Cool Church

The First Presbyterian Church on Green Avenue iit was the first air-conditioned public building west of the Mississippi River and its dome is the only opalescent glass dome inside of the United States.

It was commissioned by Frances Ann Lutcher as a memorial to the Henry Jacob Lutcher family. The church, a strong example of the classic Greek Revival architecture, was completed in 1912.

It serves as a focal point of the center of Orange where the Lutcher Theater, the Stark Museum of Art, Lamar State College Orange and City Hall all sit nearby.

--steve buser

Orange, Texas, Landmarks

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End of the ride, end of the flight

Our ferry boat comes sliding into Galveston as another ferry readies to leave.

Most people aren't aware of this route into Galveston from the East. You jump off of I-10 in Winnie and head south for a ride along the coast on Bolivar Peninsula. At the end of the peninsula, the ferry takes you across to Galveston island.

At the landing here, as we left the ferry, the gulls that had been following us settled in to wait for the next boat to leave.
--steve buser

Galveston, Texas, ferry, birds, gulls

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Wave-to-wind hop sets him sailing

A Brown Pelican which had been sitting on the water warching our Galveston-Bolivar ferry pull into the ferry landing, suddenly decides it''s time to get up amd move about. He timed a wave pretty good and pushed off strong with his feet to send him skyward.

--steve buser

Pelican, Galveston, ferry, Bolivar Peninsula, TexasPowered by ScribeFire.

Red-heads come visiting

Linda and I were enjoying the evening with our son, Shawn and his wife Sarah, in their backyard, the other day. Backyards can be such wonderful nature places. Because they have a forested lot across the street, they get a lot of birds flying through in the waning hours of the evening.

This evening, a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) made several appearances as they flitted around the neighborhood. I'm not sure if they were trying to make up their food quota for the day and go store it, or just feeling playful.

They stayed up near the top of the towering trees in the neighborhood. That, plus the dimming evening light, made taking their picture a challenge. This was the best I could do.

--steve buser

Red-headed Woodpecker

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Dolphins in the bay

As we were riding the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula South of Houston a couple weeks back, this was part of the school of Dolphins that were frolicking and splashing a couple hundred feet from the boat. They were hard to see because the sunset was behind them.

--steve buser

Dolphins, Galveston Bay, Bolivar Peninsula, Houston
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Windy watch

Apparently this gull didn't think this light standard could do a good enough job of warning of dangers. Perhaps, our hero here is getting in touch with his inner sailor. The scene is in Galveston Bay.
--Steve buser

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The Spindletop Gush blows again in Beaumont

The Spindletop Gusher which usher the age of oil into Texas blew again today in Beaumont

The precious, sparkling liquid shot more than 100 feet above the derrick. Above, the man under the derrick is catching some of the precious spray in his hat.

It was, of course, a re-enactment, together with the actors, a throng of watchers, Tracy Byrd's "Spindletop Song" about the early 1900's event, and 10,000 gallons of water (sorry, liquid gold is too precious and too messy).

The occasion was to mark Lamar University's successful employee contribution drive to its fund-raising campaign. The event was held at the LU Gladys City/Boomtown museum -- a replica of a town at the time the gusher blew -- the largest gusher that had ever blown in the U.S. It started a gold rush in Southeast Texas and brought plentiful and cheap oil to fuel the new car craze sweeping the nation.

--steve buser

Spindletop, gusher, oil, Texas, Beaumont, Lamar University
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When you live by the wind, you freeze by the wind

Standing in the middle of strangers, a couple of gulls are just thankful t have anything to block, the wind on the Bolivar Peninsula Beach. It may have been quite warm down there today, but when this picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, it was cold and blustery. In fact, I was kind of surprised these cattle egret and two gulls didn't find a more protected space up in High Island.

--steve buser

Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, catte egret, gulls, wind, beach
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Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain

Courtesy the Beaumont, TX, rain from this past weekend, you are looking at drops of water breaking free from the little ball at the bottom of one of our hanging flower pots on the porch. I didn't venture further than the porch the whole day Saturday.
--steve buser

rain, water drops, Beaumont, Texas
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Feather flapping frenzy fascinates

Expectations run high for these gulls that follow behind the Gavleston to Bolivar Peninsula ferry. They are used to finding a least a few morsels thrown their way. My wife and our grandson Sullivan (from this photo of a couple of years ago), were more interested in how close they got to see the gulls and the tremendous activity of flapping feathers.

-steve buser

seagulls, Galveston ferry, Bolivar Peninsula, birds,

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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

He wasn't afraid of me, so much as he was bored watching me when he flew off to a tall stump in the middle of the field on I-45 north of Huntsville, Texas-- I was still trying to get the settings right on my camera. THis scissor-tailed flycatcher has a long streaming tail that scissors open and looks awkward in the air. He apparently uses it in a eye catching aerial display to get the attention of a future mate. I caught a short version as the wind knocked him off guard and he spun for a second using his wide-open tail to steady himself and zoom away.

--steve buser

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, birds, Texas, Hunstville

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Sun duels lighting and thunder

Thunder behind me, sunset in front, lighting to the sides. The huge snapping thunderclapper passed through just before sunset. That left an eiry burn-orange cast to the roadway and the buidings. Then, the lighting started crackling straight across the sky, including in the dark area just above the sunset. We used to call it "heat lighting" as kids. There was certainly a Alamo-style battle for dominance going on between armies in the sky. I'm not sure the sun won.

--steve buser

Sunset, lighting, sky, thunderstorm, Beaumont, Texas

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Wandering Warbler

Recently enjoying the caterpillars and other tasty treats in Tyrrell Park in Beaumont was this Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus)and his friends. They make quick work of the small glen and moved on. I was working hard to get close to capture a good shot. Tough going for a photographer with these little flitterers.
--steve buser

Pine Warblers, Beaumont, Texas, birds

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Bee in a Bluebonnet

This may be the busiest bee you have ever seen. He went from petal to petal looking for nectar. THen he would hop to the adjacent flower and do the same thing. Every so often he would forget which flower he was on and repeat every petal on it.

You can kind of make out the pollen stuck to the hairs on his body and feet. I bet the Bluebonnets he is feasting sold him the "all you can eat" dinner. The scene is from the side of the road where I went in for a restroom break on the road back from Dallas.


--steve buser

Bee, bluebonnets, Texas
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Birds of different feathers flock together.....

It was a bird convention on the bulkhead of the ferry landing on the Bolivar Peninsula.   We were driving to Galveston, and had to wait for the ferry, so I jumped out to snap a few shots.  This is mostly Cormorants and American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos).   There may be an Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) or two in there.  There were some Brown Pelicans to the right of this shot, but I cropped them because it made the picture to long.

What got me was the White Pelicans snoozing out on the piers.  I tried to do the geometry of how they got into that shape, but my geometry was rusty.

--steve buser

White Pelicans, Cormorants, Anhiga

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Dinosaur discovered in Beaumont

Our  grandkids, Sullivan and Sophie were babysitting us this weekend.  While Nanny Linda and Sophie were taking a nap, Sullivan (AKA Dr. Indiana Jones) and I decided to see if we could discover a newdinosaur in one of this Easter presents (The Easter Bunny is sure getting creative these days). Together we worked our way through the earhen block from a dinosaur discovery kit,untl we had unearthed al the bones of what appears to be an Tyrannosaurus Rex.   I think it may have been the first such discovery in our neighborhood.  Now, I am ready for a nap.

--steve buser

Dinosaur kit, Beamont Texas, discovery

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Protecting the "Easter Eggs"

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail.... and ten thousand other kids. 

This Killdeer had made her nest under the tree at the local church.  Unfortunately, it was in the field where the kids were going Easter Egg hunting.  When they started to line up at the field's edge about 50 feet from her, you could see her getting nervous.  Her and her partner scurried around.  When the noise got real loud, he flew off, leaving her to guard the nest and the brood of real Easter eggs.

She was using all the screaming and puffing up defense she knew.   Finally some adults encircled her and she was able to make it through when the dam of kids broke.

--steve buser

Easter, Killdeer, birds, eggs, Beaumont, Texas

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Fair stare

There is some form of communication going on here.  The longer you look at the picture the more you will realize that.  Don't try to put it into words, it isn't a word thing.  Sophie was just about two when this picture was taken.  These are thoughts and stares that belong to that "pre-word" world.

--steve buser

Houston Zoo, white tiger, animals, kids

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Old blue eyes

A Cormorant sitting beside the ferry landing on the Bolivar Peninsula of Galveston County.  I think the place is a favorite for birds because of all the fish stirred up by the passing of the boats.

--steve buser

Cormorant, birds, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas

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Jealous bird

When a bird wants a rest, a bird wants a rest.  This Laughing Bull (Larus atricilla) was keeping and eye on me, but did seemed concerned.  Probably because he was sitting on a pole a few feet out in the water, and I didn't seem the adventurous kind.   I got as close as I could, but he still sat there.  Then I noticed a Willet a little ways down the shore line and turn to take a picture.  When I turned back our gull was gone.  Probably jealous he was getting all the attention.

One thing I did notice in all of this is that nasal passage in their beaks goes all the way through.  I never got close enough to notice that before.

--steve buser

Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, gulls, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas, feathers

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Looking back, running forward

Look straight ahead an run. Push it.

This is our son, Chuck, running in the triathlon in Galveston this weekend. THe shot is about 200 feet from the finish line. He is looking back around to see if a fellow runner is planning on passing him at the end.

This triathlon, last year, was the his first. This year he bettered last year time by more than 20 minutes.

--steve buser

triathlon, Galveston, Texas, running, race

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Willet wait to wade

A Willet(Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) waits on a moss cover rock for some food to pass by. he had been wading in the shallow water near Moody Gardens feasting on thing he found, but decided a little height might make things a little clearer. There were several Willets further down the shoreline, but they protested when I came near --probably they had a nest there at their Galveston Island, Texas spot.

--steve buser

Galveston, Moody Gardens, Willet, bird, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, Texas

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Sun adds red to water color

Across from the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, the morning sun paints redish tinges to a "water color" arrangement in the pond.

--steve buser

Houston, Texas, water, park, Convention Center

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Sparrow have no spare love

A group of these house sparrows had taken over this palm tree in Port Arthur, TX -- making nest in the stubs of branches that had been trimmed near the foliage of the tree.   They were so packed in there, that when they flew back to the tree, they often entered the wrong cubbyhole -- which elicited a strong rebuke from the occupant.

Trouble was that a group of grackles were hanging out in the tree next door  -- just the normal comings and goings of both groups make for a raucous level of activity.

--steve buser

House Sparrow, Grackles, birds, nest, Port Arthur, Texas

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Hum while you work through the night

Even though the electricity in those wire might share an ethereal existence with the sleep-driven Sun, the electrons keep flowing through the night -- humming silent songs as they work.

The shot is in Beaumont, Texas -- I think it was on Cardinal Drive coming home from work one night.

"There is geometry in the humming of the strings" --Pythagoras

This is a SkyWatch Friday Post. Go and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!

--steve buser

Electric wires, sunset, Beaumont, Texas

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Merely meerkats

The meerkats at the Houston Zoo get a lot of onlookers -- they are just too cute to pass up.

--steve buser

Houston Zoo, meerkats, Texas, animals

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