§ LOST but Not Forgotten

Have you ever been in this predicament? Something of little monetary value, but valuable to you, is lost? Well, for weeks, I had lost something that is just that, little to no value, but valuable to me being that they were my favorites! I searched high and low, in pockets, purses, jackets, car glove box and gear box between the driver's seat and passenger seat, drawers, shelves, trinket boxes....even got so desperate I dumped all my stuff from my jewelry box and scattered them in front of me, searched through every piece, bit by bit! Still nothing. They were gone. And, I was almost in tears.

Recently, as I was taking out clothes from the washer to put them in the dryer, a light bulb came on.  I checked all the drawers and doors of my jewelry box, but I NEVER lifted the top lid that has a hidden mirror to guide you when you put on pieces of jewelry.  As soon as the clothes were loaded, I went to the jewelry box and started taking things off the top so I could open it...Did I find it in there?  

No!!

In fact I didn't have to OPEN the top mirror.  As I was taking off the stuff from the top, I opened my cat music box to listen to the title song from the musical, CATS, and there they were!!  My cardinal cloisonne earrings... All snug as a bug in a rug!  Funny thing, I now remember placing them in there for safe keeping so they WOULDN'T GET LOST.

I'm so relieved.  Now, should I wear them?  Or will they fall out of my piercings and I not even realize it 'til it's too late?  I do tend to catastrophize..  In fact that at times could be my middle name.  Anni Catastrophize Blogger.

§ Life's Like a Blog....You Never Know What You'll Get....

Before I left home for the morning, this was at the back dining room window; outside, just before sunrise. I've had two of these plants ever since we moved here, and this year they have bloomed more times than all the years put together! I don't know if it's the record breaking tonnage of rain or what, but I'll take it. The yard smells sweet, with a hint of cinnamon when I'm out cleaning out the bird bath and filling the feeders.

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I'm writing this up on October 4th, after a day of drive by shooting!! What I mean by that is, it was too hot [91 degrees in October!?!!], and stagnant, algae filled, water continues to stand in the low-lying fields around town. Which means those nasty mosquitoes are STILL thirsty for my blood!! I stick inside the car and photograph birds if and when I can while out shopping; taking the long way home.

I read on the news app that the city sprayed the little burg of Flour Bluff the night before for bugs, so I drove around the horsey-set ranches. Stopping on the narrow road, I saw many many cattle egrets, and a lone llama stranded in the slimy water...

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Do you ever watch movies over and over to the point you can recite at least some of the script? For instance, one I've been using lately, when I talk to Isaiah these days as I feed him, is from the movie, starrring Harry Belafonte and Rod Steiger [an old classic] - "In the Heat of the Night"....Only thing is I changed ONE VOWEL!!! "THEY CALL ME MR. TUBBS" [instead of Mr. Tibbs] Why, you ask? Here's why....our little kitten is NOT so little any longer...he's growing like a weed and getting heavier and heavier by the hour almost, or so it seems...

Mr. Tubbs----

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Things I've bought recently. And yes, they're nothing I could live without. Halloween Glow in the Dark knee high stockings, and a flickering jack o lantern..

...a pair of Texas A and M Longhorn earrings from the Botanical Gardens where I can get a membership discount:

...and a selfie stick!



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The book I'm reading now...

§ Labor Day Sunday....

Sunday morning I left before daybreak to hopefully avoid the high traffic volume on the island highway and the beach-goers reveling for the holiday’s activities at Port A. Naturally, I stopped to check out the progress of the two birding hotspots once I arrived about 30 minutes from home. The barrier at the first area had been moved [and I walked around it], but there wasn’t much ‘new’ on the re-development that I could see. Egrets, herons, spoonbills, cormorants, and grackles…along with the ever present seagulls all hunting and dining on their morning catches. I moved on to the 2nd area. At Paradise Pond I saw herons, egrets, sandpipers, yellowlegs, grackles, doves, sparrows and the ever present seagulls. Then, my fixation with ships….I drove to Magee Beach and the jetty…this area was a bit too crowded by 8:30 a.m….fishermen, boaters, joggers, kids playing and one tanker going through the channel with another still out to sea waiting for the channel pilot to board to take them through the channel safely. The birds here, terns of several different families, were present and...

...I enjoyed the one young girl running up and down – chasing them into flight! Like I said, crowded and other carloads of people flocking into the area [normally the parking is ONE row of vehicles at the jetty…at this time while I was there, the area already had FOUR rows of vehicles parked…gonna be a busy day, so I left for home. While driving towards Corpus, I thought I’d stop by and see if I could find a pair of earrings at the island gift shop/souvenir store. Long ago, I bought a sweet pair of owl earrings there, and at the time, they had many in different colors. Once inside the store, I searched and found the owl earring display….only one pair left…and the very same I bought previously. No go. I didn’t leave tho, I walked around. I found something new and interesting!! I and Bud are ‘fans’ of the zodiac. I found some silver pendants. Aries, Aquarius. Picked ‘em up to purchase. Heck, I thought, I might as well go back and see if I can find Erik’s and Irene’s [Taurus and another Aries] Then…paid for and left. I know I’ve shared the exterior of this shop before, but I couldn’t help but get the cellphone out and snap photos once again.




PS...I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the McCain Week in my previous post! I find with those who were 'brave enough' to vent along with me, well, your words made my day!!! It's great knowing that I am not the only one who had their belly full of such greatness* that passed on. [*satire intended] I can't understand why so many avoid political posts - even if you disagree, your thoughts are yours, and I'm not posting to create arguments. [you know who you are] America is all about ideals and ideas.

§ Día de Muertos and All Black and White...

I'll be joining Adrienne this week for Black and White Wednesday, so I decided to do all my photos for this post in greyscale [Black and White].

The best way to begin ... sharing our 4 legged children; One black....a tabby named Tahoe [I call her "Pretty Kitty" -she answers to that name]

Original in Color

The other...a White Persian named Winston [I call him Winnie the Pooper -he answers to Winnie]

Original in Color

They're like Yin and Yang "Taoism: Like two halves make a whole...most often they're together. When separated they seek each other to reform the 'whole'." A starting definition: Yin / Yang : Two halves that together complete wholeness. Yin and yang are also the starting point for change. When something is whole, by definition it is unchanging and complete. So when you split something into two halves – yin / yang, it upsets the equilibrium of wholeness. Read more on Yin/Yang and see the Symbol for Yin/Yang HERE [Yin/Yang is also always black and white]

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As I am a collector of Halloween Witches, Bud is more into the skulls and skeletons...the newest in our collection for 2016 is this 12 inch resin Día de Muertos bride and groom couple purchased while at Tuesday Morning last month!! Again, Day of the Dead is NOT bizarre as it sounds...it's a loving, traditional, religious, celebration of remembering family members...all like Memorial Day is in our American Culture...it's a healthy, wonderful way to honor and commemorate a loved one by celebrating their lives and past  here on earth.

Original in Color

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Birds of a Feather...Black Necked Stilts Reflections

Original in Color

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At Oso Bay Wetlands, water lilies in the pond...

Original in Color
Original in Color

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Barbed Wire and Iron Fence Post...

Original in Color

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Fly Me to the Moon!

These ARE original colors

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Lastly, my Yin/Yang antique earrings. The silver really needs to be polished before I wear them again. And, the 'colored image' isn't much different than the black and white, but shows a bit of the opalescence and the onyx in their natural state more...

Original in Color

§ Sur-r-r-prise Surprise SURPRISE!! [gomer pyle]

In a way, I had a week of surprises. Over the past weekend, on Sunday morning early, this time out we traversed some of the out-skirted areas of town in hopes of finding some 'new' birds. Or at least some birds that may be in the migratory path for Autumn. Our first stop was Indian Point Park. The wind was blowing rather swiftly, so too few birds spotted and when they were seen, not much activity. Hiking the trails brought some Black Skimmers, Egrets [reddish, snowy, and great], sandpipers scurrying along the lakes' banks, great blue herons, terns, willets and dowitchers. I photographed a couple of plovers and called it a morning. Off to Navigation Blvd then. Over the north bay causeway and veering off to the right...driving the 8 miles or so along the stretch of highway that is behind the ship channel's port of call and the other side of the highway,  the river. We stopped at a fresh water lake near the interstate highway. I was surprised to see so many wood storks!! I snapped the shutter button several times, getting photos of the large numbers of birds seen there, along with snowy and great egrets and both adult and immature white ibis. Yet, again...to my surprise, a couple of Fulvous Whistling Ducks [photo link from my birding blog] crept out of the high reed grasses. They're a bit elusive and somewhat a difficult/scarce bird to find. But the surprise was this: trailing behind the adults--a couple of ducklings were following!! More shutter button action. Hopping back in the car, we drove further north along the interstate and whipped a soft left toward a little burb called Calallen Texas. Northwest of the town is another park. Known for their Autumn Hawkwatch.

Just like the script from a movie classic, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:

They ought to get to where we split up any time. They're just about there. How many of them do you think will come our way? .. .. .. But we got surprises on our side, right?

While we were up on the watch platform, it was a quiet morning. Both for the fact not many birds, AND quiet 'cause besides Bud and me, only one other woman was there. While we stood and made use of our binoculars pointed toward the sky for a hawk kettle, or a group of kites coming in. A lone female cardinal was at the feeding station




...in my peripheral vision I saw something move below me from the platform down on the ground. I dropped my binoculars and to my SURPRISE ...a female white tailed deer; not more than 10-15 feet from me!!

She moseyed along the tree line, on the grass, knowing exactly where she was headed! For the protection and shade. Obviously by the looks of her udder and still swelled belly she has recently 'fawned'. I'm sure there was a baby hidden in the cover close by.

While we remained on the hawkwatch platform for some time, lo and behold she came back! And looked at me straight in the eye of my lens!

Sauntering past us, she headed for the feeding station for birds...a lot of fresh grain was on the ground and she stopped to eat her breakfast, then disappeared once again. While I was taking photos of HER another surprise appearance. A White Tipped Dove!! They're RARE!! I will have photos of the rare sighting on my birding blog soon.



One more surprise. Long ago, I ordered online, and forgot about the order. This week they arrived!! The reason I wanted to wear these, they're not only unique in design and of an extinct bird [Ivory Billed Woodpecker]...they're made from recycled materials!!   I'M ALL FOR RECYCLING.





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