toasting our way through the French Quarter

Raining again and chilly, the flu virus still has its claws in me, and I am spending time looking at photos of brighter happier days.

After Hurricane Katrina, we spent a lot of time in New Orleans wandering the Quarter and patronizing a few restaurants and bars that were struggling to survive in the devastation. It was our duty to spend some money there.

I took a lot of photos at the time because I was not certain that the city was coming back. It was a feeling of "absorb as much as you can now".
Looking back, I am missing a lot in resolution, but I am glad that I have the photos.

looking up

It's not raining today, but overcast and a little warmer. Yesterday was almost as bad as it can get here, especially for this time of the year. The temperature remained at freezing, a steady drizzle came down all day coating the trees in silvery ice, and the wind blew.
In New Orleans, all the Mardi Gras revelry was quickly washed away--the papier mache floats, the painted faces, naked and nearly naked bodies--vanished quickly in the harsh conditions.
Most of yesterday's parades raced quickly down near empty streets in a hurry to get back to cover.

My last 2 weeks have been spent in an altered state brought on by a cold/flu/respiratory virus. I haven't been able to sort it out. I only know that I have almost coughed my lungs up, but still have phlegm and rattles that won't go away. Someone mentioned they had it, and it took 5 weeks to clear up. Things are feeling better today, but the deep cough is still there.

My son took the photo of me and the gulls a few weeks ago. I was throwing bits of cheese puffs--something I don't usually do. I feed wild birds at home, but usually like to bird watch without props. The experience was thrilling though. The gulls could hover a few feet away, and even in a strong wind, pluck the particles from the air as I threw them. It brought them so near and gave me an opportunity to observe their beautiful flight and ability to maneuver.

Mardi Gras icicles

Tied the record for coldest temperature on a Mardi Gras.

mardi gras

When I was a child we celebrated Mardi Gras every year. My mom made costumes for us, and we prepared food to take with us to parades. Morning started with homemade beignets dusted with powdered sugar, and then she prepared crispy fried chicken to pack for lunch.

In the weeks before Mardi Gras schools would have parades through the streets--- locals and parents would line the streets to see our costumes and small floats made out of shoe boxes.

One parade began right in front of our home in an old part of New Orleans. It was so exciting to see the bands assemble and the riders climb the floats with their "throws" for the ride. At that time, mules were still used to pull the floats which were very often garbage buggies covered in finery.

Later in the day we would migrate to downtown New Orleans to see Zulu (the black parade) and then Rex, the king of it all. Thousands of people from all over the world wandered the streets to costume and watch the parades. When I was young the highlight was to meet up with various cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents to share the day.

There was always nudity and naughty behavior, but usually it was confined to the French Quarter. Most of our time was spent in areas where families set up tables and visited.

Carnival is still very popular and a lot more glitzy and professional now. It grows every year, but because I live a 2 hour drive away, have no secure place to park our car, or convenient rest room available ( and truthfully, I am not as spry I used to be),  I no longer participate.

But I love remembering the times when we went to the Mardi Gras!

promises of spring

It's raining and cold again, but there were some warmer days this week and I was able to take a walk and snap a few photos with my cell phone

The rosemary has survived the extreme temperatures and is blooming already.

I thought I had lost the narcissus because they usually bloom much earlier, but there they are, filling the air with a heady fragrance. These particular bulbs we rescued from an old home site that became a strip mall. So they give me particular satisfaction.

The Canadian geese are feral, and it's the first time they have come to visit our place. There's a large flock of them that fly over honking to each other as they visit various farm ponds and fields.


The last photo proves that there is beauty even at Wal-Mart!.

bluebird of happiness

So the bluebird of happiness has another side to him.

While  working in my garden on Saturday, I heard the azure bluebird warbling his spring song and cooing sweet notes to his prospective mate as they inspected the house that hangs from the pear tree in the yard.

Thoughts of homemaking and sweet nothings soon disappeared when a third bluebird entered the scene.  It was another male and things turned very ugly.

Back and forth they went battling each other to the ground, rolling over and over, pecking and clawing. I purposely startled them up a time or two, but they went right back to it!  If a Cooper's hawk had come along then, he could have had an easy meal.

It continued for a long time, and I didn't see the end because after I shot a few photos I wandered off to do other things. The next morning a pair was picking up nest material and the extra male was nowhere about.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bouquets from my garden.

And now I'm out to tend  flowers. The sun is shining!

looking forward to spring

Last weekend we had a break in the never ending winter (it's back to near freezing and drizzling today). I was able to prune back the rose bushes and walk around the place. When I passed through the wooded section I was surprised to find the black runner enjoying the sun. It seems a little early, but I guess he is impatient, too.


It appears that we have lost the kumquat and the satsuma trees. The kumquat can usually  take colder temperatures than most citrus. We have had it for many years, but the freezes have been relentless this winter. So sad to see it looking this way. It may recover, but grafted trees rarely do.

With some feeding and warm weather, I hope to have the roses looking like the last two photos!

bar-b-cue Texas style

On our frequent trips to Texas, bar-b-cue is a must have for my husband. I enjoy the trip and the ambiance, but I am not a fan of great piles of smoked meat. However, I have critiqued quite a few.

Nothing is done small in Texas as the multiple "pits" in the second photo demonstrate. The meat is usually slow cooked over native woods---oak and mesquite --the flavor is unique and distinctive to the area. Whenever I smell wood fires now--I think of Texas bar-b-cue!

Meat is served by the pound, usually on sheets of butcher paper and eaten without utensils. "Sides" are served buffet style--most often pinto beans and coleslaw.

There are many bar-b-cue places across Texas, all claiming to be the best--there are subtle differences amongst them. I find this one to be too salty.

It's been fun to taste and rate them--still miles to go and more to savor.

hooded mergansers

Yesterday was a miserable day--rain, sleet, light snow, and very brisk winds.
The snow didn't stick because the temperature hovered right above
freezing, but it all made for a nasty business. And it seemed for a while
that we would have icy glazing on the roads and trees which created havoc
about a week ago.

I glanced out the window and was immediately smiling when I saw this pair on
my pond.

Poor pond it is quite shallow since we haven't had good rainfall here for many months.

Texas additions

A quick trip to Texas added a few new birds to my year list.


The eagles are nesting on the Llano River again and made for an easy observation.
While we were there the mother gave a wonderful performance of leaving the nest, flying down the river and returning with a fish for her young. It was a splendid sight, but I didn't have the camera power to capture her in flight.

On our return to Austin we traveled back roads. I was hoping for wild turkeys or road runners, but was thrilled to find these sandhill cranes. They are such magnificent birds that at first I thought they were some type of sculpture in the fields.

a trip to the oxidation pond

A few weeks ago there was news of a cinnamon teal at the oxidation ponds of a town south of here. It was a mild pleasant afternoon, and we jumped in the car and drove south toward the lake.


Most years I start a bird list for the year--never formal--just a casual listing of those birds seen during the year.
As "new birds" slow down--every bird is a new bird for me starting on January 1, I seem to misplace and the list and rarely carry it to the end.

The cinnamon teal would be a "new bird" AND a "life bird"--one I have never seen before. So why not give the pond a try. Oxidation ponds are part of sewer systems for cities, and not a place one would think of for an afternoon in the sun, but birders know to check them out for rarities and out of place birds.

When we arrived I was rather daunted by the size and the distance (first photo), but binoculars and a zoom on my trusty Lumix camera brought the cinnamon teal into view.(second photo--cinnamon colored duck)

I added white ibis, black crowned night herons, northern shovelers, green winged teal,and  blue winged teal. There were others that I couldn't resolve, but I was happy.

We drove to the pass and had dinner of "world famous fried catfish--thick or thin"--at Middendorf's while we watched the gulls and pelicans fish in the pass that connects Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas.
The swamp in this area is one of the alligator hunting grounds for the tv show " Swamp People".

 

the bones of winter

Blogger has given me 503 notices for over a week when I try to send photos to post.
I haven't a clue how to fix that, but I remembered that I could email photos to the site, and it worked! However, it looks a bit messy, and I haven't been able to space or add captions between the photos.

It's been a cold, overcast, windy, nasty string of days, and I haven't been outdoors as much as I like to be. We've been busy with freeze broken pipes and babysitting for the grandson, too.
But we had a temperature reprieve Saturday, and I was able to walk to my far fence and gaze over the pastures to the north. Fog obscured the long view and gave it all a mysterious appearance, but the bare bones of the trees made a nice contrast with the overcast sky.

Hordes of cedar waxwings wheezed and cajoled as they skipped from tree to tree devouring all the mistletoe, yaupon and privet berries that they can hunt up. (the 3rd photo)

This morning, a yellow smile from the border of my garden, visible from my dining room window, the first daffodils!

Pete Seeger, folk music icon gone

Sang this song so many times ....

http://youtu.be/TXqTf8DU6a0