Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Frog,

Frog, Frog, Frog . . .
Another tree frog comes to our kitchen door to catch his dinner swarming around the porch light.  I got multiple, fading reflections from the bright flash and double pane glass.  From the looks of his skin, this one may be starting to molt.

I'm also posting this to Project 52 which has the theme of Hunger this week.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Easter Egg!

This young lady survived the winter, along with a lot of her compatriots I'm sure, and already laid at least one egg (look way up inside the top dead center chamber).  Perhaps she hoped it would hatch and morph by Easter and she could have some help making her humble nest into a castle.  But alas, she chose to build her home and raise her brood attached to my home, right above the door to the kitchen, and therefore she is no more, and neither is her egg.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

2 Things Challenge: Hidden/Control

The 2 Things Challenge for this week is Hidden/Control.
There is a reason the remote control is hidden in the drawer.  Tiny hands with chubby fingers can do a lot of reprogramming in just a few seconds, and they will.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Bat Out of . . .

Time!

We don't often see these guys when there is enough light to get a decent photo, but at about 2:30 in the afternoon we spotted this one swooping and filling up on all sorts of bugs.
Click on the photos for a better view.




I know a small percentage of them have rabies, and seeing one behave very oddly, i.e. flying around in the middle of the day, could be a cause for worry, but I would never handle a wild bat.  I guess it's possible that our extremely warm weather lately has caused at least this one to be roused from his hibernation early, in which case he would be very hungry and might therefore venture out in broad daylight.  Who knows?  I haven't seen him since, and it has been even warmer the last couple of days.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

2 Things Challenge: Shadow/Orange

The 2 Things Challenge this week is Shadow/Orange.

A couple of photos from Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia, both taken on a brisk fall morning a few years back.
First, most of the orange colored trees on the side of the western mountain are still in the shadow of the eastern mountain.
Second, on the trail from the vantage point for the first photo, the sun filters through the orange leaves, creating shadows on other leaves, but even the shadows are orange.

Friday, March 16, 2012

SPRINNNNGGGG!!!

The Red Bud trees are blooming . . . and the Bradford Pear blossoms are almost ready to snow the ground.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Fair Park Murals

Each of the large buildings in Fair Park in Dallas has a large statue out front and at least a couple of large art deco murals on the walls behind.  I said art deco appealed to me, but I think the only real thing that I like about the art is the enormous size of it.  It reminds me of some of the modern graffiti, or maybe it's the other way around.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Fair Park, Dallas

Fair Park in Dallas was built in the 1930s and has a large collection of art deco buildings, sculpture, murals, etc.  For some reason, art deco sort of appeals to me.  Perhaps it's the clean lines, or the enormity of some of the stuff.  Some examples.



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Dinner

When I got to Dallas, Cameron and Meredith had fixed a slow cooker enchilada casserole for dinner.

Pair it with a salad with French dressing (haven't had that in a while) and a glass of red and it was delicious.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Lens Baby? Nope.

As I flew out of Birmingham on Friday, I snapped this out the window.
I thought it resembled one of those Lens Baby images where everything except a very small spot is out of focus, making it look like a photo of a model instead of the real thing.  In this case, however, all the blurring is from the heat and turbulence coming out of the engine to the right.  Still looks like a model of Birmingham, though (click on the image to see it larger to really see what I'm talking about).

Saturday, March 10, 2012

2 Things Challenge: Town/Stars

The 2 Things Challenge this week is Town/Stars.
Last weekend I flew to the town of Dallas (no offense, I'm sure Dallas would rather be called the CITY).  I went to see my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, and while there we went to the North Texas Irish Festival at Fair Park.  One of the attractions at Fair Park is a ginormous Ferris wheel called the Texas Star.  It is the largest Ferris wheel in North America (everything is bigger in Texas).  Right in the middle is sort of a Texas flag with its lone star, and off to the left is the biggest star of the night time sky, the moon.  I just snapped this on the way out and when I looked back, I really regretted I missed the "T A" at the bottom, so use your imagination.