Bluebonnets and Caution Alert

Every year people grab their babies and toddlers and plop them down in a patch of bluebonnets and then leave them as they focus their cameras. While the moment is not only precious for the memory book and that favorite picture of your cute pet, you need to be aware and exercise caution.The snakes are already crawling and I've seen some big ones like this guy, too!

Since the mid part of February, this is the third one that I have seen this year already. They are crawling folks. They love the bluebonnet patches and don't think for a second that where you are it's okay to sit baby down on the ground. A word to the wise. 

 

All six species of blue bonnets are included in the Legislation of 1901 that made the bluebonnet, Texas' sate flower. Every thing is bigger in Texas...that's why we have six state flowers and they are all Lupinus species.

They should be around about another two to three weeks depending on the weather.

A Mid-Autumn Picnic Lunch, Pelican Flights and A Unicyclist with Dogs

It felt pretty good to discover that I had slept in this morning for an additional three hours. But, with today being the last day for more than the next ten days below today's forecast of 68-72 degrees with sunshine, I crawled out of bed, did my morning routine, took my meds, checked mail and other light task, packed my lunch in the picnic bag that is insulated and headed out the door.

It was delightful and at times, the approaching cold front was  pre-mixing some cool air at times. In reality, I think that the wind was changing directions as the low pressure approached from the Northwest. Still, the air temperature and gentle breeze was just the way that I like this time of year.

Having eaten a full breakfast before leaving the house, I had planned to have lunch about two in the afternoon. As it turned out, it was more like a later regular lunch hour.  For these lunches this time of year, I like to eat at the picnic tables on the patio of the cabin at Sunset Bay. That's were the pelicans hang out before they scatter for fishing trips or after lunch thermal riding. Much to my surprise, it hit me that all the color that I like to look at while eating was already spent. The trees were brown and barren. Just two weeks ago the colors were at peak and really amazing. But, I had forgotten we have had some strong winds, heavy rains and that brought down the leaves that I have been walking through the past two weeks. Where the time went I will never know. It has been a busy time for me with other things to do in addition to the pictures. The car problems took up a week or so. The state inspection took up a day. There was a doctor in there some where and a couple of days spent in the house when the weather was just plain mean. Trying to recall the number of times that I have said to myself---"we just can't catch a break anywhere"; the times that was said could not be accurately tallied. It has been a rough year weather wise.

The squirrel came down and visited while I ate.

Pelicans were riding thermal currents already.

The editorial image of the day was a unicycle rider "walking" his two dogs. 

The Heat

Today was the 16th day of 100F or above--mostly well above. Here is the official National Weather Service Record at DFW International:

June had 4 days of 100 degrees F.

July 1 @ 102F
July 2 @ 100
July 3 @ 101
Then----

July 14 @ 100
July 15 @ 100
July 16 @  101
July 17 @ 104
July 18 @ 106
July 19 @ 108
July 20 @ 108
July 21 @ 109
July 22 @ 109

The rest of this coming week will be at 100 to 104 and it will not be until next Monday that we see temps fall back to 95.

Traditionally we get 18 days of 100-degrees F a year. It's just not as oppressive as this has been.The overnight temps never fall back below 80 and this morning, it was 85 just starting the daylight hours off.

Still, I have started out early and head for the barn at 4 hours or 100 which ever comes first. Tonight, I went outside at 9 to watch the space station cross Dallas, but the heat was still at 103 at 9 pm. Plus there was some blotchy clouds right over the path. I could see the moon and the evening star but the space station which at this time of year is usually visible for 6 minutes as it crosses the sky, was obscured.

So, I came back inside not so disappointed ---just glad that 6 minutes went so fast. There were lots of pictures to submit from the week after editing. Some interesting ones so be sure to check out the website's last tab and click on the portfolio under those that are linked. I do not have Dreamstime linked and  Featurespic and Alamy are listed on the blog so click that on as well.

I have been down to the Convention Center twice as Mary Kay Seminars began on Friday and run through August 4th.

This is next to my Kroger store. A lady stepped on the accelerator rather than the brake and drove into the Dry Cleaners. It was reported that she hit some equipment as well and that was the reason for the HazMat Crew Once they arrived on scene, the police and fire truck left and went back into servcie.

The is not your average cell tower. It sits atop a massive high tension power line net work which is like twice as high as a normal cell phone relay tower. But, the most amazing thing here is that all the Purple Martin Swallows (the largest of swallows) are lined up on  the lightening wires but if you go to 100% you will see as many inside the reply pods on braces, wires and even on the relays at various points. In short. There are birds all over the place within the structure. The monk parots normally nest there in the winter because of the heat it generates. They were flying around chattering like crazy and  were not happy that the martins had taken over.

 

This bunny I found today. It is the second one that I have seen this week and birds have been highly successful as well. From the Road Runner at the National Cemetery to the Red Tail Hawk chasing the crows out of his territory yesterday. SO, I can only conclude that the hot weather has had its effect on nature's critters including the snakes that have tried to get to cooler places. I almost stepped on a 5 footer a couple of days ago. Snakes do good things for enviroments, but they are not my favorite little helper. I would just as soon to not see any.

A Perfect Day--Almost

Another awesome spring day. Somewhere down the line, we will pay for this. In fact, as I write this,  severe thunderstorms hit the DFW area tonight and an unconfirmed tornado got very close to home. But, as spring storms go in Texas, big hail pelted several areas tonight with baseball size hail and tennis ball size and golf ball size hailstones. It sounds a lot like a sporting event and it's never fun to loose at that game.

But, as yesterday went, it just was a delight to be outside. Several people that I see regularly were telling me that that have started to follow my blog. That set the tone for a continuation of  what I do as a hobby but also inspired me to find new and interesting things both at the lake and throughout my little wagon wheel circuit of the DFW area.

The one thing about White Rock that draws me there so much is the eclectic happenings from people to things, to wildlife, to the total absurd like hearing the steamboat whistle in the difference and knowing that it is a steamboat whistle and also knowing, there is no way a steamboat is on this lake and yet, there it was. One heading right at me. In fact, the Dallas Morning News did an article on the guy.

It was the 7th season for the White Rock Paddle Company appeared on the scene. I stopped by briefly to tell the guys, Happy Seventh! I still remember the day that Amy in here pink ball cap let me take her picture and I posted on my new blog about that. The business has really gone through the ceiling of success since those early days of  rentals.

So, I will post one from three different events that I saw through my viewfinder during the course of the day.

Meet Peanut. I had just complimented her about her dress.

A "SUP"  takes in a view of a sail boater with the sun hitting the water at that super angle this time of year.

This is the second accident at this intersection in two days. The second car wasn't as bad as this one's front end from the looks of what I saw.

Churchill and Napoleon: A Lesson in Two Dogs--Well,Three

The White Rock Boat House c.1934

The French and the English are connected through bloodlines that bind them  for more than two thousand years through  tribes of  Kelt's. Rome tried to conquer England in what? 46 BC by building Roman alters over the Kelt's alters. The Kelt's worshiped at those alters with little difficulty. When the Romans pulled back to Rome, the Kelt's torn down the Roman alters and continued to worship at their own alters as they had done, during and after the Roman occupation. Rome thought they had conquered the Kelt's, but what they had really done was to enforce the power of worship on the Kelt's more than ever before. Had the Kelt's been a race of people, they would have conquered the Romans in battle, spirit and mind. Riding naked on horseback with their long blond hair flowing in the wind, they had prepared for the battle by having days of drunken orgies before riding off into battle. The Druids knew how to prepare their warriors and did so regularly.

During the reign of Napoleon, the little man knew his history well. He prepared and he lead with determination. His determination. Unlike the Kelt's warriors, he dressed impressively, but his determination was none-the-less much the same and he never lost that desire to be bigger in deeds than he was in statue, though some of his statues in bronze are pretty impressive in size.

Churchill, a tenured statesman and Prime Minister, had a statesman attitude and mindset. While Churchill had some American blood, he still was that Englishman's gentleman at nature and cigar's did, indeed, make the man, but it never changed his beliefs.

Growing up, our number 3 and number 4 dogs drew their names from their personalities. Mine was a German red dachshund  named Napoleon and my brothers had a  French brown and white basset hound  named Churchill. To this day, when I see either breed, I recall easily the fun we had with those dogs in names alone. People would just walk away shaking their heads after stopping to talk and asking their names. You could see the fake smiles melt away  as they realized the dogs and the brothers were not kidding. They just didn't know how to respond to such real but shockingly unexpected answers. Their minds were not ready for what they got in honest reply. That's the way my two brothers and I are today. We laugh about it. My nephew thinks I'm hard on his dad I know, but his dad, my youngest brother, just take the banter and quips in stride as we have always done.

So, don't you see, name you dogs with a distinction in modern history A name that is or can be enshrined. I once had a friend who's dad was a big burly man with a deep voice and had that distinction of a boss-- if you know what I mean. One Christmas, she got a little white puddle puppy. When it came time to name the dog, they--the family--named it "Cheers" When asking Guido what he thought of the name---he paused and said:" The neighbors already think I'm crazy. Can't you see them when I open the door and yell out,'Cheers!' ".