§ Sparkling Bay...

Spring is springing!!! Corpus Christi is nicknamed the Sparkling City by the Bay. I have to admit that the sparkling Gulf was a great attraction many years ago, before we retired and were trying to decide where to relocate to get out of the long, drug out winters of Colorado. We chose our first new location in the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest. Bud and I didn't want Phoenix [too populated and air quality left a lot to be desired]. We chose Tucson Arizona. I loved the desert and still do. But coming from Colorado where the air is dry for the most part, Arizona's Monsoon season was too much. The older we got, the less tolerant of the "dry heat" [truly a misnomer for the monsoon season where it's 120 degrees [real thermometer reading!] and the humidity is 100 per cent for months!]. On a whim, I said to Bud, "Let's move to the beach". We put our home in Tucson on the market and before the year was out, we sold it and moved to the Sparkling City by the Bay!!! Yes, it's humid here, and a bit unbearable in the summer months, but I can go to the beach!!!!!! And we do have a change of seasons more compared to the desert. Yes, there is the chance of hurricanes, but no matter where you live there is a chance of some dangerous weather pattern...blizzards, fires, tornadoes, to mention just a few. I can say property damages we have experienced in EACH state. [Colorado...high wind storms that toppled a couple of trees onto our house and it came right THRU the roof into two bedrooms!!  Imagine waking up in bed with all these huge limbs and leaves just inches above your head and ceiling plaster on your body and blankets!!  Not to forget many, many, blizzards where we were home-bound for weeks on end. Arizona...flooding and roof actually 'melting' in the heat!! And then, Hurricane Harvey here...fence damage] Weather! It's all part of life, no matter. For the most part tho, I can find a lot of 'sparkling' areas around town where the turquoise blue bay is always within my sights...

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I must get out on the highways in search of some Texas Bluebonnets. [making a note to myself]. Walking along Nueces Bay the other day, I noticed the yuccas are now forming those beautiful waxy candelabras, and some wildflowers are exploding on the open areas by the sea...

....and yes, if you're curious, in High School [a job through school] I worked part time my junior and senior year, and then full-time up until Irene was born at a Chamber of Commerce as head receptionist and executive secretary to the Chamber's director..  So, write-ups [propaganda] like this selling point of the area where I live comes 'natural'.  lol

source for Sparkling City By the Bay 'brochure' is linked in text.

§ Colorado History 101

Bud and I were reminiscing of a weekend trip we took from our home driving to Julesburg Colorado, across I-80 into Laramie, Wyoming [also stopping at FORT Laramie] and down a highway to an old abandoned stage station [Virginia Dale] and another stage stop called Livermore, Colorado to Laporte, thru Fort Collins, and back home, following the old Overland Trail Route from Denver to Laramie,  Wyoming. From all angles of the road trip, a mountain is visible. I'll get to that in a second. In the 1850s there was a stage station operator called Jack Slade. I found a book recently published about him, and am reading it right now. He [Slade] is historically elusive once he arrives in the west...but there are legends and hearsay of his where-abouts and dealings with the Overland Trail that goes through Colorado into Wyoming. I've always been more curious about the man, and hope to learn more from the author's research on the subject and time frame.

Virginia Dale Stage Station - Livermore Hotel
circa 1850-1980[?]
Reason for the question mark is 'cause I don't know if they're still in existence beyond 1980

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When I was young, and single, still living with my parents, during the summer we'd often go up northwest in the Rocky Mountain Front Range so my father and brother could take their boat out on this huge reservoir and fish!! Of course, I had the least interest in fishing as the sport, but I didn't mind going out on the boat on a hot, summer day. I was always fascinated by the mountain behind the reservoir.


sorry for the yellow quality of photo[s]
They're close to 50 years old and the film color is fading

In fact the reservoir had the same name as the mountain.  I'm hoping it remains a landmark/icon.   The mountain itself has a few folk stories.  Some, from American Indian Tribes, etc. Bud, a native Coloradoan, had a good friend that lived on the south end of the water.  It was a thrill to see the eaglets, and the beautiful golden heads of the fledglings' parents on their land. At the time of year one season, there was an awful drought and the reservoir was VERY low in water capacity. The water table was really down and we could see foundations [as pointed out with the black arrows on image-enlarge it] of an old quarry town called Stout, Colorado. After dams were built and completed, the abandoned town was covered with water the year I was born...destroying a bit of history of that North Colorado area. Since then, I've read several stories of this area less than an hour's drive from where I grew up. Anyway, back to the mountain. As I say it's an icon for that part of the Front Range!

I am sorry, I got sidetracked in thoughts again...back to the mountain.  Having a conversation about the Overland Stage Stations we visited long ago made me think of it.  The mountain and most of what areas open to the public were pristine and uninhabited for the most part, now old friends in Colorado tell Bud and me that it's more or less ruined with homes and cut trails, no longer a wilderness.  I like to remember how it was back when we hiked to see the golden eagle nest...:  Horsetooth Mountain.  Over the last week or so it's been too hot to be outdoors for any length of time, so, I sketched it...

§ Five on Friday

one:  Y'all know by now if you read my blog much, that both Bud and I really like NCIS [and NCIS New Orleans]. Well, we've collected, over the years, the DVDs for both; having ALL seasons for them in sets. We watch them off and on, and a few weeks ago, we watched a couple of programs from the 11th season of NCIS. It's been a while and I had completely forgotten one episode entitled "Homesick". The short synopsis: several children are sick and hospitalized throughout the Navy and NCIS is there with their forensic scientist, Abby, to find a cure for those youngsters. And in the hospital lies a very sick, young, little girl*. She is the main child in question of the mysterious illness...anyway, long ago, when we first watched it, I told Bud "That looks just like me!" "When I was her age." The past week or so, I've been sorting through old photographs; some of which I shared here recently. I came upon my photo to show Bud how closely the two of us [the girl in the hospital on NCIS and me] resemble each other. You take a gander and see if you don't agree with me, Bud, and now that I sent it off to my sister, she too was flabbergasted at the closeness in looks and some features!

two:   Do We Look Alike?

Do We Look Alike?

Yes

No

survey maker

* photo of young girl from NCIS found with Google Search

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three:  I kept telling Erik that the Burgers at FIVE GUYS are the best! And this proves it. His favorite is Smashburger...well, I tellya now....Five Guys' burgers beat out Smashburger 'by a mile'!!!

photo source: Google Search



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four:  Once again, Colorado [my 'home' state] got bomb-blasted with a Spring Snow and Ice storm this week!! Power outages and other weather related traumas like broken trees and downed power lines. Here's a texted image of my sister's yard on May 18th...



...I am thankful Bud and I don't have to contend with this. I'll take the humidity and gripe all I want...I know it was our choice to get away from stuff like the above.

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five:  I am definitely NOT naval jargon savvy! So, there is a supertanker supposedly coming into the Corpus Christi Ship Channel [at Port Aransas] to dock for the first time in its history at Ingleside, Texas. I wanna be there at the channel to watch it come in. Now, thing is, it's supposed to be here for a test run along the channel to see how everything goes on the 22nd of May....Monday. I was informed by the chamber of commerce in Ingleside that there is NO specific time frame ... it depends on tide and weather! Good grief. They're telling this novice in a round-about way that I need to read charts? Out to google I go! LOL What a riot...

Bud, being a Navy seaman long ago, told me that the ship will use 'high tide' to be able to make the run along the channel...the chart depicts high tide around NOON...that means I should be there anywhere from 7 am to infinity in my estimation! It's gonna be a long day. Just hope the weather is good on Monday

If this is successful testing, and all works well, Ingleside Texas will be the FIRST IN USA to have a supertanker dock area. Exciting.

Wish me luck...and hopefully if all goes according to plan, I just may get pictures.

photo source: Google Search

§ May Day....May Day

Random Thoughts

Wouldn't it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes; come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller?

I don't trip over things, I do random gravity checks!

I don't have gray hair. I have "wisdom highlights". [and by the looks of things...I'm just very wise.!]

When did it change from "We the people" to "screw the people"?

Why do I have to press one for English when you're just gonna transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?

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Bud Recently had a Birthday

...awww, come on....where's your sense of humor?


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Snow in Late April?
Yep, that's Colorado!

One of the many reasons [probably the MAIN reason] we retired to Texas is for the fact snow can fall in Colorado, where I lived for nearly 50 years [Bud is a native Coloradoan], in July.  We both, the older we got, got so tired of SNOW. Well, last week, it snowed, and a very heavy WET snow and Denver and cities farther south, were under a winter snow warning. DIA [Denver International Airport] was bogged down, interstates and highways were closed...it was a typical April day in the state. My sister, who lives on the Western Slope of the Rockies, texted me a photo of her yard and she told me the San Juan Mountain Range had been socked in for days!!  You can see the beautiful jagged peaks of the San Juan Range from her patio door.

...and here in Corpus Christi, while all that was happening to those in my 'home' state... it was boiling at a high of mid 90s.

Same day...different states
Colorado Spring Storm, Texas Sunshine!


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They Call me Mellow Yellow




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Kinda Like Ripley's Believe it or Not
aka - You Never Know What'll Wash Ashore!

...I'm glad there wasn't a head attached. I'd still be runnin' for the hill country. Not that I'd be guilty of any wrongful act...just not too thrilled seeing anything as terrifying as my first thought about heads. Instead of Ripley's reference, maybe I shoulda stuck with something like the Twilight Zone Theme.  No glowing, red eyes, I checked closely!!!!  Twice.

§ Is This for REAL?

UNREAL    

Trump's son is killing wooly mammoths, sabre tooth tigers, triceratops!!! Do YOU think they have the right to slay these endangered beasts? Watch this: PRICELESS. You just hafta take time to watch this five minute video to get the whole gist of what I am about to share. So, click on the link "priceless"...watch it and then come back here...

I always have to read the insipid comments after such a video. Are people really this lame? They're  [the ones being interviewed here] voting in November? Here are some comments to come up the pipeline:

Jonny W 1 week ago

If you see any of these animals in real life, by all means blow it to hell and back. We've all seen the Jurassic Park movies.

Papa P 1 week ago

I weep for the species.

1tired citizen 1 week ago Do you mean those species that are extinct or the ones that are answering these questions?

Ӎiкә К 1 week ago

I don't want to live in this world anymore...

Luis P 1 week ago At least not California

- - -Of course, I'm pretty sure this is all a staged production. At least I HOPE SO!! If not, and they ARE this stupid, I'm pretty sure we as a race are doomed!

REAL - REAL ESTATE

My sister texted me a photo of her Sunday Drive thru the Mountains near her home to show me the Aspen trees in all their glory. This is in Ouray County, Colorado. The background 'mountain' is Chimney Peak in the Sawtooth Mountain Range of the San Juan Mountains. The town nearby is Ridgeway. The elevation of this peak is 11,781 feet high. For over 50 years, when I lived in Colorado, we as a family, always took a drive to the high country to view the Aspen in Autumn. It's a spectacle that is definitely a life's pleasure. By the way, the Chimney Peak Ranch is for sale....asking price....$28+ million!!!

REAL ITY

At times I'm a cloud watcher too! I just saw a perfect 'heart' in the clouds, rushed inside to get my cellphone...went back outdoors, and the 'heart' was no longer shaped so. Bummer. But here is a trio I've found. And at the time, I had camera in hand - [the first two] I was looking UP to see hawks fly over in migration form.  [the third photo of the 'witch' flying in the sky was taken back on a birding trek IN JUNE]...

"X" Marks the Spot!

Texas Lone Star!


A Flying Witch


REAL BEAUTY

From a couple of weeks ago, I had mentioned I attended the hawk watch in a suburban park about 25-30 miles from Corpus Christi...Hazel Bazemore Park which hosts the annual watch from mid August thru the end of November. The hawk watch platform is a permanent watch tower, and year 'round you can view the prairie grasses at a far distance, view the nearby ponds and scout the riverbanks, search through the tree tops, watch for javelinas and white tailed deer...all wildlife, plus birds that are residents of South Texas and migratory birds. During the weekend presentations, the Sky King Falconry had exhibits of wild, trained, birds. I mentioned that one bird, a falcon, I couldn't remember which species it was. So, I emailed Sky King Falconry and asked. The gentleman was kind enough to send me an answer. It is a Saker Falcon...known to be a European breed [Not of the new world]. He also added that this Saker's name is Kriger [CRY gurr]. So, after receiving its ID, I will share the photos I took...

§ Backyard B-b-b-b-b-bocat?!!

Y'all know, I'm sure, that my sister lives on the Western Slope in Colorado....from her home the view is of the San Juan Mountains.  This past week, it's been snowfall and more snow! Unless she uses her 4 wheel drive, she stays home. Now, on the other side of the house, sliding patio glass doors open up to the 'back woods'. Here, other than cleaning out some deadwood, they kept the grounds in its natural state. She happened to be at home and by the doors when all of a sudden...luckily, her cellphone was in her hand....this is what she saw from the fence to the woods, and texted me the image...a bobcat!!

...but here in South Texas, tho the landscape is in the wintry browns on the islands and still, for the most part, green in the city, on Sunday last I walked along the salt flats in search of wildflowers that still may be blooming. Yellow seems to be prominent among the winter-kill wild grasses...

...except for this lone pink rose protected from cold in the trees!!

The sky the other day was beautiful...as is most days around here. The cloud formation on this particular morning was phenomenal!