Took a walk down the White Rock Creek Trail that is under development. Some of it I've been over in sections including Anderson Bonner Park. That's part of the chalk vein that runs through Dallas. The weather was in the upper 70s and while a lot of moisture was moving this way, the sun stayed out most of the afternoon.
Winter returns tomorrow with the high hanging in the low to mid 40s but the wind chill will be below freezing. I'm home bound tomorrow for sure. Glad I could get out today.
When the weather is in this phase, I tend to stay in doors. At the first break of sunshine and temps 50°F
I've spent a lot of time walking of late. Since I got my app for footsteps, I've been kicking the heck out of weight loss again. Plus, getting out of the house and giving my lungs a good turn of fresh air. Today, I hit the nature trails in Richardson, walking the distance from Galatyn Park train station to City Lines train station, then reversing it back halfway and covering the distance from US75 and Renner to George Bush Turnpike Service Road to Plano Road and back to the trail head at Spring Valley Nature Trail.
The City Line Station of the Silver line next to the Light Rail Station in use, is really a two-fold project. The station construction is one part but the other part is the pilings and cross bars that will support the tracks above and over US 75 North. Today, I was able to get up close to the pilings as they make their way on a gradual turn after departing the City Line Station on it's way to DFW Terminal B as the third train into DFW from Ft. Worth through Dallas, Richardson, Plano and Garland. A total of 26 miles currently under construction.Plus the Light Rail from Plano and South Dallas to Terminal A using the Orange Line, Green Line, Blue line and Red Line.
On getting off the Red Line at City Line, I headed toward the nature trails but stopped and dropped my camera bag to unpack and get my first shot. It was just to good of a shot to pass up. A Young man sat on the top floor parapit of a parking garage that connected two rows of apartments facing south and north. The man was facing east overlooking the construction of the Silverline, the Light rail stations and the massive CityLineDFW complex, that is a regional complex of several highrises for State Farm Insurance. That complex is lined with retail and other businesses. I remember when this entire area was a massive hay field. What a grown that just keeps growing.
While I waited for my T-shirt with my image from the Wind Blowing Project over the specialized screen that I made and then ordered from Zazzle (turned out spectacular) my delayed grocery order arrived shortly afterwards. Ironically, the shipping on both were delayed, one more than the other. But, in the end, I was able to get a shot in a perspective that I had not ever really thought about much in the past. Don't you see, I like dealing with colors. Bright and vibrant colors, no less. But, some how, I saw a grey and black and white in a different light than in the past from my porch and grabbed my camera just before took to the sky in 40 MPH winds and a high temp of 42 degrees F. I watched them do things in that wind like Hawks and Vultures do in warm thermals. It was amazing.
You see, to solve the problem with the void of color you just repaint the wall with the brightest and most beautiful color you can find. Then, set back and look at this image on that wall. WOW! It just solved a problem.
Most of our readers know what discovery missions are for us when we mention them. I know this thanks to Google Analytical. Knowing that our readers tune in most always when mention having been made we were on a discovery mission. Why? Our readership spikes. The other topics we write about that brings spikes are when we mention that we have pulled Arthur Gordon from my book shelves again. And the last of the three spike topics usually has a header," Things I find on the way to the Doctor's." But this post is of a Re-Discovery in Downtown Dallas
I mention this solely because those three areas have a common thread of likeness that I also hold. At one time the first rule of photography was called "the rule of thirds". Well, that lead me in another direction. That direction, shoot what you like. In order to do that and still be productive, you need to constantly be looking for new material to shoot. But, there is a side that is like a carbon copy of things and of places and of things. Hence, the wagon wheel theory to cover the Metroplex in a timeline that keeps the graphic artist that purchase the images ahead of their calendar that they follow in the world of publishing and media deadlines. So, out of all that, don't you see, came the wagon wheel travel routes, the flow of new material (which can include the revisits on a regular routine). And some even fall into the cog wheel as Re-Discovery Projects and/or Missions.
Downtown, today, I was in rediscovery mode. Why "because there are about 30 new buildings in the mid range of high rises that have already gone up or currently are in the process of going up or in various stages of completion. And, when there is talk about something approved for development, etc.,etc., it requires keeping the project in 'watch' mode'.
So here, tonight, first things first. Heads up for the GA's looking for that early spring bud or bloom. We found a beauty, today. A Tulip Tree with buds opening. Keeping in mind it is the first full week of February, we just came off of a 5 day run of temps below freezing for 84 hours.
Since our last post, a week of steady below freezing weather and wave after wave of moisture being delivered by a deep stationary low parked over the Baja of California into our Arctic air parked over us, I've been house bound.
Finally, today, we climbed above freezing for the day and the freezing rain build up of sleet on the ground because drips of water again. Tonight, we fall below freezing for just tonight and by the weekend, we return to 50's and mid 60's. Sadly to say (and we need the rain) we get a couple of days of rain Tuesday and Wednesday.
I'm just happy to be able to get out of the house again. Cabin fever was helped by gloomy cloud decks with not a drop of sunshine for all this time.
The weather will basically shut me down for the next week as the highs will be only 40ish. The worse part is cold rain most of the next 5 days. I was able to get out today in near 70 degrees and spent the afternoon with a second return to the George Bush Presidential Center Nature Trails.
Cardinals were once again the main aim of the trip and was successful in seeing about 6 pairs feeding on the berries that were still on the trees. The wild grasses were still dispersing seeds and the birds were happy with that. There are some blue jays that I would like to get close enough to get some shots. Found a pair of Robins, some wrens and a first time siting of a red shouldered hawk riding the thermals directly over the nature trails. I continue to be in awe of what they have done with a fantastic nature area in the heart of a busy, high-density urban setting so close. Didn't see my bunny or the roadrunner on the trails today. Thinking about it now, I didn't even see a squirrel. Might be that hawk had something to do with those voids.
So, it's going to be a bit slow until the weather shifts toward the first of March. February is always a month to be grounded out of the 12. Today, I did notice some green shoots beginning to pop out and even found a patch of new grass about 12-inches tall along one of the drainage canals that do a fantastic job of removing water runoffs. Even that has been well planned and works very well.
The weather service is calling for an Arctic Front to move in overnight and tomorrow and the word 'ice' appeared in part of the forecast at the 10 o'clock hour broadcast. Gloomy,cold,wet also came over the airways with that report. Cloudy days never bothered me before but we have had some serious gloom in the cloud cover of late.
Note the image has two cardinals. One traditional mature red and in the upper left branch, a yearling.
This is the cover image and is even larger than if you click on these to enlarge.
That body fat displaced by surgeries is now all but gone. The app does help. I was a bit undecided at first. But, after two months of use, I am sold on the results.
Yesterday, I started out walking. Walked through the neighborhood, then a few blocks more and before I knew it, I had covered nearly two miles. I kept walking, and walking and my little stool came into play a few times as I would find a good spot and opened up the stool and got some shots that I would have missed by riding the bus. And the bus stop to Whataburger didn't have anything but a pole so the little stool came into play while I waited for the bus to make the stop. To qualify that, I did ride the bus on two accounts. One to visit Whataburger, the other to take me home, transferring from the bus that I was on before the transit center that I use normally.
All in all, it was a good day. I dressed warm and didn't over dress. So, I was comfortable the entire afternoon. It was a good day and I even slept more comfortable than normal. So, that little app is gonna stay with me long-term.
One of the projects for 2023 is named: Big Cats and Little Kittens. Ironically, the first shoot was with one of the little kittens. While the name does not slant the smaller rigs, it must be used to fit in the really big rigs that are Big Cats.
The young man that was moving out this container from a construction project, had also brought in an empty replacement for use by the contractors. Watching him from a different angle, it didn't take me long to see that what was involved in moving out a fully loaded container with old construction material and the waste created by wrapping of windows, doors, cabinets etc. While the young driver was dropping the replacement container, I went around to the other side to have a better angle in loading the packed-full container.
After he had the container on his rig and pulled out of the fenced area I was talking to him briefly to let him know what I was doing and why. He was excited and understanding saying that he had only been on the job a short time. I watched him for better part of an hour and this young man was very cautious at ever move. Checking and double checking for safety and for care of his equipment. Any employer would be lucky to have a young man that was as caring about his safety and that of others as this young man.
He might have been working on a Little Kitten rather than a Big Cat, but he was a giant for his care and concern on the job. That is the other side of the story as broadcaster, Paul Harvey would has said over his years broadcasting.
Yes, I know. It's already mid January and he is writing about gearing up for the new year. Ever notice that after Easter or Christmas, your minister isn't anywhere to be found? They follow the Liturgical Calendar. Photographers follow the Graphic Arts calendar, always three months ahead of real time. So. Know you know
Now, to answer the question that some are already raising---I'm preparing for summer already. Springtime is always well stocked in the archives for most and while the graphic artist have planned ahead, like most photographers, we are comfortable and planning for the summer, fall and winter. Gee, that's a nine month cycle isn't it? Well, I'll be. I bet you will find that most teachers are on that cycle already, just like the camera men and women in the world of photography.
Alright, I've been a wee harsh on some of my critics. That's alright. You can blame that on the social media experiment that has a hard time recognizing reality for real time. Oh! that thought came to mind this week also. I'm looking at all the social media emails that want to tell me and others not on their cycle what the trends are for 2023. Have you really paid any attention to those trends. While the images are cute and some even interesting, they all look like cartoons. Nothing that looks like a actual object. Most everything is animated and some even more gross than most. And while my mom was light years ahead of her time, when she gave me my first camera (a Kodak Brownie: I still have a scar on my left thigh where I put a M2 flash and extra batteries in the same jeans pocket, where they made contact eventually, and I felt my leg getting hot and more hot and then the pain set in) she said to me: "If you ever become a photographer, do not ever change what your camera lens burns on the film." To this day, I do not alter my images. Delete some very bad ones, but never alter them as a record.
Joan, (Joan Davidow) and I had a few rowdy discussions about photography and contemporary art. Rowdy as she and I both understood why each of us had a view but understood the other side as well. When she retired a few steps beyond a decade ago, she and I were still friends I would hope to think. Fondly, I appreciated her stance as she did mine. Since then, her credits just continue to grow. I would love to know what side social media cartoons would have weighed on her scale. After all there was a black painted Plymouth and a Playboy Bunny outline street side from the new digs after leaving the shadows of the Meadows Foundation anchor to Victorian Era buildings and Deep Ellum as a neighbor. Since, Joan and her son,Seth, are still the greatest asset in the Dallas Art World.
Art Think just might have had a mutation about photography in the old neighborhood but I think that paint still rules in her world and always will.
It's his "5 gifts" that have long been the stellar chapters of his book. I like them because you can read them out of order---or in order. Usually, I read them out of order because it is like stepping stones that allow for a more clear understanding overall. Over the years, I've had some very amazing teachers like Neville Rodgers, who spent a lifetime translating the works of Shelley into other languages. Or, the way he got me so interested in Great Books, a Humanities Course in college that found me rather than me finding it. Those kinds of happenings have always been benchmarks for me in life.
Today was another one of those days that felt like summertime. Lunch was at a table on a sidewalk. My enjoyment of those things comes from my early years growing up. The older that I get, the more enjoyment they bring to me like a long bucket list of patio's and porches or sidewalk tables. When in Brazil, lunch was overlooking the Atlantic as it was when in Maine: a distance of 4877 miles north of the outdoor patio lunch overlooking the isle of San Sabastià ne as locals vacationed, taking their cars over on a ferry. I still remember thinking how odd it was to have beautiful stained glass windows in a warehouse filled with Italian steel bars and bags of coffee or beautiful Brazilian wood.
Creative ideals have long flowed through my veins, but in a case of "I wonder what I am wondering when I wonder it" was the beginning when I started to see things with greater depth and vision than others. It even helped me to be more creative while seated before a 3-4-or 5 manual pipe organ trying to get the most colorful sounds from stops that some organs had never been pulled by organist in the past. About that time Arthur Gordon came to me from my oldest living friend that lived next door to me upon graduating. My wife's friend's grandmother owned the duplex and it is in that same property where the KP-tree was planted upon his birth and now stands 60 plus feet tall and under its bark is hard Maple wood.
Life does have its cycles. I've seen many various cycles through the years. Now, the cycles that matter most to me are the cycles of graphic image buyers.
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Last week Truckee, California (North Lake Tahoe) had their second big snow of the season and the big bolder that were on US Highway 50 (yes, the same highway that goes to Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio where they once had a city ordinance that it was illegal to water ski on city streets when the Hocking River would flood in the Springtime.) The problem is this...don't you see. Lake Tahoe is a major ski resort area. It's in the Sierra Mountains. They have to blast to clear snow to avoid avalanches, which in turn can cause those big bolders to be shaken loose enough that with more snow, any vibrations can cause them to tumble to the roads below. Which, in turn, must be blasted to remove them from the roadways in smaller pieces.
The current atmospheric river out over the eastern coast of California is moving this way. This morning, Truckee, is about to get another of there 4-feet plus snow storms as it has already begun to cover the roadways and build on the snow already accumulating for previous storms. That system is there today. The good thing about this one for us, is that it will be bringing warm air to Texas. It is going to be 70°F tomorrow, Saturday an Monday again, here in Dallas. Just 10 days or so ago, we were in the single digits with wind chill below 0°F.
Do I miss the snow? Yes. What I don't miss is shoveling it: never did mind driving in it though. Still, I do love photographing it when we get a little here now and then. I do know that there are a lot of family planes, charters and those that come by Amtrak or those that fly in for their stays at the Ritz-Carlton, on the west side of the ski slopes that face Truckee's Airport and the Carson range of the Sierra Nevada.
Texas weather isn't bad this time of year. Although, my Edison bill for the first 10-days of this billing period has jumped to double what it was last year at this time. Yes, E.R.C.O.T., you guys try to justify the increase with your dashboard reporting and smart meter on line. It's still double in price for electricity even after you state that my usage is 31% lover than that of my neighbors. What a joke that is. I practice conservation. My neighbors leave their porch lights on 24-7. My thermostat is set for 62°in winter and 78° in summer. Other than that we are good. Mostly!
Still looking for the image that Pat sent with the snow shovel sticking out a pile of snow in Boston's winters past. It's in one of my archive post, I'm pretty sure.
Those winds were substained for well over 40 minutes. The results were trees everywhere down or large branches broken off. One of my bus ro...
