§ Froggie Went-a-Courtin'....

85° - heat index 94° [7:30 a.m.]

Friday morning, I took it upon myself to pull weeds out of the foundation rock beds. I worked in the shade of the house and a slight breeze kept it more comfortable. The ground was still damp from the rains this week, and I figured it would be a bit easier on me. Besides, I couldn't do much to help Bud, who was busy sawing the pomegranate tree down to the new growth. About 12-15 feet above the new leaves were dead, dead, dead, branches. And the 'granate tree wood is HARD wood! I felt I had to do something besides sit and watch his labor. Eventually, I had to run back in the house to get my cellphone...a little baby frog was entertaining me! Justa scootin' around the rock, hiding, appearing, and hiding some more. Before I finished the entire rock-bed, I saw six different babies! All about the size of my index finger fingernail!!! Cute as can be. One tried its hardest to jump from the bottom landscaping timber to the 2nd, but never made it up that far with its tiny legs, and finally gave up, and crawled UNDER the timber. Like I said, entertaining. Ya, I was called a cheap date, 'cause it never took much to keep me happy.

Look closely, they're tiny and well camoflauged at times...

...and to continue showcasing my Trolls...

↓ My 17th Troll Share ↓

TROLL DOLL COLLECTION Holiday Themed Tan N. Baum circa: mid to late 70s?

§ The F F K as P

Diane, from Lavender Dreams, graciously consented to allow me to draw her frog photo!! For that generosity, I thank you very much.  From start to finish,  I had a lot of fun and many smiles as he took shape on paper.  Taking a bit of extra liberties, I added some framing around him and "tacked on" a couple of cattails.   

I will show you the initial pencil outlining...

...then, the finished work which I titled it "The Frog Formerly Known as Prince" [aka: I've kissed a lot of frogs before I found MY prince!]:

§ Parks and Rec...

For most of Texas, Spring Break is over for another year!!  I can imagine that the police force will be glad the week is over and they can get back to routine drive by shootings, hit and run accidents, and bank robberies.  [kidding, of course] And I will be able to get back to the islands, birding.  I  kept close to home this past week... 

Along the Nueces River --



At Blucher Park --
[not many birds that day...but plenty of frogs croakin'!]



Hans Suter Refuge and Texas AandM [Wade Island] Trail --

Being that the college students were on vacation this past week, I usually take a walk along the Texas AandM Campus trail on Wade Island. Only during Spring Break and the Christmas holiday month. This area is nestled between the bay and part of the campus [also it's the back side of Hans Suter Refuge and Corpus Christi's NAS base (Naval Air Station)]...

Refuge walk...


On this day, the winds were quite strong. Shore birds kept close to shore, fisherman also. This is the Campus walk [the last photo in this series is looking across the bay from Wade Island and the city's skyline]...

§ I'm Back in the Saddle Again....

1

THE SADDLE

Years ago, while at Wyoming's Red Desert, where even today wild horses roam, a 'skeleton of a saddle' was found.. The desert itself is barren, and nearly waterless. It covers a vast area in Southern Wyoming and into North-central Colorado.  Bud has had it for decades. We moved it from Colorado, to our 1st retirement home in Tucson. Then, again, it came with us in the moving van to Texas. Now, over 10 years here in residence, it's been stored [hung] on the garage wall. During our time downsizing all the 'junk' out the area recently, Bud cleaned it up to move it inside our home where it was placed on our fireplace hearth.

It's a McClellan Saddle [circa 1874] - The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, a career Army officer in the U.S. Army. The saddle was almost certainly a modification of the Spanish tree saddle in common use in Mexico during this period, and which had become common in some parts of the U. S. The McClellan saddle was adopted by the US War Department in 1859 and remained standard issue, in various models, for the remaining history of the horse cavalry. Think "Civil War" era. The McClellan saddle continues to be made in the US, and was used by endurance riders at one time. It is made for use as a pleasure saddle for those few who like it for that purpose, and as a saddle for historical reenactors. I found a photo of a refurbished 1874 McClellan HERE

Red Desert image courtesy of Google Search


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2

BOOK REVIEW

My most recent book I'm reading is by a local artist [Corpus Christi], Charles Clark, a physician who turned author upon retirement.  The book, the first of two in this genre, "Trails to Dos Encinos" is about a rancher and a young girl who washed ashore, barely alive, from a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.  Charro [the rancher] has a cattle ranch called Dos Encinos [a loose definition would be two live oaks...a tree that is prevalent in this area of South Texas].  It's a good story...a story of survival and love.  Along the way, - - Mexican banditos, padres, church, religion and faith, devoted friendships, family.  It's filled with a richness of when Texas was at its beginnings and a young girl from Germany [Sarah, the one who survived the storm] experiencing the ways of the old west and her quest to become American.

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3

COMEDY RELIEF

Juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Heron and Loggerhead Shrike


Nutria's Orange Teeth and Brown Pelican [well fed?]


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4

NO, No...I INSIST!! - AFTER YOU

At one of the wildlife refuges on Mustang Island, there is a billboard near the boardwalk entrance. It's alligator territory. If you want, step up behind the board, and stick you head through its mouth. I'd be more than happy to oblige and get your photo!! Don't be afraid...this one won't harm you. Trust me!! No? Of course, what kind of hostess would I be if I didn't allow YOU to go FIRST!?!!....

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5

CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?