The splash pads have sprung to life

It is that magical time of the year when the splash pads that have been sitting idle suddenly spring to life.  Suddenly, kids are told the weather is "warm enough" and the world returns to the magical place it was last summer.

If you are five years old, you may only remember this happening twice before.   Strange.  Wouldn't it be nice if summer and "warm enough" came around every year?

Ring billed gull -- whispering wind

I fly, held up by the wind.  Feeling it's gentleness. Sensitive to the minute differences above and below my wings. It whispers to me.  The sky is my domain.
A ring-bill gull at the river front in Port Neches
--steve buser

Ring Billed Gull, Port Neches, Texas

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A child gets back in touch

Sometimes the shadows, the winding pathways, the changes in elevation, the uncertainty of the next turn, the massiveness of the maze all seem to get to you and you have to site down for a while, dangle your feet and let you mind and emotions get back in control.  Then, you can start running and climbing again --chasing that carefree feeling and excitement.

Wait a minute, are we still talking about children?

Kids, Texas

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Gliding the metaphor

Hey, the change in seasons is making me feel a little light and airy. Whistling wind outside tonight. Thought a gliding gull might be the perfect metaphor.
--steve buser

Gull, birds, Texas

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A mazed

Our granddauther Sophie looks a little bewildered inside the maze that is the play fort at the Port Neches' park. The wood banisters provided plenty of cover for me to get the shot unnoticed. She got her bearings together pretty quickly and was zipping around adeptly in just minutes.
--steve buser

kids, playground

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Summer sprays away

She wandered alone through the show at the Play and Spray in Port Neches. I think it is a fitting photo for the finish of summer (the autumnal equinox having slipped passed) - the days of baking suns gives way to milder days. Gone is the carefree-ness of summer, the days of seeking out cool anywhere you can find it. Gone are the playdays, splashdays, the excitement-seeking pursuits, the fun with friends frolicking freely awaiting backyard barbeques.

Fall grips the weather. Winter lurks.
There is the time of clock and the time of seasons. Do you know what time it is?
--steve buser

Kids, splash, Port Neches

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The wander of wonder for wanderers.

Our granddaughter, Sophie wanders through the maze that is Tug Boat Island in Port Neches, Texas.

We love to go there because it is a place where the imagination can't help but wander.
--steve buser

Tug Boat Island, Port Neches, photo

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Repelling the pirates

I thought you could use a little cooling down today with the temperatures sapping your strength this summer.

Here, our grandson Sullivan takes on water pirates as he fights to defend the splash pad in Port Neches from the things that go bump in the day.
--steve buser

Water, pirates, kids, Texas, Port Neches

Unheated excitement.

Sometimes the only way to beat the heat is to get wrapped up in cooling water. This little child was one of the many at the Port Neches, TX, splash pad this weekend.

When your in the middle of it, it all seems so natural as the water flies around you. But, when the camera stops a slice of second in time, it has a surreal aura. It really is surreal, though, because sooner or later, you have to come out of the misty mood maker and face the heavy heat of summer.
--steve buser

Water Parks, Port Neches, Texas, heat, summer

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Force field repels heat

Our grand daughter, Sophie, 2, hides with her mom, Vicky, under a bowl of water at the splash pad in Port Neches, Texas. THe weeks-long heat wave that has sit over the area, has made watersports of any kind a favorite for the area. A large high pressure system has had Southeast Texas in its eye for several weeks and shows no signs of letting up. THe new definition of a rainy day is a 10% chance of showers.
--steve buser

Southeast Texas, Heat wave, weather

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Lazy, crazy days of winter

Remember those days of driving down to the water front in you shiny new Ford Fairlane convertible to watch the boats chug by? This couple was reliving those days at the Port Neches waterfront park the other day when we were there with the grandkids. In the background, a couple of fishermen (well, a fisherman and a fishing lady) try their luck.

A little further down the waterfront but out of sight, was a guy trying to see how far he could hit golf balls into the Neches river -- hoping I guess to hit them all the way across.

Hmm. To each their own.

--steve buser

Port Neches, riverfront, classic cars, fishing, Neches River

Looking over an overlooked clover

You remember as a child looking for four-leaf clovers? You don't? Do you mean you don't remember, or you didn't do it? This is an important distinction. Your personality and your reputation hinge on it.

Take a look at the photo above of Sullivan in the park at Port Neches, Texas, looking for the luck of the Irish.

We're waiting. For you not him. This is what you may have missed.


--steve buser

Port Neches, Texas, four-leaf clover, luck, kids

Making a flap

We were down at Tug Boat Island in Port Neches today.  We walked down to the Neches River to look at the birds and boats with the grandchildren.  The seagulls were really putting on a show for us.

--steve buser

seagull, birds, nature, Neches River, Port Neches, Texas