Dallas in Late January

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The drive down to Dallas was harder than usual – rainy and foggy from Missouri and through Oklahoma. The sun was coming out just as I got to Texas and I stopped at the Texas Welcome Center on US 65. The pavement was wet so it had rained recently. The beautyberries in the native plant garden there are evidently not attractive to the birds; even the berries that were not burnt from last summer’s sun were still mostly on the bush.

I noticed a small nest on one of the trees

And a wall near the entrance that was clad in granite…probably coming from somewhere in Texas.

The day warmed up enough by the time I got to Dallas for me to take my dad outside for a walk. It is becoming more difficult for him --- partially because he cannot walk outdoors as frequently in the winter and probably also because his muscles are getting weaker with age. We still made it around the block.

We worked on the puzzle a bit but that is harder now for him too; he can’t see some of the clues on the pieces anymore and is very frustrated.

The next morning I visited him again – working on the puzzle a bit before the assisted living home served breakfast. I left as he was enjoying the food since I had some business I needed to handle before I left Dallas to drive home.

The weather was windy on the way home and I must have been more tired…it was a tough drive and I was exhausted by the time I got home…getting cramps in my hands. Driving seemed more stressful than usual.

But I will do it again soon. I’ll be seeing my dad again on Valentine’s!

Road Trip to Dallas in Late December

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My monthly trek to Dallas and back is never boring! This time I left at 6 AM (normal for me) expecting darkness but dry weather. It turned out to be foggy. The density of the fog seemed to increase as I headed west from my home near Springfield MO toward Oklahoma on I-44. It was reassuring to see taillights ahead or other lights along the road…and I appreciated my navigation system since the usual landmarks were not visible. The traffic was light enough that I was surrounded my darkness and fog for short periods --- but then some lights would appear out of the gloom, and I realized the fog had not thickened to the point of blocking out all light!

There was no color at sunrise. The fog and clouds blocked the light although it was obvious that it was lighter. Driving became a little more fraught because some vehicles did not have their lights on (and they really should have). I almost passed the QT in Muskogee where I had planned to stop because they did not have any external lighting on either. The fog finally dissipated by the time I got to McAllester OK – which is about 2/3 of the way to Dallas!

I stopped at the Texas Welcome Center on US-75 – finally all the way through Oklahoma. I took a few pictures of the plantings. It appeared that the leaves had just fallen from the oak trees.

When I got to the assisted living home, my dad had just finished lunch and was ready to go for a walk. It was about 68 degrees and sunny…very pleasant for a late December day. He wore a light jacket. We made our way slowly around the block seeing other neighborhood residents enjoying the warmer day. He is the only resident of the assisted living home that is still taking walks into neighborhood; he is using a walker with 4 wheels which is easier to maneuver on the rough pavement than his 2 wheeled version. We avoided puddles with rafts of wet leaves (mostly oak).

When we returned, we finished a puzzle that he had started with other visitors. I took a picture just after we finished it ….with his 93-year-old hands.

I visited again the next morning – making the frame of the next puzzle and talking to him while he ate breakfast.

The drive home was easier – sunshine…no fog. I saw an osprey, 2 bald eagles (not at the same place), soaring hawks…and a red-tailed hawk that was gliding down to the side of the road with its tail spread. I was tired when I got home but realized that my PT is paying off: my back was not hurting!

Frosty Forsythia

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There was frost on our grass one morning in the areas further from the house…transient since the temperature was warming fast as the sun burned off the fog. I noticed that the forsythia in the corner of the yard has a few blooms and enjoyed the close examination of the flowers – somewhat damaged by the frost. The frost had developed along the edges of the petals and was already looking more like water droplets. On the buds, the ice looked like sugar or salt crystals. I’ll cut some branches from the bush to bring inside when blooms more fully.

There were other plants with melting frost…small plants close to the ground and pine needles backlit by the sun still somewhat shrouded by fog.

The rose bush in winter has plenty of shapes and textures…some red color caught my attention. It’s the remains of a leaf and flower but the shape reminded me of a Phoenix rising…flying away.

It was a good morning for a photo shoot in my back yard.

Morning Fog and Moon

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I went outside just after sunrise to photograph the fog; there had been no color with the sunrise because the fog was so dense. There was an advisory for the morning commute and I was glad I didn’t have to leave the house. Then I looked up and saw that the sky was quite blue and the moon distinct! The blanket of fog was clearly thin and close to the ground!

I am a morning person. This time of year, I am always up before the sunrise and ready to welcome the light of the new day. A colorful sunrise is always welcome but sometimes clouds and fog can be just as interesting because they alter the perception of surroundings. Noticing the beginning of the day…however the increase of light happens…is the best way to start my day.

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - December 2022

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It was a foggy morning at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center; I opted to do macro and zoomed images rather than landscape compositions…and am relatively pleased with the way they turned out. There are remnants of the native plants in the area around the nature center: berries providing splashes of color along with the subtle colors but interesting shapes of dried plant parts and seeds…

The Beautyberry near the main entrance has wrinkled berries now that there has been more wintery weather.

I took a short walk down one of the trails. Some desiccated fungus on a downed limb was close enough to the trail to photograph.

Another branch had some interesting lichen that seemed to be growing more upward that usual. I regretted that I didn’t have a better camera with me to photograph it.

The other end of the branch must have broken recently…the shape reminded me of an open mouth or cave surrounded my lichen!

I long ago had ago had this stump be cut/exposed. The bark was gone from around the edges, but the rings were still easily visible. I didn’t take the time to count them.

The patches of missing back on a standing tree (probably dead) were probably the work of something looking for insects – maybe a woodpecker?

I started taking macro pictures of tree trunks…realized that it was more interesting if there was a patch of something rather than just the bark; lichen is the most common find…a bit of green and different shape among the crinkles of bark.

As I walked on the path, the floor of the forest was covered with small plants protruding from the thick layer of leaves. I realized that these small plants were an indicator that the area was not overly browsed by deer as so many places in Maryland had been…and a good indication that the native plantings I want to add around my house will survive!

Last but not least – I took one picture looking upward through the winter tree branches. Maybe next month I will do more landscape images from around the nature center….or maybe it will be cold enough to hike down to the water and take some ice pictures!

Zooming – September 2022

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There are 18 images in the zoom slideshow for September. Some are from around my house in Missouri. Others are from the Lake Springfield Meadow and the Springfield Botanical Gardens. One is from Carrollton, Texas. I have skewed somewhat toward macro images taken with my Smartphone but I still like to get ‘close’ from a distance with the optics of my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS). There will be plenty of opportunity for photography with my upcoming travel (2 out of the next 4 weeks) and the beginning of the seasonal change. For now – enjoy the scenes I captured in September…

Foggy Morning

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I am up before sunrise these days…in my office before it is light outside. I noticed the fog advisory in the forecast and waited until it was light enough to go out to the patio for some pictures. Fog takes away familiar landmarks…making everything look different. It changes the perception of place considerably. I like the image with the holly and pine around the edge best.

At closer range everything just looks wet. Spider webs stand out because every strand is coated with tiny water droplets.

The leaf texture makes a difference in whether water beads or makes a film. The poke weed (picture on the right) had regrown very quickly from the cut stump of a few weeks ago.

A few minutes…and I went back indoors to continue my morning routine: dark chocolate and some reading.

Unique Aspects of Days – January 2022

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This year I am jotting down something unique about each day…encouraging myself to notice those things that are not the same day after day. Sometimes it is related to what I identify as a ‘little celebration’ – but not all the time.

Some of the unique aspects would happen every year – a first snow of the year, a 49th wedding anniversary (Ok – next year will be the 50th),  and a 1st awesome sunrise of the year.

Others will only happen once – perhaps more truly unique: a pet dying, making a new recipe for the first time (this month is was pumpkin peanut powder curry cream (soup)) and a surgery.

Still others I recorded this first month of listing unique events were simply rare: fog in the afternoon and a new garage door.

Overall – this is a good project for 2022…another dimension of awareness into how I am spending my days…making sure I am not ‘in the rut’ all the time!

1st Morning of 2022

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Every year – I am looking out at sunrise on New Year’s Day…capturing the view. This year the scene was foggy with heavy clouds. It was so dim I used my camera ‘night view’ setting to take my pictures. The oak in front of our house (normally part of my sunrise pictures), was my main subject – standing in my open garage door because it had started to rain.

The sensor in the light near our front walkway still sensed that it was dark!

The forest behind our house (to the west) was even darker….no reflected dawn light. The fog was more visible in the forest.

So – not a beautiful start to 2022 but I am rationalizing that we need the rain; it has been relatively dry recently and every growing thing needs water. The weather will turn much colder tomorrow…more what we expect this time of year. We are still waiting for our first snow and the colder weather in the forecast is dry for the next week or so at least. Hopefully, the change tomorrow will improve our air quality….clear out the small particulates.