April Is Our Month for Severe Weather

That's a bit of a misnomer in as much as here in North Texas, all 12 months can, and have had, severe weather. We are the mixing bowl of Gulf moisture, jets from the west and cold air from the north. However, this morning we had a good ole-fashioned thunder bumper with lightening, downpours, and rumbles that shook the walls. I can't remember the last time that we had one that I took note of more than the one this morning. As the line of storms marched off to the northeast, I got the heck out of the house for a couple of reasons. One, I can't stand to be closed up in a house and two, I wanted to get some images of that immediate after-the-rain-look where water droplets were still hanging from plants and spring flowers and the fresh green look from grassy areas. Plus, I can also judge how focus is doing on the camera when the air has been cleaned of all the particulant matter that causes focus to change on it own and I'll be the first to admit that I have screwed up the settings many times to where the focus was off more than I like. Finding a good target area to re calibrate is critical and I have used the skyline of downtown Dallas from White Rock to judge that.

But first and foremost, my de-stressing trick is getting out of  the house. When I am out shooting, my stress levels nearly bottom out and my blood pressure drops to there lowest levels. So, from a health standpoint, being out and about for me is as good as it gets and I'm able to function normally.

People have ask where downtown is in relationship to White Rock Lake and Park.This is one of those  picture that says a thousand words. The sign is at the northern most point of the lake. The point where White Rock Creek feeds the lake is at the Mockingbird bridge which is below this sign a few hundred feet.  The exit here is an old fashioned clover leaf type exit going down and under the bridge. West Lawther is the far lake shore side nearest downtown's view. East Lawther has four points of entry while West Lawther can be driven from the bridge here at Mockingbird around to Highway 78, Garland Road.The lake is a little over 9 miles around.

This is the shot and is taken from atop the escarpment at Dreyfuss Club. It is slightly lower than the highest point known as Winfrey Point which is just south and to the left of this image.

The green space is between Lake Highland Drive (where the two new homes sit) coming down to the Cultural Bath House Center on Northcliff from where this image was taken. The cultural center is were the cultural events, lectures, theater, music and the like are held. In front of the center is the Water-Wise Garden planted by the Dallas Master Gardeners, Texas A&M extension services here in Dallas.

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.

12th-century French romances here in Dallas

The French people are like New Yorkers. You must get to know them to understand them. For me, I love them both and today I visited Camelot and all the lore of King Arthur's special world. It is just one of those things that have escaped me in the twenty years that I have been back in Dallas.

The romance of it is the streets that are jigsawed around a greenbelt that runs through the area. The area is a typical example of the Scottish highlands climbing some 100 plus feet from the greenbelt up to the ridge line. It's a neighborhood of modest and well kept homes. They also have a very unique feature that some would recognize and for others it would go unnoticed totally. That uniqueness is the perfect landscaping that is textbook in nature.

I've driven through the neighborhoods before and knew it was one of my favorite if I were in the house market again. But, today, all that splendid landscaping and architecture and physical lay of the land all came together in that uniqueness that you know somehow it is just a magical place to be.

One of the images will show the one-sided street that borders the greenbelt and the other will show how it blends two neighborhoods together. Since I grew up in a new house that mom and dad had built on a hill street like those I drove today, it gave me that feeling of comfort and attachment to the earth like I grew up in and around. Mom and Dad were  one lot away from the top of the hill but I have always loved being on a hillside.

I have long believed that my car goes where it is directed, but it's the Lord that is really driving, using me as the physical aspect of mechanics like braking, stopping, turning, etc.,etc.No, I"m not nuts by a long shot. I've just lived long enough to know that fate and a higher power control those that are loved and I thank God every night that He and the Grace that he sheds on me is well received as I offer thanks.

So, check out the images. While it was overcast today, it was comfortable. Another Gift from Above!

One home had 9 dogwoods in bloom at the corner of their lot. Others had more than one or two. This came from one of two trees that were between the sidewalk and the curb on a curve as the street wrapped around the greenbelt.

Actually, there are two species here. This image is of wild Jade Vine that if found hanging from high in a tree canopy over a creek that is part of the Trinity Greenbelt and Watershed District.

This one, is wild Wisteria and it too, hangs over the creek and has tree roots on the one side of the Greenbelt in the neighborhood. There is a footbridge that connects the two neighborhoods together and both the streets are one-sided lots, the other being part of the greenbelt.

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A Trifecta of Owls

Top-parent owl, middle below parent is crow, but just below crow on left is the  owl chick, The second partent is in the lower right hand corner.

 

 

Grackle showing his feather display to a potential mate in the next tree.

This mocking bird stopped singing and was watching the grackle's loud calls.

The crows told the story that they were unhappy in a grove of trees. That same grove has been the nesting site of Bard Owls and Red Shouldered Hawks in past seasons. The story board has changed this year with a family of Great Horned Owls taking over the grove.

A  couple of weeks or three, ago, I had seen, along with several others, the male, the female and the fluffy chick. Today was a trifecta of tickets with a parent on a top branch, the growing chick  in the middle and a parent on the bottom branch. It was a delight to see all three with another person that lives a few blocks away.

I'm glad he got to see all three together.

Bluebonnets

 Lupinus subcarnosus, the only species recognized as the state flower of Texas since 1901.

 Lupinus subcarnosu, since 1901, is the only species of Bluebonnets in Texas. Other species have been found in the southwestern US.. 

The bluebonnets are popping up all over a bit early this year. There are several patches at White Rock Lake. Remember, if you walk where they are coming up, they will NOT come back next year at that place. People like to do photo ops with their kids and pets and unless there is a specific path behind the patch, please don't destroy the beauty for others.

California stopped people from even getting to the orange poppies that are blooming in the high deserts. People were destroying them so the  HP closed off the roads to the patches. 
 

Addendum to Today's Post, Fri.,29 Mar

Unrelated to the fire other than it was on the same street. The interesting thing here is the guys cowboy boots! Style comes to the linemen.

R&R Setup. Firemen need breaks because of the heat and loss of  hydration. These are very much part of their job and should be!

To me, the story is not the primary story. It is the vehicle that brings everything together. The real story is the firemen, themselves. What must he be thinking? These are the shots that I look for when I come across a fire like this.

Changing Animal Behavior Confirmed

Springtime and Fall are my favorite times of the year.

A mudhen (American Coot) keeps its feathers in tip top shape.

My little buddy that flies into the sensor pole when I check out the Master Gardners Garden.

Gonna be be much cooler this weekend. Out normal high is 72F. This weekend  forecast 57-60F
I'm not gonna complain because in July and August we will be wishing for that level of temperatures.

Now, the message of this post is that I have been saying since the first flood in early January (there have been three,now) that the water levels and winds were stressing out the birds and wildlife, changing their behavior. There were some who disagreed with me. That's fine. But, in a National Geographic Report about the effect of climate change in Northern Alaska, the first state in the Continental US to see changes, is reporting the amount of stress that the birds, wildlife and fish are experiencing with the change in climate. Evidence suggest melting ice, rise in sea levels, deep arctic cold fronts lasting longer and being more frequent are changing animal behavior. I'm not one to say, "I told you so", but I will say, " I've heard that before somewhere!"