Ibis & Blue Heron Along the Trinity River ~ East Texas

Beautiful East Texas...


The G-man and I took a little side trip
to a bayou near the Trinity River
as we were driving to Louisiana.

We saw white and immature Ibis
wading in the swampy water.

Above are immature Ibis.

Gathering for a mid-day meal.

Mature & immature birds.

Posing on the log.

Little Blue Heron

Ibis wading & grazing.

Now on to Coushatta in Kinder, LA
for golf at Koasati Pines Golf Course
and some fun at the casino.

The Big Tree

Goose Island State Park is home to
the biggest tree in Texas.
It is a beautiful live oak tree
and is about 1,000 years old.

Mike Leggett is a reporter for the Austin American Statesman newspaper and recently wrote a wonderful article about visiting this beautiful old oak tree. He has compiled a list of 24 things a Texan should do before he/she dies. In other words he has made a Texas bucket list of things to accomplish before one "kicks the bucket".

Among the list includes visiting the whooping cranes at Aransas Wildlife Refuge, seeing the Palo Duro Canyon, and driving across Texas from east to west to get a grasp of the diversity of our state. He also includes the Big Tree and wrote a great article about it, see here for the full article.

Leggett outdid himself in my opinion when writing about this old tree nestled in the grove of other live oaks and situated along the Texas Gulf Coast near Rockport. The Karankawa Indians of whom he writes are long extinct. They were a difficult tribe and insisted on continuing their cannibalistic ways once the Europeans arrived; therefore, they are no more. They were not friends to other Indians or to settlers.

The article begins...:

"Through the fog of a mild winter morning and the gauzy haze of history, it's easy to see a pair of Karankawa men amble up from the nearby shallows of Saint Charles Bay and stop to squat a moment in the shade of a live oak motte.

They neither talk nor sing. They are naked. Their nipples and lips are pierced by slivers of cane, their bodies are tattooed head to toe, and they are smeared with alligator or animal fat to stave off the pestering bites of insects.

They crack open a few succulent oysters as a snack and stare east across the bay at what has become known as the Blackjack Peninsula, where other members of their Copanes band are encamped.

They drop the oyster shells on the ground and rise to return to the water. They'll fish their way back home. The shells will turn white, become brittle and crumble, slowly degrading in the sun and rain and returning to the earth. It is a process that builds a strong base for these trees.

The year is 1500, three decades before Spanish explorers, and later the French, would write in their journals about encountering small bands of extremely tall natives along the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Karankawa are long gone, of course. In many respects, so is the wilderness.

But the trees. Some of the trees in this small grove, trees that were hundreds of years old at the time, are still here."

~ Mike Leggett

I am partial to the beauty of the live oak and have photographed many a tree to try to capture the elegance of the flow of the branches and the wide canopy of its leaves. They are truly stately.

An Outing to Horseshoe Bay, TX

The Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort

We arrived on Friday afternoon, settled in,
and had time for the G-man to
practice a little golf before his
big two-day tournament.

Friday was overcast and dreary,
but warm.
Standby, a front scheduled
to blow through overnight
will bring clear skies, 30 mph winds,
and cooler temperatures.

As you can see from my photographs
the sky is indeed clear.

On my walk around the property
I found this lovely Zen Garden.
It is a serene atmosphere
and lovely meditation spot.

This little fellow is floating
and sunning.

This area is the Palm Trail
and wends around an 18-hole putting green.

I love winding walkways and this one is perfect.

After my walk I sat in the hot tub for a while
and then met the G-man for lunch.
After the first day he was tied for 2nd place in his flight.
He came in 3rd place after both rounds
and now qualifies to go to the National Finals in
La Quinta, CA in late September if he wants.
All in all it was a nice weekend and I think my back is getting better!!!

175th Anniversary of Texas Independence

Happy Birthday Texas!

Spring is Coming to Central Texas

March 1st arrives in central Texas tomorrow
and with it comes the beauty of spring.

Flowering fruit trees,
red buds,
greening of oaks and willows
will be breaking out in
the weeks to come.

Once again we'll try to have a garden of
pretty flowers,
but as dry as it gets here blooms will come
early in spring or wait until autumn.

Enjoy your trips to the nurseries!

I shall try to get back to blogging.
I overdid it in our yard about 3 weeks ago
and have been recuperating from strained muscles.
It's not fun.
At my age it is much more difficult to bounce back.
All this has even effected the time I spend at the computer;
sitting for long spells is somewhat painful.
My chiropractor and regular physician are getting me
back in the swing of things.
Ciao and happy March!

A Dusting of Snow for Central Texas

Last night we had a tiny little dusting of snow. It is just enough to make things pretty, but not so bad as to cause many problems. You know many folks in central Texas don't know how to act in snow. The G-man & I went to a little breakfast place (Maxine's on Main) this morning and saw where a Suburban had slid down one of our hills & into a tree. Just a minor problem for the driver... no one was injured.


I think this was Gertie's first time to be in snow and she's almost 13 years old. It's been a long time since we had snow in central Texas although further east has had a good bit the last couple of years. There is more humidity along the coast which caused a big snowfall there a couple of years ago. Then we were in a huge drought so we missed out on rain & snow.

North Texas is no stranger to snow. Snow falls every year from Dallas to Lubbock & north into the Panhandle. The G-man's sister called on the 2nd to wish him a happy birthday & told us about the zero degree temperatures & snow they were experiencing. Brrr!

Below are some photos from around the area taken this morning.

Bend on the Colorado River

Family playing in snow

Along the Colorado

Ninth Green at Pine Forest Golf Club (above & below)

Up river along the Colorado

Jambalaya Grits for a Cold Day Brunch or Dinner

Photo of Shrimp Jambalaya Grits

From: Jambalaya Cookbook

Yield: Serves 6


Ingredients:

2 Tablespoon bacon grease (I sometimes make my roux with olive oil rather than bacon grease)

2 Tablespoons flour (I use whole wheat flour)

½ cup chopped onion

1 green bell pepper, chopped

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup quick grits (better to use regular grits than "quick" grits---cook according to package directions)

3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup ground ham (diced ham can be used, but ground makes the flavor saturate the dish)

Bacon, cooked to crispy and crumbled

(Occasionally I add andouille sausage, sliced & quartered, which adds a spiciness to the dish.)


Directions: In a heavy skillet, heat bacon grease and gradually add flour, stirring constantly, until roux becomes light brown. Add onion, green bell pepper and celery; cook 5 minutes. Cook grits according to package directions and add to roux and vegetable mixture. Add tomatoes and ham. Sprinkle with bacon and serve immediately.

Ways of Remembering

Our fireplace & mantel are the spots
that hold some of my memories.
The basket (lower left) was brought to me
from Italy where a little old man
was weaving it of natural materials.

The cypress wood tree sculpture came from
a trip to Louisiana.
It makes the perfect "Christmas" trees
and makes its appearance in winter.

This painting is of me, my mare Ginny Blue, and her colt Gantry.
We were riding in the North San Gabriel River
on a wonderful summer afternoon.
A friend took a photo of us & another friend rendered the painting.
I always wanted to have a horse and when I was 40 my dream came true.
Then 3 more horses were added to the mix.
A house in the country, 4 horses, 3 cats, 3 dogs.
Me, & my ex-husband, surrounded by animals...
the good life.
The "good life" did come screeching to a halt after about 5 years,
but it was good while it lasted.
I don't want to write about the end of a good time,
only the good times.

This painting is of the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico.
The G-man & I purchased it a few years ago at
the Market in Santa Fe.
The Taos area is a favorite place for us to visit.
It and the other painting are perfectly matched on the mantel.

Where do you place special items that help you
to remember special times.

Marvelous Nature

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." ...Aristotle

Morning Sunlight through the Pine Trees

Pileated Woodpecker in a Pine Tree

Peace & Beauty

A refreshing photo from an African summer day.
We are all freezing in the Northern Hemisphere
with 49 of the 50 U.S. states experiencing snow.
Queensland, AU is having terrible flooding.

I have a deep wish to visit this country
and to ride in this land Carlos calls home
in the Kilimanjaro Conservancy.
Imagine riding a horse through beautiful country
with Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance.
It must be heaven.

A lovely warm day, beautiful country & regal horse.
Spring & summer will come again in North America.


Carlos da Silva on Kallimachos
Walking around my home garden

Location: Casablanca, west Kilimanjaro
Credit to: Nicole Walter