§ Cinco de Mayo Morning Walk...

My morning walk this past weekend was to Oso Bay Wetlands. I admit, it's been quite a while since I've been to that area of town. Since Spring Migration, I usually head to the islands and the hotspots there for the warblers and birds that are hitting those for feed before heading further north. But, I didn't feel like driving the 30 miles, so I stayed near home...once there, I was surprised at all the "new' work that is being done. They're constructing a waterfall at one of the ponds, they've added purple martin condos, they're clearing an area for a new path, and have added flagstone on one of the farthest trails! I was impressed.

The first spot I stopped at was the refreshing 'new' last year, fountain:

I recorded a VERY short video to let you listen to the birdsong and the cascading water. It's a good place on a hot day!!!   The breeze that trickles off the chaparral felt good as the hot sun beat down on me.   And at 7 a.m., it was already pushing eighty degrees.

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I mentioned birdsong....The cardinals were caroling, the mockingbirds were mocking, the thrashers were thrashing out a tune, and the many many painted buntings were poetry in notes!!!! The bunnies were everywhere also. Every nook and cranny it seemed. The first one I spotted was at the entry gate after I parked the car in the lot....like it was greeting me with a "Good Morning Anni". After the 4th or 5th one I stopped taking photos of them. LOL

...Here is some of what I saw:

Oso Bay and new bronze sculptures...




....notice the feather detailing!

By the time 9:30 rolled around it was getting too hot to go further I forgot my bottle of water and the sweat was pouring off me. Time to head back, dry off some and get to the store. On my return to the car I took a few more photos, which will be shared later.

§ Seeing in Believing....

WATCHING A MONK

Imagine you're a Monk Parakeet. Now imagine that it's time to build a nest of twigs! And since you're of this species of parakeets, the only kind to build a multiple chamber of nests grouped together for a colony, the placement of each and EVERY twig must fit perfectly for stability, not to mention the hunt for such twigs and carrying them back in your beak to the chosen area!   One twig of the many thousands of twigs....it will take weeks!

Here is a very short 45 second video of the challenge. It's fun to watch the precision and satisfaction when the parakeet is done!! I had good intentions of a much longer video, but it started to sprinkle and I felt rushed to get some of the action so it's kinda jumpy since the camera was hand held and not on the tripod, and I didn't want to be stuck out in the rain getting my camera wet.  I headed back to the car, and by the time I got to the car door I was in a downpour!  Last night we got a LOT of rain at home, which was a much needed amount.  I will try and return to the nesting area in town at a later date to see the progression...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKX7k6S5R0g

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I LIED

In a previous post from some time ago, I mentioned I was only going to do an Easter Basket for home decoration. Well, I lied. Kinda sorta. Bud came home with a new jelly bean dish as a gift for me. It's of pink glass, bought at Target when he stopped there on his way home one day. He likes Jelly Beans. Now tell me, just how am I supposed to keep in step with the downsizing of too much clutter in the house when he comes home with little things like this? But, it's darned cute...

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WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
-well, the 2nd picture anyway-

Outside a local restaurant a new bronze statue was placed along with landscaped rose bushes. Pretty against the blue sky. I walked over to get a photo of the new attraction with my cellphone. Focusing mainly on the antlers against the blue. Yep, pretty! And quite detailed. Then, as I stepped down from the lighted cement surface, I spotted something amiss.  Can you see what I saw?

Bronze Sculpture of an Elk about 3 times life-size...pretty impressive among the rose bushes!  But.....

oh, oh...who did this?  Really?  I couldn't believe my eyes!  What's wrong with this picture?  This is all kinds o' wrong.  Should I go into the establishment and tell them?  Or just walk away?  Tsk. Tsk.  Is the artist ignorant  by error?  Was it an honest mistake?  Who knows....I just walked away.  But it's still kinda disconcerting.

Look...see if you notice the error...

just in case you haven't picked up on it yet....check this out. And if you're still puzzled, scroll down*

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Can You See Me Now?

While walking along the ship channel some time ago, the American Flag was whipping in the gentle breeze. Then, I noticed something atop the flagpole. Can you see me now?

An American Kestrel!

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Go Tell It on the Mountain!

Oftentimes I try and get a fitting caption. With this photo I thought of the Christmas Carol "Go Tell It on the Mountain" even tho when I spotted this gathering of the pigeon congregation, it wasn't anywhere NEAR Christmastime.

*the hoof of an elk [or deer] is split [a cloven hoof]!! Not like depicted in the sculpture of a horse's hoof!!

§ Wordy...

In our local news, there is to be a new structure going up. The groundbreaking held Sunday, January 31st.

... claims it will be one of the tallest in the world. -It's gonna be the second largest  in the world.  The largest  in the world is in Madrid, Spain. It will be the largest in the western hemisphere. ...sitting on a foundation that's 38 feet octagon,  three feet deep with steel and concrete, has 24 piers that go 48 feet into the ground. So if it were to blow over, it would pull up about three acres of land with it.-

Okay, so I need to get a few things off my chest. First, why? Is it to 'outdo' everyone? For prestige, for egos...what? And then, why in this gawd-awful area?  Will it be beautified with landscaping or just out in the field? Why this particular design? Being that the city is Corpus Christi [the body of Christ]...then, why not a crucifix instead of just the simple construction? The new, proposed structure is a cross. It's touted to become the 2nd tallest cross in the world... It will stand at the height of 210 feet [64 meters]!! But I tend to remain in a quandary...why not a well designed crucifix to depict the city's moniker? Why build this across the interstate from all the beastly looking oil refineries instead of a more pristine area on the bluff, downtown, near the bay and parks? And, why go to the expense [estimated over 1 Million dollars]...when so many are homeless and needy in our country? It boggles my mind. But, what is my opinion worth? Zip, zilch, nada. The only thing I like is the concept, and I do hope in some way it will be lighted in the nighttime landscape.  The last thought would be the impact on religious beliefs and the reaction of the populace around the area/country...that remains to be seen/heard.

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Mentioning the adult coloring books in a previous post, I finished another with the colored pencils. Yes, I did not use the typical color of flesh -by that I mean the name 'flesh' is usually associated with the Caucasian persuasion- a Black Fairy? You betcha!! Why not? The flowers on this particular page reminded me of Foxglove blossoms...




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I changed my profile image, did you notice? An owl, for my blog title.


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The other day with the lyrics association with my photos and researching about what the psychological terminology is...if you missed it....when a song keeps running through your mind all day, the term is EARWORM. Again, researching this, the origin is from German, Ohrwurm. The word consists of 2 parts… das Ohr means the ear and der Wurm means the worm. The worm, an earwig, is an insect that crawls into your ear and in most cases has to be extracted. In modern English, a loose translation is a song, that you hear and once inside your mind, it is kind of hard to 'get it out again'… and this is exactly what these songs do to you. While reading about it and the science involved, I read about a recent episode of The Big Bang Theory [a popular American sit-com] and Sheldon was driving his roommates 'bananas' with humming a song that wouldn't leave his head. Watch it here: Sheldon's Earworm

In popular cultures, authors have used earworms in their writings...a slogan, repetitive words, things that get stuck in your head...or Mark Twain writing about jingles in The Literary Nightmare. So many times catch phrases are used and they oftentimes become earworms.   One time in history a catch phrase was used distract the Nazis. Interesting reading...

We've all struggled with it from time to time and most often wish we'd never listened in the first place. But now that I'm done sharing, allow me run a test:----------

--------- "Hootin' Anni's Hootin' Anni's Hootin' Anni's!!

§ 25 Foot Sculpture - Oso Bay Wetlands

Recently, a yet unfinished Learning Center and Trails of the Wetlands along Oso Bay, a new entrance statue was completed and erected. An artist from Houston Texas was commissioned to create "Rusty" to greet the patrons who will eventually use this area to park and walk, or make use of the classroom facility for learning about nature. Bud and I have been following the hiking trail progress for over three years now and have sighted many different species of birds and wildlife. From Roadrunners, to Ospreys and hawks, along with the migratory Sandhill Cranes, snakes, javelina evidence and coyote scat. This area is the first area we spotted the Northern Bobwhite Quail. It not only has part of the Oso Bay waters, there is a huge vast area of desert chaparral. 162 acres. The Preserve is scheduled to be open and complete by January of 2016...a four year project.

The two ton statue, dubbed Rusty, is of a Great Blue Heron with the height of 25 feet [7.62 meters], standing tall on top of a 6 foot wall. Rusty has just grabbed a fish from the bay [a thin metal piece added to the sculpture...which will move with the slightest breeze making it more 'alive']. In order for the completed sculpture to be placed on the wall base at the entrance, it was transported by flatbed semi-truck and pieced together, with the leg scales being the last added section. I tried to get the feet in one photo, tho higher than I am the base is, I sat the camera up on the wall and snapped the shutter button to show the colossal size of nuts and bolts used to keep 'im steady and sturdy. By the way, the sculpture, if you know where to look, can be seen from the Holly Road/Wooldridge streets over two miles away!!!

Here are some photos of Rusty. When we first arrived the morning hour was overcast, but after walking my 10000 steps through the trails and landscape, the clouds broke and blue sky adorned its features:

MORE INFO BELOW:
Statue

Artist  Bio - Art

Sampling of Songbird mosaic:


image courtesy of Dixie Friend Gay at Blogspot

Oso Bay Wetlands on Facebook



While walking the many trails hidden in the chaparral area, you may come across the likes of these:


This area used to be ranch land...an old fence remnant remains....


Sandhill Cranes in Flight - Egrets. Ibis, and Spoonbills in Tidal Pool


Window Art Work - Back side of Learning Center [and playground unfinished as of this posting]


Informative Sign Posts - Estuarine Wetlands Sand Flats Prairie Uplands


Sign Post -Palustrine Estuarine Wetlands Sand Flats - Mockingbird

§ It's Like the Transformers meet Dr. Frankenstein!!

I will conclude the tour of this past month's trek around the local Botanical Gardens with a showing of a conglomerate of scrap art that has been on exhibit for a few months. The artist is known as Scrap Daddy. He hails from Houston Texas. And, his art has been shown all over the world.  In my opinion, his work is extraordinarily unique, a bit bizarre, yet....so very interesting and a bit on the phenomenal side of thinking  here; just viewing his work and then thinking of all  the man hours put into his creations!!!  I took several photos.  Who am I kidding?  I took WAY TOO MANY!  But the only excuse I have is that they were all so interesting.  So, this post will take some time to load.  Have patience.  I've made the majority of them very small in size to take into consideration for loading time.   If you see one that really piques your interest, y'all can enlarge the photos by clicking on the image.  Ready?  Here goes....

I will begin with one that just blew me away! For the most part this work of art was forks and spoons! Yes, you read that right...forks and spoons!!! And, as you can see, it's mobile [motorized]. It can be driven.

...another one of my favorites, is Hair Brained! [the title of the piece]

...walking the dog:

...some miscellaneous

...with the front end of the 'bike' seen above [the last image]

...standing about 15 feet tall, here's another one that I thought exceptional:

...and more

...love crow

...and last one if you're still with me on this:

teeth and eyeball

Throughout the grounds there were much much more. I'd probably still be there taking photos if I chose to get 'em all. It was an amazing feature and I'm glad we decided to take a tour around the perimeter. I also read on the Botanical Gardens' website [their PDF File] that transporting these works of art entailed two semi trucks, several small covered moving vans, a fork lift, and many many daylight hours setting this display/exhibit up for the season. 

PART I -Butterfly Migration

PART II -Turtles/Roses/coyotes