§ The Colors of September...

COLORS

It's getting close to Autumn by the calendar [here a change of seasons is quite a bit later in the year than most experience], and it's already past the midpoint of September!! Of course, I look forward to this time of year 'cause the humidity drops drastically from the summer months, and the nighttime and daytime temperatures are much more bearable  [We're not quite there yet, but soon will be!!] Out walking in the last couple of weeks, I took these photos: THE COLORS OF SEPTEMBER....

Take note: You may see the brown anole [lizard] and you may see a Wilson's Warbler in a couple of the photos in the entire post...can you spot them?

SPORTS

My two favorite sports teams, The Denver Broncos, and The Houston Astros made for a very enjoyable weekend this past week...The Broncos whipped the Dallas Cowboys 42-17!!! And, best of all, I got to watch the game on our big screen TV with the antenna on FOX!! Even with the weather delay of about an hour or so, the game was fun to watch...of course it would've been a disaster if the score was just the opposite. lol Then, The Astros clinched the AL West yesterday with the score 7-1 against the Mariners....the first time for them as members of the AMERICAN LEAGUE.

Exciting stuff!!

Images courtesy of Google Images



WEATHER

The past week, it's been hot, humid and absolutely break out in sweat kinda days!!! Step outdoors and clothes are soggy in no time! But, this morning, as I drove to North Padre Island, I was surprised there was wet freeway in spots here and there. There is predicted rainfall in our area for the next few days; intermittent which means just that...you can be under blue sky and the next minute you're under a micro-burst! Which happened to me as I was driving home from my walk along the beach at Packery Channel. Speaking of Packery Channel [it's for small craft, not ships the size of tankers!]....from Hurricane Harvey back in August, the landscaping in this area has been changed drastically. I got pictures!! That'll probably be my NEXT blog entry. Stay tuned.

...and the active hurricanes out in the Atlantic hasn't slowed down any!!  Those residents on the Islands in the Caribbean Sea...I feel for them and hope they're spared any more terrific damages from Maria.

§ This and That...

1- This week, I'm sharing a 'tutorial - step by step guide' for adding photos from the soon to be defunct Picasa Web Photo Albums, if you need some ideas. Your photos for blogger will NEVER cease to exist [from Picasa], but as of March 15, all images uploaded to your blogger blog will go and be stored in Google Photos. Here's the link for a bit of help if you wish to use/reuse some of your 'old' photos stored in Picasa. 

2- I watched online at a free site the other day, the Oscar's Movie of the Year....SPOTLIGHT!!  Oh my goodness, what an outstanding movie.  Very worthy of the award in my opinion.  Base on a true story...with edge of your seat documentary form....from the eye opener subject, to the corrupt Catholic Church, the young children's abuse and rapes by priests [according to the Boston Globe....the youngest victim was 4 years old!!!]  Well done, tasteful, unbelievably sad.  I personally doubt that too much is being done to commit to those that were and STILL ARE victims in this....but it continues to astound me that such a thing exists.  Applauding the newspaper and the deceived [and their families] from the past and the research and reporters who opened up the conflict of church and parishioner children of all ages being physically and mentally tortured at the get go to adulthood of those lucky enough to survive and live to tell their story....living with this secret and being 'bought off' to keep quiet with the hierarchy and fortune of the church.  IT HAUNTS ME days after I watched the movie....one that will always be etched in my mind; unforgettable.

3- Weather changes... a rainy gray day. Went to the Post Office to ship to my sister her gift for our Sister's Day celebration coming up on the 18th of this month. Drove to Walmart [ugh, no other choice for what I was after], stopped at the used bookstore to peruse the shelves and trade in some books. Came home and made a batch of walnut brownies for Bud...it makes the house smell so good!! Then, after lunch I did some more coloring in my color books. Oh, I purchased another book a few weeks ago, all about coloring BIRDS. Each page has a color guide to help make them realistic. Lovin' that one!!

Left to right: Cedar Waxwing and Common Kingfisher [Old World, not found in the Americas]

4- Keeping an eye on the Spring Training Games!! Both the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League. There is always a bit of excitement and anticipation of the first 'crack' of the bat and baseball soaring to a home run status in April!! And, looking forward to it all. Speaking of sports, Peyton Manning [of the Denver Broncos] announced his retirement this week. Who, now, will be the starting quarterback for the 'home team'?

5- TODAY'S FLOWERS are on my tutorial, and I will share a bird on a fence this week!!

Pyrrhuloxia

§ All Day All Night....aka Super Bowl Sunday

It's still about the art contest. Since anyone participating can have up to three entries, while waiting for the Super Bowl game to begin, I dabbled with another colored pencil sketch. Only rule is it cannot be a photograph! As my profile states, I enjoy sketching and painting...why not do it...even if it's just for the 'fun of it'? Entries can be of any art medium, and must pertain to Wildflowers or Texas Native Plants. I have no idea what plants are "native" to Texas, that's why I chose to enter with two wildflower drawings. The first one I did was of the fire wheel. This 2nd one is of one found on the sand dunes along the beaches. It's named "Railroad Vine". From what I gather, the reason for the name, it spreads in 'tracks'. One plant, up to 100 feet long and usually about 30 feet wide; very tolerant of drought, spreads rapidly, can be found in any environment, does well in poor soils. can withstand winter temperature drops to 20 degrees F - there is NO KNOWN human hazards of this particular plant...also known as Beach Morning Glory as the blossoms [very similar to the cultivated morning glory vines] open in the morning and close by mid afternoon; blooming year 'round they really beautify the naked gray dunes with color...color of blossom ranges from light pink to a most deep maroon-like shade of fuchsia with hues of purple veins in the petals...I surmise this has to do with the amount of light/sun. My submission:

Railroad Vine

All the time I was sketching and coloring between the lines, our cat, Tahoe, kept an eye on my progress. I love the pools of mint green flecked with a golden orange against her black coat. Pretty eyes; hypnotic eyes - especially when she is staring off in the distance; in the far away land of kitty-dom; capturing birds in her dreams. With the light filtering in the window from the sun, her thick, black eyelashes reflect against her iris; making me a bit jealous of them. No mascara or eyeliner needed!! I think our maker musta skipped that beauty on us humans. At least ME!! Naturally, Winston was being a typical male cat...not interested in any activity but dozing in his kitty bed.

It was a most beautiful day Sunday. Mild temperatures, clear sky. A good quiet part of the day, early morning, I drove to the islands with camera beside me in the car. I stopped at my usual places and watched the birds over and on the pond at my first hot spot. As I walked the wide corner on the pathway, a Cooper's Hawk was perched in the tree. Tho, not a good position for any good photos, I still couldn't resist pushing the shutter button! Making my way toward the middle of the pond along the boardwalk, a couple of cormorants were making a ruckus. I am wondering if this is the beginning of the mating ritual, or if they were just bickering. I think it's too early for breeding, but what do I know? Altho, there IS TELLTALE SIGNS of the breeding plumage on the male...so just maybe?!! The breeding plumage of a cormorant, the neck feathers and 'eyebrows' become white and they are displayed to attract the female as seen HERE from a post on my birding photo blog.



My species list at this area was large, hawk -Cooper's and Harrier- cormorants, stilts, egrets, grebes, soras, white pelicans, coots, shovelers, ducks, and more. Heading down the road, after about an hour of walking and viewing from the first area, produced only five bird species...a mockingbird, phoebe, an immature night heron, several yellow rumped warblers, and a pair of redheaded ducks. I then drove to my last stop...Charlie's Preserve North. Terns, herons, sparrows, pelicans, larks, mockingbirds, sandpipers, yellowlegs, and a vulture were spotted in the mid morning hours. With my step count app, it told me it was then time to head home. Once I parked in the driveway, Bud and I washed and cleaned the car. Next, I made my traditional Broncos in the Super Bowl cupcakes of blue and orange...lunch and reading...then, sketching the above picture and the day was filled to the coin toss against Denver and Carolina where I sat 'glued' to the computer monitor while live streaming brought me to the game plays. All I can say, as a die hard fan, the Panthers made the Broncos look good. I WAS SURPRISED AT THE OUTCOME. If you remember correctly I predicted a Denver loss...big time. I'm happy to say, I was wrong. DON'T TELL BUD THAT I JUST SAID THAT....

I'm never wrong.

§ The Wind Beneath My Wings...

Of course, I'm excited. But, I am going to go out on a limb here; the Broncos will lose by many points! I still have a soft spot for the team tho...been following them since the 1960s!!! When Craig Morton was quarterback....the majority probably never heard of him. Oh my gosh, I just realized I've been a fan as long as the super bowl existed. I'm ancient!! Even tho the game will no doubt be one-sided -me thinks-, I will still have my blue and orange garb and my 'traditional' blue and orange cupcakes. No different, after all these years. Secretly hoping I'm wrong in my prediction.  There was a duo on the 'old team' long ago that continues today to be my favorite players...Elway and #87....wowsers!...Ed Macaffery Still....GO BRONCOS

Several weeks ago, I had mentioned on a cold, very windy day, Bud and I walked along the trail that connects the two parks adjacent to two city boundaries, Portland/Corpus Christi, Texas. The parks have two names even tho they are of one section of land...On the Corpus Christi side, it's Indian Point. On the Portland, Texas side, it's called Sunset Lakes. While walking along the path I stopped and watched an egret preen; having difficulties keeping balanced and feathers flying all a'kilter. My first thought was "a bad hair day" but that is so cliché, I'll forgo with that and just share the photos I took of it - - -

It's February, and y'all know what that means...on the 9th I will be 67. Bud found this cute, little, fun, book for me and brought it home. All about the year 1949. I had to read it from cover to cover of course. Brought back tons of memories of things I can remember...no, not of the particular year...but the lifestyles that changed from 1949 and how my parents raised me throughout my formative years. That was the year that was...from the onset of dishwashers, TV sets, nonsensical cartoons, clothes, women becoming part of the work force outside the home.  They taught me how to act and learn respect. Things that somehow seem like the simpler life; it was better in so many ways!! Thru the years, I've gone from toddler, to adolescence, to wife, at one time loving to travel a lot around the country, mother, grandmother and retiree. Life is good.

From inside the cover - 1949:

§ It's Monday...

Y'all know, those who have followed me thru the years of blogging, I do love a good, close-score baseball game. But yesterday afternoon, I was on -the computer for some time following a link shared about Willie Nelson's accolade of The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize. What I'm saying is, the computer was on, and after I watched the nearly 2 hour special on PBS, I 'flipped' the channel and found CBS Sports to watch part of the playoff game of my 'home' team in NFL....the Denver Broncos. Granted, I do not care to watch anything televised any more because of the commercial time. But hey....the Broncos!! I ended up watching the entire game. Burned my entire mouth on a slice of homemade [and veggie only] deep dish pizza when Trussaint [the Steeler] fumbled the ball and it was recovered by my team!!....giving them an advantage to go ahead. Which they did...and won the game!! But even tho the Broncos now have home field advantage when they'll be pitted against the 'cheating' Patriots [no offense ...just kidding!] and Tom Brady. Manning, in the past, can't hold up to pressure and games that mean going to the Super Bowl!! Perhaps if the Broncos make sure the football is NOT deflated, Brady won't be able to handle and pass it accurately. LOL The Broncos, I guess have a 50/50 chance of winning the next round, but I can't believe my own words. Who am I kidding?!! I love the Broncos!! But Manning? Now, that's a whole 'nother blog post.

Anni: "Bud? Can you explain the deflated ball to me again?"
Bud: "It's a lot easier to handle when it isn't hard!"
Anni: :::snort::: "That's what I figured!"
[I'll go no further, promise!]

The deep dish pizza I make is simple. I buy frozen all wheat pizza dough, one green zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, about a dozen fresh shiitake mushrooms, and white onion. My sauce is nothing but marinara sauce blended on high, in the blender for thickness, Parmesan cheese and 2% mozzarella cheese. After spraying the cast iron skillet with non-stick spray, I spread the wheat dough up and over the edge of the skillet, pour in the sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then layer the sliced zucchini, peppers, thin chopped onion, and mushrooms. Then cover with mozzarella cheese and bake in hot 475 degree oven for 20-25 minutes....taking it out of the oven when crust is well done, and cheese is bubbly....letting it stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Served with a tossed salad and vinaigrette dressing the pizza is filling, healthier than any meat lover's pizza, - a good meal for game time!! There are so many options for this pizza, and very easy. A favorite of the two of us.

Well, this morning it began the day clear and cool.  By mid morning it was perfect.  I drove to the islands to walk the salt flats and well, if I saw any birds, fine....but, all I really wanted to do was be outdoors, walking, and enjoying the blue sky and slight breeze coming off the coast.  And in the area I chose to walk, it's usually quiet...as it was today.  I walked three hours in the fresh air.  It did a body good.

Birds seen along the walk, white pelicans - brown pelicans, ibis [both white and white faced], snowy egrets, sandpipers, plovers, sparrows, mockingbirds, green herons, reddish egrets, willets, ducks, spoonbills, northern harrier, vultures, sea gulls, blue herons and more...I really didn't stop much to take many photos today, I was just there to enjoy the morning solitude. But, I didn't go home empty handed...the camera had a few photos to share. The ship [orange tanker] is NOT floating on land as it seems...an optical illusion!! The ship channel is beyond and behind the salt flats!!