Seagull Sunrise [or Toilet Paper - What a Rip-off!]

All this past weekend, we have been kept busy trying to finish the hall bathroom.  But first, a bit of photography around our neck of the woods...

Last week I showed you the first blossom of my epiphyllum and mentioned there were other buds forming.  It bloomed a 2nd time the next evening, and the first blossom had closed and withered the previous afternoon...thought I'd show you 'both'. And, at Charlie's Pasture North, in Port Aransas, where Bud and I go birding often during Spring Migration, a 'century plant' in bloom!!! The century plant, a tall agave plant once thought to bloom every 100 years. Although it doesn’t actually take 100 years for a century plant to bloom, it is still a rare sight, only flowering once about every 10 to 30 years, according to Horticulture Unlimited’s website. Adding to its unique nature, the plant dies off shortly after it blooms, but not to worry, it reproduces by having 'runner' plants at its root base. There were a lot of these we had in the Sonoran Desert area of Tucson, Arizona. When the blossom forms, the height is phenomenal...may reach a total height of up to 25–30 ft (8–9 m).

...At the Marina, downtown:

One of my favorite drives in the city is along Shoreline/Ocean Drive that twists and winds along the shore of the Gulf. Sometimes you can see the whitecapped waves lapping against the shore, other times the manicured yards and small parks are what is visible, while yet at some curve you can see the skyline of the city buildings and the marina ahead, walking the boardwalks and along the seawall with the yacht clubs [seeing the yacht's masts in the distance as you drive there along the sparkling sea...only to see birds galore such as the Herring Gull shown above in the three images, close up and personal!!] Also, there is an abundance of different fencing finishes here and there! Today, I show you an entryway made of brick with wrought iron gates into a private yard along the coastal side of the street. I've often dreamed of having a 'million dollar home' such as these along the shore built on one of the empty lots along this area, but then again...pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe a cool million, to have a view off my deck would be a nightmare if a hurricane such as Katrina hit my home. No insurance would cover my loss of a lifestyle!!! I'd rather just have my dream house...

Ocean Drive

Corpus Christi, Texas

From the street view, you see this entryway.

From the back yard, the view is the Gulf of Mexico

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Seagull Sunrise...

One morning this past week, I happened to see the beautiful cloud formations in the sky and then noticed there was a lot of seagull activity!!  I love watching their graceful flight and listen to their calling either close by or from a far distance.  Sometimes seagull songs make me feel lonesome, even when people are near and a crowd....like a distant train whistle.  Anyway, the sky was active with the birds and the clouds were big, puffy and beginning to glow with the sun as it rose up in the east.  My cellphone camera caught the colors, the beauty, and just about every 'frame' has at least ONE seagull. There is a seagull in the photo to the left that is 'in the tree'...looking like a leaf as it makes itself visible.   Hence, a seagull sunrise:

At one point the clouds resembled the smoke arising from an active volcano!!

...toilet paper, what a rip off!

Last week, it was tearing down the wallpaper and scrubbing the residue of the glue on the walls, patching nail holes, and Bud making a light fixture frame above the vanity mirror. Saturday morning, early, I opened the can of paint and began covering the walls with Mediterranean Deep...a darker blue color of paint. By midday the 2nd coat of paint was drying and around 4 pm, everything was rearranged on the walls: pictures, knickknacks, and figurines were up. Except for buying a new shower curtain ensemble and matching throw rugs [found some after I composed this post!], we were done!!! The room went from black and gold to a rich medium dark blue.

. We kept our Oriental theme since Bud has quite a collection from his Navy Days. And the very large, standing Buddha has been a part of our life together since I bought this for him in 1968.   I also mentioned that Bud made a new wooden frame to surround the vanity light...the two Chinese Symbols he added to the center frame are zodiac symbols of the Tiger and the Ox [our two birthday symbols]. Tiger on the top, the Ox on the bottom.

Here are a couple before shots:

...some after shots: