§ Blucher....

Just a photo album of my walking the park perimeter in search of birds! It was a delightful morning, a bit sultry with high humidity, but bearable. The wildflowers were the main focus and new Spring leaves of the trees from winter kill. I saw very few birds, to my disappointment, but I got a little outdoor exercise before I had to leave for grocery shopping which has become a hassle [a chore!] with the price hikes, my gray matter [brain], working as a calculator, is in overdrive with this task these days. It gets a bit over-heated. LOL...

In the collage of ten photos [NOT the first photo published of the pathway], the first image of the tree--there is a yellow-bellied sapsucker [bird -woodpecker] barely visible, can you find it?  And then, with my heart search fetish...the cardinal photo; notice the heart shaped leaves?

§ Everything's Better with Bluebonnet on it...

The Legend of the Bluebonnet retells an old Texas tale about an unselfish young girl who loved the people of her Native American tribe so much that she sacrificed the most precious thing she had to help end the drought. Young She-Who-Is-Alone had lost her entire family to the drought that was plaguing the Comanche people. All she had to remember them by was a special doll that her parents had made for her. When the shaman said that the Great Spirits were angry with the selfishness of the people and would end the drought if the people would sacrifice their most valued possessions, the people hesitated. "I'm sure it's not my new bow that the Great Spirits want... Or my special blanket." Only little She-Who-Is- Alone was willing to make the sacrifice to help her people. She snuck away at night, built a small fire, sacrificed her doll, and sent the ashes off in the wind. When she woke up the next morning, the once parched countryside was covered with blue flowers and the rain began to fall. The people recognized her sacrifice and from then on, she was known as One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.

source: The Legend

This week, as I drove to a park in Calallen, Texas...along one section of the interstate, the sloping fields were blue. I pulled off exit 11 and found a safe place to park the car, grabbed my cellphone AND digital camera and walked among the blossoms and took pictures of course. Bluebonnets are native to Texas, spelled as one word [bluebonnet; not blue bonnet], and thrives in full sun from the reseeding each year. They are drought tolerant, needs little rain to bloom and was named the state of Texas state flower in 1901. In 1933, Bluebonnet music and lyrics were composed.

Today, TxDOT [texas department of transportation] still buys and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seed along more than 800,000 miles each year.

source: A brief history

§ Puff....

On Saturday, thru Ebird, a notice of a rare [Tundra] duck was sighted in our Bay waters!! So, Sunday morning, I took a drive to the area to see if I could spot it! No luck, as the ducks on the water were so far away, even with binoculars I couldn't decipher which duck was which, and my tripod and scope were at home...100s of them. Not to mention birders galore from all walks of life galivanting around in hopes of seeing the rarity themselves. I still walked some along the shore and along the Naval Air Station Road. Then hopped back in the car when it began to get mighty warm out there in the sun [83⁰F before noon!] and drove to another park to finish my day's step count....

I encountered a few wildflowers and as I turned to get to the pathway, a dead tree made its appearance and from where I stood on the park's lawn, I saw a fire breathing dragon?!!!

Puff The Imaginary Dragon Lived By the Sea!!

§ It's The Weekend...again!

Gosh, I haven't been blogging much lately. In fact, Google has changed their format, youtube changed with it, commenting on blogs has become a hassle, getting Word to open on my computer is a challenge and my paint program software [ever since an update] has been a royal pain! So, I've been offline for a goodly time...I am reading other blogs but can comment on some, others the comment becomes stagnant and won't work. I give up. And, I gave up. Know I have read blogs tho...just unable to leave a few words. I will try and catch up when things get back to normal with blogger. I uninstalled all updates and rebooted. So, maybe that will help. In the meantime, I cleaned out the computer files, deleted over a gigabyte of junk. I read my book. Did some yard work with Bud. Went on a couple of birding excursions. Took down and packed away Valentine decorations and restyled the blog look for Hootin' Anni and I'd Rather B Birdin'. Yes, the ol' gal in the header is ME sitting on the seawall downtown!!! While doing the computer cleaning this past week, I came across some photos taken this past Fall while I was walking along the river. Thought I'd share the serenity and beauty of the slow moving stream...

§ Look Up in the Sky! Is It a Plane? A Bird? Nope....a Cloud! But, What a Cloud!!!!

First....I detest time change! As I type this up it's only 10 a.m. and lunch shoulda been served hours ago. I wish the government would get their thumbs out of their butts and set it one way or another and let people live without having to adjust their lives every 6 months. Just when our system gets settled we have to stop and rearrange our habits. It's been proven more lives are lost because of this...both human and animals. And we ARE NOT saving energy one bit; both physical and material energy. Every 6 months I write my congressmen and voice my opinion. Perhaps someday they'll listen?!!

_ _ _

Okay, I step down from the podium and begin my Sunday morning walk in the park post...

I got my chores done after breakfast [dishes, cleaning the kitchen counters, etc.] and decided it's been a while since I walked the curvy, hilly, pathways at Guth Park just off the interstate highway northwest of town. I drove there, but stopping at an area at the end of the ship channel's basin "turnstile" or turning circle [where ships hafta go to turn around to head back out of the port...dunno the nautical term].

Usually there are a lot of water birds hanging around in that spot. Yet, when I do go there, I make sure it's on a Sunday. This highway. Joe Fulton Corridor, is used mostly by heavy trucking traffic [18 wheelers] to the port of call to dock and unload/load cargo onto or from the tankers and cargo ships. Trust me when I say 'they own the road'...and don't slow down!! Sundays are usually pretty quiet if I go early enough.

On this particular day, the small number of birds along the mudflats and ponds was minimal. I didn't stay long...walking a short distance on both sides of the highway, up and down, snapping photos a few times, and sucking in my breath, hoping to not see an 18 wheeler barreling down my way at 65MPH so I could cross the road and get back in the car safely.

Once back in the car, I head to the park. This particular park has miles of paved paths, very hilly, and full of interests for everyone. Picnic tables, duck pond, benches galore, swimming pool, Disk Golf Course, playgrounds, senior center, and yep....birds! But, once again, migrants were not heard or seen. I am thinking that they had a different route to get to their wintering habitat because of the extreme drought through central USA. Anyway, I walked uphill, downhill, and up again. At one time, after the sun broke from the clouds the heat of the morning began to drain my energy. I sat on a bench and scanned the treetops for any birds.

I saw two vultures soaring above, cowbirds, grackles, sparrows and starlings. The sky and the trees were the highlight for now. In fact I saw one extraordinary cloud formation**!!! Got a photo!! [below] I walked to the duck pond....Up and down more hills, back to the car and left for home with the AC running full blast. Another hot day.

**This was the best 'bird' I've ever seen!!! Can you see it? At first what came to mind was the phoenix rising from the fire, but then after looking at it when I got home...more an eagle?!!

Maritime Glossary