Things Happening In Garland Today

Last nights storms stripped the leaves off one of my trees where it beat it up against the bricks. The one restraint came off which allowed the wind to whip the tender new leaves into the bricks.It will recover, but it was a surprise to see the damage. I did measure the new growth on all three trees and they have officially hit 13-inches already for this season in new growth. Amazing.

The wind continued to blow with gust hitting 27 MPH and sub-stained winds of 20 MPH. It was 10:30 this morning when I hit the road. This is the spoke of the wheel that takes me the most far from the house. At the end of the day when I pulled back into the drive at dinner time, 84 miles had been racked up. With gas at $2.44 (and I paid $2.33 for this tank last week). The reports all say that gas will be close to, or hit, $3.00 per gallon this summer. AARGH!!!

The growth just isn't stopping in the Metroplex. Things are changing so much. Green meadows of the past are now black rooftops. Hundreds of them. The realty news reported that there are 37,000 apartments under construction. There are actually more than that as zoning had been re-approved from 3 floors or 4 floors to 5 and in some cases 6. They never report those increases. It's just the initial unit counts on the permits. The reason for the longer trip is that I do an exploration run about ever 6 weeks to 8 weeks. Finding new things, and seeing the changes from past trips. About three years ago, I started in Grapevine and took 121 NE ending up 22 miles beyond McKinney. When I was doing the marketing project for a Fortune 500 I had talked to a developer about how far they were looking at future development at that point in time for the next 10 years forward. He had stated that it would be 25 miles north of McKinney. The datestamp on that was in 2006. He wasn't off by much. And today, I started Greenville Avenue (SR5) and headed north cutting across on F&M 544 to SR78 in Wylie, then south to Sachse. I ended up first, in North Garland,where I stopped to see the Cowboys on Tour set up in the parking lot of a massive Academy Sporting Goods. Then on south on SR78 into Garland downtown to check on Heritage Celebration in the square, then a quick trip around the lake and back home.

I'll do pictures on Garland downtown tonight because of the restrictions, but there are 12 images running on the Live News Feed link on the side bar of this blog. Scroll down to the block black 'a'. There you can follow the instructions to view the images running. Remember that the clock starts on the live news feeds 48 hour cycle the moment that the block of images are released to the feed.

The wind was getting to me at one point and I went back to the car and had my snacks that I had packed.The sun was warm in the car. I can't take cold air that's wind driven. I never could. But it's not good on the heart, either. So I keep it in check without fail.

This couple were eating nuts purchased from one of the vendors dressed up as a drumstick. Kind of neat, actually.

The new grassy area that replaced the old Library and later, arts acting buildings was being set up for the music stage later on tonight. It's going down to 39-degrees. Might want a jacket and a heavy coat!!

The Foosball tables had been moved down to this end of the square and were being reset by the Garland Park and Recreation Workers. Got to have it level. Can't play Foosball with the bubble not in the center!!

Feed Potted Trees Centrum Vitamins Last Fall

My three trees on the porch have already grown over a foot since they leafed out a month ago. It's like they are from the Matrix or something. It's been cold and hot and cold like a roller coaster. Last week we went from 87 to freeze warnings in two days. Luckily we didn't get the freeze save for the heat island effect. Those trees actually had to be restrained during the high wind warnings, too.

 "What's up with your trees. It's like they have grown a foot!" my neighbor ask. When I relayed to him the fact that they had grown a foot already, he ask, "what are you feeding them?" as he chuckled. When I went into more detail that I had given them each a Centrum Vitamin in the fall, his whole expression changed. I think he thought that I was making fun of him. 

Centrum Silver was just sitting on the shelf of my cabinet after my doctor told me that he didn't want me taking them anymore. The bottle had just been repurchased when he told me that. Then, I heard a commercial from a local tree arborist about the things your trees need to be healthy. I got the bottle down from the shelf and started reading the label again. Gee, everything the tree doc said a tree needed to stay healthy was on the label. So, I put three tablets in a milk carton and filled it up with water. Shook the jug pretty hard to help with the digestion in the water. 

 Then, I paused. I wasn't totally sure that this was going to work, but I could always start another pot of trees growing. This wasn't my first growing trees rodeo. One that was planted in 1970 is about 50 feet tall now. The second one had to be removed because I had planted it in the wrong spot and it was going to cause problems with Edison wires coming into the house. And, then, Texas summer and the heat got one on my porch because I get direct afternoon sun. The porch heated up to 140 one summer. I knew something had to be done to cut down on that heat buildup. It was cooking everything including my cooling bill. So, I got some big heavy ceramic pots about eighteen inches deep and a good foot across, stole an acorn from a squirrel for one, dug one up from  along side the house where the lawn service had blown the seed from where it had fallen  into  the flower bed. And, the third one came from seed pods on a red bud tree in the park. 

Now, the darn things are about 12-foot high and growing like a weed. The amazing thing is that the temperature on the porch last summer dropped 15 degrees overall. I can now grab the top of the gate with my hand as I turn the key on the lock. That's when it really hit me about what trees actually can do beside producing shade and tons of leaves in the fall. Now, I'm going to have to talk to the arborist about keeping them cut back so they stay healthy and in the pots that they are in. It has occurred to me that I might need to find someone that is wanting to plant a tree in their yard and rotate them out that way. Start a new one and give one away. These are just into their third spring. The trunks are about the size of  the cap on the Centrum bottle!

The Clock Town on Main Street in downtown Grapevine.

Nat and Willy were late coming out for their daily shoot out. I almost missed them. I did miss the first part.

Blue Bonnets were on a hillside and must stunning.

Queen of the South Filming Today.

The weather has been nuts. The days of rain have been insane. It seems to be that cycle when everything that can go haywire does. Every thing seems to be out of sync. The quality of life has suffered and that concerns me.

This past Saturday, I meet my baby brother at Panera Bread for lunch. I buy this birthday lunch and he buys mine. Although, his is never in the actual month and sometimes as much as several months off due to schedules etc.,etc. We were comparing illnesses.And he and I are very much in sync there leaving my middle brother to being Grisly Adams in the Ozarks. However, he has lost the most amount of weight and the pounds he lost seem to have gravitated down to me. He has gone completely Vegan, too.

My younger brother and I even require the same amount of calories per day as the other. We both have no energy if we eat less, yet, today, I made up my mind that I am going to bite the bullet starving myself a bit to shock the system back into a cycle that is normal for me.

March has been my worse month for images ,yet. I'm off my some 6,000 images shooting and when that lapse catches up and hits the cycle, sales will slump like a lead balloon. And, there hasn't been anything editorially lately except Trump's Woes and the high schoolers marching nationwide. Everything else has kind of taken a back seat in the news cycle. So, in short, it appears not to be just me but the whole of everything else that seems to be out of sync.

The lake is seldom in the route anymore. It's springtime and that cycle is much more interesting. It's more interesting because with all the new construction, the landscaping is showing off its first spring in a lot of new areas. That cycle is equally important because it changes the landscape overall of the Metroplex. I've seen some awesome work going on across the Metroplex and it's only going to get better.

While running errands today and before the heavy rains start tomorrow, I stumbled upon the USA film crew filming one of the episodes to Season 3 of  Queen of the South. The neighborhood has some beautiful homes from different eras and even some of those choice spots are falling to the Ronald House Syndrome.

So, while I recoup and try to maintain some activity so that I meet at least two-thirds of my cardio exercise regiment, I'll try to turn up something interesting or more original than the mundane that has fallen onto my camera of late, in sync or not in sync as the case may be.

It's A Bumper Crop This Year.

Lost in the Casa Linda Neighborhood's Film Crew Having Lunch.

Across from the Dallas Arboretum and you really can get lost in the Casa Linda track.

 

 

In the final parting note....this is the second day of the season that I have had the air conditioning on.

The Littlest Falcon

It was 76 degrees today. The down side was a 20-25 MPH wind gusting to 35. While the wind came from the southwest, it still had a bit of a chill at times because the humidity was only 25 percent. Quickly, I made my rounds and discovered the second Kestrel Hawk. Three days ago, I ran across the first one to have actually seen. Some of the bird photographers had talked about the little Kestrel being here or there, but I had never seen it myself. The reason why I call this one the second one is that miles in another direction I had again seen one perched in a tree. Then across the park on the other end, here was this one. My distance was to far for a really good closeup but I did get a couple of fairly clean shots enough to identify it as a Kestrel and  another first happened. That's two first in three days this season already. This one was not something that you really aim for, although, as it turned out, just as I was about to click the shutter, the darn bird pooped and as Murphy's law would dictate, the image was crystal clear! All I can say is Amazing! Simply amazing or the luck of the Irish since St. Pat's Day is  a week away after today. Where is my gold clover pin??
 
Then, as I was on the way home, I was buzzed by the old buzzards again. Now that's unreal to have that happen not only the first time but to have it happen again within three days. They are almost as evasive  as egrets to shoot. Never did get a clear shot, but the best one that I was able to get today was through the sunroof as he flew over head.

In between those two bird excursions  I have long joked about there not being a tulip on Tulip Lane or an Iris in Iris Hollow---and there isn't. But, I found a bunch of isolated daffodils on a hillside and went into the parking lot closest to the patch and then walked the road for a fair distance with the high wind. I got only a couple of shots that would work here and that sent me to KFC to get dinner and home bound I headed, tired, hungry and  wind blown. I've been a bit in a less than creative mood lately.

Kestrel Hawk or Sparrow Hawk

A cluster of daffodils on a hill side

The Ole Buzzard Is Back!

Things I See On The Way To The Doctors

Just the other day, I was wondering why I travel the particular streets that I travel. I know why I go left after backing out of the driveway some times and at other times, I go right.  There was an article on the AAA or some such that said you should do that because wear on your tires is caused by mechanics of driving some of the time, but our driving habits play an even more role in keeping tires in shape longer. Yes, I know, "why don't you just rotate them more," you say? Well, one, it cost money generally unless your tire store offers free rotations. That's not the point. The point is....our habits control how we shorten the life of things like tire wear etc.,etc.

So, I have been doing that for some time now and it does cut down on wear. But the point here is the original wondering question that popped up in the ole brain last week...why do I go down the same streets that I do all the time? Habit. Pure and simple. There again, some time back, I started going to the doctors a different way there and a different way back. The things that I saw!!

Seldom, do I go down Greenville of up Greenville in this case. Downtown Plano is the old section of Plano where the beautiful Victorian homes are located with  three floor turrets and wrap around veranda-type front porches. Greenville becomes Avenue K in that part of Plano and becomes SR 5 again north of Allen and McKinney east of Central Expressway (that is also known as US75.) Plano Road merges with Greenville just north of Campbell Road on this side of President George Bush Turnpike before the wicked one-way streets begin.

The construction going on has added a few thousand more apartments in a hot spot to live. It's hot because the rent is so high it burns just thinking that people make house payments and car payments for that same amount of money. New stage is going up along the DART rail at 15th Street. And, going west from there, new art work is up and an awkward to read sign that simply spells out the word PLANO stacked on top of each letter with abstract art at the top. To get the full effect where it sits, one needs to photograph it backwards and then short the actual display closer up..  If you haven't been in the traffic lanes at 75 and 15th for a while....it's suicidal to even try to cross the street there. But, hey, you work with what you got and try your best to make it as positive for the effort and money put up to get it done. I understand that concept. I have no problem with it either.

But, back on point, that's why I travel the streets that I travel. Traffic. And more Traffic. My doctor's office is on 15th and I usually go up Coit to 15th. Today, I went Greenville to 15th .If we pay attention to what we do sometimes, we answer our own questions. Mom was great at pounding that point home early on. Thank goodness that she did.

New Sign for Old Plano Downtown

One of several new art pieces along 15th

I am amazed at the number of pairs of  shoes that I see along the roads like this. 

I guess that they have not heard of DMG--drop off stations for clothing where it DOES  MOST GOOD.

Buzzed By A Buzzard!

Well, a lot of thing have haven't to me over the years, but nothing like what happened this afternoon. I was sitting at  a picnic table down from the Mockingbird bridge on the south side of the foot bridge watching the seagulls, cormorants, and pelicans drift on the water's currents. There was a strong breeze and the seagulls were having a hard time landing on the water. Even the masters, the pelicans, were having a rough time of it landing.

A pair of pigeons came flying over almost as soon as I sat down. One of the pigeons walked right up to me. I do talk to the birds and the squirrels---animals in general---and they are responsive so at least I can get a fairly good close-up shot. While all of this is happening, I'm also watching above Mockingbird Lane toward the woodlands along White Rock Creek for any of the vultures (buzzards). There are six that hang out there and I have some pretty good shots of them on light poles and even on the ground eating in a couple of locations. Then, almost on cue, I see one riding the thermals. But where are the other five? Turning back to a pelican coming in for a landing low to the water (less wind resistance) as he just drops and flop on the water, tilting forward as he comes to a stop.

About the same time, I hear an unusual sound overhead. Being an aviation buff, you learn to recognize the sound of various airplane engines, but because this one sounded different, I looked up. Forget the airplane---there are the other other five buzzards riding thermals over the lake. Without warning, out of the corner of my eye, I see this big black bird with  huge wing spans come sailing inland no more than three or four feet from me at eye level. I grabbed my camera and starting snapping images without thought of technique or anything else. All I wanted was to get some shots of what was happening at the moment. I watched the big bird sail across the road where he was diving into the tall prairie grasses, coming up, circling and doing it all over again. He must have seen a rat or rabbit or snake (one was seen crawling on the roadway a couple of days ago). Then, as if nothing ever happened, he is back over Mockingbird Lane riding the thermals again.

After sitting there for a while and thinking about what had just happened, the darn bird had buzzed me. So I was buzzed by a buzzard!! That's never happen before. It was a first.

The buzzard buzzing

He's after something in the grass.

Rough landing on a windy day.

My dude, the Pigeon!

Buds on My Trees And Elsewhere

It's been delightful since we have started to dry out and the sun comes out in the afternoons. Stratus cover in the morning last until the sun is high enough to burn it off.

The temps have been good. 65-80 and Sunday we could go beyond 80, yet a double cold front hit us today and the mornings will be jacket chilly with frost hitting again just north of us in Denton County. So, Spring is trying to take hold. The flowering trees have really popped in the last week. Today, I saw both red buds and tulips blossoms on tulip trees.

The half million tulips at the Arboretum's Dallas Blooms is underway until April 24th. I'd like to go but I really am balking at the price this year. The senior discount isn't anything to mention and parking (and that's self parking) is $15.00. Combined it would be nearly $50 bucks. Memberships have gone from $20 to $90 annually. The city owns the grounds but there is a private company that manages the memberships, parking and admission prices. It shows and people are not all in agreement with something that should be like the zoo and a city pride thing to celebrate with all citizens. Even the zoo prices have shot up through the sky but at least, I can ride the train and walk from the train right into the zoo. No parking and the savings with my senior card on DART is will worth having. And--their rates are getting ready to go up again, too. It's at the ticket counter where the Zoo (also run privately)  wants to grab big bucks to get inside. 

Here is a few shots of the flowering trees throughout Moss Park, a greenbelt that runs alongside   White Rock Creek for several miles.

Sprinkled through out the woodlands the flowering trees can be seen.

Here's one up close.

A V-bike "parked anywhere" 
 Dallas has more bikes from 6 companies than any other city in the US with a total of 18,000 Park and Leave Bikes. You scan the APP fill in your financial info and the bike unlocks. The tags say $1.00 but it's more like $10.00 on some of them as the buck is only for 15 minutes. And, some riders have forgotten to re lock the bikes when done and the meter keeps ticking. So, if  you rent one, make sure you lock it when you are done. Actually, the concept is great. Ride the rail get a bike pedal and leave. Ride a bike to the bus stop or rail station and repeat the process at the other end to your car or place of residence. 

What people don't understand is that even a web site like this or a bike company like the Ride and Park are commerce and when one is interfered with, that's a felony for interfering with Interstate Commerce.