Thursday, November Twenty-ninth
Just another warm fall day with full overcaat.
Tag: Nature
Sunday, March 26
Warm And Sunny Sunday Morning Coffee Muses
Friday, March 24
A Hippity Hopping Morning Coffee Muses
Front Porch Sitting After Homework
I walked out with my grandson after he did his homework. Immediately I heard my first flock of cedar waxwings fly over. I had been wondering when I would hear them... Oh, and the bird in the flower bed... blame that on my youngest son. He brought it home many…
Thursday, March 23
Sun And Clouds Morning Coffee Muses
Friday, March 17
A Ceiling Fan And Cottontail Morning Coffee Muses
Birthday Road Trip 2017
I've forgotten how long I've been doing this as an annual tradition. It goes back well over a decade. This years trip felt more like my hunt for spring flowers than my birthday.
The Blooms of January
The magnolia doesn't seem to know winter is just starting.
Tuesday Morning Coffee Muses, January 3
There's a fine line the winter temperature must walk for this porch to be comfortable with the sun shining brightly. Today's temperature is flirting with the upper limits of that line. The temperature on the other side of the house is just now moving into the sixties, but here on…
College Park Prairie in Deer Park
I used to drive by this site and not know the significance. Good news! An amazing prairie remnant has been found in Deer Park. It is called the College Park Prairie, named after an adjacent elementary school. This is a 53-acre prairie pothole remnant with a full complement of pimple…
It’s Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Spring
Over the weekend the signs of spring began to reach out and shake my senses. Apple trees are breaking bud and sending forth blooms. This has been one of the first winters since we planted them that all of the leaves have been off the trees at one time. In…
Walk In Nature, It Restores The Mind
“Everybody,” Muir said, “needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” Turns out they were ahead of their time. “Attention Restoration Theory” or ART, which posits that a walk in the woods helps refocus…
Can We Say Biting, Flying, Demons From !*##
After a couple of days of semi-sunny, completely muggy, stay inside weekend days followed by a clear hot Monday we went straight to more rainy muggy days. Tropical moisture has flowed up over the coast to our south now for days. The puddles from last week hadn't even drained to mud, much less dried,…
Seasonal Chores
The Yard The rains last week had me cruising around on Monday for most of the day. I was flying formation with squadrons of dragonflies as I made my rounds on the Deere...The summer numbers are here at last. There must have been a couple of thousand of the flying…
A Rerun Of Spring
The Weather I climbed out of bed this morning to find the temperature had fallen below 70° for the first time in what seems like weeks... Who would have thought that a spring-like morning at the end of May would be reason to celebrate the day. I grabbed my first cup…
The Sounds Of Morning
One of the most interesting sounds to float in the door on this cool mornings is the call of the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). Once you hear the loud raucous laugh of a Pileated you will never mistake it for another bird. It is another of those sounds that calls…
Wordless Wednesday
Afternoon Walk In Nature…Boy Is It Ever Hot Here
The heat of the day arrived at about the same time I arrived at Brazos Bend State Park just the other side of the Brazos River from us off of FM 1462 and FM 762.
Late Spring In SE Texas
The afternoon temperatures are closing in on the 90's most days here for the last week. A cool afternoon is one that just tops 80. At least the nights are cool...And that means the mornings are really nice. Only in the late afternoon when the sun moves into that area…
Hunting Spring Wildflowers In Texas
Some of the shots I took yesterday as I played on a roadtrip into Texas Spring... I try each year to make a day trip into the closest wildflower country to my home. The trip takes about two hours just to start seeing good fields of color. Usually, I begin…
One Day In SE Texas In Spring
[ti_billboard name="Spring Day"] We took a drive around the county yesterday...Me and my Nikon. The slideshow above has some of the results...I hope you enjoy.
International Year of Biodiversity
Welcome to the International Year of Biodiversity You are an integral part of nature; your fate is tightly linked with biodiversity, the huge variety of other animals and plants, the places they live and their surrounding environments, all over the world. You rely on this diversity of life to provide…
The Trees Are Calling It Spring Already…
Spring Gradual warming that began earlier this week is forecast to continue through the weekend, and by early next week high temperatures should climb into the mid-70s as warm, wet air flows inland from the Gulf of Mexico. No rain is forecast until late this weekend, according to the National…
Walking With The Sisters
It was a nice place to sit and think for an hour or two. Bayou to the south, woods to the north...Sun in my face, wind at my back. The temperature was in the low 40's, but in the sun that was warm enough.
A Worms Eye View Of Autumn
On my walk today to check the progress of autumn I ended up on my belly looking at the violet seed heads of the grass growing in our field. It made for an interesting photo. I was very happy to have the cloudless blue sky and a cool north breeze…
Fungi Conundrum
Walking out to the mailbox today I spotted this guy growing at the base of one of our live oaks. I don't know what caused the strange pattern of growth, but it is definitely different. Another thing I noticed as I wandered down the drive is the first batch of…
It’s a new week…The first of summer.
I find myself spending more of my time outside than I am used to. Yes, it's hot out...And dry. It almost reminds me of my summer in south Texas back in the early 1970's. Unusually dry heat for Southeast Texas at this time of the year. Walking the trail I've…
Saturday Morning Muse…
Last nights batch of thunder boomers must have dropped a goodly amount (though, more normal) of rain since there are still some rather full puddles in the yard.
Wednesday Morning Muse
Standing out in the backyard with my morning coffee as the sun rises, it was still. There was absolutely no breeze stirring, an unusual occurrence for here, at least lately...Cool and damp with dew on the grass, my body warmed by the rising sun. I was astonished to note the…
Sunday Morning In SE Texas
The day started out overcast but by 10am the clouds were mostly moved out. Temperatures are already mid 70's outside. It should be what would pass for a beautiful summer day in most parts of the country...Here it's just spring! More spring shots from my afternoon walk of the other…
Spring Has Sprung…Fully
We had a "cool" front blow through here this morning...Cool is now at 71° and rising. The front brought an hour or so of rain and then clear blue sky. The real sign of spring though is the cardinals, you know...Red birds chasing other red birds out of their perceived…
Good News For The Environment Of The Appalachians…
After eight years of backpedaling by the previous administration on the requirements that it protect the environment, there is a new group in charge. They seem to feel that the laws passed by congress prior to the Bush Administration really are laws...Go figure.
Weather Musing…
Ten days into March and the weather feels more like late spring or early summer from my childhood. This week we have seen 80's over and over again. So far the March winds (which began blowing in November) have kept the house reasonably comfortable. I don't like to think about…
Spring…Already?
This past week the signs of the season's change have sprung up all around...The oaks that were stripped of their leaves by Ike in September, now are leafing out with all of that bright, spring green color that changes the very light. Around the edge of this little house the…
Nature’s Cathedral
Reading Leon Hale's column is an institution in Houston and the surrounding counties as well as my house. Mr. Hale has been published in a Houston Paper for most (if not all) of my life, and his was the only column I remember reading in my dad's paper as a…
Talks : Michael Pollan: The omnivore’s next dilemma
Why you should listen to him: Few writers approach their subjects with the rigor, passion and perspective that’s typical of Michael Pollan. Whereas most humans think we are Darwin’s most accomplished species, Pollan convincingly argues that plants — even our own front lawns — have evolved to…
Nature in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ike
In my daily walks with our dogs I travel a route through the woods behind our house along a pipeline right of way then along Mustang Bayou to anther pipeline right of way and back home.The trip if I wanted to hurry it would not take much over 10 or…
Light Pollution
Verlyn Klinkenborg has something to say about what's happened to our view of the stars at night...He starts out this way... If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars, we would go in darkness happily, the midnight world as visible to us as it…
Looking Back…A Week Ago Today
Driving toward Kerrville along the Guadalupe River somewhere west of Hunt... From Coffee Muses
After the rains…
Image via Wikipedia The weather here has been very dry...at least until the past week or so. We have been having a spring-like amount of rain. After complaining for so long about the lack, it seems almost sacrilegious to say anything about the water we needed so bad. After months…
Musing about the lack of blooms…
Leaving the house this morning the temperature was already passing 80°. August in SE Texas may not be as hot as other places in the country, but factor in the humidity and it ain't pretty. The prognosticator on the radio was holding forth about a high today of 96°...But then…
Weather Musing Early Morning…
Up early to check on the status of Edouard...Looks like a miss for my house...Heading inland already on the Louisiana border. Should miss the majority of the Houston area, rain and moderate winds only. Sherry has headed for work already...Television on, radar on the monitor... Happy Birthday Wendell Berry It's…
Friday Morning Muse
Around these parts most of our ripened fruit happened a month or better ago. The only thing still to come are the pecans in the fall. Even so the following resonates... The Suburban Life - Thinking Ahead - Editorial - NYTimes.com It’s a good year for blueberries. Decades ago, a…
Call me contrarian, but this I believe…
Ever since Sept. 11, I have been of a contrarian. I never felt that the date had changed anything other than our own misguided perception of our own safety. A perception I did not share then. Now I read that my views are shared by, at least some of, those…
The Rural Life – Summer’s Night
The Rural Life - Editorial - Summer’s Night - Editorial - NYTimes.com The last couple of nights I’ve stood at the edge of the pasture watching the fireflies. They rise from the grass, flickering higher and higher until one of them turns into the blinking lights of a jet flying…
Food Musing
I have never felt that the Corporate pushers of GMOs were looking out for anything other than their own profits. That has led me to look on their actions in an unfavorable light. While this has always been a personal "feeling", I find my concerns expressed very well by this…
True happiness in a bowl of pasta sause…
TED | Talks | Malcolm Gladwell: What we can learn from spaghetti sauce (video) Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.
Attention…Musing About Comments and Community
Danah Boyd had an interesting comment on her blog today... In an attention economy, it's better to ignore than to critique. This drives me absolutely bloody batty. Anyone who's been online for too darn long knows has heard the expression, "don't feed the trolls." This stems from the general belief…
Hoover Hog
This has been a "wild" year around our house. So far this spring we have been blessed with four identical little armadillos, a litter of four raccoons, and a couple of opposiums. Down in this part of Texas most of the older homes are built up on blocks so that…
My Morning Muse
This is how I spent my morning muse today...
Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush’s Behest – washingtonpost.com
Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest - washingtonpost.com The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA.
Catch a Fallen Muse and Put It In Your Pocket…
Save it for a rainy day... Reacquiring the daily blogging habit after any layoff is tough. Doing it at the end of winter when you are just marking time while the season rolls over is really tough. Last weeks run in with the flu(?) put me in that place. Five…
Pre Birthday Photo Road Trip/Beach Meditation Muse
No matter what the weather brings tomorrow, I will spend the day on my annual photo road trip/beach meditation party. This will be the third annual event. A holiday from work I present to myself. A day of wandering the countryside of my life. If the prognosticators are right, the…
Monday Morning Commute with Verlyn Klinkenborg
Talk about touching a chord in my psyche. Verlyn's essay on driving and learning to drive is poetic in the way it pulls memories out of the dregs of my subconscious and plants them in the forebrain, full of scents, and sounds, and muscle memory. Being from Texas, I was…
Monday Morning Muse
While I have only experienced temperatures of this nature once in my life, I do remember being surprised at the time that the cold didn't feel that cold...Of course, that was Colorado. The only time I've seen temperatures in the teens around here it's felt very, very cold...I guess that's…
The last of Twenty O’Seven…
This morning is glowing...The light outside is golden. I would be outside trying to capture a remembrance except the temperature is at 40° and the humidity is 88%. Too cold by far for the shorts and long sleeve "t-shirt" I am wearing. I don't know if it means anything, but…
The Weather Just Keeps Throwing Surprises
The cold front that is putting a big chunk of the country in winter stalled just north of my house yesterday. The cooler air made it as far south as the office before deciding to run back north to more friendly environs. Though this mornings presentation is in the 60's...barely...…
Christmas?
The weather outside is...springlike. Not what you want to get you into the Christmas spirit. The high here today could break the record for high temperatures on this date. Here we sit, just after noon on a cloudy day, under an acre of green leaves of oak trees with the…
December Heat Spell…
I went out for a walk this morning with the camera because I noticed the red oak out back finally decided it autumn. The predominate color is still green around here, but what do you expect when the temperature outside is 75° at 10am on a Sunday morning. Here's what…
Mother Nature Saved Some Autumn Color For Me…
As we left Virginia behind today Mother Nature gave me a perfect picture postcard view of Mabry Mill. Actually the two colorful trees in the background are about the only two left in the vicinity with much color but they were in the right place at the right time for…
After the front…
It always intrigues me when the weather goes topsy turvy. This morning when I arrived at the coffee pot the weather station on the shelf said the outside temperature was holding at 50°. The humidity reads 75%. Both readings are at least 20 points below what they were at the…
It’s Friday so let’s play “Photo Friday”
This week's challenge: 'The City'. Houston on a beautiful winter day in February of this year. Taken while attending a National Geographic Photography Session at the U of H Downtown Campus. This week's challenge: 'The City'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must…
Autumn has retreated north…
From my drive on Monday... I went looking for this shot as there is no way you can call this windmill "on the way home"...Though I drive by it often enough. Of all the windmills I am acquainted with I like the looks of this one the best... ++++++++++ It…
It’s Blog Action Day
Blog Action Day On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind. In 2007 the issue is the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get…
Hump day in Texas…
It's Wednesday on the SE Texas coast in September which means there is a stalled out "cold" front somewhere in the neighborhood. The upshot that is we will be adding to our 18" surplus of precipitation for a few days as the weather system tries to sort out it's conflicted…
Summer fights back….
It has been hot and humid here in southeast Texas this weekend. Both the temperature and the humidity have been in the upper half of the 80's (measured under an acre of shade here at my house...which tends to be a bit lower than the official temperature). So outside, misery…
Back to work…
The Labor Day weekend played out long as usual. The bar-b-que was well received by one and all. I think we ended up with a bakers dozen here at one point or another during the afternoon. We pigged out, literally...Ribs and sausage (though there was some fresh chicken sausage on…
Wednesday – Blogging Lite
The night was spent at the Best Western around the corner and in all probability tonight will be also. At home this morning to pick up a couple of things and before running off to work I thought I'd at least read my email. Hopefully, today will see enough progress…
A rockhounds lament…Texas coastal tears.
As a youngster growing up on the Gulf coast I naturally became a bit of a rockhound. Makes sense doesn't it? What with no natural rock formations being available within a hundred miles of where I lived. I think the rocks that first caught my eye, and are still my…
Weather goest thou, Erin? What path doth Dean follow?
The predawn hours have been accompanied with the distant rumble of nature's own percussion section. Tropical storm Erin moved ashore just northeast of Corpus Christie this morning and the outlying rain bands began to come ashore here yesterday morning. So far we have managed to dodge the heavier bands of…
Tuesday Musing – Day +6
The whole time I was doing the seven weeks of radiation the technicians and the nurses warned me that the two to three weeks after the treatment ended would be bad to worse...They spoke truth. The burns on my neck didn't begin to manifest until after the last treatment was…
Weekend Musing…All Day Long
"The days still come in order. Gray light collects in the bedroom long before dawn. Then comes a bleached noon and nearly always the threat of a late-afternoon thunderstorm. The darkness is notated by fireflies, who have been unusually numerous — or is it unusually bright? — this year. The…
TGIF – The glow visible out of the corner of your eye is just me…
Todays number is 32...The effects of swallowing the sun are beginning to manifest themselves. The gravel in my voice has become a whisper this week (along with the voice itself), and my energy level has fallen to a new low. Almost done... I was running through my Reader today and…
It’s Thursday in Monsoon Land USA…
Todays number is 31...Look Ma, no voice...He said with a raspy whisper. If this doesn't look like the eye of an angry God, I'll eat my fire and brimstone upbringing. I have visions of a bird of prey here... The Helix Nebula Dust makes this cosmic eye look red.…
‘Tis The Start of Week Seven – Last of an Irradiated Time Zone
Technically, it's the last day of week six since the 4th fell in there and these treatments run their course in 35 days and not 7 weeks. But, since we started on a Wednesday, and we'll end on a Wednesday, this Wednesday will be the start of the week for…
Photo Friday
This week's challenge: 'Barren' Taken in January 2005 on my last trip to Vegas... PHOTO FRIDAY Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not your website's main page. Read this…
#21 in the series…
Warning...Political Rant Coming Ok, if this trend continues, we are going to have to suspect divine intervention in the AG firings. How else can we explain the "fact" that no one had any input on which AGs were fired? Seems from all of the testimony so far that no one…
July 3rd – today will be 15…
Can you imagine what must have been going on behind the scenes on this day all those years ago in Philadelphia? The discussions, the arguments, the compromises all to commit...treason. Each and every signer of the Declaration of Independence was putting his head in a noose for what he believed…
Thursday – June 28, Twenty O’Seven
This mornings Washington Post has some interesting reading. Even David Broder is on Chaney's case this morning. If you haven't checked out the Post's series on the essential Dick Chaney you really should...Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. But then we get to George Will. I am beginning to think the…
Farewell, complete walker
Colin Fletcher (photograph, John Sexton/Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association) For most of us who care about ecology and the environment, there was some personal experience that brought us there. For me, it was wilderness hiking, beginning 30-plus years ago in the Grand Canyon and continuing across the American West. Two…
Millions of Missing Birds, Vanishing in Plain Sight – New York Times
Verlyn Klinkenborg has a new piece out. His observations on humanity and our relationship to the natural world do not put humanity in the best of lights...Rightfully so in my humble opinion. Millions of Missing Birds, Vanishing in Plain Sight - New York Times Last week, the Audubon Society released…
Political Muse For Monday
The reason Bush and buddies are so clueless is that they are eaten up with corporate arrogance and avarice. They possess a stunning sense of entitlement, leading them to treat our government as their private plaything. What they need is to have a good kindergarten teacher assigned to refresh each…
Washington Scandals
There is a firestorm brewing in Washington DC. It is a storm fueled by scandal...Scandals based on the perception of dishonesty. At this moment, it is only the perception of dishonesty that is fueling this firestorm of scandals. But each days news cycle brings more reports of lost documents, lost…
Lies and the Media
"Journalists by nature shy from pinning the "liar" label on any political leader, but President Bush's acknowledgments that he had not been forthcoming about his plans to dump Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have kicked up a fuss at the White House and sparked a debate about the limits of…
The Culture Wars
Eugene Robinson makes a good point today.'Values' Choice for The GOP - washingtonpost.com: "The culture war is supposed to be about morality, but really it's a crusade to compel Americans to follow certain norms of private behavior that some social and religious conservatives believe are mandated by sociology, nature or…
Colin Powell in Houston
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Colin Powell is not backing down from his stand on the issue of American Principles...Nor the decision to invade Iraq.American principles are vital to terror fight, Powell says: "Former Secretary of State Colin Powell defended Wednesday the decision to invade Iraq and topple leader…
