An Absolutely Amazing Day To Witness A Battle In Nature Play Out First Hand

Beautiful sunshine with a strong gusty wind from the north got me out of the house with a packed lunch in my tote bag today. Little did I know that when I stopped to have that lunch, I was less than a mile from one of the most amazing battles that I have every seen play out between a hawk and a snake. Talk about being in the right place at the right time is an understatement.

The plan was to take the lunch at a picnic table alone the lake. The gusty wind of 24 MPH was just a bit to strong to manage containers and the like at a picnic table. The elected choice then  was to just eat the lunch in the car. After having my lunch of 314 calories, and packing the containers away, I sat out to shoot the flowering cherry blossoms that I had been waiting to do with a blue sky background and today was perfect for that. I pulled into the parking lot that was just at a mile beyond my lunch stop, got my camera and headed down the trail a shot way beyond the foot bridge. There, I got that shot of cherry blossoms against a blue sky.  After shooting there for a little more than a third of an hour, I walked out onto the T-dock to see if I could spot the big old water snake that suns on a pile of downed reeds in the "L" of the dock or to see if any big turtles were on the logs to the far left of the dock You can't see the turtles from the trail, but from the dock, you get the turtles with a good reed background. But, no luck. There were spring breakers on either end of the dock with a fisherman that I have talked with in the past. He had just gotten there and was just putting his several poles into the water. So, I walked back toward the car. Just as I got to the trail, this red shoulder hawk flew past me at a bit more than eye level with this snake in its claws.

Landing in the big tree on the draining ditch that caused the footbridge to be created on the trail, I trained my camera on the hawk. Several people were stopping to look at the hawk and asking about what was going on. Just then, the hawk drops head down with open wings and was holding on to the snake in its claw. The other claw was free and the hawk was keeping it away from the snake as well.  At first, I thought that the hawk had gotten tangled in some fishing line or something when I saw the snake curl with it's tail wrapped around a smaller branch in the tree.  The hawk was hanging from the snake stretched out a bit more than about a foot and a half. Finally, the hawk was able to raise up and grab the snakes head. At which time, the snake released its hold on the tree and the hawk was able to fly into a second tree. There it could manage the snake better by standing on its head pressed against the tree branch and finally have his lunch. Even the hawk knows that if  you control the head of the snake, you control the snake.

The Hawk goes for the snake's head

Here, it's all over but eating dinner!

There was a bit of blood on both the snakes head and the hawks beak before it was all over, but "all over" was the phrase of the day and I had the shots!!!

NB---
Don't forget to click on any of the images to enlarge the shot. I will publish more of the hawk's battle with the snake with the agencies where I list. It appears that there are those that try to download the image and call it their own. So, it is getting harder to publish images on the blog. I'm retired and I supplement my income with my images and curios of those images.

Storm Update

This evening, there is still some thousands of the estimated 80,000 without power. The winds at DFW officially hit 78 MPH as the line of storms pushed through this morning. The Amazon Fulfillment Center just north of DFW airport had the roof blown off. An FAA tower wast toppled. A Jetway at DFW was blown off. Planes at Grand Prairie Airport south of DFW had major damage to many aircraft. Homes were toppled, Construction Condos were toppled. Damage in Mesquite where the first tornado of the year hit this past week, was reported. One of the TV stations reported that a wind Gage at 80 feet above ground reported winds over 90 MPH. The reading is way out of range for what is going on down near the ground. At 80 feet it would be a different world. But if Hurricane force winds being at 74 MPH, even though these were straight line, 78 would put it at Hurricane force winds.

At the lake, big branches on some old trees were down and between Dreyfuss club point to Sunset Bay, twigs and branches covered the road.The water levels were up all over the lake and several areas had water up to the parking lots.

Five Canadian Geese had dropped in to visit on their northern migration. They seemed to be just resting and taking care of the feathers and didn't seem worried about much else. I  spotted 15 pelicans at high altitude riding the thermals and could only find about 5 more on the lake. I had counted a total on the island before it flooded today at 21 total as a larger number has already taken to the return migration. With the big snow storms still going all over the Rockies and north, no doubt, they are hold up somewhere.

Layover because of bad weather-- most likely.

At this rate, there will not be a tree left in this section. The last storm took out 8 old and big trees.

The big Sycamore across from Sunset Bay has been loosing limbs by the dozens. This is a widow maker with three more still up in the tree hung up on branches.

The Day Before The Storm

90 MPH winds hit the Metroplex early this morn.  A southside airport had several planes that were damaged. Several homes south of Oak Cliff were damaged.  Behind the first front comes front #2. It is in the mid 70s this morning. Later, a wind advisory kicks in with up to 40 MPH winds and then the second front. It will drop temps by about 10-15 degrees for tomorrow and the next several days. The redeeming factor is S*U*N*S*H*I*N*E folks!! That Sun with a big Thank You!!!  It is Springtime in Texas!! Weather changes by the hour  It also looks like the weather will be cool with plenty of sunshine for the largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Southwest. It kicks off Saturday morning down Greenville Avenue in the North Park and Park Lane area and runs two miles down to SMU Blvd. From then on, it's let the party begin on Lower Greenville.

. 

 

 

Raindrops on a Red Bud Bloom

Nature's Canvas

Foggy afternoon on the lake

 While the weather has been so crappy lately, I have been playing with the settings on the camera again. I'm using an Olympus that I have used the past 9 years after putting the Nikon in the bag still waiting for the service repair ticket to come from Nikon's customer service.

As I Travel The Wagon Wheel Around The Metroplex

I keep my eyes open to technology---especially cell towers and the like. It all started with a comment made by a state employee on a job site when the upgrades were being made to the LBJ 635 Project between the High 5 and Interstate 35E. The blog has more than one post where one statement became entrenched into my mind about how people in Dallas were "asleep at the wheel" when it came to the technology being installed then  and also addressed the technology coming down the pike, no pun intended.

So, from that point forward, I was much more aware of things to be looking out for and then started doing a bit of research on what is already out there and what was headed our way. When the plans to radiate Dallas with 5G technology were first introduced in a short little ditty on the local news, the bells started going off. Growing up around the old AP and UPI telex machines--anytime one of the news agencies had a hot story, they put it out on the wire with a series of bells that ''woke up the new rooms'' to that fact  something important was coming across news worthy.

From that research, is where I first found an article about HAARP, the little known project up in Alaska where the government was exploring the fact that they could send a laser into an upper atmospheric area and modify the weather. Well, that 5,000 mile cloud that was seen last fall as a first, and the criss-crossing of contrails were beginning to fill in the afternoon sky with total coverage of high clouds sent chills up and down my spine.

Whiterock

Richardson

Richardson

Now, in the latest of articles, there is a link between the HAARP project and 5G technology, cell towers that are doing more than just relaying microwave transmissions for communication so, once again, I began to observe cell towers in greater detail and low and behold, the towers are getting retrofitted with little mini-cone type dishes all associated with 5G.

That lead to more articles that communities around the country are working in an effort to stop the further expansion of 5Gs which are appearing on top of telephone poles, cell towers , light poles, buildings and water towers across American.

It's not my place to take a point of view, but from an editorial stance, I sure can take pictures to help others make their own decision to research more and have some ideal of what one of these things looks like. 


It's kind of like the parody on world war II quote of German Pastor, Martin Niemoller's sermon writing about Dachau that began with the words, 'First they came for the Socialists  and I didn't speak out because I was not a Socialists.''  Now, I am not saying that this is an all-out conspiracy of any kind. I am saying that we, as citizens need to wake up and stop the social media hate that so much time is being spent upon and start getting active in issues like this kind of stuff that can help us all live healthier and better lives in general.

Golf Ball Size Hail Due Tonight But, Quiet Afternoon At the Lake---

even the birds were asleep or otherwise being quiet about their activities . Saw a three  woodpeckers. A few shovel bills, mallards, gulls, pelicans  were sited here and there. Cormorants looked glued to their tree branch. A great white egret that flew in to fish and then disappeared, and, of course, the mud hens were at the ready for hand outs that were far and few between this afternoon. Finally figured it out---it's spring break beginning today.

The one thing that really made a difference today was the light. The suns angle has moved up just enough that it is casting that perfect light on the down wind side. In fact, this is the kind of light that I love to shoot nature images. The harsh shadows are gone. Well, at least until the sun gets back to the same location on its way back south.

It was also a moment of discovery to find thing that seem so out of place. Someone had pitched a make-shift tent in a thicket near the Filtration Building. The other one was much less threatening and even caused me to think about my dad's military service when the Americans were liberating France at the end of World War II. I even remembered some old pictures taken in Paris with my Dad and his buddy in uniform at the Eiffel Tower and another on the Champ outside a pastry shop. So, the joy of discovery can be delicious at times and tug on heart strings that haven't been pulled in a while. I'd love to find those pictures for my younger brother of our Dad. My brother mentioned to me just a few weeks ago that he  would love to see those pictures. It's been years since I last saw them.

We have three days of rain and clouds coming in tonight with the possibility of golf ball size hail sometime around 2 AM tonight. The front will move on out quickly but then the cooler temps will roll back in. Everyone seems to think that the last freeze we had a couple of days ago is it for the winter. Statistically, March 12 is the average day of our last freeze. It was in the 80s today.

I

I use my old friend, Mr. Sycamore to test my white balance from time to time.

A moment that I never expected to observe all alone at the lake with memories of my Dad.

A woodpecker later was pulling leaves off the tree and dropping them to the ground. I was sitting under the tree at a picnic table.

 

Secrets of the Museum

No, not the TV show. This is about the Museum Towers. Remember the one that was reflecting sunlight onto the sculptures at it's neighbor, The Nasher Sculpture Center in the Arts District from the glass panels on the tower. Yes, that one! Well, it appears that it is the only Penthouse in Dallas that has a full 360 view of downtown. Granted, it is situated  on the 42nd floor with a roof top pool and garden, not high enough to keep the 60 and 70 story office towers from looking down on you as you sip your afternoon cocktail.

The secret is, of course, after being built with the Police and Fire Pension Fund, which was a scandal of sorts and police and fire started pulling their money out of the fund before anymore money was wiped out of retirement accounts.  It is just now selling out the units and the price for the Penthouse is  quoted at the pricey amount of $24million. Don't every one rush all at once to do the deal. After all, while the most pricey zip code for homes in the whole State of Texas is right here in Dallas at 75205. That would be the whole of Highland Park and a very small shadow that falls into University Park, not  the 75201 zip code that covers the Arts District in Downtown. There is still one more thing---at 560 feet in the air  you and Wolfgang Puck can wave at each other across town. He, however, can shoot off fireworks from the top of  his dining room.

The Top at $24Million

Can You See The Penthouse?

Seriously, it is a well appointed pad. And, the Dallas Federal Reserve is just across the Woodall Rodgers

Burr!!! and More Burr!!!!

the coldest days of the season have descended on the North Texas area of Texas which happened to have a birthday, yesterday. The birthday of statehood will quickly sink into memories being replaced by the cold. While I have lived in much colder places during the winter season, medications have thinned out the blood. Having learned to layer clothing makes it a no-brainier for me, but for some, who have just moved here from even warmer climes than we are experiencing, they are having a hard time but even as they adjust, you see people running around in t-shirts and shorts and flip-flops!! Hardy and I don't mean the boys in the novels by the same name.
My coldest winter in the Great Lakes was a minus 17 below zero. And the thermometer never moved above freezing for nearly a month. I did manage to get out today and make it to the lake. I could only find about 20 pelicans so they are getting ready to get out of here for another season. The problem is, the weather were they are going is much worse by far than it is here. So, that could keep them here a bit longer. Some 50 or more have already taken off  on the wing  By Friday, it will be in the mid 70s here with little cold seen in the long-term for the area.

While at the lake, I saw a photographer that I recognized out shooting, and I did see a red shoulder and a Kestler hawk in their regular hang out areas. The seagulls are thinning out already and some of the cormorants have hit the road already. So tides will turn and focus will shift to the hawks that are nesting followed by the mallards raising their broods. I saw a pair of mallards up in the estate sections walking in some flower beds where there is ground cover. It's a great place to nest and I noted where and when they were claiming the area.

Love Is In The Air

A beautiful aqua color collar

With the Space X arriving at the ISS today, seeing these commercial grade hoppers on the road reminded me of the space shuttle at Titusville's Cape Kennedy. Funny how things trigger memories of the past.

I'll watch for them to bring the new brood down the road and cross over the lake level road to introduce the kiddos to the water. That will be about a month away. Nature has a calendar of events just like people, ad cycles and fashion cycles maintain. When you shoot wildlife, you need to know what their time lines are and then think like the birds, the ducks, coyotes, bobcats and a few deer here and there.