And the building of housing continues throughout the Metroplex

Got off the train at Galatyn Station. The cranes were all over the walk area between the new apartments going up and the Eisemann Center.  In fact, there were workers on the roof receiving materials from the forklift down below. 

I can remember when three stories were common zoning, then four stories started to appear, then five and now six. On the rail side of the apartments, there is now a seventh floor. The four-seven came on relatively fast with the spurt of growth. I'm even seeing tower cranes by the hand fulls in downtown and throughout the burbs.

Pelicans Have Departed Until Columbus Day Return

 Walked down to Sunset Bay at White Rock not even thinking that the Pelicans usually leave for their northern nesting sites around the third week of March. I can report---they have departed!! There were some ducks, geese, a Mud Hen (American Coot). Didn't see any cormorants or seagulls. So, it was down the Dixon Branch inflow to find some turtles. Didn't see the eagles or the Owl chicks branching but did find a couple of hawks. Even with the long lens, I could not get past the Federal Barrier marking off the trees where the Eagles nest and hang out. So the hawks were seen flying from tree to tree and sitting out on a branch either feeding the mate or a chick branching. 

The image of the day was a Little League T-Ball baseball sitting next to a goose catching a bit of shuteye. The Sunset dock was surrounded by several yards of washed up branches and some trash, even a shopping cart could be seen a few more yards out into the lake.Still, no dredging while COE guidlines are well within that time frame.

 

New visitors: You can resize using your browser to 200%. Then, if image is blurred, (some can be) you can back it off by downsizing steps from  to 100%. The new camera has much greater capacity in Mega Pixels than before.

This Discovery Mission Turned Up A Discovery or Two

 Some time ago, when I was still driving, I would drive down this street on a Sunday Morning looking for out-of-place items or unusual things that were there but seldom did anyone know about the area. It's a City Street that is one name on one side of a main drag and another name going the other direction on the other side of the main drag.

So, today, since I have been walking from one rail station to another on either a trail or a street, I decided that I would walk to the next train station as the street would go directly there. So, I started out. Within the first quarter of a mile, it because a wildflower furry with some blooms from big bulbs  that I didn't recognize. Then, when I go to the fork in the road, I knew it would shorten my trip through what would be medical offices, clinics etc.,etc. 

So, once again I took the high road but then a bundle of surprises started to appear. A lake, multi-fountains shooting water 30 feet or more into the air, picnic tables, benches, outdoor exercise bikes and a memorial garden with a stone hart standing center to a blue landscape below. Not to mention some of the most beautiful blooms that I have seen. I walked up the back side spine of a road that I knew would meet up and send me back via the way I had just walked, or take the main drag and hit McDonald's before a walk to the train station, where I had started or take a bus the other direction to a transit center and come home from the opposite direction.

I ended up at McDonald's. Big Mistake. That's a tale for another time, but I can tell you I have never had rude employees ruin a meal, but they sure did.  I guy next to me said that he worked for Wendy's and they would be gone in heart beat if they did that to a customer at Wendy's  McDonald's Senior Citizens Discounts that they offer was not only an insult, it was even more than that. I left and will NEVER sit foot in another McDonald's, ever. My first experience with a McDonald's was where you walked up to the window between the stainless steel arches and placed your order outside. No, in those days, that had neither seating inside because the only inside was the kitchen. And those were the days when there were no drive-thru, either.

 Ironically, I had counted at least 8 places I could have gotten a meal before I went on to McDonald's. Once again, a big mistake. The only thing that wasn't a mistake was taking that walk down that street with all the beautiful wildflowers, lake and fountains. There were many big turtles sitting on logs sunning, too.The thing with turtles is that you have to sneak up on them because if you are seen and make a noise, off the log the go into the water. Did get one shot of a biggie but I couldn't do the manual focus fast enough. Yes, the turtles were more fast than I was today.

                                                                I love blue flowers

Jesus March Downtown Dallas was held on Saturday 29th April

 The marchers began to congregate at Pacific Plaza at 1 P.M. There was to be a prayer type service and the marchers were to begin their march following the 2:P.M. prayers. 

At 2:30 no sign of the marchers. One of the Security Guys at AT& T said that the crowd of marchers was still growing.  The security and Dallas Police were in place at AT&T Discovery District with metal crowd control barricade as AT& T Discovery District. The STEM Robot Competition with groups from Miami, Florida, Illinois, Bangkok,Thailand and Cuba in attendance was already going on at Discovery District as the security team moved the crowd control barriers were moved into a closed position.

The crowd of marchers had grown so, that it, being loud with chants, peacefully attived at 3 P.M. and moved down the sidewalk going back toward the Comerica Bank steps about half-way from Discovery District.  Security was heavy and very polite at both venues. 

It was a beautiful and warm afternoon. The giant digital screen at AT&T discovery district has a fantastic image of an angle that was drawing an amazing amount of attention as the display changed and  with camera's pointing at the screen, which is a multi story high display. 

Doctors without Borders had sets at Pacific Plaza and at AT&T Discovery District. 

Thank You for Being Patient

We strive to always give you, our readers, a look at nature and change. As well, we also strive to give you a more creative blog to view and navigate than the cookie cutter types. We know that some of you do not like change, but in the world today, change is happening at a great speed than at any time in the past. It is also about to change even more with AI moving change, speed and everything else associated with it to the front page of information. Some of it, we do not like either and we have always welcomed change in the past. 

We are making progress in learning the new settings on the new camera. Talk about change--since my last two cameras (three actually) this new one already in advance stages from my old friend, the Olympus. When Olympus sold out, my heart nearly stopped for they were the leader in niché photography equipment bodies. We change and adjust. It does seem that we need a little more time in that adjustment than at any time in our past, too. But, there you have it. It's gonna happen whether we like it or not. So, make the adjustments where you have to and move on, the fillin part that comes later  is like the sweetness of honey. Such a delight on your toast or biscuits.

                                                Native Wildflowers can also be pretty weeds.

                                                                        Mother Robin

                                                            Baby Robin Branching

After an Instinctive Trip, I Caught the Prairie Wildflowers in Full Bloom and---

 An Osprey that sat proud on his territorial perch at the Geo. Bush Library and Museum. 

 

In trips there in the past, I saw him riding the thermals overhead and early on in my visit yesterday, I got a surprise glimpse as he made a swift dive into a tree for a Dove. When I was ready to leave and started to the shuttle stop, I saw him sitting on a railing on the second story of the Library. My stool instantly came into open position and sitting down on the stool, the majestic bird was not moving. After sitting there a few moments, he was satisfied that I was not a threat to his territory and began to move as I pointed my camera upward to his perch. A lady that I had spoken with up on the high trail was down on the trail across from my position and with her camera in the upward position now and behind me were two ladies that had their camera out as well. The three of us once again were discussing the Osprey. One said that she had seen me with my camera facing toward the upper story deck and had been the lady that I had ask if she had seen the Osprey earlier, when I tried to get a shot of the unannounced swoop into the tree for the Dove. So seeing me focused on something, she saw the Osprey, also. The other two ladies were talking with me about the process of elimination of what kind of raptor he was.

The Osprey was much to large for it to be a Red shouldered hawk. The next side up would then be a Red Tail and he had no red tail. That left either an Osprey or a Peregrine. Initially, I had thought him to be a Peregrine because of the High Rise Office Tower across US75 from where we were. Then, as each of us departed our discussion group on this magnificent bird, I delayed my closest shuttle stop and walked up the curved stairs up to the grade level at the front of the Museum because the wildflowers were lining the sides as the stairs that went upward and downward. The Museum was getting deliveries made to the front (not normal) because of the 10th Anniversary event this coming weekend. I had to set in front of the truck that parked in the curb lane right in front of the stop. The shuttle would not have seen me had I not set on my little stool in front of the truck. As the shuttle approached, the sign caught my eye. "The Osprey Connection" it read. I think, but will do the research, that the ID of our bird is indeed an Ospsrey. After looking at one I had photographed at White Rock a couple of years ago, I tend to agree now, that the sign just might be able to apply to our bird if not originally intended. 

I'll keep you posted. Right now, some of the bugs in the new Blog layout were not working as they should so I had to go back to the old format, at least for now, but I did post the picture of our central character in this post....now, for some of the wildflowers.

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.