Snow

It began before sunrise and has yet to let up. I think this is payback for calling an old friend who lives up north where it has been snowing for weeks and told her to move back home. I explained to her I weather would never be like what she was experiencing... Be careful what you say, things do come back to bite you. Yes by now you realize I am referring to the 3 inches of snow that have fallen so far with many more predicted before it stops. The sky is white, the snow is white and do to the recession there are few colorful flowers around to add any life to the landscape. Most schools were not closed so it is an eerie scene outside, snow everywhere, no cars driving around and no kids making snowmen. So with that I leave you with this photo of winter art created by mother nature.

The Eyes

There is something about our eyes. They say so much without saying a word. This photo is one of my favorite photos I have taken with my phone so it will never be seen on a large scale but for viewing on the web it is perfect. The eyes in this photo are very expressive. They show love, sadness, excitement and most of the time joy. This particular photo shows a number of feelings , it seems to change with each time I view it.

Tower

The Tower is something everyone who has ever attended the University of Texas knows about. It sits smack dab in the middle of what use to be the center of campus, with all of the growth I would guess it is more likely considered on the west side of campus. When I was a young student the tower and the Texas State capitol were visible from just about any part of Austin. Now with all of the growth you almost have to looke for the two buildings between the high rises. It was a very sad day when I realize I couldn't automatically see them with just a glance. I took the time to go out to what is now Barton Creek mall and photograph the two buildings from a distance before the downtown sky got crowded. So proud of my very novice accomplishment I opened up the camera to take out the film only to realize there was no film in the camera. I never got back out there before the construction took over.

I was walking across campus recently and looked up at the Tower as I usually do and notice some amazing light. Despite the pain in my feet from walking in heels I stopped and pulled out the point and shoot and captured this image. It isn't perfect but I like it and so I turned it into a thing of art. I don't think the fine detail will show up in this size image but trust me it looks like a painting in the full size image.

There is a rich and not always pretty history of this tower but we will just enjoy its beauty today.

The Obvious

I have acquired my first cell phone with camera capabilites and today I captured an obvious and yet what I think is a fun image.

Lost in Time

An eerie scene, walking through a retired train car with just a few lights on and all of the blinds closed. Hard to imagine traveling by train from a time lost in history. Very few kids today have traveled on a train and I would suspect most of those have no idea that people use to fit in those little pull out bunks that hung from the ceiling, emphasis on little.

Ode to Ford

Came across this car today, a sign of simpler times.

Seriously I do not think the average American could even fit in this car. Makes you wonder at one point along the way we found happiness in all of the over indulgence. I will concede this car was probably originally a huge indulgence but compared to today's environment it looks so simple.

Steeple

I am amazed at how many different styles of steeples there are, I came across this simple gold cross atop of a steeple.

My favorite photo of the day-Springtime

I had to go out this morning and take photos of various landmarks around town anywho, this is my favorite shot of the day. Found this spot yesterday with the help of a friend and went back today. Not the best light but I worked with what I had. About an hour earlier or much later today would have been better but that's life.

Weed

Kids love 'em, gardners hate 'em.

Donny

Meet the newest member of our family, Donny. Well actually this photo is more to show the beauty of his shell. One of my offspring returned from college with this little creature. He evidently found him on the pathway lost and far away from water and has taken it upon himself to care for Donny. I share this with you so you can see the ornate nature of his shell. Absolutely beautiful and the bottom is pretty cool too.

Living in the Country

I often refer to the location of our home as living in the country and there is a reason for that. We actually live smack dab in the middle of the big city but our block was one of the last blocks developed and the house across the street was one of the last houses to be built in our block. The family that owned all the land in our block actually use to own all of the land as far as the eye can see in all directions. The son that owned all of our block kept the two lots next to his house until the late 70's early 80's. I grew up just a few blocks away but always felt like the block I currently live in was in the country. Well today after a huge rain storm blew through I looked out my front window to find this beautiful creature trying to find worms in our yard. It is a yellow crowned night heron. Not sure where it came from but it made my day.

White Balance Nightmare

I got a little bored the other night during a lacrosse game and decided to take a photo of the light standard against the blue sky. After looking at it I now know why white balance can be a nightmare at stadiums. Look at the different color temps of the the actual bulbs. Supposedly they are looking into improving the lights at our stadium which would be nice and not so nice all at the same time. Nice because we could actually get photos without a flash of a running back making a dive into the endzone and see his face, or capture that very common airborne catch in the corner of the endzone. Both photos are near impossible with the light dropping off at about the 5 yard line causing the endzone to be pitch dark. The reason the coaches have gotten behind this is the receivers say they can't see the ball in the dark endzone.

Why you ask did I say it would be not so nice, well because as it is now you have to have an idea of how to work a camera to get a good photo and with great lighting everyone will decide putting their camera on sports mode they can capture an award winning photo translating into even more crowded sidelines. In the mean time I have a much bettter appreciation of the bad lighting after seeing the bulbs in action.

Unexpected Beauty

I have been trying to turn over a new leaf and keep the house clean but today I found a bonus from being a day or too late to toss what was some beautiful tulips. The bonus was I found them to be absolutely gorgeous as they were shrivelling up. They appeared to me at least to look like art created with broad brush strokes. You just never know where beauty will appear next.

Waddler

Thought for the day...Even when you waddle they can't help themselves they have to stop and watch your back end.

Childhood Memories

We all have them, things that instantly transport us back to more simple times of our childhood. It might be a restaurant, a book, a song, a special food or a smell. The restaurant that every child I grew up with would relate to was a place called Jaimie's ( Not exactly sure of the spelling) but the cool thing about it was it was a special place we only got to experience on big days like birthdays. To get service you would raise a little flag on a rope on a pulley system, it was always one of my favorites until it experienced a fire and I sort of remember it being rebuilt or moved or something, but it was never the same.

One wonderful thing about this time of year, besides my birthday is that my neighbor has honeysuckle growing all over his fence. When I was younger, our elementary school fence was also covered in honeysuckle, we all loved to suck the honeysuckle juice from the blooms. The minute the honeysuckle begins to bloom I remember those days I would stand by the school fence enjoying the smell and the taste of honeysuckle. Where has all the time gone?