§ Election Day...

I'm composing this post on Tuesday afternoon. Perhaps by the time you read it, the outcome of the presidential election will be known. Of course I could've voted early, or opted to vote by mail. But I stood firm and waited until Election Day. Even tho, I had my mind made up for whom [it should read for WHAT] I'd select on the ballot for president, I felt it necessary to wait it out and make sure...between the time I coulda voted and November 8th, there may have been something drastic happening to change my mind.   Some of you hinted at this "Who are you voting for"?  Well, to be honest, I was not [and still not] overly pleased with ANY candidate, that's why I previously stated, "for what instead of for whom".  Even those that didn't get the nomination!  No one.  Yep, no one.  I voted for the party, not the candidate.  Sorry to disappoint.  Personally, I don't think Cruz, Carson, Sanders, Trump, Clinton....any of them were/are worthy of leading our country. I went early...about 7:30 to the nearest polling station.  There were only 7 voters ahead of me.  Cool...no long wait time!!!  And then after I signed in and proved who I was with my ID...voted, and left the building, the line was clear around, and outside.  Probably over 100 anxious people.  As I got in my car, I was wondering who they were going to choose.  My county was approved by the state of Texas that you could vote in ANY precinct you choose.  That too was a big plus.  I like that law change and hope it sticks to the books for future elections.  I'M GLAD IT'S OVER [no more political email crap too!  lol]...

For Good Fences I will share these two:

UNDER THE SEA


I spotted this crab in the murky water of a creek bed.




BLUE SKIES OF TEXAS SHINE
on this, our Election Day!!  But then, a cold snap, and it rained






TODAY'S FLOWERS




Now for some more randoms in photo:



Now that is what I call an avid fisherman!!

Yep!  You can find these sunscreen dispensers around the trails here. I would think with the Summer's heat the lotion would break down and become worthless.  But that's my opinion

A cactus grows in a tree!  And...it bloomed.  But I missed all the beauty, only saw the blossom remnants on the ground


Sand Sculpture on the beach this summer...

§ Black...White...and Rust & Maybe a Bird or Two

BLACK & WHITE - FENCE POSTS

While out walking the dried up salt flats, I came upon this trio of fence posts. I like the old weathered wood and the rusted barbed wire. I set the camera on monochrome and used the auto setting for color...with my paintshop pro, I then 'grabbed' the rusty wire and post and super-imposed into the black and white close-up photo...

FLY ME TO THE MOON - skywatch

...on an early morning walk at Packery Channel Park, I noticed a turkey vulture soaring near the moon, I aimed and waited,  following its flight pattern, in hopes for it to 'circle the moon'. Now, if it had gone behind the moon at any given point, I'd still be passed out on the boardwalk!!!

...I zoomed in on the silent flyer




ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE

On another early morning walk, in the quiet of the hour, I neared the observation tower. As I veered to the left heading toward the steps to climb, I spotted four snowy egrets in flight high above, and one lone vulture perched on the tower railing. My footsteps crunching as they made contact with the gravel path was the only sound heard....

...eventually, as I got closer, I was able to get a close-up of the T. Vulture, and then it took off...it was like the egrets were following the leader!!

§ Anni's Autumn...

GATE in BLACK and WHITE

Along the Oso Bay Wetlands Trail
Corpus Christi, Texas


* * Now, for some color!* *


AUTUMN ALONG THE TEXAS COAST

Finally, it's beginning to look and FEEL like our Autumn! I say "our Autumn" 'cause it's not a typical Autumn that northerners encounter. The high temperatures can still reach the eighty degree mark, but the humidity is low, low, LOWer. That, I like!! Oh, and the overnight temperatures usually drop about 30 degrees from what we experienced for the summer months.  Yes, it's drier for the most part, but typically this season is also the biggest potential of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf.  There's always that.

The outdoor colors change. Instead of the white hot skies above, the blue becomes a rich hue with the likes of lapis stone. Wildflowers become seed pods in most cases while others; the blossoms thrive in the cooler air even tho they may be smaller in size. September in my region is usually the wettest month of the season, so the grasses turn green again and flourish. In some cases, trees in the heavy wooded areas are mixed with Autumn colors while others remain evergreen [not pine, but oak mostly]. The lack of wildlife activity in the heat of the summer months begins to build up.  Breeding season for birds is over and they're finished molting; acquiring new plumage, brighter and beautiful again.  Migration hits its peak between September and October for all those that head south of our borders into Old Mexico and Central/South America.  The hummingbirds flock to our feeders by the dozens to stock up on the sugar-water for their 1000s mile flight to their winter homes.  Squirrels are busy stashing their cache of seeds/nuts around the landscape while at times they stop to enjoy the rich nutritious pods.  It's like nature reawakens to a whole new world of color and survival...

SEA BUCKTHORN


MOUNTAIN LAUREL SEEDPOD



FOX SQUIRREL AT PARK

SILVER LEAF SUNFLOWER -and bee

CORAL BEAN SEEDPOD

HUMMINGBIRD STOP OVER @ Hootin' Anni's

NORTHERN CARDINAL in his new Winter Garb

OCTOBER SKY



...and then, there's Witches sittin' pretty...

HALLOWEEN F@CEBOOK
click on image below


Just short of a 2 minute slideshow video
In the video, the gray framed painting [the witch flying across the October Moon] is my own work done a few years back
Happy Haunting!

§ Drive-by Shootings!

...from the car window, along Ocean Drive near the Texas A&M Campus and Bay.  Great Blue Herons, Willet, Great Egret and a yard full of whitewashed wrought iron fencing with a dollop of oleander bushes, and a cardinal. singing on the treetop :

§ Kits, Cats, Tales, and True....

It's been a while since last I blogged. The term is busy. Most days it's been filled with wonderful weather that I just do not want to be indoors. Altho, after our outings, I tend to sit down in the sun streaked dining room, at the dining room table, and color while winding down from our birding adventures. [one shown I tried to make it like the old Dutch 'delft' color shades] Today, clear skies tell me we're going to go to a birding hot spot [with reported 'excellent' birding opportunities on American Birding Association Texas' site] up north of Corpus about an hour from home. We plan to spend the entire morning there, walking along the river banks and the park. It will be a new area to explore. And the birds seen the last week or two include a lot of 'new' species I haven't had the chance to photograph. Wish me luck. A couple of days since I blogged, Bud and I have been trimming bushes/trees/plants in the yard!!

There have been several articles online that I have read as I wait for Bud to get up and get ready to 'face the day'. Some very interesting ones at that.

One: about the climate change. Now, I tend to disbelieve a lot of the hype about the actions of us humans creating the extremes, and this piece of work kinda explains just what I have thought/felt about it all. The very last paragraph, quoted by scientists who have studied the effects of the change....all summed up to what I've been thinking all along!

The Earth naturally cycles between cool glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods because of variations in its orbit around the sun. We currently are in an interglacial period, called the Holocene epoch, which began nearly 12,000 years ago.

For some thought... the highrise buildings within large cities do cause extreme heat to rise and create the extreme temps. It is the glass windows on the mufti-storied buildings around the world that reflect the sunlight and in turn the heat rays go back into the atmosphere...think:  Sunlight through a magnifying glass...what happens?. With, the natural climate change of earth revolving around the sun 'as the world turns'...this is probably not helping, but it's NOT the main reason. In other words, tho human-created in only PART, this 'heating up' is a natural occurrence, we are just living/witnessing the time of the interglacial period.

Two: Remember back in 'my day' learning meant to go to the school library or if your family was lucky enough to have them at home, we'd use encyclopedias? Like Britanica or other complete sets? With the internet, the learning processes now take us to Wikipedia....which is 15 years old this year!! The fun reading is a question asked "What does Wikipedia Mean to You?". So many have responded....and so many reflect our very own thoughts. Read some here.

Three: So I won't get carried away, the planets are lined up in the dawn sky this month! I woke up at dark-o-thirty on purpose this morning  And as I stated above, in hopes of having a clear sky... It was perfect.  So I traipsed outdoors in the dark just now and the planets are lined up east to west in the pre-dawn hour!  Amazing!! [note: this is not my photo! No copyright infringement intended]

image courtesy of Google Image search

Four: Latest news about my favorite TV program, NCIS....Tony [Michael Weatherly] is not going to return next season!!  After 13 years as Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, he chose to leave us.  How will they write his character out, y'wonder?  My mind is racing.  lol   A sad day in bedrock, tho.

Five:  Some photo shares for memes this latter part of the week....fences, critters and photo hunt [cat].





My pretty kitti....tahoe, while sleeping. But pay attention to the LAST photo. She, was becoming a bit disturbed at my interfering with her naptime, and tried to flip me off!!!!