As My Grandfather Would Say: " It's a Million Dollar Rain Event."

 The rains have arrived. The thunder is here. It's going to be a day inside as the chances of severe storms are running about an hour ahead of the forecast. Hail, wind, squall line, and with any springtime storm in Texas, the possibility of a spin-up is always a chance in an isolated super cell.

"Severe thunderstorms producing damaging winds, very large hail, and a few tornadoes are expected over much of north-central Texas this afternoon and evening including the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area." is the headlines on the National Weather Service web page out of the Ft.Worth Office. So, with that, it does appear that it will be Monday before the sun shines again! 

It looks very well like a Domestic type day of doing the laundry, ordering in the groceries watching movies, listening to Classical Music. I know we all need those kinds of days now and then, but it really puts a dent in my walking and step count for the month. And I was doing so well, thus far. In fact, my monthly total up to sitting down here at the desk is at 118,548 steps for April; a caloric burn of 4656.1 calories, 50.51 miles and a total of 22.18 hours of walking at an average of 2.3 miles per hour. 

Somehow, some of the Earth Day images did get published and hopefully, more will get done before the end of the week with the weather not the best for being outside. So, already today, my seasonal change is published on the blog with only minor changes to color backgrounds---maybe. The change this year is a major change ( for the better I do believe ) that will shock a few of my die heart readers.

Change is good, buds! I even considered that some might have a minor problem of learning how to navigate the new layout. It isn't that difficult. Watch your cursor and when it gives you the hand, go ahead and click it on to see for yourself what it does. There is no big black hole that you will fall into if you click on something here. If so, I already would be unable to be writing this. It only took me a couple of times before I got back to where I was. Confidence was high as I did not waste time to back up the old layout. 

It had been around longer than it should have been, but with the hospital trips etc.,etc. it was on of those items that had to wait a bit longer than I like. Plus, I lost a whole day on Monday when AT&T lost service to my area. At first they said 6-8 hours to repair, then I got a text that they had "worked that AT&T magic" and got things working after I had left the house and was in transit for the day. 

The orange pilings are for the 4th level of  elevation so imagine the growth rate to cover an entire piling in a decade or so.

Barefoot and homeless under the High 5. The encampment was large and there were open fires burning in pots for what ever reason. That was a surprising thing to see for being under a bridge. In as much as I would have to consider that to be a hazard in so many ways. Just imagine driving and have drafts pulling dense smoke up along the sides of the roadway at the high 5's altitude above grade level if that pot were to ignite the cardboard, blankets and plastic items. This view was on the far side of Cottonwood Creek that merges with White Rock Creek up stream from White Rock Lake in a few miles. The City is trying to clean up the encampments at the Forest Lane Dart Train Station that is the trail head to the Cottonwood Trail that I walked to this point. Beyond is Mid Park  Exit where I caught the bus back to the rail station after having a burger and shake at In and Out, at the Coit and West Bound Service Road of I-635 LBJ at the heart of the Dallas High 5. All that clean up did was to move people farther north to the High 5 area.

Earth Day 2023 at Fair Park

Over the years, I have considered Fair Park to be one of the jewels in the Dallas Crown. The other, that could be considered an equal, would be White Rock Lake. The rest of the jewels are openly changing from year-to-year and the next one will surface when things settle out from the health, financial and when other factors begin to jell as normal once again. But, during the past period of uncertainty, White Rock and Fair Park were without question, the stand outs. 

Today, with the threat of most of the coming week will most likely sock me indoors, I had to get out of the house. Then, it hit me. It's Earth Day and Fair Park was the destination. 

One of the Falcons that is called into service when the Grackle numbers are a problem for aircraft

The second star of the show is this Fernhay e-quad that UPS uses in high density environments. They can be customized to your needs too.

The third in my selection of unique "save the Earth" items at Earth Day this year was this sweeper for trash in a lake, pond etc. 

There were so many others that were stand outs, too. A very interesting item was from Smart Sort Technologies, Inc. of Plano. The point of interest for me was their tag line: "Adding Intelligence to Sustainability." You can check them out at SmartSortAI.com

And, of course, The largest collections of Art Deco assembled in one place is a treasure for those of us that live in Dallas and can experience it the year round. I happen to enjoy Hall of State from the splendor of architecture and the fantastic fountain that begins with this view to the far end.

 

Another Bridge Goes Up. This one to straighten out a nightmare.

 If you ever travel Skillman North and Northeast of  LBJ 635 you know how fast you can become confused as to where you are. That nightmare is about to end. I can remember my first trip up that way and even an old navigational and seasoned driver or passenger, getting that lost feeling just was not something that I experience. I have a good sense of direction. But Skillman  from Whitehurst  to where  Skillman joins Forest Lane is like the Bermuda Triangle of being lost, turned around with curves and mergers and intersections that seem to not go anywhere with a lot of open space in between, one can see the brewing of a nightmare even as you got deeper into the triangle. When completed, NO MORE!

Couple that with the already 5,000 bridges in Dallas ( give or take a hundred or so ) and the count really wasn't driven home so much as it was with the High 5 or even the big namesakes of the Maggie 1 and the Maggie 2 (Maggie 1 being the Margaret Hunt Hill with one arch and the first constructed; Maggie 2 being the Margaret McDermott with two arches and second build of Santiago Calatrava Design). Now, in far Northeast Dallas the new Skillman bridge will (pardon the pun) bridge the gap between the

North side of LBJ 635 and the South side of the I-635 LBJ with this tied arch construction that is more lake the Maggie 2 (MMD) than the Maggie 1 (MHH). Maggie 1 is cable stayed with round arches. Maggie 2 is cablestayed but has flat arches like this design.

Hit 11,289 steps at 4.81 miles on Wednesday. Yesterday, I rested

 The weather has been so kind after being a bit of a troublemaker for a week or so. Last night, the local weatherman said that there are signs of the drought coming back after all the rain that we have had. 'Tis Springtime in Texas. It is. Yes, sir it is. The outlook is already flirting with 90° F already. The Lucille's can not be planted until the overnight time temperatures hit 65°F nightly. That is not that far away by the looks of things. The seed need light to germinate and germination takes 7-21 days. The reward is, however, worth the wait in beauty. 

Once again, getting off the train at White Rock Station, the walk down West Lawther to the trail that follows the North shoreline of the lake to Decision Bridge at East Lawther was just an absolute joy to see the wildlife, the scenery of the lake looking at both the West and the East shorelines as the lake flows South to the Dam, the Greater Spillway that flows wide to the Lesser spillway and tidal pools before returning once again to White Rock Creek, the source of the water drainage watershed for North Texas. South of the tidal pool just a few short miles, the flow sheds into the Trinity River South of Dallas where it travels to the Gulf of Mexico. Watersheds and drainage of area rivers and streams and creeks have always fascinated me in wonderment and fixation as if under some kind of spell. 

The capital improvements that have been made to the lake on the East side are spectacular, especially the stone tables and new grills that will be party central and reunion plaza to many who enjoy the lake and will find the revamped stone table landmark greatly upgraded. 

My goal was to make it to Highway 78 (Garland Road) and Loop 12 (Buckner) by 5:30 that afternoon,  where I had planned to eat at the McDonald's that backs up to White Rock Medical Center Hospital, then walk across the street and catch the bus home. My ticket at McDonald's showed 5:59 P.M. The reason the time was so important is that I must take my meds with the same meal each day and I do carry my little travel \pill tube with me packed in my backpack. 

Now, to be perfectly honest, I did cheat a bit by cutting through the hospital parking lot and garage to get to the sidewalk at the bank on the corner. The McD's is next door. So, it probably saved me some 200 steps or more had I stayed on Poppy to the old bus stop at Poppy and Buckner. So, instead of walking Poppy to Buckner, I only walked half way and then cutting diagonal across the parking garage and lot area, that is where the ~200 steps were saved. So, see, knowing the terrain does help in hiking travels. 

During the month, I have been re-learning the new settings on the new camera. This camera has many more "high tech" settings than my old Olympus (which I loved). But, change does happen and it's been an eye-opening experience of such. Having said that, you might want to open the images in a smaller scale than the setting that was preset for (L) images with the expanded pixels. I've read the details but have not gotten that far to make the setting that fits into my shooting routine. It will get there in time. Patience. Patience.

 

 

                    This one if you do open to 100% will give the detail of the blue bonnet beauty .

500 Lucille's Have Arrived. Can't plant until May

                                                                              

Lucilles

Well, finally, I have 500 Lucille's ready for the seed pots. I used the cold snap and limited outings to get some of this done. My prized potted plant for the porch has been wintering inside and while the warm sun on the porch has brought about new shoots and my piece of ivy has taken root and produced two new leaves, I bring them in when the overnights fall below 55° F. They can weather harden above that but just to be safe, I don't want to put them into shock phase. The center is a beautiful green variegated border hedge. It is doing very well at this point. In fact, this winter, it has grown about two inches. Next week it will be warm by day and night and I will put them out on the porch for the entire week. This should be our last cold snap before the warm days and nights come to sit-a-spell. 

The other indoor project has been learning more about the new settings on the new camera. It seems that I am making headway with that, although I have not shot with my old Olympus E-520 and I miss it. When the weather gets warm enough to not have jackets and sweatshirts, I may still use the Olympus small lens for detail where that part of the photography has taken a hit, because I do enjoy using long lens more than the delicate work. Warm weather will afford me the option to swing both cameras from my shoulders. My sales have prospered for that fact. Still, it does appear that the sales still fall within that 5-7 mile radius of home. So, I continue to look for new things and happening in that geographic range. Plus, I tend to like shooting by myself, away from the crowds and happenings unless it happens during my travels to and fro. I won't miss out on something served up in my path like a fire, accident, parade...those kinds of things. Old age has seasoned me to being perfectly content far from the madding crowd. I still like to hear myself think---sometimes---out loud. You know what I mean, Vern? You know what I mean. Vern, knows what I mean.

So, it's tax time and I have been putting together this years paperwork so when I set down to do the tax thing, I will have all the info at hand.Then, it's off to the eye doctor, set up a visit with my new primary care dude. When all of that is done, It will be the fourth of July. Since I have really enjoyed walking more than I ever have and  the step counts have reached the new normal of 8,000 rather than 10,000 steps per day, I will get up earlier and get out while it is cool in the 60-70°F range. Then, I will honor the Aussies by spending the hottest part of the day indoors with the AC. 

For my loyal followers, hang in there. I do not forget about you. Most of you have my posting routine down to a science. My base numbers of viewers has remained steady and I thank you for that. When I do get back into full shoot mode, most of  the new dailies are posted by 8:00 P.M. CDT (20:00 hours) DCT. I'm +6 Greenwich. 

I'll keep you  updated and posted on my Lucille project. And speaking of updates, I have only seen one more Monarch since my last update to the original article post. However, in the past week, I have seen three yellowtails (Swallow Butterflies). They are gigantic and make the  large Monarchs look like moths. Biggest ones I have seen in a very long time. They were also riding strong wind currents and moving East to East North East.

Rainy Days and Spring Time

Lunch

Believe this or not, this was found on a tree in a Cemetery.

Ironically, people steal the bronze flower vases from the flat head markers and yes, I have seen people walking from grave to gave taking flowers from new burials and even from vases that held fresh cuts from a garden, flower shop or supermarket. 

This wildlife cam with motion sensors will no doubt catch these bums as they get into their new BMW's and Mercedes.

Second Quarter Began Yesterday, Holy Week Begins Today. A new camera. Better weather.Relearning new settings

 Holy Week Begins today.  The most important week of the Christian liturgical year. Celebrating the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Well, the first quarter of 2023 was a better than average month for sales, walking more miles, having better weather and experimenting with new camera body and more new lens. Yesterday, I walked from my bus stop to the train station. Along the way, I meet a young fisherman; had Lyft driver see me sitting on my stool in a parking lot and wanted to know if I was his Lyft customer; a couple of ladies on the way to a relatives birthday party were picking through interesting curbside give-a-ways. I photographed the religious diversity on the walk. Toured a middle east bakery, had a sandwich at a small deli and made it to the train station. The bus arrived within a few minutes and I boarded for the ride home. At my stop, I said to my regular driver, I walked from here to the train station, 8,870 steps. He looked at me and said with a radiant smile, "WOW!" 

At home, I uploaded my shots and began to edit. I found a few problems with the new settings and worked on that so the next time I am in that same situation, I will hopefully have made the adjustments for a better shot. In the edit, where I had shot a couple of Canadian Geese sunning, I found the fisherman in the shot as well. Frankly, with the new lens, I had not opened it up fully and had I done so, he would not have been in the shot. However, in wider scope of things, it added to the shot of how comfortable the geese were around humans. That, within itself, amplified the geese and made for a better shot overall. Thank you, Mr. Fisherman. Anytime, you want a copy of that image, I will license it for your personal use. 

One thing that I did notice was that with these new lens, I can get better aerial shots of birds, planes and even cloud formations. I test shot all three and the results were pretty good. One that really blew me away was that I know where the vectors for the approach to DFW runways reside in my area and I saw one that would have been about 20 miles out to the final approach. I shot it and when I could read the tail logo, I actually did a fist pump! However, my days out to Founder's Plaza at DFW are done unless I can find someone going there and will let me hitch a ride. However, I could ride the TEXrail to the north station and shoot from there, I suppose. In fact, I might even try that. On a good weather day, I could get a Lyft (I've had it Uber) from the north station to Founder's plaza I suppose, making the day expenses cheaper. That's the one area that I can't find a solution to since I sold my car and started shooting the wagon wheel from bus and train routes. Not bad for a 4-sided 45 mile arch. That says a lot about the Dallas Transportation System that covers 4 counties. That's another project to work on.

Two Crows in a tree

The commercial plane on the left is a Lufthansa 777,

                                                    A beautiful setting for a corner lot

Tempus vernum in natura

 The Latin for,"Springtime in Nature" shifts the thought, the meaning, an the beauty a little from what we take for granted. But it does move the focal point just a bit farther from center. Just enough, I might add, to stir the emotions a bit more than we do sometimes. So. Having said that: I give you images tailored to these thoughts of Spring as five of our planets align with the moon this week and triggers the fact that we, as a human species, should be more humble than we are, about what we have and who we are and how superior we think and feel as part of the human species. Looking at five different worlds within our own solar system should give us a pause...a great big pause on how we treat our planet, our neighbors and others right here in our world today.