orchid joy

Some of my window sill orchids are lighting my days

fall morning

A bit cooler in morning for the last few days so I was able to walk some.

I love the pattern on the discarded hay tool.

The early morning sun shines through the mature grass waiting to be cut.

Cypress vine blooms on the pasture gate attracting migrating hummingbirds that guard it like gold.

A new calf that anxious mom is hovering over while she keeps an eye on me.

another plant surprise

It's been a long hot summer---still record breaking heat everyday. My journeys have been few and opportunities for photos scarce. While stooping down to turn on the faucet this happy face grinned up from a slightly overgrown shade garden. I have not grown this flower for 20 years or more! Some how a seed survived and found things just right.

Nature is always finding ways to surprise us!

stone bottom rivers

Visiting in central Texas again this week--

The Hill Country.

Stone bottom rivers flow through the arid hills. The water is usually crystal clear and the bottoms scoured of vegetation and sediment. Since I grew up in southern Louisiana where there are no hills to encourage water to rush along and no rocks, and water is generally murky, sluggish and filled with mystery, I can't get enough of the bubbling clarity of these waterways.

The downside, however, are the great flash floods that can occur without much warning. Some of the great floods of a year ago are still evident in some of the twisted trees and debris piled up on the banks. Homes, bridges and roads were washed away on a few chaotic hours.

crossing the mighty Mississippi

At Baton Rouge....

Swollen from recent rains, but not as bad as it was a month ago when spillways had to be opened to lessen the threat of floods.

Tug boats push barges loaded with cargo and to the extreme lower right a casino operates on a replica steamboat.

Baton Rouge is north of New Orleans (where the river is wider and river traffic ever busier).

It is the state capital and a big refinery town where petroleum is processed.

frosty morning

After a day of fierce storms, tornadoes, we awoke to a frosty morning and the return of the deer. They have been absent  for several months. There were 5 of them though only one shows in this photo.
More crazy wind today, but clear skies.
March is preparing to roar its way into spring.

another chance

That's a rose shaped succulent growing on the concrete surface of our patio near a bench where I keep my cacti and succulents.

A few days before I had been lamenting the loss of the parent plant due to rabbits and bad weather. Then
I noticed some green growth near the bench and realized that somehow a small piece must have fallen out before the big plant died and had quietly struggled through the winter to produce this tiny plant.

Thrilled to have another chance with it and amazed that it showed up so near to the time of my wishing I had another.

we mow around wild flowers

Tex-Mex fifties style

 

A ceiling hung with hubcaps from classic cars of the 1950's, Formica tabletops, and much memorabilia from that era make for great ambiance while eating a spicy Tex-Mex meal.

Blue corn tortillas stuffed with veggies and topped with queso and a rich chili sauce -- the refried beans and Spanish rice as side dishes --is one of my favorite meals in Austin.

To wash down the peppery fresh salsa and chips I chose dos Equis -- I don't always drink beer, but when I do.........

time to leave

Another season of purple martins has come and gone. I wait anxiously for them in January , in the midst of winter, wondering if they will return. The first stalwart scouts return to the Louisiana coast then. Generally they won't make an appearance at my place until about Valentine's Day though.

Mostly it's one or two mature birds ----others will follow later when insects begin to fly.

We've had a few years without them lately due to predators--hawks, raccoons and snakes. This year we added the tub like guards to the poles and it seemed to work. There were 3 pairs that raised young.

It's already time to go---the journey to Brazil is a long one, and there are stops along the way as they gather into ever increasing flocks sometimes roosting in groups of tens of thousands .

dependable flowers

Since I have not been able to do much work in the outdoor gardens this summer, I have had to enjoy some old friends , the potted plants.

The blooming cactus is about 45 years old and started from one tiny "barrel".  It now fills a 18" pot. The blooms last only one day, smell heavenly and take absolutely no special care on my part to produce. I never move the plant---it endures drought, freezes and neglect. Such a joy!

The geranium is only a few months old.  I have to replace them often. They don't thrive in the hot Louisiana summers. The glowing neon fuchsia is my favorite. I can't resist them.

This is the third year for this supermarket orchid to bloom.  Some fertilizer, but not a lot of pampering, and it gives me these glowing flowers in late winter.
Encouraged by this over achiever I bought more plants, but none have bloomed a second time. I'll give them a bit more time---and then they may have to make room for something else.

a walk in the fields

It's been a while since I visited this page, though I still read other bloggers. A series of health setbacks and 2 new grandchildren have kept me away.

A reaction to a skin cancer surgery on my face,  and an attack by yellowjackets  while working in my garden that led to a nasty fall has kept me closer to home and not able to roam with my camera like I did before.

I really miss my walks and hope I can recover enough to continue rambling these fields. 

I did manage to climb the road up the hill a few days ago and gaze back at the tree covered hill that is home.

waiting for a wave

Even on cold days in January surfers are waiting for a wave.

at last the great ocean

Through desert, dunes and mountains and then down to sea--it seems quite miraculous to have this beautiful verdant wet paradise come into view!


The great Pacific--heaving itself against the cliffs and with a seemingly never-ending coast that beckons me to walk on forever.
Birds that are "lifers" for me --waders and shorebirds, gulls and all that mysterious stuff that used to be published in separate guide books called the western birds of the United States.
WHALES!!!! blowing great clouds of mist into the sky and roiling the water as they feed just off shore.
Seaweed that I have never seen before--rocks on shore ( no rocky shores in Louisiana).
Lagoons fed by the sea and teeming with birds that make me dizzy with the challenge of identification.

All this in the middle of winter--no wonder so many land on this shore and dare the earthquakes to shake them off.

growing crops in the desert

Various salad greens, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, dates, almonds, pecans, walnuts and pistachios are growing in what is actually a desert.

The water for irrigation comes from canals that divert the Colorado River or from deep wells. It was fascinating to see the green in the desert, but made us realize how tentative our food supply is during this period of the big drought.

on the road to california

Traveling to southern California through the desert states is a great adventure--- cactus and dunes, wind turbines and solar panels,  roadside kitsch, and amazing farms where a great percentage of American vegetables are grown with the water diverted from the Colorado River.

There are checkpoints where we are quizzed and scrutinized as the contents of our car are quickly scanned for aliens--no, not those from other planets--that would be more fun.

My family made this trip once when I was a pre teen in a car that had a bad radiator which overheated,  especially when climbing mountains. So we did a lot of the desert at night and missed seeing the cactus and dunes. Nevertheless, it was a great adventure then too--one we never ceased talking about and reliving.

We did this trip rather quickly because we were on schedule for the birth of our grand daughter--a California girl. My dad, deceased for many years, would have been delighted. He always loved the California dream.

Whales!

Out beyond the apparent slick or area of smooth water there are whales.

Sorry I couldn't capture them as they came up to blow huge sprays of water, but I'll never forget the sight!!

We were told they were probably grey whales migrating now off the coast of California.

A bucket list item for me.

Whales and a new grand daughter----a fantastic beginning to a new year!!