Diamonds sparkling in the sun…
It's really an uncommon sight here in my area to see ice sparkling on tree limbs in the sun. It's 10:45 and the sun is causing a virtual heat wave outdoors... The temperature has risen to a wonderful 25°.
Category: nature muses
Just Another December Sunset
December 12th December 12th
Sunset again
Sunset, December 6th, 2023
Another December Sunset
December Sunset
Fall Colors
November Sunset
Tuesday the 15th
october twentyeighth
friday It's a wet and stormy looking Friday... Puddles stand on the drive. And even though it's the warmest morning of the week... There's a chill in the air, a certain seasonal portent. With the grandkids off to school I'm just sitting and reading a bit with my music playing…
Saturday Afternoon on the Back Porch
https://youtu.be/VSdC3K9p7Cw I was playing with the GoPro yesterday afternoon watching the swarms of Hummingbirds attack my feeders and each other. It took awhile to put together the video and upload it to YouTube,
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
I decided to try the front porch this morning. Since it's almost 80 out before 7am, the floor fan is on. Though, the almost steady breeze has a cooling effect of it's own. The dryness of the concrete lets me know even without checking the radar, that we missed whatever…
Monday, June 8, 2020
I thought I'd try the front porch this morning. Yesterday I moved the spare floor fan around so these morning muses wouldn't be to uncomfortable as the sun rises. Looking mostly north. I am joined again by a cattle egret wandering through the yard looking for breakfast. A Carolina wren…
Saturday, June 6, 2020
It's quiet out on the back porch this morning. Ceiling fans and cicadas, cardinals and finches. A breath of a breeze rustling the red oak leaves. June has settled upon the land rather lightly so far. My blog buddy Linda, posted that today is National Prairie Day. We once walked…
Friday, June 5, 2020
Coffee muses on the back porch again. It's more peaceful out here. Traffic noise from the road out front almost never rises above the white noise of the ceiling fans. As the trees fill out, even the bypass sounds are muted for another season. Looking east. You know summer is…
Thursday, November Twenty-ninth
Just another warm fall day with full overcaat.
Mississippi Kites
Last year I was enthralled with the presence of a group/family of Mississippi Kites. They hung around all summer. On my morning Coffee Muses they would be sitting on their perches above Jones Street, visible from my backyard. Today's BirdNote segment was about these birds... Mississippi Kites For more info:…
Monday, February fifth
Early Birthday Road Trip No pictures yet, I'll work on adding some in the morning. It was overcast all day. A long gray road trip... The Wildlife Refuge was almost empty of birds. The most common birds were ibis, I also saw a couple Mississippi KItes and a Crested Caracara.…
Monday, January 23
Another Sunny Winter's Coffee Muses.
The Blooms of January
The magnolia doesn't seem to know winter is just starting.
Friday, January 20
Slightly Foggy Coffee Muses
Monday Morning Coffee Muses, January 9
This morning we are back in that gloomy weather groove to start the week. Though, I must admit, the mid 50's feel much more comfortable than the mid 20's of a day ago. Who am I kidding, it feels better than the 40 degrees it was at sundown last evening.…
Sunday Morning Coffee Muses, January 8
Frosty cold this morning. Two nights in a row the temperature has fallen into the mid-twenties. The temperature on the other porch is still 29 degrees. It's a funny thing though, the thermometer on the post to my left is already reading 40 degrees. Microclimates... aren't they fun? It's what…
Unexpected Weather
The forecast called for partly cloudy with the chance of rain in the teens... I am now at the end of my second hour, and second cup, on the back porch. If not for the light rain falling of and on for the last hour I would already be at…
A Morning Drive To The Refuge
It was late last week when Linda from The Task at Hand left a comment on a post here. In her comment she mentioned having traveled to the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge and seeing some/a wood stork and some rosette spoonbills. I had been wanting to drive down that way myself and hearing I might get to see a wood stork, a species I had not seen before, only made me want to make the trip more...
On Vacation In The Rockies
It's a different kind of Mountain Dream...
Birthday Road Trip 2013
I had spent the week watching the weather forecast. A week ago they were forecasting fog for the day. By Monday the forecast had a 70% chance of rain. By Tuesday the chances were up to 80% and it was looking like a washout. But tradition is tradition. So I loaded…
Nash Prairie Preserve
I went to a seed collecting day at the Nash Prairie Preserve in Brazoria County last Friday. While I will be writing a post about the trip shortly, I have spent today updating my Nash Prairie Gallery at Mountain Dreams Photography. Here is a slideshow of the images I have…
Mid Week Rambles
Hummingbird Update It seems the cold front that blew through this past weekend was the signal most of the hummingbirds in the backyard were waiting for to head on south. Since Sunday I have only seen the few birds that were here all summer. I won't complain, but it was…
Hummingbirds…Again
I was playing a bit this morning...And learning Adobe Premier Elements at the same time...
Hummingbird Entertainment
The hummingbirds continue to entertain us each day. We have never had the numbers we are seeing this year. Here are a few shots I took last week at one of the back feeder's
Birdfeeder News
The past week at the bird feeders (nectar feeders for hummingbirds) have been a load of fun. It seems the number of Ruby Throats has gone up exponentially. The battles being fought to control the feeding rights are unending. We have three feeders set up right now and the traffic is continuous from sunup till sundown.…
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…
Texas Native Plant Week October 14 – 20 | Native Plant Society of Texas
To promote the importance of our state’s special sense of place, the Texas Legislature has designated October 14-20 as Native Plant Week. Local communities throughout Texas are planning events for the public to foster the use of native plants in the landscape. Wildflower walks, tours of native plant gardens, educational…
My Morning Muse
Spring Sitting here with my first cup of coffee, looking out my office window, my morning muse turns to the predominance of spring green. Even the scar left with the demolition of the old house is showing mostly green. It's weeds of course, but, from here with a good mowing just two…
The Great Backyard Bird Count
It's been a bit over a week since the Great Backyard Bird Count came to an end. This was my first ever participation in the nationwide (continent-wide) event. I have to wonder though...Who told the birds to spend four days hiding. It was almost like they heard a rumor that…
A Change Of Perspective
Image via Wikipedia It's funny what a change of a hundred feet can do to a view. For almost 20 years we have lived on this property. For all but the last few months though, we were living up under the oaks with open field between the front "woods" and…
Fall In My Backyard
Last week my backyard looked like this as the sun came up... This week, under overcast skies, it looks like this... We are still seeing more green out back than most places around here. In fact, we are seeing more green than we have seen since last year. Related…
Backyard Color
Today the red oak in the backyard is probably at peak color. Never in the years since I planted it has it been quite this vividly fall like. The funny thing about today is that the temperature is already at 76° and rising. It's breezy and partly cloudy. Yesterday it…
December Apples
I figured when I saw blooms back at the end of September there was a chance I would see apples yet this year. All it took was for the heat to break and the rains to start falling and here you see what I discovered today...Baby apples. Not a lot.…
Tall-Grass Triumph – The Nash Prairie
Thats why the Nash Prairie matters so much. As Chronicle reporter Matthew Tresaugue reported Tuesday "Life abounds at states last surviving bit of coastal prairie," Page B1, July 26, the 400-plus acres of never-plowed land in Brazoria County remained pristine by historical accident: The Czech and German immigrants who first…
One Fine Day by Verlyn Klinkenborg
Last week, there was a day I hesitate to call perfect only because I would hate it if the perfect day had already come and gone in my life. But when that perfect day comes at last it will probably resemble the one last week. Go...Read the rest. It'll help…
A Video Walk
Early last week I wandered around my back yard and the woods behind my house playing with the Flip Video camera...No fancy editing just the "magic" of the Flip Share software... Today we have had more small showers blowing around the area. That makes three days in a row we…
Wildfires continue to burn through East Texas and beyond | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Just for the record... Since fire season began Nov. 15, the Texas Forest Service and area fire departments have so far responded to 12,362 fires that have burned 3,080,013 acres, officials added. via Wildfires continue to burn through East Texas and beyond | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com -…
Climate Change or Not, Trees Around Here Are In Trouble
Every day the news brings more drought news around here. Today it's about the trees... Houston's trees need help. It may not be obvious yet, but without substantial rain in the next few weeks the effects of this year's drought may greatly reduce the area's green canopy in five years,…
Morning Music
Sitting out every morning this spring with my coffee mug I have been entertained by the Eastern Bluebirds that have made their home in m y backyard. As I have become acquainted with these beautiful birds for the very first time this year I was surprised at how quickly their song has…
You’ve Got To Be Kidding…Right?
Now they keep telling us it's not the strong winds, it's not the heavy rains...It's the lighter than normal rain that is playing havoc with the grid. The brief rains that rolled through parts of the Houston area Wednesday didn't put much of a dent in local drought conditions but…
Changing Circumstances
I have found myself spending much more time outside the past few weeks. Moving Trees It all started as I began to study my backyard to figure out where I wanted to move a couple of apple trees to. They had to be moved or cut down. Now, where we…
Spring Road Trip
I decided to take a lunch run across the river a week or so ago. After eating my sack lunch with another eastern bluebird I wandered over to the nature trail...This is one of the shots I captured...
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…
Blue Birds And Life
Sitting at the computer this morning I looked out the window and saw my second Bluebird in my entire 57 years upon this earth. I was so surprised I had to lean forward for a closer look. I still remember the occurrence of my sighting. Sherry and I were new home shopping…
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…
Happy Turkey Day
Blue Ridge Mountain Wild Turkey Chick Summer 2004 Here's wishing all of you a great day of Thanks Giving.
The Subtleness Of A Southeast Texas Autumn
This shot was taken yesterday in the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. It shows the subtlety of fall colors on the SE Texas coast. We are finally seeing the goldenrod blooming along with the other yellow fall blooms. The trees themselves, are mostly yellow and green. Sitting at my kitchen table today every…
Fall Covers NE United States This Week
As I sit checking email with the house open to the nice morning cool I stumbled across this image this morning...via Fall Colors in the Allegheny Mountains : Image of the Day. I was hopeful that the color would be as slow to move southward down the mountains as it proved in 2007.…
What A Nice Few Days
I have really been enjoying the cool mornings this week. The weather prognosticators are promising more of the same for the next week...We even hit a low of 59° yesterday morning just as the sun came up...Nice. It has been great sitting out with my first cup as the sun comes up each day.…
Today it Feels Like Spring
Sitting out on the porch with my morning coffee was a change of pace today. All of the rain we have been having makes it look and feel like spring not fall. It must have already rained a bit this morning because the trees are still dripping. The sun coming…
Summer Continues
Sometimes it seems like summer will never end here along the Texas coast. Yesterday afternoon the temperature was pushing 97° according to the weather station on the mantle. I checked with the WunderGround and the heat index was almost at 110°. For the last few weeks I have been spending the early…
A Tale Of A Simple Creek
A couple of weeks ago, I walked along a spring creek in the upper Madison Valley, just south of the town of Ennis, Mont. As my guide, Jeff Laszlo, explained, the creek is one of the unnamed tributaries of the Madison River, fed by innumerable springs along the valley’s rich…
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…
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…
It’s A New Week And I Am Wondering Where The Birds Went…
Blue jays and robins are a sign of winter in my neck of the woods. Over the weekend a notion of mine, one that has been percolating around in this head of mine, kept roiling to the surface. All winter long I have been noticing an absence...A hole in the…
Whopping Crane Die-off Possible For Second Year In A Row
The world's last remaining natural flock of endangered whooping cranes, which suffered a record number of deaths last year, will probably see another die-off because of scarce food supplies at its Texas nesting grounds this winter, wildlife managers said. The flock lost 23 birds in the 2008-2009 winter season, in…
Morning Haze In My Backyard
morning haze; as in a painting of a dream men go their ways Buson ~ (via The Haiga Pages) The sun rising through the morning mist last week drew me out my backdoor armed with my third eye...After letting the image stew for a week it felt done...
Not Walking With The Sisters Today…
The morning emails brought me this... Thu 8AM Thu 10AM Thu 12PM Thu 2PM Sky Rain Rain Rain Cldy Chance of Precip Moderate Moderate Moderate Slight Temp (F) 51° 46° 41° 40° Wind Chill (F) N/A 39° 32° 30° At this time it's 57° and that's down 2° since I…
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…
A Walk In Autumn…
Walking my trail through the woods yesterday I was struck that the predominate color is still green... Once I made it to Mustang Bayou, the color pallet didn't seem to change... The temperatures this week have been great. My wife actually demanded the heat be turned on after our first…
It’s Been A Few Days Since I Posted, And…
...we've been having some fine October weather here in the middle of November. I love this season, when we get little junior-grade northers trying to push through, followed by three or four days of Chamber of Commerce weather -- no wind, soft light, high blue skies and temperatures we dreamed…
Wednesday Morning Walk
It was a cool misty morning as I poured a cup of coffee...Looking out the back screen the light looked intriguing. I grabbed the camera and slipped on the flipflops and wandered out into the cool, wet backyard. I wandered a while trying to capture the light that drew me…
My Favorite Time Of Year…Autumn On The Texas Gulf Coast.
We are now entering my favorite time of the year. Cool fall days in the low 70's and nighttime lows dipping down into the 50's. Skies so blue that if you could capture the color you'd be set for life. Birds twittering in the predawn trees, welcoming the day as…
A Concept To Wrap Your Spirit Around
A day isn’t just a standard measure, all the same size so each fits on a calendar page. A day is a period of light, an astronomical event. I felt that on the road that Kansas dawn. The broad swath of the sun’s light rolls upward from the darkness, morning…
The National Parks: If You Missed It Last Night…
Watch it online now...But do it quick. They will only be online till Oct 9th. Episode 1 Episode One: "The Scripture of Nature" (1851–1890) The astonishing beauty of Yosemite Valley and the geyser wonderland of Yellowstone give birth to the radical idea of creating national parks for the enjoyment of…
Fireflies
Last night I wandered out with a glass of wine after an evening of rain. Lightning was still flashing to the south. The ground was wet, the trees were still dripping...Yet as I stood there in my backyard what did I see? Fireflies. just a couple wandering around a couple…
Photo Friday: ‘Circular’
Mill Wheel, Roan Mountain State Park, Tennessee
Roadtrip Time In Texas
I decided that I needed a roadtrip to hunt for the fields of Bluebonnets that bloom this time of year a few counties to the north and west. Yesterday I made the decision that today would be the day, come what may. It almost looked as if I'd be trying…
Monday Morning Backs Into Winter
I woke up this morning to a blustery north wind driving temperatures into the 40's. Tonight the weather prognosticators are predicting lows in the 30's. It would appear winter (at least our kind of winter) isn't through with SE Texas. As I wait for springs return and the yard work honey-dews that will accompany it, here are some more of my spring photo's fropm last week...
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 in My Yard…
I went for a walk yesterday afternoon with my camera. I only covered by back yard and the right of ways that run to Mustang Bayou. Here are a couple of the images I caught... More To follow...Have a great weekend.
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…
To Mulch or Not…Too Mulch of a Good Thing.
My first house had siding of shiplap cypress. Great wood for building, tough for painting. I often wondered about those bags of cypress mulch at the garden center...seems it really is too much of a good thing... It seems that in the past ten years or so cypress logging as…
