'Twas a Cold Week in South Texas

The past week, not much sunshine and very frigid temperatures. One morning the chill factor was 38 degrees. At times the air was so damp, it became uncomfortable. I stayed home a lot and read a book...


Another Glenn Beck book I finished! The Snow Angel.

Irene, my daughter is the house manager for abused women/children, and this book [tho fiction] gave me a better incite of other people's lives, and a bit of background on what Irene faces daily in her job. The book's theme is about a very dysfunctional family life at best. The main two characters are Rachel [the abused daughter of an alcoholic mother], and Mitch, her father suffering from Alzheimer's. Rachel went from her youth and abusive mother into a marriage with an abusive husband. Her daughter, her childhood next door neighbors, and a pastor's wife are 'sub-characters' that play pivotal parts in the story. It was like sitting at the table over a hot chocolate, late at night, with story telling/confessing and revelations. Poignant, sad, cute, funny [Rachel's young daughter is strong willed and wise for her pre-teen age], tearful and cheerful. I found myself laughing, near tears, and hoping for the best outcome, and could empathize with Rachel and her fear of what lies ahead.  The 'what if'.. The title of the book is another aspect that is so very vital to the story!! The memories of youth, the times of family quarreling, all mingle to a life story that could be anyone's!   The ending was just okay; in my estimation the author left us a bit short by concluding too quickly. 

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Pollywog Ponds on a Wintry Day

...Some days I bundled  up in layers, and went walking... in the woods just outside the city limits one day...at Pollywog Ponds.  Another day I walked the bluff area at Bazemore Park where I spotted a beautiful mama white tailed deer and her yearling.  I took photos of them and will share those in my next post.  Of course I drove to the islands another morning. While on the islands, it was too cold for much bird activity. Not even a trace of a mockingbird in the open fields of Charlie's Pasture Salt Flats! [And they're everywhere most times, year 'round!]  Still, on the island I stopped at Leonabelle's Refuge and saw a beautiful Cooper's Hawk in the tree.  You can see by the drab gray sky and blowing feathers the weather pattern...cold, dreary and windy!  Just minutes later, while walking around Paradise Pond, I spotted another Cooper's Hawk that was trying to hide from me and as soon as the camera came up to focus on it, it flew deep into the tree canopy...



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...and with the colder temps, in the woods, we finally have some color change on some of the trees, but still a nice mixture among the always green foliage...






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...tho we have no snow on the ground [by the way Corpus Christi did have snowfall on Christmas Eve 2004 see this snow covered palm tree on the beach], it still looks a lot like Christmas here and there in a few corners of our home.  As of this posting date, only 13 more days 'til Santa arrives...