§ Mumbo Jumbo

FENCE [more like railing this week]

Near a city park, some old, historic houses remain in existence. Most of them are now owned by law offices. Along any part of the seacoasts in America, at one time, the roof structure seen here with the fence railings was added to the homes - most often near the home's chimney. This was a purposeful work to assist the owners with chimney fires....this way they had access to the rooftop and were able to pour sand down the chimney to put out chimney fires. Also, legend has given this structure a title....'WIDOW'S WALK'. Romanticists tend to think this is where the woman of the household would walk the walk in search for her longtime gone-to-sea sailor/lover/husband 'man of the house'...watching for their return.

- - -

If you haven't heard about the weather in Texas lately, you've missed quite a bit! LOL On Tuesday this past week, Houston was literally flooded out. In some parts of the city [where my son lives], they had 20 inches of rainfall in just a few short hours. Streets flooded, horses needing rescued, bayous out of their banks, people stranded, buildings flooded out...and oh so much more. Well, here in MY area of the coast, we got rain....but NOTHING like Houston. For the most part, recorded rainfall accumulation was 4-5 inches in a couple of hours. It remained cloudy and drizzly for all of Tuesday here, but cleared out soon. By sunset hour, the cloud cover broke and patches of clear sky.

Wednesday, for my walking routine, I took to the beach. Even without HIGH tide the sand was covered in standing water, some areas, the water was up to the dunes. Other areas, not so much. Of course the scene on the waves was typical during a stormy period...surfers and boogie boards filled the water's edge along the boat channel. Patchy fog drifted along the horizons looking both directions along the shoreline. Then, I witnessed some images that made me smile...ya, the occupants were okay, but imagine...waking up from an overnight deluge, only to open the door of your camper trailer [RV], and step out to water at your door when the night before, you were safe and dry far enough away from the shore....only to see this at awakening...



For most part of Texas, this week was one for the record books!!!

...the following morning the sky was on 'fire'!!!!




It's Springtime...baby turtles are hatching!





One of the parks on the island that I frequent a lot during the bi-annual migrations showed a lot of red...


Bottle Brush Bush.......................................Wild Poinsettia


Re-watched a DVD this week: Star Wars the Force Awakens. Very good movie. It's good for the fact it reintroduced some of the characters from the past and showed us some new characters for the next generation. Also, there are family ties in this new series. It's keeping those of us that's been interested in the saga from the beginning, wondering who's who, and which one is related to the Dark Side Nemesis? Then, a 2nd movie, one we've not seen but Bud has always wanted to buy the DVD - - "In the Heart of the Sea" [a movie based on historical fact of the sinking of the ship, the Essex] -in turn, Herman Melville wrote a story of it in 'fiction'...Moby Dick!! I'd give this movie, for those who like classic literature AND true stories of the sea, five stars!! It's very good.

....Speaking of movies, another remake is coming out to the theater soon. MAGNIFICENT SEVEN starring Denzel Washington and others. The story is a bit different from the first movie [1960]. In the trailer -link is movie title above-, The House of the Rising Sun [1964] is being sung in the background?!!!....All kinds of wrong. LOL

Thanks to all who wished me good health this past week while I recuperated from a bout of flu and wearing of the heart monitor!! Ironically, the heart rhythms were just fine the whole 24 hours I had to wear it. So, hearing no news or medication changes is good news I guess. So far, I'm thinking perhaps it was just the stomach flu making everything go awry for the day it happened. Who knows. Oh ya, and Monday, it was Bud's Birthday so we did go out to lunch...that was the sum total of getting out and about this week. The beach one day, and out to lunch a couple days before. Guess I'm on the mend...doing a bit of gardening here and there...Exciting stuff. *wink

§ ...in the Back Yard

All weekend, I have had to resort to the cellphone for internet access. The desktop computer and the cable connection worked only a minute or two at a time, then would lose network contact. Today [Monday] a technician from the cable company will be here to hopefully find out what the problem is, and get it fixed!! In the meantime, I am up early and the modem is working so I'll get this post published, but I will probably not be able to repay a visit to the commentors 'til the problem is resolved. OR use the teeny-tiny cellphone monitor which isn't the BEST solution!  Besides, the phone is much slower than cable.

Early in the morning just after the sun rises and before leaving the house for the day, I've been trying to keep a sharp eye...and listen for a certain bird that showed up in our yard this week. It's a special bird, and I was hoping that it would return to the feeding stations.  I've seen it for two mornings now, but by the time I get the camera turned on and trying to focus on it...it flies away!  I'm gonna be diligent and keep trying...and hoping. In the meantime, while wishing to get a photo of the bird, I ended up going outdoors and I walked around the back yard taking photos to keep the camera on without it shutting down 'automatically'....just in case the bird happened by again while I was outside. Then, getting out of the heat, I sat by the patio window in the air conditioned room with the blinds open;  a bunch of sparrows [seen in the photo to the left, two juvenile house sparrows] and a white winged dove arrived at the seed [below, scroll down]...The special bird never returned....it was a female leucistic cardinal!!!  In the meantime....our back yard:

HEALTH/cardiologist appointment UPDATE

Arriving at the cardiologist's office 15 minutes early, I sat in the waiting room after signing in. Waited some more, and waited, and waited and waited. How do they expect you to have a good blood pressure reading when the anxieties soar, keeping the patients in the examining room for so long before the doctor finally shows up to talk with you? I had so many questions. But, once he did come in the roon, and after the examination, he took the time to answer all my questions, fully and completely. I left feeling pretty good. And usually, I have what they call "White Coat Syndrome"....but that day, no such thing. My blood pressure was 128/60. Most times, during doctor's exams, it soars to "high" instantly.

Heart sounded healthy...breathing was clear, blood pressure, excellent, blood work after he read the copies I gave to him from my primary care physician, he was very pleased with ALL the results.  I was given the 'go ahead' for doing anything in the realm of exercising, walking, yard work, etc. EVEN traveling to Colorado and High Altitude areas....thin air and high altitude [at least now for me living at 10 feet above sea level for so long...traveling to places like Leadville Colorado at 2 MILES High!!] would really put a strain on my heart!!  He had me laughing a bit when he told me just before he left the room "Anni, do anything you want, except dishes!!!" I relayed that to Bud right away!!!! LOL I celebrated by going out and buying me a new stationary recumbent bike so I can exercise  without having to go out in the 97 degree heat. Thanks everyone for the well wishes this past week. I was hoping for the best news; your words of kindness and prayers, I know.........helped it all be true.

§ A Bunting we will go....Hi Ho the Derry-o A bunting we will go!

In between morning walks, household chores, and other everyday routines, I find myself in the middle of two very good reads!! On my sidebar I have Pioneer Girl as my most recent book. Well, let me tell you, it's a very LARGE book...and very heavy!!! I needed something to read at night when I am laying in bed before falling asleep. And this aforementioned book, being too awkward to handle in bed, I read that only at the times I'm up and wide awake, sitting! LOL [By the way, it's a very good, interesting book!!!] But, my second 'new' book, I found on the birding shelves at the book store and convinced myself it had to come home with me!! And I'm soooooooooo glad I did buy it. The "Grail Bird" is the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. One of the largest in the world!! And tho considered extinct...no sightings that have been proven with photos or nesting cavities actually found since 1944. Yet, there have been reports of them sighted as of 2005 but no proof.  At least not until I finish reading...that may change....The species is listed as critically endangered and possibly extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The American Birding Association (ABA) lists the ivory-billed woodpecker as a Class 6 species, a category the ABA defines as "definitely or probably extinct". All my bird guide books, and I have several - have them pictured, but listed as 'probably extinct'. This book is a treasure of stories related by the author from Cornell University's Ornithology Lab, and his own quest for the elusive bird; throughout the south and what little is left of 'virgin' forests, where the woodpecker inhabits. I find myself, turning the pages swiftly hoping to read that he spots one....yet, in all honesty, if he DOES spot one, I hope the location is NEVER given. If there IS one perhaps there are TWO and hopefully of the two sexes and the elusive bird is not, afterall, extinct and even low on surviving a species...I can say to myself, they WERE around when I was still alive.  And if there ARE any around, I would dream of going on a search myself....EXCEPT the swamps and snakes and alligators and other human haters would keep me home, tucked away in safer birding territories.  At my age now, it would be a pipe dream of actually finding one on my own and getting a photo of it.  I'll just sit back, and enjoy Tim Gallagher's quest for the Grail Bird....the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our two movies this week have been nixed for mini series that we have on DVD.  One is Horatio Hornblower [sea faring stories] and the other is one of my all time favorites!!  The Thorn Birds.  How often have I said to myself, about Richard Chamberlain....what a waste of human flesh for us females who drooled over him in the 60s and 70s...he coming out with his autobiography admitting he was gay.  I saw him jogging once, on the island of Oahu...my heart skipped a beat!!  I'll never forget that.  I was speechless...and to this day even, I wish I would have at least said "Hi" to him as we passed on the walkway.  My mouth just stopped working at the sight of him.  Dang. Anyway, the love story that evolves in the Thorn Birds still haunts me as to why he "loved God more"!!! Some of you who are devout, maybe you'd understand...but to have a love of the opposite sex willing to live together for eternity would make me settle for the love of the human flesh and heart.  And I've read the book over and over.

With the extreme heat of summer bearing down on us this past few weeks, our walking has been very sporadic and shortened by several hours ... we have been going mostly to the mall where it's air conditioned inside and getting our mileage there.  But Sunday morning, even tho the temp and humidity was high at 7:30 a.m., we still drove to the Oso Bay Refuge and walked in the heat.  I was glad to see our car at the end of our 2 hour trek!!  Even very few birds were seen.  Lots of joggers who were huffing and puffing along the trail...but the bird song was mostly from mockingbirds and doves.  They seem to cherish the inferno!!  At one point about to the end before we had to make an 'about face'...a wonderful song from the Painted Bunting high in the tree serenaded us.  I took a couple of photos of it, but the sunlight was all wrong for the pictures of the Bunting to be pixel perfect, but I'll still share...

Mockingbird

Painted Bunting [male...the female P Buntings are lime green, with no bright mixture of the colors of the rainbow like the male of the species]

Tho very little water in the pond, since they've drained it to begin a clean-up job, I still enjoy this bronze sculpture in the downtown area along the seawall and near the T-head/yacht club!! I tried to capture it so their reflection would show up somewhat...

The Young At Heart [I guess that's why I like it so]

Another bronze sculpture I like is found in the local gardens here on the outskirts of town. I like the weathered fencing in the backdrop along with the wildflowers that bloom AND the fact that it collects rain water and sometimes I've seen it frequented by birds and once a squirrel!!! Kinda like a female version of the St. Francis of Assisi sculpture. :-)

Nearby, another kind of fence...weathered and the wildflower landscaping gives a good opportunity for the shutter release button---

...this upcoming week, I'll be busy so won't be online much. Among so many other things happening, I have a check up scheduled with the cardiology surgeon who performed the stent operation on my heart in the ER back in March. Gonna be an anxious week for me 'til I see him and get a report on my progress.

§ A bird in hand...it's worth TWO in a Tree?

Rain water in our yard is finally receding. We got more wetness Saturday morning, but nothing compared to last week. I'm not complaining tho...this is much better than the drought from the past years. As long as it doesn't get up so high that it reaches our doorways!! LOL

Of course with the heavy rains, comes heavy humidity!! That's okay too. For now at least, until I get 'sick and tired of it'. Y'know? That's only the nature of this beast.

I just finished making a pan of meatless manicotti! Seriously, it's been eons since we have had this entree. Thing is tho, with my diet being changed and all, everything is now fat free. I have to add more seasoning to make up for the saturated fats. rofl. Just hope it will be a tasty dish of Italian. And I won't feel guilty. I cleaned and sliced up fresh fruits and have them all in containers and refrigerated for my snacking frenzies during the next few days. Apple slices, cantaloupe, fresh strawberries, kiwi slices and fresh pineapple. Oh and I cleaned a lot of baby carrots. [I always have those on hand for our lettuce salads anyway.]

After Friday's walk, we didn't feel like going out anywhere today [Saturday], so I'll share a bit of what I've been seeing the past week...

Just yesterday afternoon, in our pecan tree, about a dozen warblers were busy munchin' away on the catkins!! If you don't know what catkins are, then let me explain...they're the 'flowering' part of a tree/plant that are 'single sex' which means they don't need pollination to produce. In my following images you can see them clearly dangling from the brances!! If you're one who likes to photograph birds, you most likely realize that warblers are a huge challenge to get in the lens and have time to release the shutter button before it moves/flies out of view!! I managed to get TWO decent images of the Black Throated Green Warbler.  THREE OTHER FANTASTIC birds I shared this week at I'd Rather B Birdin'...a beautiful BLUE warbler for one.  Just click on the link at the top of my blog. 

PECAN CATKINS

...a couple of days ago, on Mustang Island, walking one of the bird sanctuaries, I spied a lot of limes [a Mexican Lime] on the tree!!! I thought it made a good photo.

Before the heavy flooding rain, I managed to get out on the patio and get photos of my cactus plant that I moved here from Tucson. A few years back, I re-potted it from one planter...and trying not to get stuck with its needles, I just let it break up and planted them in three pots...it blooms like clock work!!! But now...this week, the blossoms were heavily damaged, as fragile they are.

Well, enough gabbing for now. Tomorrow [Sunday] is the last day for the Audubon Guided Bird Tours, so perhaps when you read this, that's what I will be attending. Afterwards, when that is over, I plan to head over to the cemetery where a lot of migrant birds show up. So many different birds have been reported there this past week. And, I'm hoping to find some and have my camera aimed at the trees!! Then, Monday I have an appointment with my Primary Care Physician which I will hear what she has to say about my blood work. :::sigh::: Hope it's a half way good report.