Worker Bees

Thankfully the green ribbon means the tree is alive & stays put.

I walked out a few mornings ago to the rumble

of nine trucks driving down our street.

The buzz of the saws could be heard all day.

 From one end of Alele to the other trees 

on the right-of-way are coming down

because they will eventually fall on the power lines.

 Everyone waves to the workers

and this fellow is waving back at me.

We are so thankful they are here.

The job is enormous.

This group came from Houston, but

they have been imported by Asplundi from

all over the country.

One of the many holes left when the trunk & roots completely burned.

Bobcat.

 The mechanical bobcat has been pounding

the foundation of this house all afternoon.

Evidently the foundation is not good enough

to rebuild on and will have to be pounded to bits

and hauled away like the rest of the house.

The retaining wall is behind the bobcat.

 To the left is a burned & felled oak tree

that was probably 100 years old, maybe older.

The mighty oak fell.

Pine tree root ball & extensions.

The fellow in this truck is an arborist from Ohio.

He is going along the power lines as assessing 

the viability of the trees.

One orange line means the tree will be observed

and if it looks like its in danger of falling

on the power lines a second orange line

will be drawn and a crew will come to remove it.

These trees are all over the county.

The effort is massive 

hence so many people coming

from far away to help.

Did I Mention that I Love LIzards?

My lizard denim jacket.

Sunday morning the light was just right

to take these photos 

and I decided to share them.

I've probably had this jacket for 20 years.

It was fun gathering my loot 

and making images of them.

I bought it at the Pecan Street Festival in Austin, TX

 Some blogger friends were recently discussing real Lizards

and I had to show off my little collection.

My pewter Horny Toad.

Stuffed Horny Toad with my pewter one.

 Wouldn't it have been sad to lose such a lovely 

collection of Lizard critters in the fires?

This Horny Toad blends in with the environment.

Normally this lizard sits in my closet and guards my shoes.

 I have a few more Lizards around one

of which is a silver bracelet

with a Horny Toad design.

I wear it quite often.

This one keeps my "thangs" safe.

This Lizard came from Port Aransas, TX and guards my front door.

 I suppose you have figured out that Lizzy Frizzfrock

evolved into "Lizard"

and that got the collection started 

many years ago.

A gathering of Lizards.

 The pillow was a gift from my mother-in-law.

This little fellow was made in Oaxaca.

 I don't collect these guys much anymore

because I have such a nice collection

and don't feel the need to add to it.

John Pruessner made this cup with lizard handle in 1976.

 I have a silkscreen print

with a lizard amongst agave plants.

Southwestern Lizard.

Hand made pot with 3 Lizards.

Standing as a pot the heads become the pedestal.

 Hope you enjoyed my little guys.

Another handmade from Oaxaca.

Spring 2011, Birding at Mitchell Lake, San Antonio

These are photos taken at Mitchell Lake

just south of San Antonio, TX 

in the spring of 2011.

It is nice to look back on these photos

to see just how green our country can be.

We are still begging for rain.

Dove

The Bastrop birders...

On another note, the G-man & I are back in our home.

It has been scrubbed from stem to stern.

Insulation has been removed from the attic

and tomorrow a group will clean the attic.

The following day new insulation will be installed by

the Two Greengos.

Catchy name for an insulation company.

Water fowl

Gertie is happy to be home

and Miss Kitty is glad to have us back.

They both are sleeping in their respective places as I type.

There will be a lot to be done outside because

our little part of the forest is burned, burned, burned.

Cowbirds

If anyone has extra rain please send it to 

Alele Drive in Bastrop.

Moth

Redwing blackbird

Cacti in bloom

Before and After

A bird's paradise just this summer.

Some days are okay but others are stressful.

Yesterday was a stressful day.

Decisions, decisions, lots of decisions to make.

I shall probably post a few more photos as time goes by

but it is sad and overwhelming to see the miles of

beautiful forest land and homes that have been burned out.

If a home was touched by fire it burned to the ground.

The blaze was swift moving and pushed by 40 MPH winds

and the fuel was plentiful because of a drought the worst

Texas has seen since the mid-1900s.

Lots of green grass, ivy and trees.

The bird feeders are still standing.

When we got home last Thursday morning we were surprised to

see lots of birds in our backyard even after the fire.

They were still coming to the feeders and

the hummingbirds were visiting their feeders.

Saturday evening when we went back to feed

Miss Kitty we could see the wild rabbit that was a regular visitor.

To the right and behind the trees you can see the 

tool shed of our neighbor.

In front of and to the left of it is the remains of their home.

It is burned to the ground as are over 1700 homes in the area.

It is unbelievable that our house stands.

Across the street five homes burned.

On the same side of our street six more burned.

We still have the Hackberry tree just to the left of the house.

Luckily we have insurance that will cover some of the loss of the trees.

Hopefully we can buy a few large trees to put in spots

around the south and west sides of the house.
The trees to the north and in front of the house are doing well.

Our attic has a lot of smokey smell to it and

will need to be cleaned, insulation removed & replaced,

and duct work cleaned.

The inside of the house will need to be cleaned also.

The people responsible for this service say the house will

smell very fresh once they finish.

I don't know if the refrigerator can be saved after being

without electricity for 12 days.

Just up from the Hackberry tree and the south-side of our property.

The little piles are the remains of our out-building

that housed the riding lawn mower and other tools.

All the trees are burned 15 to 20 feet up the trunks.

We need to get a tree service to cut and remove all the trees.

The Texas Forestry Service is looking into getting seedlings

for people to replant on their property.

Of course the G-man and I will never see them grow

into big beautiful trees.

Most of these trees are 30 to 50 years old and

many more are older than that.

At least the 150 year old tree in our front yard is still alive.

We desperately need rain to help keep the ones that survived alive.

Fires in Bastrop - Part 3

Fires in the distance as we drive into Bastrop

Early morning, no wind, the smoke settles

Driving over the river

and into downtown the smoke permeates the town.

In the afternoon, after the wind came up

crystal blue sky returns.

Disaster relief

the media,

law enforcement

Firefighters from all over the U.S. have arrived. I've seen crews from Oregon, New Mexico, California, and Georgia. Forestry service personnel are here from various states. The out-pouring of aide is unbelievable. Some of you have experienced aide such as this when you have been effected by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. It is powerful and brings smiles and tears to the recipients of this kindness, expertise, and compassion.