§ Back to Day Trippin' Part II....

Addendum:  For those that are wanting to see photos of birds [Ruth mentioned cardinals...I will eventually show close up images I took on my bird blog.]  

To continue my morning at the park, I am sharing a few of the cardinals seen. As I mentioned in my previous post, the cardinals, both male and female, were seen just about every corner of the park's grounds. Their singing could be heard with each step I took! At the smaller pond, where we all stopped to watch/photograph the kingfisher, I also saw a sandpiper. I have yet to ID that one [three working the pond for food]. Sandpipers are a difficult bird to identify. Especially if the legs are not visible which is the case here. Most often the legs will give you a good idea of the particular species. I'm leaning toward stilt sandpipers, because one photo I took and uploaded from my camera card to the computer, their upper part of the legs were somewhat tinged green. Grayish-green. Other sandpipers are black legs, while still others have yellow legs -and the plumage pattern is near identical in all. But, the stilt sandpipers migrate to our area in Spring. I need to be near 100% sure before I share them on my bird blog. I also have close up photos of the cardinals, green jays, the kingfisher, ducks, egrets, cooper's hawk, scissortail flycatchers, and herons that will be show n tell eventually on that blog. But in the meantime, these will be posted here to give you an idea what I experienced on Wednesday this week. The one image with the pond, look close...find the kingfisher?...

There are two cardinals in the tree below...see them? And since the moon was part of the frame, I zoomed in with the zoom lens...

FACT SHEET:. Also seen with this particular outcropping of trees, I spied some mistletoe clinging to a branch. Did you know that mistletoe is a parasite!?!!

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant, meaning that it needs a host tree or shrub in order to thrive. The plant is actually considered hemi-parasitic because it uses photosynthesis for a short period of time while young. As it grows, it sends roots through the bark of the host plant and into that plant’s circulatory system. Once established this way, mistletoe stops using photosynthesis and collects water and nutrients directly from its host plant.
source

Next post, part III. Texas Bluebonnets

§ On a Hill Far Away....

As I've mentioned on my bird photography blog, I have been searching for the wood stork's return to our area....with no success yet. I did find myself on a return visit to Tule Lake on the other side of the port of Corpus Christi [near the oil refineries]. When I got there, looking east over the lake, I noticed the sun peeking over the horizon. Even tho, the view wasn't perfect, with the power lines crossing the whole area...I still took some photos. To me, when there are cloud formations and the colors are right, I tend to go over-board with snapping the shutter button. Even using the zoom lens, and the sky takes on a whole 'nother hue...it makes my morning all the more perfect.

At the time, I only spotted one black necked stilt, two egrets, two herons, and a few swallows came off their roost, with their curious nature, to see who was invading their territory. I left them alone to their habitat and went to West Guth Park to walk. There, I stopped by the hill, parked under the shade of the mesquite tree, and began my morning trek. My first hill climb was up to the residential area behind the park. This is where the monk parakeets nest [photos of the parakeets building the nests seen from my photo link]. When I reached the top, the palm trees were quiet. The community condos the parakeets build were empty, the nearly full moon was framed by swaying tree branches....

...but by the time I headed back down hill to the park's trail system, they started squawking loudly; telling me I was bothersome!  These monks do NOT take a vow of silence, let me tell you...they can be heard for blocks.

On flat land again, I began at my starting point, and the Long Billed Curlews began to call their mates...they were EVERYWHERE.  It was a cacophony of sound with doves singing, the curlews calling, the parakeets squawking, the grackles grackling, the ducks quacking, the mockingbirds mocking, and the geese honking.. I even heard a faint song of the kiskadee from a great distance.

... in no time, I found a SHE SHED [like a man cave, but for women only?] Bud and i don't call it a man cave, we call it a HE HUT.  But, when I saw this messy outdoor building up on a hill, my first thought was she shed. Dunno why....I think with the shape it was in and the junk seen through the windows...it's GOTTA be a HE HUT!!  [don't disapprove of me for thinking...it's a gender thing]

The park is very hilly...you can get a good workout. At least if you stay long enough, walk the trails and climb the hills. As I've said before in previous posts, this park is large, shaded well, has many amenities such as a swimming pool...a huge [new] covered BBQ pit, a senior center, a brook, disc golf, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, duck pond and meandering trails, lots of wild life, a near by school sits on one of the hilltops with a football field and track course... I only went around once...too hot.

§ Beach! I Hit the BEACH!!

I was having withdrawal symptoms of not going to the beach. I left at 6:30 am; in the dark. About 15 minutes from home, driving over the causeway to North Padre Island.  I then pulled off the first Beach Access Road from TX SH361. At this hour only a couple of cars and a few joggers were out and about. I nearly had the beach to myself. 

To the west the moon was still shining, at the eastern horizon, the sky was turning a smokey lavender....not long before sunrise. And what a beauty it was. While I was waiting for the warm colors to appear and the ball of fire over the sea, I played with my lensball. I had my crystal stand, and took photos while propping the lensball on the pylons. Then, as the sun appeared, I took the ball off the stand, and walked to the surf, sitting the ball on the sand and let the tide do its thing.  For the entire time there, I ended adding 59 photos of just sky and surf on the camera's SD card...

Sunrise, and Moon-set [you can see the moon in true time, just above the crystal ball before it's inverted in the refraction]




...thru the surf:

After sitting on the sand to get the tide coming in, I was covered in wet! LOL Brushing off as much as I could before getting back in the car to leave and drive to Port Aransas [I wanted to check the progress -if any- of the nesting falcons], I saw that the sun, partially risen and the sky darkening again, had a bank of dark clouds moving across the orb. What a sight to see! Naturally, I stopped brushing off the sand, and focused on this. I added a 2nd watermark to the images below since I plan on sending them to the local news, I'll keep you posted if they select them to use as the program's backdrop...(so, don't take them)

Leaving via the access road to the state highway, in my rear-view mirror:

§ From E T...the quote: ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER

Sunday morning, driving to the islands, I left home with clear skies and mild temperatures around 6:30. By the time I got close to the bay waters, I ran into a lot of ground fog. I stepped on the accelerator and crossed the JFK Causeway to then pull off the island highway to stop at Packery Channel Park to take photos of the ground fog as the sun came up in the east. Here's what I saw:

Behind me, as I was watching the sunrise, the moon was over my shoulder; through the misty air, I zoomed in...

Arriving at Port Aransas, I went to Paradise Pond first. Only grackles, warblers, doves, grebes, and one heron atop the power pole. So, I hopped in the car and drove just down the road to turn off to go to another refuge. This one, highly damaged with Hurricane Harvey is still in disarray, but when I reached the barricade on foot, beyond the temporary fencing I could see that the town's park maintenance crew has been laying railroad tie pallets in the pond! That means a new boardwalk is being built to replace the one that was torn apart in 2017 [as you can see the new poles being set if you enlarge this photo]!! I stepped onto the ties and walked a bit. Beyond the very large willow I could see to the other side pretty well, I started taking pictures...

On the temporary railroad tie boardwalk, I continued a few more feel, and then a light bulb went on!!! I said to myself "What the heck am I doing?" I stopped, turned around....

...six feet from my OWN feet was an alligator. There I was with nothing protecting me from him and my legs being bitten off or worse. I walked slowly away, speeding up the further I made more distance between him and me!! For over a year's time, I haven't seen either of the two alligators, and I assumed they were moved so they could do the repair work. I was wrong!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

For the holiday, I will be back online with a pre-scheduled year wrap-up of all twelve months for 2018 [in two parts].  December 29th and 31st. And, a pre-scheduled post for my bird photography blog. Otherwise, time off for blogging for me.