas, apartments were three stories. Then they stood four stories. Then five. This past weekend, I came across not one, but several projects where six stories are now a pretty common sight on the current horizon. 

I recall my mom telling me about the new DFW airport. Then she told me about the expansion of a couple of terminals. I flew into DFW to visit mom and my brothers. Downtown was building the tower with the 7 story hole in the center. The Bank of America building was just then going up. I viewed that from the 50th floor of my sister-in-laws office that provided the view next door. Then, the developments began of the land that was DFW owned surrounding the runways and operational field. Larger than Manhattan, This piece of property with 7- active runways. with the plans for number 8 are there already. When you see the layout of the runways, one can see clearly where number 8 could, should, would go in the future. The airport property on the North end of the airport is filled and construction has been going on for sometime now with large warehouses on the South end. The growth it generated has now shifted toward the south properties of the airport. Some 40 years later continues today and is spreading throughout the Metroplex. Of course, the hay fields between the airport property and the George Bush Turnpike are covered in black roofs of new homes now. 

Now, with the TEXrail line complete and active from Ft. Worth to terminal B at the big airport. The Silver Line, DART's  love,  currently under construction from the northern corridor across the old Cotton Belt rail lines, will arrive to Terminal B as Dallas' cousin to the TEXrail it will park along side. Dallas' Dart light rail system has been active for a few years, already next door and a short foot walk from Terminal  B  to Terminal A. But, that was the genesis of were this story really began and actively continues to this day. Dallas really started growing after DFW's ground breaking, the active charcoal that turns raw meat into BBQ so to speak. Developers have been hot on the rail path ever since.  Where the rail lines are, the developments follow in short order. It's happening at Dart's Lake Highland Station. It's happening at Dart's City Line Station. Along the Silver Line construction path. The end of the line at I-20 were the UNT (University of North Texas, Denton) built it's southern campus, the area is seeing growth and construction not seen in years. In fact, nearly twenty years ago while doing some research for a Fortune 50 company near downtown Dallas, I had ask one developer where would they be silently grabbing up property 20 years from then. His answer was, twenty miles north of McKinney. Jokingly, said to the developer,"not much land left to the Red River". His rely to that was a wake up call. He then said, "I'm not worries about the Red River. Engineers design and build bridges to solve that problem of keeping my customers' feet dry". South Dallas has paid a price in some ways, but the tides are turning in that direction, finally. The growth isn't as fast as it has been to the North. It seems more still believe in Santa Clause than we thought.

Today, downtown Dallas has it's 5th green space park that just opened. Deep Ellum has it's first high rise in the past couple of years with several more high rises following it's completion. Now, Texas Department of Transportation just held  one of a few more public meetings to discuss their desire to tear down the I-45 stretch that connects US Highway 75 (Central Expressway) and I-35E via the Woodall Rodgers expressway that reconnected downtown with Uptown District with the highly successful Klyde Warren Park built over the top of Woodall Rodgers. If the I-45 flyways are eliminated are placed sub-terrain, it will re-unite Deep Ellum with downtown.   I just hope there are enough nails to fill those pneumatic nail guns where ever the next project pops up and the supply chain is strong enough to support another 40 year growth that now includes suburban growth as it connects to the mother ship, Dallas/Ft/ Worth Airport.

Discovered the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Two years ago when I sold my car and started riding the bus and trains, there were bits of apprehension that I would not be able to cover  the same amount of ground as I did with my wagon wheel while driving. Each spoke of the wagon wheel was a 18-mile trip up, 6 miles across and back the other side of the 18-mile spoke. In 6-8 weeks I could cover the entire Metroplex and all 5 counties. 

Thursday, on one of my discovery missions, I happened, by chance, to take a bus that I normally do not use. Because of the delays that the shortage of bus drivers has caused nationwide, I used the bus mentioned above. Within the first 20-minutes of the route I was sitting up and paying great attention to the route. The overall route was about and hour and a quarter to a half and had filled in 18 pieces of the puzzle that I had not been able to complete thus far since starting the use of the bus and trains. 

Once home, I was able to look at the GPS locations and compare them to what I had been able to cover in the past via car. As it now stands, there is only one big void that I cannot cover at present. However, if the bullet train gets built in the next three years, I might be able to cover that area before I start pushing up daisies. Already, for the duration of the upcoming summer and early fall, it should be a good shoot season with this discovery.

Having been a bike rider for years prior to my hospital stays my new bike was almost without miles  with only a couple of small trips. Then, due to medical errors in the hospital, I had to walk with a cane for nearly 6 months and as I healed, my balance was a bit off so I left the bike at home and walked  to strengthen leg mussels. Even though all the buses and trains have bike carriers. So, as the bike sat in my living room, moving it back and forth to vacuum I got a couple of snakebites in the tubes. If I decide that I want to see if I can still ride, getting the tire tube issues repairs will need to come first. Health wise, I'm in excellent shape if the balance issue proves that it is safe to return to riding, then I will. Ideally, it would be even greater to cover even more ground in a joint venture with bus-train riding with biking. We will see how some of this works out. I will not over do and end up back in the hospital for sure. 

This past month has been a great month of better than normal sales since the pandemic. Things seem to be recovering and as I tell my brother, "once you create the beast you have to feed it". In this case, with new and creative shots that graphic people like to use. 

I'm back to shooting 100-150 images on each outing again. That seems to be a lot after the pandemic slowed things, then my hospital stays was more rowdy to keep things slow, but the past couple of months the images are turning out pretty well. I did have a technical problem with the big camera that I didn't notice was happening, but I have since corrected that issue.

It's been house cleaning time with both the web pages and the blog page. Yet, I've cleanedup of things for our viewers and readers. Outside of not having any problems staying busy, I'm blessed by the Grace of the Lord. 

Stay tuned. It has really been a good year thus far. Hopefully, you might enjoy some of the things we will be working on this summer.

It's Time to Shellebrate again on Monday, May 23, 2022

 It is  International World Turtle Day!! We have helped shellebrate the past 5 years. Don't forget this coming Monday, May 23rd.  The American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) will answer any questions that you have with, or without a donation.

This year image is of a bale of turtles on Dallas' Uptown neighborhood's Turtle Creek

A bale of turtles on a concrete bar in Turtle Creek in Dallas' Uptown neighborhood. Yes, its the green belt along side Turtle Creek Blvd.

I remember my Wallgreen turtle my grandmother bought me. Those were the days when the five and dime stores had parakeets, fish, and turtles.

Another New High in North Texas Gas

Time Stamp 06:13:47

05/19/2022

What?

It was 73°F

 

 

 Sure Hope the sign is right and a million barrels a day from the Fed's reserve slows things down. Sure hope it slows things down. Know what I mean,Vern?  You know what I mean,Vern. Vern, knows what I mean.

New Place to get your feet wet.

 It's funny how one thing leads to another that was better than the first intention. Such was the case yesterday.There is a new place to get your feet wet in downtown Dallas in the new Carpenter Park. It is the 5th green space in downtown, but this one, changes the view of the skyline in many different ways. Not only does it favor the triangle that runs off the Main, Elm, Commerce corridor, it includes a lot of the new buildings that are filling in a lot of empty spaces. (To bad, Amazon. This space could have held your search for a new home.) 

Not only does space provide a great walking area around the park, but contains a great dog area; a basketball court; plenty of new tables and chairs with wood benches in other areas. Two water splash areas and a very powerful fountain that shoots into the air. There are public restrooms that are clean, vendors being lined up for food trucks. The old John Carpenter statue that had been in storage is now in prominent view. 

This park is across from the East Transit Center which has been shaken out of its sleep and is active and convenient. The office tower lunch crowds now have a place where they can sit on a hillside lawn or use the table and chairs and benches and then go for a scenic green space walk on their lunch breaks. There are also rocks in which you can yoga and balance beams hued out of solid trees trunks that you can climb or just sit and swing your legs. 

Etnies Skatepark vs. Garland's new park

 Etnies is the largest free skate park in California. It stands now at 62000 square feet. Garland's new park while still under construction is a 40000 square foot park. For comparison, one acre is 43500 square feet. 

Record Fuel Prices for North Texas---

 and other light tidbits.  While the weather has also been in the news with near record breaking heat, it was time to get out and walk. It seems to fit me best when I do at least three good walks in the 4-6 mile range. Plus, relearning all the changes that DART has made in bus routes has brought on so new discovery missions that has generated a lot of editing of images and listing with agents. 

There are some good side effects---like yesterday when I ended up at Jimmy's Burgers next to the DPS Mega Center in Garland after my stop across the street at Garland Camera. I could spent the better part of a day there, just checking out all the new technology in cameras. Jimmy's makes a big burger almost like the old Holland House up in the Great Lakes. That burger was as large as a dinner plate! No joke! Jimmy's isn't that big (about half of that) but the taste of Hickory BBQ is sooooo good. 

I went past the new skateboard park that Garland is building. It's doubled the size since I was last there and they are still building the thing! Prepare for traffic jams when it opens! Even the kids, their dads and even some grandpa's are chomping at the bit to get in there and try it out.  Etnies Skate Park in Lake Forest, California is this parks equal. or this one in Garland is based on Etnies park. Cannot wait to check it out in action. 

Before that, I had started out on the Red line going back up to City Line to check out the construction of the new Silver Line. Last week I was checking out Addison's Silver Line station and it appears that Addison is running a bit ahead of City Line although City Line 

 

has more bridge work to carry the train across US75 Central Expressway after it leaves the station on its way to DFW. The other note was all the apartment construction along the rail lines, be it the new Silver Line or Dart light rail in Richardson, Plano, Garland and Dallas. The projects are just amazing and mind blowing so-to-speak.

The Four Factor In Play.

 Normally, I shoot 90 percent of my images from a hand-held position. Sure, I use a tripod. That's the other 10 percent. Having said that---this afternoon after shooting all afternoon at Addison Circle, I took the next bus that rounded the circle and ended up at Downtown Plano station. This was alright. Hop the red line or orange line to Spring Valley and catch one more bus home. As they say in the 'ole dugout at the ball park, " reposition". I like the Midtown Manhattan version, though, "You'll have that from time to time. Yes you will".

Never-the-less, I did what I normally don't do, I shot images on a bouncing and bumpy bus. So  to the four young men that were super sports, trying to compress four live humans into a space with an isle and bouncing and rocking back and fourth, my hat goes off to you guys for being the part  that really made the shot... starry eyes and closed ones too. It was a fun encounter and I thank you all.  The flowers are for you to give you mothers on Mother's Day with your compliments.

Yesterday in Downtown

I rode the new #3 bus from Mockingbird Station downtown yesterday. I don't always like using the train underground from Mockingbird to City Place and finally end up on Pacific Avenue  as the train comes topside again.

It gave me a chance to see Ross Avenue developments that has totally transformed it from a decade ago. At the West End Station, I go off and hit the street heading toward Fountain Place. Then, it was just a meandering tour of all the changes from the west end of Ross avenue eastward through the Arts District when I meet a couple from India that were touring Dallas. As it turned out, the wife was a doodle artist and showed me a couple of here drawings that were absolutely amazing. I did give them my last business card that I had in my camera bag and I do hope that she sends me an email and how I can use a couple of her drawings. I can already see a couple of projects that would fit right in. I don't have any vectors and would like a show a couple.

From there it was to Cathedral Guadalupe where I timed it perfectly as  the bells peeled for 15 minutes. As they wound down, the space between the bells as they tolled elongated and because somber and fading. It's been a long time since I have heard Cathedral bells peal like that. Got some interesting shots of all the new construction and how things have become more dense.

 

A First to See This

 Over the years, I have seen a lot of things that are unusual. Some were a bit scary. Others were rather comical. Even enough rarity to bust out laughing. In those events, there has been times when I stumbled upon a guy playing his trumpet under a bridge to get the reverbs off the concrete. Just a couple of weeks ago I photographed a professional violinist on the cultural state at the Deep Ellum  Arts Festival. I ran across a Mexican Mariachi band playing under the west ramp of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge; a high school marching band when a Parliament Member from Italy was being honored on the Ron Kirk Pedestrian Bridge and Felix Lozada Gateway (Continental Avenue Bridge c.1929) but never, until today have I seen this! It was not only unusual. It was inspiring to see a young man practicing his violin while rollerblading around a school and adjacent park. Because the young man was a minor and had no adult parent with him, I could only photograph him with his back to the camera under editorial photos published guidelines. I did tell him how to find his image later tonight for his parents or his friends. With that said, I give you a talented student that was pretty good at both rollerblading and playing the violin, albeit all at the same time.