And Now for Something Completely Different -Texas!

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A couple weeks ago I put the spare flash card into the camera and discovered some July 2005 photos of Texas that I took in San Antonio and and on Highway I-35 between Austin and Fort Worth. That there are beautiful parts of Texas is an open secret to natives but unknown to most visitors. There are miles and miles of the state that are brown, sun-parched plain most of the year except for that brief blissful period in the Spring when the wildflowers bloom. It doesn't help the state's reputation that movie westerns show Texas as a barren wilderness where cows go mad and stampede when they finally smell that rare water hole. Even the television series, "Dallas," didn't show much more than the downtown Dallas skyline.

When I moved to Texas from Germany in 1996, my European friends and those American friends on both coasts of the United States couldn't understand why I'd want to move to such an uncivilized place. I admit it can be hellishly hot and the people wild and crazy. But Texas has some of the most glorious sunsets and storm clouds you'd ever want to see. They huge skies seem to go on forever (a welcome change after feeling hemmed in by the Berlin Wall for many years). The storms are usually violent and scary -there's nothing halfway or small about this state. They do instill a healthy respect for the fury and power of nature.

After trying for years I was finally able to capture some of of those beautiful skies (see photos)

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Photos

Copper Clouds
taken on 1-35 between Austin and Fort Worth. The billboard looks like it's made of copper sheets

Storms Break Loose
The clouds look like they are on fire

Storm stripes
Nature is the perfect designer - the stripes of the ground and pavement colors echo the sky and provide contrast

Comments

[Deb B]

Oh boy...now I will be doing Monty Python impersonations all day ;-)
Hey Leisa! Great photos and blog title. Hope all is well with you and Jay. Always a pleasure to check out the latest entries although time doesn't always allow for a response. Hugs...Deb

[Britt]

Wow!
Wow! You must have had a great camera... Britt

[Tracey]

Thanks for the memories
What a gift you have... I have tried many times to capture the beauty of nature in the sky. I would wait with great anticipation for the pictures to return, only to feel the disappointment of 'no, that's not what I saw.'... Great Job Leisa.. That is part of what I remembered about living the great state of Texas. Love ya.

[Bill Scott]

Beautiful work. What sort of camera did you use to get those great colors?

[Shannon Schultz]

Texas
I too was amazed at the sunsets and the sky going on forever. I sure don't miss the snow of Missouri, but there are other things I do miss. Texas is okay except for their politics. Love, Mom

[anonymous]

Leisa, These are truly lovely. You know I love the beauty of storms and nature. These photos are powerfully beautiful.

[Leisette]

Who wrote this comment?
Hi Anonymous. Thanks for the comment. You say I know you and I believe it, but you comment was sent anonymously. Please write me a private message with your identity.