Blogs from Texas, United States, North America - page 10

Being in Texas birding is hot and dusty work, but someone has to do it. We return each day from our adventures thirsty and hot and dusty. And we may look like a chicken when we return, as we are eating chicken so often. We cook breakfast here at the studio, make chicken salads to eat out for lunches, and then eat chicken back here – although yesterday we ate outside next to a lovely little lake. This part if Texas is flat and very arable. We saw dozens of tractors out plowing, and many different watering systems of the deeply furrowed fields. Everywhere are towers of cement about 12’ tall holding the mechanisms for regulating the flow of water. Drive west from here we were close to the Rio Grande and saw long portions of ... read more

Taking a trip ‘out west’ to see the great state of Texas had been on my wish list for some time, but visiting there had always been overlooked in favor of an international destination until April, 2019 when the time seemed right to see the “Lone Star” state. Planning an itinerary for places and sites we both were interested in seeing was actually pretty easy. Texas is the 2nd largest state in the nation covering almost 270,000 square miles of territory, and just mentioning its name conjures up images of its legendary geographical attributes and independent-minded people. It is a state blessed with a variety of geographical features, and it is famous as the setting of more than a few, very profound moments in American history. With only a week to visit, we focused on places ... read more

I received a notice on local weather man that we might get some snow; with thousands of homes West of Tyler, Texas that lost power. This was a rare snow event for my neck of the woods in Nacogdoches County. This was about two degrees C, above the freezing point of water. It was fun having my winter wonderland with photo opps. The snow came down wet and heavy, sticking like glue to my conifer trees. Later I had fun shooting night pics of the snow. Then I saw over fifty of my planted conifers bent over touching the ground with their tops. I acted by giving my affected trees a good shake to free them from the weight, and they rose up again. I only lost one tree that snapped from the snow. This would ... read more

The local ABC network from Tyler, Texas gives us news on astrologic events and information when the International Space Station will pass over Tyler. The station generally travels from the NW to the SE. Since Tyler is about 70 miles from Nacogdoches, it arrives about two minutes later to reach my homestead in Nacogdoches County. Cuz of the solar panels on the station, it appears as a bright white light, and is easy to see on a clear night as it cruises overhead. I enjoy watching the space station crossing over my yard. The station crosses the sky in a straight line. In my photos I shoot three second exposures without a tripod so I get interesting results. completed... read more

This entry will be different from most that came before it. One of the things that sets this road trip off from the others is that it was not a solo road trip. Jack and I had planned this trip for at least a month, and it would be his only trip for the season. Since it was a Big-12 team, we've begun to think of this as our annual road trip. Last year, we went to see West Virginia, and this year it was Texas. Of course, I did not want to go just to see Texas; the visiting team for this weekend's match up was my alma mater, TCU. Last year, I went to see them play at Oklahoma, and we knew from the outset that it was hopeless to expect TCU to win. ... read more