7,974 Steps to Find the wildest wildflower, and out of place items.

 Starting out, it was perfect weather. Then, in the early afternoon, the comfort index skyrocketed and my shirt was soaking wet under my backpack. Add in a dose of the wind going flat, it was even hot under my Mudhens baseball cap that arrived a couple of days prior. 

As I was leaving the house, my neighbor ask me where I was headed today. I told him there wasn't anyplace in particular today because I had already done research on places where my pictures were hot, warm, cold and even dead as far as sales were concerns. It has been most successful in the past to just go and let the trail lead me where ever. Surprisingly, it works and I find more to shoot that sells on those kinds of days.

Several years ago, I would get in the car, pull out onto the street and basically followed the path of least resistance. Some of my best images were the result of those kinds of days and now that I ride the bus and trains, it's even more amazing what I run across. Today, I saw a bob cat running along side the rail tracks where the scrub bushes were growing. It's been a while since I have seen a bob cat in the wild. About a month ago, I saw a coyote for the first time in a couple of years. I don't feel comfortable walking some of the trailheads because of the wildlife more than people looking to do harm. I keep aware of my surroundings. The thing is, when you find something interesting and you start to plan out the angle, light etc.,etc., and you loose awareness sometimes. But, I've worked on it knowing that it is a slight problem here and there. 

As far a learning the new settings on the new camera, today was a break through on a couple of them and as a reward, I stopped at a Sonic and had a chocolate milk shake complete with whip cream and a cherry on top. It was a boost of needed energy as the walk to the next bus stop was a bit further than I had planned. So, that required another reward and I stayed on the bus until I was across from Spouts Market. My favorite from them is a four-pack of Pistachio Muffins. Oh, are they so good. Then, I backpacked them to the return bus stop and to the rail station.

 

A Retail Drone lifts off and goes on a delivery.

 A retail giant has a new money making toy. It can carry 10 pounds and service an area .8 of a mile from its base. Ironically, large apartment complexes surround the store, which  ironically was built on ground that was covered by large scale apartments years ago. Now, new apartments are going up on the same ground that was many dwellings of some of the very customers today. 

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