Preparation

You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. 

You have to be in the right mood.
What mood is that?
Last-minute panic. 

― Bill Watterson 

Two tests for this year's doves (and a cat). Hobbes is 19 and cranky. The utility room is the warmest one in the house.

Yeah. You know procrastination isn't just your problem when "Good Reads" has more than 400 procrastination quotes.* People are people. 

And here, well, it often comes to a paring down of the list and a "this can wait" behavior once again.

Some people must clean out the frig (poorly, but moldy veggies are out!). Others may need to leave the toilets sparkling (downstairs is done). Still others make sure the bills are paid (two or three more checks to write). 

Some retirees may be good at keeping up. We all know those people, but they were probably timely before retirement. They were not want to finish typing the psych paper with barely time to walk it up the hill to the classroom. They didn't make their last reservations as they were packing the bag. Dammit, they don't have mold growing on the yellow squash in the vegetable bin.

Whatever. The day before the deadline is here... two art projects are completed one is turned in and the other in the kiln. DH's meals are underway - eggs boiled and shelled, oatmeal cooking, shelf-stable "emergency rations" on the shelf where he can find them. Post-it directions are in the works (and he knows where to get a bean burrito - for good or ill). Cat litter is purchased and in play (DH has learned the two processes we have - new cat with her own way of doing things). DH has successfully given Hobbes his meds.

Packing is a wreck. It has been started and stopped too many times.** But it is about to be finished. Naked is no longer a good look, if it ever was.

I know, I know...one more cup of coffee and the trash needs to go out before the garbage men show up. They are usually early.

Stay tuned.

[I leave you with close-ups of gifts from the kiln. Pray for the rest of the flight.]

Sorry about the light. I didn't think of a photo where I have good lighting. The colors are brighter than this - turquoise and brown. It works. This was supposed to be the pattern for 100. But the texture tool went missing for a day. So, there will be some of these, but also others.

Did I mention tool missing?  This was an experiment. 5 were made. More will likely be made as they turned out to be rather striking - perhaps the most "arty" of the whole shebang (5 out of 1000? I will take it!).

NOTES:

*Going back to Twain! Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well. ~ Mark Twain

And even LINCOLN! You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. ~ Abraham Lincoln 

**The air conditioning went out in part of the house. It was too hot to pack there and too hot to schlep everything to a cooler spot. Air is back on. Packing may commence in earnest (or in the good "rolling suitcase" - I guess it has a name now).

The Shadow of the Hawk

You missed the shadow 

of the hawk on the vole 

if you think how wonderfully free a vole is!

~ Mehmet Murat ildan

For most of this summer birds have taken refuge at the three downtown parks here. The city has developed sidewalks along the creek joining these three - Harris Community Park, Yettie Polk Park, and Confederate Park - about a mile of gentle ups and downs for walkers and a number of good fishing spots in the creek for herons, egrets, and ducks.

All summer we have taken refuge here as well. It is cooler in the early morning among the native pecans shading the parks.

In addition to the common birds (none seem all too common to me) - the crows, grackles, sparrows, pigeons, and mocking birds there have also been Cliff Swallows, Mississippi Kites, Red-shouldered Hawks, a Snowy Egret, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (and all kinds of domestic ducks) and the herons - Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, and Yellow-crowned Night-heron.

The hawks have all been juveniles and spent entirely too much time on the ground. They also flew low over our heads so we would feel their shadows cross over us in the early morning light. They called to each other and flew from tree to tree.

Then there are the cats and squirrels and others frequenting our park - we cannot forget them. So here
are photos from the last couple of walks* that I've shared many other places, but not posted here until now.**

I. The Hawk

This tree was well across the park, but the camera did catch enough so that we knew it was one of the hawks

Then he flew closer.

Look at those eyes!

II. Yellow-crowned Night-heron

There is a spot where the water pools that the herons fight over. We usually see only a couple of these birds.

It was still pretty dark as I attempted to get a better photo (with more "detail").

When we saw this bird fly we weren't sure what it was, but now we know it is a juvenile.  The beak gave it away as did the white cheek stripe starting to form.

III.  Green Heron

These little guys look like dark grey blobs from a distance. We know them by their shape - that long bill pointing out.

But when you get close you can see the rust and green and yellow.

They really are green.

IV. Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue is hard to ignore. We have watched it fish multiple times and this week we saw yet another "feeding."

We noticed it was messing around with something in the water.

Then it flipped up this fish. I was frustrated by the movement - couldn't get a clear shot.

It dropped the fish and picked it up multiple times.

Shaking the fish.

It finally got a good grip.

Seriously.

They don't chew. The fish was swallowed whole.

We watched the "swallow" as the fish slowly moved down the long neck.

V. Snowy Egret - This little egret is in the creek on most days. It is almost constantly moving. I rarely get any chance at a clear shot, but I keep trying. For most purposes I just want a view of the beak and feet. And I can do that now. Still a "good" shot eludes me.

Black beak, yellow foot.

Fish

Okay. This one is almost good.

VI. Mississippi Kite - I never noticed these bird until I saw a pair in our neighborhood park. Then I saw them everywhere!

This perch is popular with crows, but today it was the kite. A few days ago there were three Mississippi Kites perched here. That was a surprise.

VII. Black-bellied Whistling (Tree) Ducks - You often hear them before you see them. They whistle and chatter...really make a racket. The first time I remember seeing them was on the Frio. There were over 20 of them sleeping in the trees along the river at night and then hanging out in a pond during the day. I took loads of photos, sneaking up on them to catch their vivid beak and feet (I call it pink). They are goofing looking (especially in flight) and sounding and I love them. I was shocked one morning to see about 5 fly off to the west. Since then we have found them in the creek on three different mornings - usually around 20 or so feeding in the dim morning light.

I know "they" dropped the "tree" from the name because all whistling ducks don't hang out in trees, but these do.

They are easily identified by their silhouette.

In this shot you can see the black bellies and the lighter head.

VII. Park Cats:

Many cats call this park home. The family of black cats (and one white kitten) shows up most days. A few others were here in the last week too.

The kittens have not been named.

A close-up of the mother.

Hanging out on the bridge.

One of the kittens is a little braver than the others.

This one we call "the church cat." It's a big kitty and usually around the grounds of the AME churxch.

The Boyfriend

Zelda thought it was Hobbes and did not want to move down the trail.

VIII. Fox Squirrel:

Once I saw the cat lady place corn in this fork I knew I could cheat and "set up" the squirrels for photos.

NOTES:

* I need to put them somewhere so I can delete from the laptop memory.

**I am adjusting to the new camera so some are better. I am hoping they will continue to improve.

Still Dark at 6

Yet mad I am not...

and very surely do I not dream.

~ Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat

"Why the heck are you up at 6," you might ask (followed by "I thought you were retired"). I might ask it too. I was actually up at 5:20, but I did not attempt to leave the house until 6.

I've been getting up regularly to walk - to leave the house - about 6 or 6:30 and so my body thinks that is "normal."*  After 6 or so I do not sleep and I do not dream. And if I am not walking with friends, I guess I still need to take Z around the block.

So I do. The neighborhood is pretty busy at 6 a.m.  Some guy had his truck driven up into his yard. He was playing music on the truck radio...low volume, but still loud enough for neighborhood karaoke had I been "in voice" today. The yard was full of rain lilies and the fragrance distracted/overwhelmed me. It gave truth to the idea of an "intoxicating fragrance."

One of the ubiquitous utility trucks was at the end of one street. The bucket was in use. What kind of wire are they running now?** So early a start made me think it was something essential and not just an attempt to make some progress before the sun.

One more utility truck

The neighborhood black cat ran across our path. Too lazy to walk back around the block*** we captured its soul. That should be sufficient.

I lightened the photo so you could see I was not joking.The cat sat at the fence until it realized we could see it too.

Good Thursday morning.


NOTES:

*I used to walk Paddy and Scruffy at 5, but that was a whole life (or two lives, or three) ago.

These days I am up "drinking coffee with Mom and Dad." The china Mom and Dad got when they married had strange brown coffee mugs with a small circular handle. Over the years Dad dropped every one of them on the concrete while doing his morning chores. It wasn't really Daddy's fault. The design was defective - too heavy a mug for the handle - out of balance (trust me - I know these things). They recognized the problem and redesigned the mugs. The redesign is ugly. The "early" mugs are rare. I found four (different color - "apricot" not "nutmeg") in a junk store when I was in college and made a gift of them. He eventually broke all of them as well. I've recently found them again - eBay is a dangerous place - and have 4 (3 nutmeg and 1 apricot). I try to be careful with them, but what good is something if don't use it.

It is a lovely looking mug, if poorly balanced

Before Daddy broke all the mugs.

**They have been "running wire" all summer long. They have cut down tree limbs and left plastic ties and wire ties along the edges of yards. They have made noise and blocked traffic. They have deployed spools of cable and orange cones here and there with no apparent rhyme or reason. They need to be done. Soon.

***I like cats. Black cats do not bother me, although I know some who would have doubled their morning walk. We snapped the photo of it - it watched us/we watched it - then everyone headed for shelter.

Someone left this bouquet of rain lilies on the sidewalk in front of the house. It seemed a little creepy yesterday. It was still there this morning.

DO NOT Run Over a Grocery Bag with Your Car - It is a Trap...or just Physics

In the beginning there was nothing, 

which exploded.

~ Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies

It was a dark and stormy night....

Actually, it was bright sunshine and 3:00 in the afternoon. The pavement was dry. And a grocery bag floated aimlessly in the gentle breeze....right in front of my car.

I hit it.

That should be the end of the post followed by lovely photos of egrets and herons,* but no....now comes "physics." Now, I never studied physics. I understand gravity all too well. And um...momentum...there are probably a few other concepts I get...and that thing about energy....

I hit the plastic bag and because of the way it had landed before my car struck it the air was caught in the bag (like a giant bubble in bubble wrap!) and the bag EXPLODED transferring that energy up under my car and "taking out" some stuff.

It sounded very loud and weird. But I kept  driving. There was a high pitched eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
from the left front side of my car. Then what looked like a shredded tire was flapping up pounding the side of the car.

I figured the tire blew, but the car handled fine as I pulled over to the shoulder of the tollway and flipped on the EMERGENCY FLASHERS. At this part of the tollway there is a good shoulder and a 25 foot drop beyond it. I debated driving to the exit maybe 50 yards up the road (dang it - it was MY EXIT. I was almost there!), but realized I'd be ruining the rim. I stopped.

18 wheelers zipped past me.

NOW what do I do? There was no way I was going out on that road to change a tire. I was going to need a tow.

So, I checked the phone for tire stores in this town. Since I didn't know any of them, I decide to call my people** about 30 miles back up the highway.  In two shakes of a lamb's tail RM got on the phone and said, "Where are you? Can you wait until I get there? I'll be there in 30." Well, I could wait - where would I go?

He called me a couple of times from the road*** - "When I get there, don't get out of the car. I'll look around and see what we  need to do." and "I'm almost there."

It didn't take 30 minutes before I saw the truck and flatbed in my mirror. He pulled over got out and looked. He pulled up a mass of black rubber too flimsy to be my tire. He looked all around the car and kept picking up these pieces of rubber.

"Did you hit something?" he asked. "Yes," I replied, but how was I going to say I hit a plastic bag? That was going to require me to think a while before I figured out it was PHYSICS and that stupid plastic bag really was capable of being the cause of the damage.

He described what it sounded like as things started falling apart and explained it was some kind of liner - bumper, fender - something. I don't know much about cars except where to buy one, how to put gas in one, how often to service it, but most importantly, when you find a good shop STICK WITH THEM.

"You did the right thing. Your tires are fine. Drive over to the exit and stop."

So we drove over to the exit and stopped in the blocked tollway pay station and talked. He asked how the car drove, said he would order the part, but that I should probably go on to my meeting if I wasn't too late.**** I thanked him and took his photo (it's a hero thing).

I know I don't usually post faces here, but this guy is a business man and in the public and I think people need a to celebrate folks who go the extra mile (or 30) to take care of customers - and friends.

There you go:

Rick Miller of M & B Auto Repair, 6th Avenue, Belton, Texas (you might need 'em some day)

About 10 miles from home as I drove north on another highway I saw a plastic bag lazily blow across the lanes of traffic. I slowed down and gave it the right-of-way.


NOTES:

*I was on my way to a meeting about youth programs for the coming year, but I have a new camera and planned to practice with it at Mankins Crossing on the way home.

** M & B Auto Repair, corner of 6th Avenue and Cori Drive, Belton, Texas - we have been their customers almost 30 years - they have taken great care of us and our kids, oh, and our cars. I figured they would know someone in Georgetown I could call. [Normally I would just get out and change the tire, but this was not in my wheelhouse today. I needed consultation.]

***He asked more details about my location. There are times I might not know exactly where I am, but that time I was on top of things - 130 Tollway almost to the exit for State 29.

****I loved that. I could have missed that meeting, but I went and did get a little bit done. Mostly I calmed down and relaxed enough to get back on the road to go home - but first a stop.



FINAL NOTE: A few birds were waiting at the crossing. I did not stay long. Here you go:

Snowy Egret - see the flesh-colored feet.

Killdeer

Is this another Snowy? Yes. Yes, it is.

 

The Ponds are Back (sort of)

What is a weed? 

A plant whose virtues 

have yet to be discovered.

 - Ralph Waldo Emerson

After all the showers we have had we found ourselves driving out to the ponds on Witter Lane. On the first trip, DH drove allowing me to jump out with the cell phone and get a couple of photos. I was driving today so that changed the dynamics a bit.

We saw masses of doves yesterday and 7 cattle egrets.

Today I saw a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron in the turtle pond, but they few before I could get a photo. So much for bringing the new camera with me.

Tiny bees in the Prickly Poppy blooms.

This little piggy was out of its pen eating acorns under the oak. We were reassured by neighbors they would return to their pen once they had eaten their fill.

Cattle Egrets

Dingo?

No...chihuahua-something mix. We have only seen it this one time.

In two weeks I'll be gone for 3. It's the cusp of fall. Everything will have changed by the time I come home.

Fishing on the Creek

Fishing is much less about the fishing, 

and much more about the time alone with your kid, 

away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday. 

~ Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing

What was I thinking?


Well, I was thinking that it was cool-ish because of the storms and overcast skies. And the creek was running like crazy. A few days of even intermittent rain changes all. I wanted to see how the birds were doing and try out the new camera.


It was a grand walk, but perhaps more walk than I expected. I started at the footbridge and then moved the car to mid-park so I wouldn't have to walk too far when I finished looking for the herons. [Yes, I am sure you can see what's coming.]

The Black Vultures (three of 'em) should have been a message. "Mind yourself, girl!"

And then two more Black Vultures. I NEVER see vultures here unless they are flying over. These were odd sightings for me, for here.

A couple of limbs had fallen - including one that disclosed some creature's nest.

I've taken a number of photos of this tree over the past few months. I have hoped to see what was living in those hollow limbs.

I ran into the woman who sees that all the wild things are fed. She was way downstream from where we usually see her. And it was more than late. We usually see here before 7:00 a.m. Here it was 1:00 in the afternoon and she was shaking out cracked corn for the pigeons and very distressed ducks. We walked back upstream and talked of ducks and squirrels and dogs. 

She feeds the squirrels, but she doesn't name them.

She placed cracked corn where the squirrels would get it and wouldn't have to battle the ducks.

There was a family (father and sons) seining bait fish. They fought the current and brought up net after net of shiny little fingerlings. They seemed to be having fun, but it was hard work too. I love seeing daddies passing on skills to their children. They will all long remember these fishing excursions. There will be catfish on their lines before long. They know a spot to fish for channel cats. 

Father and two brothers seining for bait.

They tried a couple of spots in the time I wandered the paths and seemed to be having some luck.

Other folks took walks and enjoyed picnics - and a bunch were swimming. It was a typical Saturday in the park, only the rushing creek was unusual. More than a few wild birds hugged the banks of the creek - besides the vultures, pigeons and ducks were a Great Blue Heron, an immature Yellow-crowned Night-heron, and the Snowy Egret.

The Great Blue Heron must have been having trouble fishing in the murky water.

These photos are so much better than my usual shots.

This one made me very happy. The heron flew into a tree soundlessly. Then it wasn't what I had thought and I had to work on the id. It is an immature Yellow-crowned Night-heron. I'm learning.

While not a great photo, I could see the details that tell you this is a Snowy Egret - black beak, flesh color at the face, flesh-colored feet.

I followed the flying Snowy Egret upstream before heading to our usual parking spot. My car was gone. Now, it must have been the heat. I stood there and shook my head and wondered who in the world would want my ratty old car. And then I remembered I had moved the car so I wouldn't have to walk all the way back across the park. 

<sigh> 

I'll be more mindful of where I park in the the future. And I may have to drop a line in the creek before the summer is over or maybe I'll talk my brother into a fishing trip.