Fischer Dance Hall

We have driven pass this dance hall quite a few times in our Texas explorations, but the door was never open. So when I found it open on our last visit I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a few photos and see what was inside.

The hall is over 100 years old and was built so the community could have dances and special events. However, today there doesn't seem to be much near by, but I found that it often rented for weddings and other gatherings --and has even been used for movies.

On this day the manager was unhappy because college students had partied the night before and didn't clean it as stated in the contract. I'm kind of glad because that's why the door was open and I got to visit.

stalking the black capped vireo

While in Texas last month we drove to the shin oaks observatory near Austin to add the black capped vireo to my year list. It's a pleasant visit made easy by the platform set up for observation.

The environment is harsh--dry and rugged--and very hot in summer. With just a little patience we sat in the shade and were able to catch some glimpses and hear some song without disturbing the nesting of the birds.
The golden cheeked warbler, another endangered species from hill country Texas, has eluded me this year, but I haven't really made a search for one.

My younger son has challenged me a bit this year with his list. He travels often and made a trip to Hawaii where he picked up quite a few that won't be on my list.

It's all casual for both of us, but makes for pleasant conversation whenever we compare lists and experiences.

life endures

Tiny glimmers of green--tentative, hopeful, promising.
A few very deep coldspells this past winter killed back some of my old favorites. I have learned not to be hasty, but patient and wait. Inspecting them every few days I found these sprouts reaching up from below the dry dead branches. So happy that I can coax them to grow again!
The first was from a cutting of my dad's grand duke jasmine that I have had for 40 years.

passion flower

There's a patch of passionflowers growing beside the road that I walk every morning. It's hard to pass them without trying for a photo. It looks so exotic, but it is a native wildflower.

In the past our ancestors assigned a wealth of religious meaning to its structure and so came the name passion flower.

from Wikipedia because I don't type large tracts very well:

The "Passion" in "passion flower" refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:^{[citation needed]}

Blue Passion Flower (P. caerulea) showing most elements of the Christian symbolism

• The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.
• The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.
• The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (excluding St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer).
• The flower's radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns.
• The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents a hammer or the Holy Grail
• The 3 stigmas represent the 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them the 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance).
• The blue and white colors of many species' flowers represent Heaven and Purity.

pig parts

Large economy sized jars of pig parts --found in the local wal mart super store.
I think I may have tasted pigs' feet in my youth--the jars were often perched on the counters of small neighborhood grocery stores and bars in New Orleans, and pieces were fished out to be eaten on butcher paper as snacks or with beer.

What I probably didn't know about were all the artificial ingredients, preservatives and colors that had been added. Perhaps it wasn't so bad 50 years ago.

fungi fantasy

What's this? a rock with a yellow fuzzy growing on it?--not sure what kind of fungus grows on rocks. I know that lichens do, so I guess it's possible that fungi will too.

update: I googled the yellow fungus, and it is a slime mold with the popular name of "dog vomit".
 

In the second photo...
a cannon ball in the road? No, it's a puffball and soon it will burst releasing a cloud of spores.
Up close it has a fascinating pattern on its surface.

I think the third is also a puffball with an interesting white stripe around its middle--looks like an oreo cookie or chocolate cake with creme filling.

It's hard to move down the road with so many oddities at my feet.

on the walk

Walking in the morning is such a joy, and in Louisiana if you don't do it early you probably won't go at all. The humidity and heat are rising, making the mid-days difficult for outdoor work.

I am fortunate that I live at the end of a road and have some fields that I can walk through. As I go, I listen for birdsong and tick off what I am hearing.
One problem of having a camera in your pocket (my iphone) is that I can't go far without stopping to examine something and take a photo of it.

First photo is the pond where the green heron flies up every morning and gives its "tuck" call--there is a nest there somewhere, and this morning a female mallard flew in as I passed.

The next is our drive. One morning this week there appeared an arc that rose up into the sky from beyond the drive---a fog bow? or dust bow?  It arched across the sky and made a perfect arc--not sure if it will show up on various computers though.

The fields are so green and inviting----my neighbor is late making hay this year so things look overgrown.

As I passed by the pond again later, the sun had risen higher and the willow glowed with neon intensity that was hard to ignore.

daddy

My dad..gone for a long time now....nearly 40 years, but my memories of him are fresh and vivid. He made me a lot of what I am--loving nature and the outdoors, and hating inactivity.

He took us on long walks, and we investigated everything we found--turtles, tadpoles, flowers, snakes--it was always a great adventure. We brought things home and watched them grow, started collections of rocks and shells, and watched stars at night.

Nothing seemed too broken for him to fix--dolls, cars, appliances, and things we found on trash piles that he took home to renovate. During WW2, when it was difficult to buy new items, he refurbished a baby buggy for me and a small toy car for my brother.
It was he who taught me to embroider and sew things, for my mom didn't have much patience.
He could make fishing nets, carve whistles, slingshots, and pop guns. He was always busy--repairing things or making something for the house or garden.

There was always music while he worked for he had a good voice and loved to sing. He had also taught himself to play the piano, harmonica, the trumpet and the violin.


Remembering my dad on Father's Day.

from the garden

cherry tomatoes
yellow plums
various squash and cucumbers

We ate the blueberries before I took a photo. ;)

A stormy morning

space cadet

Some might call me a space cadet. Every spring I would bring my students to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for a field trip. It was here that the rocket engines were tested for the moon projects and then later for the space shuttles.

I have always had great enthusiasm for space exploration and astronomy, and loved sharing it with my classes.


On one of our trips I was able to try on a space suit that was used for training the astronauts.
What a thrill!


scanning old photos again........

ladies' tresses

Tiny, fragrant flowers, spiraling up the stalk...a ladies' tresses orchid made a welcome return to the edge of the pond.

It's been many years since I've seen one on the place.

no more peach ice cream

The utensils are clean and neatly stored. There is no sweet fragrance of vanilla and fresh peaches wafting in the air.
All is quiet and still.
Where's the lady that made the best peach ice cream I ever tasted? Alas, she has found a job at the bank and doesn't need to do cooking any more. I understand, cooking is a hard job.
But I will miss my trips to the peach farm to buy peaches and ice cream for a treat on a hot, Texas summer day.

Mowing around flowers

Sometimes you just have to mow around flowers..........

Mother's Day

Remembering my mom today--that's her holding me in my first photo. She was wonderful in so many ways, but could be fierce in others that are best forgotten.
She was an exceptional cook and homemaker, and outstanding nurse whenever we were ill.
I think of her everyday and appreciate the nurturing that got me through a sickly childhood.

The second is me and my two sons. What a great journey it has been ...motherhood!
So much learning for us all.

a last bit of spring

The great rush of spring is about over. A very heavy rain event yesterday beat the roses to pieces. It was needed though because it had been 3 weeks since we had a shower of any kind.

Things are very green and jungley now. Vines are hanging from the trees and the grass is growing rapidly. Migration of birds has slowed, though I did see a  yellow warbler today as he picked through the pecan blooms. Other song birds are feeding babies, and I didn't get a martin colony again this year. I think raccoons frightened them off one night. So I will lower the houses and tape the entrances to keep out the starlings and sparrows.

A few photos collected as spring unfolded:

a wild Louisiana iris
a wild pink primrose
my favorite geranium
the roses as they peaked
and the red bud tree as it reached full bloom

a visit with jaws

An obligatory photo op with jaws. It didn't hurt much.

the orchid

Loving the bloom on this orchid. Especially since I bought it at the supermarked last year,  nursed through the winter and coaxed it to bloom again.

a few Texas birds

A few days in Texas gave me an opportunity to add more birds to the year list.

male turkeys
ladder backed woodpecker
male lesser goldfinch
lark sparrow
blue winged teal
female ring necked duck
and the last two of a Lincoln's sparrow

I saw others, but didn't get photos--one was the roadrunner-- he was out there in a flash, beep, beep!