Cindy's bugging me to post, so ......

Guess there has been a few things going on since my last post.  Here's a small sampling.

Somehow my baby brother is now 50 years old!

Here he is with a Sept 1959 copy of Playboy we

gave him.

In October we had the official dedication of our

new church building (which we moved into on

May 31) and the DeCuire Community Center.

In November the clan from Mom's side gathered at Leanna's for fabulous fellowship and amazing food!

Cindy and I took the ferry to Pt A and spent some quality time on the beach on our way over.

Cindy was quite the trooper, having started her 6 month endurance marathon with chemo.  She let me shave her head and then posed with one of her new head coverings.....which says it all!

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And dear old Dad hit 80 on Dec 16.  We 

assembled a collection of photos, books, mags

from Dec of 1929.

Feeding Frenzy

God Help Me…I’ve got Vista!

My old HP finally gave up the ghost this week and my new Dell is in it’s place.  Fortunately, I had all of my photos and videos and lots of other important stuff backed up on an external hard drive and will be able to put it all on the Dell.  My email files are another story!  I’m slowly but surely pulling some of the newer and more important emails off the Embarqmail server but everything that I had in Outlook Express folders is lost, as is my address book.  But I have enough emails (down to 4500+ right now) to be able to rebuild the address book!

Camera Critters Sunday!

I've been running down this lane between our house and the church lately and this guy plus two friends (see my Gun Barrel City Daily Photo blog) have been watching me -- or at least I've been watching them! Friday I stopped to take their pictures and they immediately came to the fence to pose for close-ups!

See more friendly creatures HERE.

Ice gauge?

Who would have thought that turtles could enjoy winter weather? If I were them, I'd be tucking my head, feet and tail under a blanket by the fire! Oh wait...I AM!

Yesterday I would have caught them with icicles dripping off their noses but I spent the morning Dodging Daring Drivers in Dallas....today it's just fog and frost...and a balmy 26 degrees.

Bird's Eye View: Sunrise Dec 8, 2008

Bird's Eye View: Sunrise Dec 8, 2008

Sunrise Dec 8, 2008

Wandering around the house and yard.....

Whatever catches my eye......

Sky Watch Friday -- glorious sunset on the lake!

Another of my quick shots from the shoulder as I return home in the evening.....
Click the Sky Watch logo above to see our sky as seen around the world.

Camera Critter Sunday -- OK, I'm a sucker.....

Miss "never another cat" Lake Lady brought home a new friend this week. I was out shooting a water tower for my ABC Wednesday series and discovered this little lady at a long abandoned building on the outskirts of a very small town. At first I was working really hard at resisting her charms .... but when I found that she and her mother had apparently been dumped out there and her mother had not survived, I realized I could not leave her to the same fate. Shortly after we got home, we were watching a Lifetime re-run of the TV show "Reba" and her theme song "I'm a Survivor" was playing when we decided to name our new family member Reba!

OK, I'm a sucker....but I held to my "never" for over two years this time!
Click the CC logo above to see other critters from all around the world today!

Sky Watch Friday -- here and there.....

The first shot was taken on my trip to Lufkin last week and the second was taken some months ago at our church building site. The first location probably won't change much for a long time, but the second is changing now! The plumbing and electrical rough-in is done and the slab is being poured today! Click the SWF logo above to see more views of our sky from around the world.

Camera Critters -- another peeping tom

I was working at home and on the phone with an associate when I walked over to the french door leading out to the lake. This little hummingbird was trying to tell me something! I grabbed the camera with one hand, poked the lens through the blinds on the door and shot this without letting my associate know that I wasn't really paying attention to him!
Click on the link above to see Critters Caught by Cameras around the world!

Photo Hunt: Colorful Colorado

I took this shot last fall in Silverton, Colorado....one of my favorite places. We usually go in the summer to camp, but we finally got an opportunity to go up for a few days and see the fall colors of the Aspen. As you can see, this little Victorian mining town is also very colorful!

TnChick hosts the Saturday Photo Hunt....go check out the other COLORFUL entries today!

Sky Watch Friday -- Sun, Sunflowers, Scorched earth

This young grasshopper seems to be trying to hide from the sun.
It's so hot and dry lately that sunflowers are about the only wild-flowers left and they're getting awfully scraggly.
The farmers have been "making hay while the sun shines" as they say. But look how dry and brown the earth is now. This field won't produce much more this year. I took these just south of Athens yesterday. Click the Sky Watch Friday logo below to see the sky from hundreds of blogger perspectives!

Late Summer Limits Flora and Fauna....

It's been so hot and so dry lately that it doesn't take long to walk around our yard and shoot the flowers! And even though I took these before church on Sunday and stayed in the shade, I was dripping with sweat by the time I finished. I took a few more shots and you'll see them Sunday for Camera Critters.

Praying for rain? Camera Critters Sunday

I don't know about this little guy but I could sure use some rain and/or cooler temperatures! We're in the 100's every day and the lake level is dropping before our very eyes! We'll take all the help we can get!!
Head on over to Misty Dawn's Camera Critters site for more variations of Critterdom!

Photo Hunt: Clouds and field

I spotted this serene view as I was travelling down a dirt road somewhere. Gives one a feeling of infinite peace.
Check out TnChick's site --- she hosts the Photo Hunt meme every Saturday. This week's theme is CLOUD(S). Run through the comments to link to other entries.

Sky Watch Friday -- Another great sunset!

I can't decide which of these I like the best. Can you help me?

Click the Sky Watch Friday Logo to see more wonderful Sky Watch photos from around the world!

Odd Shots Monday --- These wires are HOT!

On my last trip to West Texas, I just happened to catch a glimpse of this sign at Underwood's Cafeteria from a comical angle. It looks like the cowboy is dancing on top of the power pole! Oddly enough, the way the sign is designed to look 3-d, it now looks like I cut and pasted from one photo to another, but I swear I didn't! Click on the link to Underwood's above to read some of the history and drool over the menu!

Dance on over to Katney's Kaboodle for more Odd Shots.

Camera Critters Sunday

Pulled this video from the archives....back during the drought, the ducks had to walk in to feed!
Head on over to Misty Dawn's to see more Camera Critters.

Sky Watch Friday -- Trip to West Texas

There's a LOT of sky out that way! And I found that it's very hard to capture enough of it at one time to give you the real feel of it. But here are a few attempts....

Scoot on over to Wiggers World where Tom and Jane are busy hosting fantastic photos from around the world every Sky Watch Friday!

Camera Critters Sunday

This one is from the archives.....spent too much time taking pictures of fireworks and flags the last few days! Fly on over to Misty Dawn's for more Camera Critters!

Thank you, Misty, for featuring my spot on Roger's Wildlife Rehab Center!

4th of July on the Lake

Our wonderful friends AW and SG hosted a party last night and entertained us royally with a fabulous fireworks display! Here's a sampling of my first attempt at Fireworks Photography!
There are a couple more shots at my City Daily Photo Blogs: Gun Barrel City Daily Photo and Corsicana Daily Photo.



There were fireworks all around the lake last night. And there will be more tonight! Hope everyone had a safe and Happy 4th of July! Let us continue to pray for Peace and the safe return of our military women and men.

Sky Watch Friday--Happy Fourth of July!

The sky is full of flags all around the lake today.....here's ours, Buster's, and there are many more....the two matching houses across the way have their decks and docks decorated. The fireworks have been going off all week. Tonight will be amazing. Check back tomorrow for more photos of our church's Boat Parade and Fireworks tonight! See more Sky Watch Friday posts at WiggersWorld and be sure to thank Tom and Jane for hosting!
While we celebrate our Liberty, let us remember our military who are in harm's way and continue to pray for Peace.
Red, white and blue .....

Camera Critters Sunday -- Rogers Wildlife Rehab

Believe it or not, this IS the continuation of the pigeon rescue post from yesterday. Scroll down for more photos and details!


Researching proper care and nutrition for a wounded pigeon convinced me that I was not up to the task. So I researched more and found this jewel.



Above is the hospital building where I took the injured pigeon. It was quickly determined that she/he had a broken elbow and a broken shoulder. But the prognosis is wonderful! They can wrap the wing to the bird in such a way that it will properly heal and they expect a full recovery and release back to the wild. AWESOME! For those birds who cannot be returned to the wild, they have a wonderful permanent home here!
This must be their Intensive Care Unit.
As you'll see when you check their website (see link below), they work with schools and other groups, spreading the knowledge and respect of wildlife.

Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is just south of Dallas in Hutchins. They take in all injured or orphaned feathered friends. If they can survive in the wild after their rehabilitation, they are released. If not, they have a wonderful home here! Be sure to check out their website. They are a non-profit and receive no funds from the government. They depend on volunteers and donations to keep doing their marvelous work. I spent an hour walking around the grounds and was completely impressed by everything I saw. They have everything from pigeons to raptors, water fowl to peacocks. The volunteers I met were very friendly, very dedicated and very skilled. I have more pictures to post tomorrow, so please come back! See more pictures at my other two blogs: Gun Barrel City Daily Photo and Corsicana Daily Photo.
See more Camera Critters over at Misty Dawn's!

Floating Pigeon....

This poor pigeon floated into our cove last night. We scooped him/her out with a fishing net. I will spend the next few days letting you know the "the rest of the story......."

Photo Hunt: Bright

Today's entry in TnChick's Photo Hunt meme is provided by my very BRIGHT nephew, Zach. The image is of my very BRIGHT Corgi, Nate floating on his brand new very BRIGHT float and wearing his very BRIGHT life jacket. Click on TnChick link above to see more entries.

Saturday Photo Hunt: Emotion--ENVY!

Envious that my little brother has a nicer car than I! Shot from

the driver's seat of my Toyota.......

Click on over to TnChick's site for more Photo Hunt images.

Camera Critters Sunday: My little friend is starting a family....

I posted several days ago about the bluebird that's been tapping at my windows. For several weeks, we've watched him checking out every birdhouse in the neighborhood, including these in our yard. Apparently, he finally made up his mind and convinced his mate. Yesterday we caught them carrying building supplies inside the house! Stay tuned for family updates!
In the meantime, check out other posts for Camera Critters Sunday at Misty Dawn's site.

Color Project--- Blue, Take III

If you started out here, you may be wondering where Take I and Take II are. Well, let's take a little field trip! Take I is at my Gun Barrel City Daily Photo Blog and Take II is at my Corsicana Daily Photo Blog. My goal in joining Anna's Color Project today was to shoot all the blue I could in the first five minutes of entering my house. The first shot is my front door, so I'm off to a good start, yes? The others include my inside bluebirds, gifts from special friends DD and BP; one of our favorite games--introduced to us by special friends DH & MC: the wireless router I can't do without; and my one of my 100+ turtles given to me by my special sister-in-law CM! Be sure to click on Anna's link above and see better collections of the color blue!

Sky Watch Friday

I was taking a series of photos the other day to stitch together for a banner for this page....scroll down to the bottom of this page to see it.....and had no idea that I had accidentally--perhaps even miraculously!--captured this Purple Martin in flight. These birds dart around like crazy snatching mosquitoes from the sky, so we all have Martin Houses in our yards to coax them to stay close. They're very helpful in controlling the mosquito population but very hard to photograph. Sometimes we just get really lucky!!

Be sure to click over to WiggersWorld to see more Sky Watch Friday posts!

Two Fer Tuesday Theme Day at Jonna's Life in Shelby County

I took the first photo in April 0f 2007 somewhere between San Angelo and Waco, Texas. When I saw the store in the 2nd shot last week in Austin, I knew I had a series for Jonna's Two fer Tuesday Theme! Check out her theme series by clicking HERE.

In the case of the first store, not only is it closed down but there's really very little to indicate there was ever a town there. In the case of the second store....can you believe it's on 7th street just a couple of blocks from Austin's very active downtown area??