Fall Weather Returned for 5 days, then.......

 the 80's and low 90's are back. As my brother says: "That's why we live in Texas". He is so right about that. I remember one of my friends in the Great Lakes, called me the first Thanksgiving that I was back in Texas and ask me what I was doing. My reply was: " I'm sitting on the porch in a T-shirt and shorts watching the birds and a squirrel playing. What are you doing?" His reply was that he was  freezing his butt off," Well. that's good enough reason for me to agree with my brother. That's why we live in Texas.

It got down to 45 ° F a couple of morning and the highs didn't get out of the 60's. I have keep a log on when I had to turn on my heat every year and. Within a couple of days, I had to turn it on for one day just to get the chill out of the house. The AC has been set to come on when it hits 74°F and it hasn't been on yet. So, I'm counting on it not coming on the rest of the month. I don't like giving money to the electric company, don't you see?

With the cooler weather, I was able to get out and take several hundred shorts. My monthly step count is at 77,201 for 32.89 miles and a 2,835 calorie burn. I like that. So does the old heart. September was at 56,349. I do function better in cooler weather, but staying informed as to the weather helps me plan, too. 

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the afternoon at my favorite Urban Nature Park. The fall wild flowers were spectacular. One of my favorites this time of year is the dried thistle stems and seed pods that have not released their seed yet. In fact, about 70% of what I shot was thistle stems.

Also, the big change to this fall shoot was that most of the agencies that I list with have all gone to AI (artificial intelligence) processing. While it is a big bust to agencies workflows, it is also a threat to most photographers in many ways. There isn't any regulation to it that I am aware or any of the photographers that I know are aware and the likelihood that abuse will occur is already showing up  in some areas. The one thing that I have noticed is that my phone pictures have started to show up here and there and I did not put them out there willingly. That's were the family pictures have surfaced the most. To me, it is a thief of my images. I'm not all that happy that the big Silicon Valley companies have what photographers are calling, "assets in waiting". I call it greed. But, I have never opposed change. Without change we are stagnant. 

So. It's good to be back. It is to be hoped that I didn't drive all of my readers off with my frustrations  about AI and the Dark Web Boys that have little or no ethics what-so-ever. But, Karma eventually catches up with them. I've seen it happen with those that wish to see you fail. But, at my age now, I really don't let it bother me that much. Life is to short. 

Enjoy the images.

Our Precurser to the Blog Return next week.

It's been a long hot summer from  several angles. When things get quiet, look out. and that was an understatement.  Never-the-less, we got a lot of house cleaning done (even saved a little money, too). The legal beagle's sniffing has turned up some interesting things about hackers and those that scam. I am not unsatisfied with their results, either. Now, we can set the rat trap under their directions and catch a few rats.

On the horizon coming for the re-start, we've actually been hard at work, too. A lots of changes to help us make some better presentations of images, but that part (sorry to say) is still lurking in the shadows of being ready for hopefully by Christmas, but you should notice some changes for those that follow us regularly.

I was searching one evening for things that could make my travel better. The shoulder straps on the back pack and the 45-pound weigh was causing a bit of a problem with my pace make. After checking things out from all corners, I made the purchase. Yesterday was the Maiden Trip and today was the confirmation that I should have been using this things a long time ago. It can fit my folding stool, camera bag, insulated bag for my water bottles. It fits perfect and out of the way on the buses and  the trains. Ironically, yesterday, trying to get home earlier, I  hopped a sister route bus that left the transit center sooner. We were about a mile and half from the train station when this loud pop and bag brought the bus to a stop. As it turned out, I was the only passenger at that point and the driver I had ridden  with before, said he was hit. I got off the bus, because I didn't want to be on the bus after an  accident not knowing if the fuel, or gas could explode. As it turned out, I had to walk about three quarters of a mile up hill to catch  a bus to the station. With a supervisor on scene, she could have notified the follow up  bus to make a  stop to pick up any passengers. She didn't. While waiting to hear what the cops might need, I started out walking up the hill. Three stops on the opposite direction...none til the top of the hill on my side. Either way, I still got over 8k worth of step in for the day. 

Having said that: here are  some images from yesterday and today. Enjoy. On a sidebar, I have long known the name of a muralist but had never met him as I have several  others.  Today, by timing coming together, I got to meet and chat with the artist (JR). Thank you buddy. It was my pleasure to finally meet you. Thanks for the great work, too. 

Yesterday I noticed a high number of Monarch butterflies while I was at Addison. The count per 5-10 minutes grids  was enough to take note that most likely, they rode the cold front in over the passage of the front. Today, I was still seeing a nigh number and while looking at some of JR's work along a trail, a fence was draped with morning glories. The  big Monarchs were having a super boost of energy replacement with the nector being so abundant.            

Monarch's are here!!

                        The strike line at Stellantis uaw facility in Carrollton's Chrysler Parts facility.
 

The Scouting Party of American White Pelicans have arrived on time

The weather has been slow to move toward Fall even hitting the first couple of days of October. Our first real fall cold front is due this weekend with temps falling into the 70s. A welcomed relief from the 55 days of record breaking heat from August 16th. It was an early Sunday morning when I arrived at the lake. The trip was to confirm that the scouting party for the pelicans had arrived. They had. Numbering a few more than in years past, at 22-24 birds. I was talking to Northern Illinois this morning and it is still warm there. Once that cold front hits, no doubt, the birds will be on wing for sure.                                       

As Fall Gets Underway, Hail stones the size of Golfballs ----

--- were bouncing off my sidewalk onto my porch last night. A tornado clipped the edge east of my brother's and was moving southeast toward old Louisiana. The alligators will be ducking down to the bottom of those lakes.

Both the National Weather Service and its Parent, NOAA, have said don't expect the cooling off in September to be very fast this year. Well, the first day of fall was setting new records again. 101 back to back again making it the 55th time this season to have temps over 100°F. Oh, the cold front that brought the Tornado and all the hail last night will string us out with low end 90s the rest of the week. Our normal highs for this time of year is low to mid 80s. Boy, that's one the National Weather Service hit on the head. I wonder if I can find the guy who bid the high bid for my snow shovel in the Great Lakes. I might want to buy it back for old times sake. 

The good thing so far that is coming with this fall is that my TXU bill (that's known as the Edison bill  in the Great Lakes) is 17% lower than my neighbors and with one day left on the billing cycle this period, I'm coming in right at last months bill and maybe a buck or two lower, and that's with all the excessive heat. Come to think about it, I've been revamping all my new security measures today and have not heard the AC come on once. The angle of the sun has already shifted away from my door and that allows the cool buildup in the house to remain. Tomorrow is our Equinox of 12 hours light and 12 hours dark to  occurs. There is a lag around the globe for that depending were you are in relationship to the Equator. Last week I was telling my brother that normally when I heat water in the microwave, I set it for 3-minutes. A couple of days ago, the water boiled in 2:21 seconds. That shows that the heat in the lake where Dallas gets our water has cooled off already. Amazing. Even climate change messes with the time it takes to heat water for tea or coffee. 

I am planning to go to the Arboretum----the half million pumpkins are ready to be displayed in the landscapes of the Arboretum for its annual display. With the new camera working out pretty well this year so far, I should have some fantastic shots to up date my high jacked images Microsoft messed  up while   trying to get me to take a subscription in the cloud. They lost all my indexing in the ones that I was able to track down and recover. It now takes me the better part of an hour to locate what I could do in the past in less than 2-3 minutes. Yes, I am mad. It's the principal, not so much the images that were being sorted out anyway with expiring copyrights. If those didn't sell, I would not renew the copyrights. Crazy how our wild-do-nothing- congress talks about security and extending copyright to a lifetime and yet, they only complain when it happens to them. A pretty sad bunch on the hill right now, if you ask me. Of course, only a few  do that anymore! Ha Ha. 

             The PAN 2023 Color of the year--Viva Magenta--shows up in a fantastic Lighting Store.

 

The  Move toward Native Plants that can take heat and use little water is showing up in Landscape Architecture scene throughout the area in all areas of living and working.

                            Most likely in town because of Texas Motor Speedway Season Opening.

My first day out since August 16th.

 It was 83°F when I left the house today. The comfort index (when you add the Humidity % and the Dew Point °F together and it is less than 120 you don't sweat by just standing still) It also closely rivals the phantom temp thereafter named Heat Index. Yes, sports fans, your photographer must also be a weatherman, a biologist, zoologist, Arborist, among other things: navigator, explorer.   

 I got to my bus stop and sat down on my little folding stool when I saw my bus rounding the corner. My ticket purchase completed just as the driver opened the door.  It then became a health walk more than capturing images. At one point, while resting in a shady area re-hydrating, I could hear the chatter of parrots. There are several large colonies in the Dallas Area. Looking up, I see  one of the largest of a species on Monk Parrots on  a wire above  the Dart train tracks. Then the parrot flew into the tree above me. The chatter was becoming louder. Suddenly, the birds flew off as I tried to get a count before I lost sign of them. This colony  was about 10 birds and obviously,  a new colony was developing.

 Walking over the top of a large garage that I had watched being constructed some 12-13 years ago. In  fact, I had taken a picture of a sun set striking the iron work as the buildings grew to their 16 floors topping out. I had just come out of the old Sam's Club Park Lane Store walking to my car with my cart, unlocked the door and  grabbed my camera making the shot before it setting sun faded. 

It was abstracted and  I look at it at this writing remembering that day. In fact. I recall  about 90 % of the  day when I shot an image when I look at it. Later, I came across two young men talking a picture of the very building that I had seen in raw steel as it rose to it height. Their image had captured the sun light angle almost identical with my original image. Maybe, if I run into them again, I can tell them  how great there image really was. Things have a much wider perception with other eyes.  I  will look for that image and hopefully be able to post it later on. (Thanks Microsoft).

                             

                                                            New glass in downtown Dallas.
                                                                           

Another New Record 110°F yesterday

 

                                    From the Earth Day Celebration at Fair Park this year (2023)

Three days of 109°F in a row. Day 40 of the summer season over 100

 Friday tied the record of 109.Yesterday it was broken for that day and today  it  was just 109 again.