When I first walked out this morning the upper seventies temperature and the humidity hit me in the face. Such a very different way to start the week than the way we ended the last one. The eastern sky is just beginning to lighten. It pretty much is just as…
I had to open the umbrella again this morning... Clear skys, bright sunshine, slightly foggy air made it unbearably, glaringly brite. Opening the umbrella I woke a anole that had taken refuge inside the closed fabric... he is still roaming the fabric looking for breakfast. The morning an hour after…
Not much to say this morning. I overslept. The cool front has become not so cool. I was able to snap the above shots before heading in to throw together a quickie breakfast. As I type this I still haven't had that first sip of coffee. So the weekend is…
There was no sunrise this morning. A cool blustery darkness greeted my appearance on the back porch. It was so dark for so long I had trouble sipping from my insulated travel mug. I couldn't see the hole in the top... black on black in an unaccustomed blackness. And to…
Walking out before "first light" in the morning, the sliver of a moon hangs like a stylized bowl just a bit above the horizon. Once the sky lightens enough to photograph though, that bare sliver fades into the background. By the time the shot above was taken, three separate flights…
This is a nice morning. Two flights of whistling ducks flew over. At least three dozen birds or more. The sky is colorful. A mockingbird is starting to sing early. Well I made it to the polls yesterday. When Sherry got home from work we drove to the library to…
A school day, laundry day, early voting day... I'll be busy today. Since it is a school day, I'm on the back porch before the eastern horizon began to color. It's cool, but it's not that cool... so the ceiling fans are on chilling my hair still damp from my…
Fog. The weather prognosticators say it's a dense fog. Out here on the back porch it's as dense as I've seen this fall... but not really all that dense. Just another fall sunrise of cool portents. The dense air is helping the traffic sounds travel from the bypass with a…
We're in a slow motion countdown to a momentous change in the life of America. Either American norms will win out, or by hook or crook, the most unprepared man ever to be handed the job will be returned to the White House. Almost two hundred years ago, a group…
Ahhhhhh, sleeping in on a Saturday. Yesterday's windy, rainy weather has moved on to the northeast. Delta has churned her/his way onshore and into the interior were it's still spinning and looking very much like a Hurricane on land. According to the prognoticaters, this coolish morning will have to last…
Another blustery near miss morning. Hurricane Delta is about 180 miles south-southeast of Galveston. This morning's winds are blowing almost east to west at the moment. A few weeks ago the morning temperature would have made me smile, but after a couple of weeks of fall-like temperatures I'm just not…
I slept a bit late this morning since my daughter is home to start her kids off with school. Stepping out on the porch I was greeted with overcast skies. Looking at the radar I can see these are the outer bands of Hurricane Delta starting to move into our…
Wordless Wednesday Borrowed From DoubleVerify
Fall Morning Redux The whistling ducks flying over each morning keep growing in number... even as they loose all coherence as a flight. Flying over this morning I was reminded of watching a mob move through an environment. I was unable to really gauge there number, but at a guess,…
Another fall morning on the back porch that luckily actually feels like fall. Whispy clouds hide in the first light color. The sunrise should make them pop. The stars are fading rapidly in the lightening bowl of the sky. Birds are singing. Crows are cawing. The whistling ducks flew over…
In order to enjoy this beautiful fall morning on the back porch I had to break out the big umbrella. The stand has managed to get itself broken, but that's ok, it works great laid over on it's side... The morning flight of whistling ducks keeps getting larger. It appeared…
Saturday morning... an hour and a half of extra sleep... a cool fall morning. Quiet, the only sounds are traffic roar from the bypass... louder on this side of the house. Well... karma seems to have caught up with our president***. His politicalization of masks and social distancing seems to…
7:35 am Full Moon Setting 7:36 am Sun Under Horizon Walking out to last night's full moon settling towards the western horizon as the sun rises to the east... nice. This is what the sunrise schedule is for this morning as we slide into fall. 6:00am Start of astronomical twilight…
It looks like another cool, cloudless morning. The eastern glow has gone from pink to yellowish. The most prominent sound is of tires on concrete coming from the bypass. Though, the mockingbird is doing it's best to try and outdo the traffic. A flight of great egrets flew over just…
Wordless Wednesday
6:45 am The first real autumn morning. No ceiling fans required. The prognosticators promised a low in the 50's and they were blessed in their foretelling. The flock of whistling ducks grows larger by the day as it circles my house as the sky brightens. This morning it's the cardinals…
It's a warm and muggy pre-cold front start to the day. The first front is around Waco heading our way. There are enough clouds out over Galveston Bay to make the sunrise interesting even if a temperature of 77 degrees doesn't make it very comfortable. There's an owl softly calling…
The sun rose over an hour ago. It's warmer and there's enough humidity to fog my glasses just a bit as I walked out. I had to increase the speed of the ceiling fans back to full power. The hummingbirds are fighting as usual. A daddy longlegs scurries across the…
I'm on the front porch this morning. Another below seventy degree morning. The crows are congregating, not quite a murder yet, but gathering... playing at follow the leader. Big black velvety birds with a big, area filling call. I slept thru sunrise. My favorite weekend activity in these pandemic times.…
Sunrise facing southeast. The temperature outside this morning is delightful. A couple of degrees below that magical 70 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermometer. And after days and days of winds from Beta, it's still this morning. The outsized remnants of Beta have moved into Alabama and Tennessee. Once the storm…
Wordless Wednesday
I walked out this morning at sunrise to a back porch that was wet. Given the rainfall of the past day... not surprising. But also wet was my rocking chair. So I grabbed my shots and then wandered by in. I did hear yesterday's owl calling plaintively from the soggy…
According to the almanac it's first light right now... but Tropical Storm Beta is putting a lie to that. The only light in the sky is the reflection of civilization on the underside of the cloud cover. It's loud out, the blustery, gusty winds are making the leaves sing. Shadows…
It's a cool, breezy morning. Our first fall-like morning of the late, almost over summer season. But, don't worry, the heat and humidity will be back... we're not done with summer here on the Texas gulf coast. As a matter of fact, as you can see from the radar image…
Sometimes my morning coffee muses hits a snag... this morning it brought about coffee muses man... Coffee Muses Man Kinda reminds me of the cartoon character from the 1970's. I finally remembered the character after a long senior moment... here y'all go...
This was the sky just minutes after I heard the news that RBG had passed. May she rest in peace. Now we get to see the full nature of what today's Republicans are in their souls. Just over four years ago they set a precedent, so what does Mitch McConnell…
The silence thirty minutes before sunrise is deafening. The overcast sky just barely lighter than the shadowy blackness of the trees. Though there is enough of a glow to the sky to make the ground visible. The Houston/Galveston eathglow effect. The first bird calls. Then another. A breeze stirs the…
Yesterday's sequence of photos inspired me to do it again once I saw the morning sky... First Light - Dawn The first shot was at Dawn... first light in the sky. The noun dawn refers to the first light of day, or the first time period, like the dawn of…
Wordless Wednesday
It's not cool, but it's not that warm either. Pairs of crows keep flying over heading south... raising a ruckus as only crows can. The day gradually lightening as the sun approaches the horizon. The hummingbirds chatter at each other as they bully their way to dominance at the feeder...…
It's a strange morning, no color in the east... what color there is is in the west as the sun rises. In the east it's bands of clouds flowing across the sky from north to south... filling in as the minutes tick by. While around the porch the hummingbird battles…
The sun is well up. Birds are singing. The hummingbird wars continue. The coolness of yesterday morning is fading into memory like a barely remembered dream. The promised rains keep teasing us on an almost daily basis. Thunder, lightning, a bit better breeze... and then 5 minutes of lite rain…
I love weekends. Before covid, I slept in most days... even through the summer I didn't have to get up early. Now that school has started, and virtual school does keep a school schedule, I'm up before the sun five days a week. So... I love weekends... again. I doubt…
There's a difference in the feel of the air this morning. For one thing it's cooler. For another, the clouds are drifting south instead of the more normal northerly direction. I don't know that the front ever made it this far before falling apart. But it really got close. But,…
Once again we are being promised a fifty percent chance of rain. The prognosticators are also foretelling of highs next week in the upper eighties... of course, that foretelling comes with a good chance of rain all week. Oh well, if I can have cooler weather, I'll take a little…
Sunrise is really fleeting. And the glow from the rising sun can begin, become, hit wow and wind down in the blink of the eyes... And all the while hummingbirds swarm the feeders. There always appears to be one feeder that gets the most visitors while the others are claimed…
I awoke to the distant rumble of thunder. I walked out on the back porch to lightening and more thunder and a darker than normal pre-sunrise backyard. The radar tells the story. The only sound besides the thunder... the cheeps of the hummingbirds in the dark. I've figured out what's…
The temperature is down a bit... so is the humidity... a bit. Light clouds are scattered across the sky. It's late, so the sun beats down unmercifully. A red-tailed hawk just flew screaming down the right of way. Blue Jays are jaying all around. And strangely, hummingbirds are everywhere. This…
Happy Birthday Cameron. Number two grandson. I have to get ready for a small family gathering today. A combined Birthday party and Labor Day barbecue. Social distancing will be practised, hands will be sanitized, masks may be worn. I have a ton of things to get done, so this is…
As the sun touches the horizon, periods of lite rain are falling. Rumbles of thunder roll across the landscape. Dark angry clouds move slowly as the birds sing and the hummingbirds buzz back and forth to the feeder. Dragonflies, as big as the hummingbirds, investigate the bird feeders... only to…
Wow, the temperature this morning has dropped into the seventies... after the past week it almost feels cool. There was some rain overnight and the sunrise was colorful with the sun hitting the clouds before coming over the horizon. The prognosticators are foretelling off a good possibility of more rain…
I walked out this morning to an overcast sky. Above eighty temperature, but another shot of not quite oppressive humidity. The hummingbirds are chittering about in the dawn dark. Roosters are softly chattering. A donkey's bray cuts the quiet. As clouds skud north towards a stalled front, the sky goes…
It's not as oppressively humid this morning, though it's still hot. It's funny how 81 degrees is noticeably cooler feeling than 83 degrees. I'm still waiting for the sun to come up over the horizon. There's even a bit of a breeze moving the leaves about. The midweek traffic on…
Out 20 minutes before sunup... it's darker out than the images suggest. And way too warm and humid for comfort. A slight breeze wafts around without having a noticeable cooling effect. Even the ceiling fans are fighting a losing battle with the heat of late summer. Even the clouds over…
It's the first day of the second week of school. Sadly, it's also the third day in a row where the temperature is already 80 degrees or above to start the day. These are the dog days of summer for me. Also, another heat advisory in affect for another hot…
Now that school is going again from home and they are keeping real school schedules, weekends are my sleep in time. Really slept in this morning... so much so that the thermometer was reading 85 degrees before I stepped out on the porch. To top it off, the humidity was…
Warm and humid... makes miss Thursday morning when Laura was spinning off to the east and bringing dryer air into southeast Texas. At least my part of it. I see the prognosticators are calling for another hot day with a heat advisory issued once again. Today I'm hearing mourning doves.…
It's the start of the third day of virtual school after a two day Hurricane break. So it's up with the sun again. One grandkid is up and eating breakfast, I'll go in and wake her brother in a few. It's warmer and much more humid today. They have us…
Hurricane Laura off to the east. Rains to the south. It's warmish this morning, but the humidity doesn't feel so high. The one good thing about being on the dry side of a tropical cyclone. We, as in those of us in the Houston and Galveston area, are extremely lucky…
This morning is the warmest start we've seen this summer, I think. Hurricane Laura is close enough to us that she's starting to pump that tropical air our way. We've already had some rain showers. And it's looking like that will be our weather pattern for the day. The first…
It's the second day of school... virtually. The first day went by with only a few glitches with the technology. And most of them seemed to be at the school's end. Hopefully, all of the bugs will shake out in a week or so. Tropical storm Marco has pretty much…
During the early morning/late night hours, thunderstorms moved thru. Lightning flashed filling my dark bedroom with brightness. Thunder cracked loudly. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. For the first time in a long time my alarm was set and I had to get up early. You…
It's almost cool, almost dry, but it's still going to be hot by the afternoon. We are now living in an area of weather forecaster hysteria. Tropical storms headed for the Gulf. Did you notice i said storms,.. as in two. Marco and Laura. And the latest models are now…
Another almost cool morning for high summer. Dew rests heavy on the cars, and dewdrops glisten in the grass. But, strangely, the eyeglasses didn't fog up when I came outside. The first sound that registered today was the call of a pileated woodpecker above my head. That loud prehistoric sound…
Sunrise is spectacular this morning. The sun coming up behind a thunderstorm over Galveston Bay. The temperature is also not too bad, though the humidity is up a bit this morning. Cardinals are chirping all over the yard. And hummingbirds dive bomb the feeder trying to claim it as their…
Happy Birthday Mom. I made it out before sunrise. Not usual for me. And to top it off, the outside temperature is almost the same as in the house. That makes the fan supercilious, almost chillingly. I'm going to have to get used to rising about this time to make…
Not too warm for the start of the day. 75 degrees, not bad for the full blown August. But it's oh so still. Not a breath of a breeze. And quiet... barely a bird singing. I have to go through the process of setting up a couple of computers today…
Ahhhhhh, the vagrancies of summer weather on the Texas gulf coast. It's the low 70's out here on the front porch. But with full sun, it won't take much to hit the forecast high of 97 degrees. The first load of laundry is in. The first cup of coffee is…
Overnight the prognosticators were foretelling of a 60% chance of rain. Judging by the driveway out front, that didn't occur. Today, the foretelling is for a 40% chance... and from the look of the clouds it could start at any moment. From the look of the radar, it's all a…
It's pretty loud out this morning. Mostly birdsong, but the occasional sound of squirrels playing and eating. Even the traffic sounds from the bypass seem louder for a Sunday morning. And the airplane buzzing by so low blasts all other sounds. I came out early and the temperature was still…
The humidity must be lower than usual. Because, even though it's as warm as it's been, it doesn't feel as sticky. It still wouldn't be comfortable without a fan. Birds are singing, anoles are hunting, the yard is mowed for a couple of more weeks, and we are still under…
A cloudless sky greets me this morning. Sun on the concrete, warning an already warm world. Just a breath of breeze, a breath almost held. A faint tinkle of wind chimes barely heard. There's a sameness to the daily grind that is Donald Trump trying to break America. The schoolyard…
This morning I slept in. So it's late and the temperature has passed 80 a while ago. But... For some reason, it doesn't feel as warm as it is. It could be that there's a better breeze blowing than I've felt in a long time... or it could just be…
Today's already hot and sticky. It really feels like I'm living in a tropical swamp... right down to the dragonflies patrolling by the squadrons. Though the mockingbird singing in the pine is a nice touch. Well, I see we have a Democratic ticket. I can't say I'm shocked by the…
This is one of those summer mornings I wouldn't wish on a dog. Warm, going up towards hot, and muggy. There is a breeze, not much of one but it's there. It's enough to make the leaves twist and catch the sun... sparkling against the clear blue sky. I walked…
It rained for much of yesterday afternoon. Sometimes lightly, sometimes cats and dogs. So this morning the drive is still damp. And while warm and muggy, it doesn't feel half bad. Hummingbirds are bumping chests over the blooms on the chaste tree while cicadas buzz in the background. And all…
As you can see, there's a nice rain shower towards the rising sun. It makes for some amazing cloud formations. But it's already warm and headed for hot. The only birds talking this morning are the crows. Construction is going on at one of the two construction sites on this…
Not much going on out here on the front porch today. A warm and muggy start to a gulf coast summer's day. My daughter loaded up her kids for a day at the beach... hopefully with social distancing in existence. There's not a breath of air stirring that isn't mechanically…
It was already above 80 degrees when I stepped out on the front porch this morning. Warm and muggy, standard summertime faire. The extended forecast has rain back in the picture on Sunday before a string of higher probability days start next Wednesday. Well my trip into town for Covid-19…
It's the middle of my birthday cycle. I'm half a year past the last one and half a year to the next. Not that I really pay attention to them. Though, truth be told, I'm reaching an age where they seem to come faster and faster. The morning is warm,…
I walked out first thing to bring in the garbage bin. So today's shots are from out near the road. It makes for a different perspective. As Gary Myers quoted this morning, change the focus of the eye. So that's what I did... at least for the moment. Somewhere, not…
When I come out and start these muses each day, I first take my record shots and do the post professing, then I upload them to this site. Once that is done I spend some time reading the blogs of those I follow via the Wordpress app. Once that is…
Today I slept in. By rights, I should be on the back porch. But, late as it is, the back porch is soaking up sun. And with the temperature already above 80 degrees, I'll take the shady side of the house. I find myself spending more time actually musing this…
Thunderstorms moved into the area in the night... and decided to stay. It's cool with an occasional breeze out here on the front porch. Lightning flashes and thunder rolls across the heavens as light rain continues to fall. The prognosticators foretold of this. The radar is full of color... It's…
Looking towards the rising sun, the sky always has a different shade of blue. Especially on these hazy, heavy, humid mornings. It's almost as pronounced as the change in the hue of green that happens as you cross the line between my yard and my neighbors. That color change in…
Sitting on the front porch today. Humidity is at a high because of all of the rainfall lately... afternoon showers starting a couple of hours before noon caused by the high humidity and moisture off the gulf. It's a bit of a self perpetuating cycle. Way back in my early…
When I stepped out to grab my record pics this morning the above was attached to the back wall at eye level. The crazy thing is, there's no milkweed in the vicinity this year. What I was actually trying to capture was this... Cloudless blue skies reflected in the dew…
When I stepped out to grab my record pics this morning the above was attached to the back wall at eye level. The crazy thing is, there's no milkweed in the vicinity this year. What I was actually trying to capture was this... Cloudless blue skies reflected in the dew…
The temperature is already pushing 80 degrees. It's almost humid enough to require another shower after having one just before I walked out. There's no breeze moving thru the trees. Already more rainstorms are on the radar than yesterday... and the prognosticators have lowered the chance of rain for today.…
Even before walking out I could tell the morning was going to be sticky. Every window looking out was covered in condensation. Combined with the brightness of the day, the world seemed to be glowing. While the temperature isn't any higher than normal, my wife being home and standing in…
The sky looks ominous this morning. Much worse than it actually is. The radar shows little rain falling around the area from the remnants of Hurricane Hannah who went ashore last evening in far south Texas. Yesterday's drive into central Texas was made interesting by the bands of rain that…
The air has movement this morning. Not a lot, the leaves are swaying, the clouds rush across the patch of blue above my head. Evidently, Hannah, our latest tropical storm, is already announcing her presence. She's a bit over 230 miles southeast of here and moving our way. Some wind…
If the prognoticaters are correct, this will be our semi-dry day. If it is, I'll need to spend some quality time on the mower. As it is, the start of the day is, at least for now, a bit on the cool side. At this time of year, anything under…
Out early on the back porch. There are enough thunder clouds to the east to make the sun work at shining down on the wet earth. Dew glistens all around me. Condensation runs down the windows. There is a smell of wet moldy earth in the heavy air. Somewhere around…
It's been thundering since early morning... if you consider 3am morning. Off and on for hours lightning will flash and thunder will roll across the world. Luckily, rainfall hasn't been as boisterous. Lake Boyd hasn't made an appearance yet through the tall grass. It's probably the coolest out this morning…
