It's Never Good To Cry In Spilled Tree Sap

Well, as luck would have it this week, my magic 8 ball was in the shop for repairs. That's the only excuse that we mortal humans could use, anyway. There is nothing that can be equal to the force of Mother Nature. It would take my magic 8 ball and millions of others to repair the landscape change in the Metroplex after the storms on Monday. Less than a mile from my house rows of privacy fences in back yards, some attached to brick towers, were felled from the wind that came ahead of the dry line as it moved east from western Texas right on through Tarrant, Dallas and Rockwall counties.

My porch was covered in buds from the big trees around me. It takes a big wind to do that. As the storm passed, there is some faint remembering that thunder was heard about the 3 0'clock hour of the night. Sleeping that sound makes me feel good that my sleep was deep and good for body repair but not so good to sleep through a major spring storm.The hail came from the previous storm, but this one had the wind!

When I got to the lake later that morning, my stomach was sick at what was being seen. The mighty of the mighty old growth trees were down from one end to the other. In one place, five giants lay from roots to canopy tops on the ground. Uprooted,these are trees that are 60 feet tall and nearing 8 feet in radius only. That means there's another 8 feet to get fully around the tree. The root ball of at least 8 of these monsters were down on their sides. In fact, with the lens that I had on the camera, to get the full image put the length distance to much and the images have some light blur at full 100%. Some of the places that I had just shot images a couple of days beforehand were now bare. Today, I noticed just how my shade was gone from there areas which are now covered in afternoon sunshine where once it was cooling shade.

I am one of those that hate to see a tree lost, period, let alone the mighty tower landmarks that have seen 100 years or more of activity under them. Checking on the hawks nest and the owls were a top priority as I made my rounds, but I can tell you the destruction was the worse that I have seen in 15 plus years. The thought that this is natures spring pruning so to speak is some comfort, but now I know how some people were feeling when Oncor's contract tree trimmers arrived down back yard alleys whacking the heck out of trees to keep the 10-foot easement of branches away from the wires so storm damage didn't fell trees and knock out power! Imagine that! There were some 300,000 in the metroplex that lost power anyway.

Homes were damaged, Rockwall homes got hit again. One man woke up as he is sailing out of his bedroom into the front yard one story below with only the bedroom door and hallway walls still remaining to the rest of the house. Big box delivery trucks were left laying on their sides in parking lots. One company had all three of their trucks laid flat. The National Weather Service in Ft. Worth confirmed three tornadoes in the Metroplex. Most just west of DFW airport in Keller and going north to Lewisville. I believed that it was straight line winds at the lake until I found one monster tree facing 180-degrees opposite of the other trees felled in the same direction. And, further, there were a lot of trees that were not uprooted but everything above about 6 feet was twisted off. To me, that should seems like circulation rather than straight line. Winds were in the 90-95 MPH range on the NWS site and the reports from the TV meterologist.

The guys at Parks and Recreation were out the first morning picking up all the little branches blown here and there, putting them into piles that could picked up by the mechanical equipment later. Then came the chain saw crews that cut the large limbs into pieces that could be picked up easier. Today, things looks like they were getting back to normal but the lift bucket trucks were out clearing out the widow makers and the wood chippers were running all over the park. And here is the kicker. While today was well into the 80s with clear skies, the Gulf moisture is returning and the weekend is already being warned of  severe storms again.

I have been busy submitting pictures and have a large number approved and published already with some still awaiting approval in the hopper. The work flow has slowed down with the tour of the lake and things being a bit out of sync. But, that will pass and things will return to normal minus some beautiful old trees that I have enjoyed  over the years.

The storm damage was all over. There isn't much more to say other than while being a renewable resource, it will take another 100 years to get the new saplings to this size.

Finally, The Payoff!

It's taken more than three months, but finally, being rewarded by a very cautious owl was well worth the effort. The Bard owls were both outside the nest and sitting in two different trees about 20 yards apart. Then the female approached the nest tree looking in to the trunk but not going inside. It makes me wonder if the chicks have hatched.

Later, she flew back up into the tree that she was sitting in before approaching the nest. That was the start of her very cautious entry into her nest. She flew back down to the entry and started to poke her head inside, then she pulled her head out while keeping her body in the same position and looked down at the ground. Slowly, she looked into the tree trunk again and then did the same thing all over.
After about fifteen minutes, she looked back into the hole, then looked straight at me with her head swiveled backwards, then into the hole she went. The male never moved but was watching every move the female was making. Her tail feather could be seen indicating that she was once again back on the nest.

It was an amazing site that I have never observed before. I have seen hawks be careful going to the nest, but it's a whole different thing with an owl and to have seen it was a reward and rewarding.

A Perfect Day--Almost

Another awesome spring day. Somewhere down the line, we will pay for this. In fact, as I write this,  severe thunderstorms hit the DFW area tonight and an unconfirmed tornado got very close to home. But, as spring storms go in Texas, big hail pelted several areas tonight with baseball size hail and tennis ball size and golf ball size hailstones. It sounds a lot like a sporting event and it's never fun to loose at that game.

But, as yesterday went, it just was a delight to be outside. Several people that I see regularly were telling me that that have started to follow my blog. That set the tone for a continuation of  what I do as a hobby but also inspired me to find new and interesting things both at the lake and throughout my little wagon wheel circuit of the DFW area.

The one thing about White Rock that draws me there so much is the eclectic happenings from people to things, to wildlife, to the total absurd like hearing the steamboat whistle in the difference and knowing that it is a steamboat whistle and also knowing, there is no way a steamboat is on this lake and yet, there it was. One heading right at me. In fact, the Dallas Morning News did an article on the guy.

It was the 7th season for the White Rock Paddle Company appeared on the scene. I stopped by briefly to tell the guys, Happy Seventh! I still remember the day that Amy in here pink ball cap let me take her picture and I posted on my new blog about that. The business has really gone through the ceiling of success since those early days of  rentals.

So, I will post one from three different events that I saw through my viewfinder during the course of the day.

Meet Peanut. I had just complimented her about her dress.

A "SUP"  takes in a view of a sail boater with the sun hitting the water at that super angle this time of year.

This is the second accident at this intersection in two days. The second car wasn't as bad as this one's front end from the looks of what I saw.

A Little Bird Tugs Stong At My HeartSting

Most likely, people think of me as being nuts when they hear me talking to birds and squirrels, dogs, cats, or animals in general. A little bit later, I will return to this point and tie it all together. But, in the meanwhile, there is a back story, too.

Living in the Great Lakes for many years, low gray clouds called status were something you just excepted. It's like Tampa in that every afternoon a brief shower comes ashore from the Gulf. It's just how our weather system works. In previous post, this has been addresses but, regardless how many times it is discussed, it's really never the same.  And--I have come to want clear blue skies most of the time. A week of clouds gets me in that,"I am getting cabin fever" mode.

It's been unusually hot in Texas already, this first quarter of the year. On the first day of Spring we broke an existing record for the day. (92 degrees F). It's was the first day of Spring, folks. I didn't mix up the seasons. It was indeed the Equinox. The sun was just crossing the Equator on it's journey North toward the first day of S-U-M-M-E-R. That's June and not March we humans know. It is also storm time in Texas. That means tornadoes. We expect them. They are wicked. They destroy property, take lives sometimes, and most of all, destroy our lives of things. Things that we need--or think we do. Things we cannot get through the day without. We all have those "things". I'm trying to get rid of a bunch of things, but I move them from pile to pile and they end back where they started. But most of all, things we don't need are the things we dread about spring. HAIL. Hail beaks glass in cars, It puts dents all over that thing you drive and it can wipe out a perfectly good roof. Hail is a thing alright. And in Texas, you are going to take a hit sometime down the line. My re-initiation occurred the second year that I was back. New windshield. Hail dents removed. The car I had just gotten the year before. In fact, I have a dent or two in this car already.

So, today was going to be another warm day with sunshine, but a wind advisory was issued with sustained winds of 35 MPH with gust to 40. The Joint Naval Base in Ft. Worth had recorded gust to 53 MPH officially. With that said, it was my decision to head out looking for architectural elements today that make for good stock images.  And so, I set out. My camera did not come out of the bag. It sat on the passenger seat where it usually rides with me. Somewhere along the line, something interesting pops up and I unhook the clips and pull the camera out on the seat next to the bag so if I do see something interesting, it's ready to go. But, today, it was just a windy mundane day--the quiet before the storm--if you will.


Generally, I have a rule. If I head out in the opposite direction from the way to the lake, I don't make a trip around the lake that day. In fact, I don't go near the lake. As I watched the clock, ate my Fuji apple, it was fast becoming time to head in. I had in mind a trip to the grocery story to fill in the breakfast items. Twenty minutes later, I'm at my first observation point at the lake. Then came the next point, and the next and I am half way around the lake already with nothing going on of any interest except to me. I have been watching closely in high winds, just how much the swells rise and the wave action splash height. It won't be like the 20 feet splashes that hit the rocks in Maine, but I have seen some 2-feet splashes into the shore before. For an inland lake that's pretty good. As I rounded the corner of the last turn before hitting the Marina area, I noted the most advanced swells that I have ever seen on the lake swell after swell after swell. White caps were rolling, swells built and white caps broke all across the surface of the lake . My first reach for the camera of the day had the camera on the seat as I made my way to a spot where I could park and watch the waves. Plus, I like to listen to the Sirens sing on a windy day as wind does on sail rigging. But, we all know that sound is really the Sirens singing.

Then boom! A 6 to 7-foot splash hit the shoreline. It was spectacular and I was happy. Then, the wind shifted just a bit and the gust just didn't have that umph! After half an hour, while there, my rule already broken for the lake, I had to check on my owl buddy. With the high wind I was wondering if he would even be on a branch.

I walked up slowly looking for my buddy but he was just not in sight anywhere. Then, I heard a little soft hoot and heard the swooshing of wings beating air behind me. By the time I got half turned around, he flew past me and up into the tree he went. But, he wasn't as high as he usually sits. He wasn't in his regular spot and he bobbed his head and flashed those big glassy eyes at me. I started talking to him. He even started responding as I clicked my shutter time and time again. All the time, I was talking to my bud!

He entertained me for about 40-minutes and I heard his mate call from behind so I started looking in  the trees behind me for her and then I'd look back at him asking if he needed to go to her or if they were okay. He gave me that big head bob and stretched his wing away from his body that I have come to know was the signal he would take flight. And so, he did. But my story does not end there.
He showed me where his nest was located. He did this as plain as if he was talking back to me with his blessings. I could not believe my eyes. Then I focused my camera on the trees hollow and low and behold, I see two big eyes staring at me. After a couple of minutes, as if he was satisfied that I knew where to look for him again and also remembering that he had once before call out to me when I didn't see him, he called again until I saw him. He is comfortable with me being in his little clearing and he is comfortable with the click of the camera and most of all, he seems very comfortable with my voice calling out to him. Or, talking to him as he looks down then goes on about this business, checking from time to time to see if I am still there.

Unusual for the lake

This Bard is my bud. We have started to communicate. Today, he flew in to greet me and he revealed his nest site to me, which I will protect. Although, I have an image of him peeking out at me with those big glassy eyes.

He was content to have be directly below him clicking the shutters as I talked to him. He seems to like that and I think it is why he has made an effort to let me know where he is and trusted me enough to reveal his nest site to me, as well. I am truly honored at that.

With that, and it being much later than I normally stay, I forfeited my trip to Kroger's for the day, happy that my bud, Mr. Bard Owl saw me first and then greeting me on purpose. There is no doubt: that bird recognized me again, and made a point to reveal his nest to me. That's an honor that lifted this day to the top of the mountain.

Don't forget to click on an image to enlarge all three.

A Greenbelt Insanity and Humanity

When my portfolio was low on aircraft and remembering the old days of Love Field when you could park along the fence on Denton Drive and watch the planes, it didn't take long to recall that those off-the-road parking spots were gone now. Also knowing that the big airport was now so big, the distance between the five parallel runways is so vast that take off aircraft where good pictures can be taken just was not in the picture. So where do you watch planes? Founder's Plaza someone said. So I set out one Thursday to find the answers for myself. Those Thursdays because know to me as "Discovery Thursdays" from thereon. Much has evolved over the past sixteen years but I still have Discovery Days each month when I go in search of those unanswered questions for new material. Yesterday was one of those days--as it turned out--it was also a record setting day for the first day of Spring, too. It was 92 degrees F and humid. The discovery was fun and filled with delight, however.

In Dallas, there are Greenbelts that run through neighborhoods for blocks on end. Although I drive this one street almost daily, it wasn't until this past month that I had noticed a footbridge crossing from the curbside of the street over a ravine. So at the next intersection, I turned and came back along the street on the other side. Almost instantly the Parks and Recreation Division had posted the signs that the area was a Natural Prairie Grass Area--an instant recognition of a designated greenbelt. Most of the houses on the passenger side of the car were higher ground overlooking the street below. So driving slow, you could look for wildflowers and unusual scenes. It was only a couple of more blocks before it really got interesting and I found the footbridge on this side of the ravine from where I had been when it was first sited. I crossed over to get back on the street where I had originally been only to discover that the plot layout had changed and the street there was not the street that I once had traversed less than a half-hour before. Then, I spotted the foot bridge on this side and it wasn't the same foot bridge that I had seen originally, but was the other side of the one that I had just viewed on the street over. What is going on here, I though. Vines were in full bloom with mini iris-type flowers hanging in bunches like grapes. They had grown so much over the years that they were now well up into the 20-30 foot level of some old growth. I got out and took some pictures. They will appear in stock and note cards in my sundry section on Glendine's link on my web page.

Back in the car, I made yet another left turn to get back on the street where I had been and instead of getting there, I ended up somewhere else. Over the years, various neighborhoods had seemed to confuse me like that and I learned to drive using landmarks. Many people do. But, in the process, I ended up being back on the street where I thought I had been. Instead once again, I had landed on yet another street. This one, however, had something amazingly odd about it. There was a cream colored cowboy hat hanging on a tree trunk several feet off the road and into the wooded thicket going toward the ravine. I stopped. Pulling the car to the curb, I got out and started to explore. At first I thought that there might have been some memorial as old silk flowers were in the "Y" of a tree trunk. Then, I spotted a red lantern hanging from a tree. It just got more interesting as I explored. A car pulled up and the gentleman called out, "Have you ever seen such insanity?" As it turned out, he was the curator and gave me an escorted tour of things that I had missed including the poison ivy I had almost brushed up against. It was a delight and my "Discovery Day" had once again revealed how much we all need this type of insanity. Here is a few items that I especially enjoyed.

Refreshing. An offering to the wood Nymphs?

Howdy. A Texas Bird Home.

Music in the escarpment know as Lake Highlands Area. It almost could be a state trumpet.

A Turn of Events For The Better

It was early when I headed out on Saturday. The humidity was like 88% and the dew point wasn't much better. In short, it was muggy and it's still was not officially spring with mother sun. During my outs and abouts, generally, my gas comes from Kroger's gas pumps. Yes, I use my discounts! Once in a while I might stop at QT or RaceTrac if the price is lower than my Kroger discount at purchase. The main reason is that on my rounds, I travel between two Kroger gas stations and it's just johnny-on-the-spot to get gas. On Friday, I had noticed that the southern Kroger gas station sells gas for $1.99 per gallon and I estimated (wrong, as it turned out) that the northern Kroger by my house would be the same. So that's where I headed Saturday morning to gas up.

When I got to the pumps, the price was $2.06 and with my $0.03 a gallon discount (I already used my $0.10 a gallon discount up) it dropped the price to $2.03.That's a $0.04 per gallon difference. However, that was not worth the effort or the savings to go elsewhere. Sometimes, I get Kroger's. Sometime, Kroger's get me. That's the way of the gas cycle. Alright. It cost me a big $0.40 to stay put.  That just means that I have to sell more photos.

When I left the station, normally, I would go right. Yesterday, my car turned left for some reason. As I got to the first intersection, I spotted a line of people holding place cards and signs outside the  Islamic Association of North Texas. It's the Dallas Central Mosque and to the Muslim community, it's like the Archdiocese Church which is usually a cathedral in the Catholic diocese. You get the point none-the-less. So, I made the block and came back around, parking in the parking lot of the church across the street from the mosque.

The local TV stations were there with their heavy tripods and video cams. I ask one of the cameramen what was going on. He pretty well summed it up but omitted a key factor that there was an opposition side and then a counter opposition side to the protest about the Mosque congregation. Then, I saw the AK-47s or what ever they call those curved clip rifles. I'm not a gun person. Then, I saw the Richardson Police. One here, one there, one over there and they were a bit jittery. That made me even more jittery and I got in my car and made another block coming in the back door lot of the Mosque  parking lot.

Never seen one of these at a protest before, but glad that they do.

This is not a Texas 6-shooter and somewhat disturbing to me.

Some of those that embraced the Mosque with their support. The two opposition groups were on the other side of the street.

Making my way around to those lined up along the side walk it was soon to be made clear that they were not formally, part of the armed protest but where embracing the Mosque with a line of supporters. Then, something else happened that was so different from some of the other marches that I had photographed in the Dallas area. I saw several people with blue vest like they wear at Home Depot with the words on the back in white letters that read: ACLU of Texas Legal Observer. They all had clipboards with a form-type check list that was a notation of various things they observed. Later, there was a chance to speak with one of the women and she told me that they were just bringing back this type of operation. There were fourteen of them.  Most people don't realize that the ACLU needs community support financially to do some of the things that they do such as this type service.

As it turned out after some time had gone by, a spokesman from the IANT came along the line bringing the supporters that had embraced the Mosque together to announce that an agreement between the opposition and the counter opposition and that they would be going to a local Mediterranean restaurant to have lunch and discuss the differences that they had. He also announced that those that had embraced the Mosque in support were welcome to stay but that the IANT would suggest that they disband so as not to add any more discourse to the meeting. With that, people began to leave peacefully.

 It was announced later in the evening news that the meeting had gone well and that differences were smoothed over to the point that both sides would march together in the upcoming march for unity later this month. After looking at my images again this morning, I noticed that I had missed an image that to me was more chilling that initially though: A Richardson policeman with creased marks between his eyes brows holding one of those AK-47- like tactical guns at the ready.

From there, I went looking for angles in a very large and old cemetery. This is what I found.

I looked at this amazing art for nearly forty-five minutes reflecting on what had just been witnessed earlier in the day.

The Real Leprechauns Come Out Tomorrow

Yes, Irish folklore says that the real Leprechauns are filled with mischief. Do you believe that? If  you do, then there are more leprechauns in this world than was first thought. Why then, do you think they are so hard to see if there are that many of those little black bearded men in green tails and high hats?
Me, personally, has my own opinion. I think it's because it's all a rough. They want you to believe that they are hiding under the rainbow with a big kettle filled with gold. You know, the old Kelt's were like that. They won many a battle by making their enemy think they were someplace else and then, they could come riding in on their white horses with their blond hair blowing in the wind and scare the H-e-c-k out of the enemy who would then surrender on the spot. Maybe, the leprechauns were in deed sitting under a rainbow with a pot of gold. So, if you see one tomorrow. Just give him a little wink of the eye and go on about your way because it's St. Patrick's Day everywhere and those mischief little Leprechauns are too.

Leprechauns??

Now, I know who this is and he ain't a Kelt!, But WE still love ya, Barney!

Y'all Have A Happy St. Patrick's Day, even if you don't have any of that little Kelt's blood running in your veins.