Inside Yesterday--Had To Get Out Today

The rain and gray clouds and cold were closing in inch by inch by inch. By noon time, it was out the door with the bumper shoot  in one hand and the camera bag and tote in the other. Just at Love Field, already, we have picked up an inch and a half of rain. The snow went north to soon.So, to be positive about the matter, we got liquid snow instead.

For a bit, I had the wipers on intermittent. The drizzle was just enough to have them on. When I got to the lake, it was clear that the water levels were even higher than they had been with the most recent flooding on the parking lots and roadway. The dock at one of the boat club marinas had been smashed and rearranged by logs floating down stream and striking the under carriage, raising sections out of the water. So with that siting, it was a full sweep of the lake to see what else might be amiss, all- the- while looking for the pairs of hawks that are getting ready to nest. Not one hawk did I see. Not one. This is the second day and it somewhat worries me. The weather can cause hawks to go elsewhere.

What I did discover was that the pelican's island was totally under water for the second time in less than two weeks and what was worse was the the logs that they like to nap upon and preen their feathers were totally gone. None!! Even the ones out father into the bay area were missing. I also noted that the number of pelicans were  much less than what normally hangs out there. There were only a dozen more on the lake drifting and none down by the dam when I was there. It was on the way home when I made a sweep over the  top of Flag Pole Hill and down to Goforth along White Rock Creek when I discovered about thirty pelicans on the creek bank between Northwest Highway and the cross road that runs east and west behind Flag Pole Hill. There were even many more Great White Egrets and a few more Great Blue Herons that I have never seen all together hanging out like today.

It will be interesting to see how the return goes when the lake levels drop a bit and the creeks flood stage currents lower and slow down . Will the group of pelicans stay there or return to  Sunset Bay? The Park Superintendent told me about a month ago in his office that he can't put logs back into the water. Environmental control factors, nor can he take them out unless they wash ashore like the ones did along the lake shore and the marina docks. I fully understand that process. And there is a lot of loss limbs and branches  on the ground where the disease and rot weakened the branches to where finally, the rain soaked wood's weight pulled them down. Big ones. There is a good semi load of wood on the ground now just along East Lawther from trees down and branches down. So the hope to have nature replace the logs for the pelican and cormorants has greatly diminished after the scouting mission today. 

At least the temperatures will be normal and even well above above average for the next ten days or so. I noted a 70 degree day just a few more days down the pike. Tomorrow will be seasonal but the mitigating factor to all of this is sunshine!! Sun, Glorious Sun!!.  Annie, yes, "the sun will come out tomorrow"!

See the log on the left. It runs to the right middle of the undercarriage. That's what lifted the dock up.

Slightly blurred. I'm not a memeber of the 600mm club.

The Sailing Club Has been Around and Around again. It's the anchor of the Marina.

Could Not Believe What I Was Seeing

It was not scheduled to be nice today. When the noon news came on as I was eating my lunch, it because very clear that the temps were good and the possibility of some clearing from the cloud cover was  looking even better. By 1 o'clock, the car was  headed for the lake. My strength has been getting better. My diet has changed yet again and not only is the weight coming off, my heart health is my main purpose. The amount of walking has increased as my strength builds and that is nothing more than the old law of physics that when a body is in motion, it remains in motion. Or, something like that.

My approach to the lake has changed because of the bird watch. The clouds filled in again and a strong southwest wind was constant. A seagull caught my eye. He was hovering in mid air about three feet above the water. He would dive to the surface and come up with a fish. Then, he would drop the fish. Then, he would dive again and come back up with a fish. After doing this a couple of times, I locked in on my settings as the wind on the waves were giving the auto focus nightmares. My motor on the lens could be heard over the wind. Then, while the camera was up to my eye and focused on the seagull, all of a sudden this big blob of white and black filled the viewfinder and it was one of those deals where I actually jumped back a bit in surprise and shock. A pelican come splashing in where the seagull had been. From there, you can see a good image and a image that was still being focused on by the auto focus. It was really somewhat bizarre. As it turned out, it was only the second time that I have actually got a shot of this happening. Good, or bad, I now have two images of this "perfect timing" event.

The arrival and point of sudden shock!

The fish is in the beak!

Down the hatch and others followed.

It's A Bit Confusing Since the Pope's Unexpected Seagull Arriving

 This past week, Pope Francis released a couple of doves from the Vatican's balcony only to have a seagull attack one of the doves, which escaped and flew away as intended. Some were upset by the turn of events, but if you have been around seagulls, they can be aggressive because they are what I call, little scrappers!

While all-white Dover make for beautiful and peaceful settings at weddings, funerals and many other symbolic events, I actually like the seagull. No, not because of the "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" work, but because they are beautiful birds in their own right. In fact, when you look at their feathers on their tails and wings, it isn't hard to see the beautiful feathers depicted in pictures of Angel Wings. In fact, they look exactly like the Angel Wings that I have seen in paintings.

Maybe, just maybe, Angels gave the seagull their beautiful features. Take a look.

Angel wings ?

Tail feathers and wing feathers

Just a bunch of big while pelicans riding thermals

A Contrast Between Earth and Sky

Yesterday was  the most perfect day to be outdoors. It was 63 F, the sky was deep blue and the humidity was almost now existent. I drove to the lake, parked, got my backpack on and I went for a long and slow walk, stopping to look at wildlife,birds, trees loaded with fruit and  a lake that could have been a mirror. It's about 8 miles from the lake to downtown and the reflection of the high rises made a perfect copy on the water.

The fall prairie grass on a rolling hill

The return of hundreds of pelicans on their annual migration

The interesting part of this post for me is that standing in one spot, I see a field of wild prairie grass  on a rolling hillside and looking from that spot directly overhead is a sky of migrating pelicans with eyes set on the lake. Earlier in the month there was a post that announced that the pelicans were back. Well, the mass directly overhead will swell the population by a several time factors. It was without doubt a contrast between earth and sky in North Texas.