Gull glides by looking for lunch

This friendly fellow flew by me slowly several times as I was at Walter Humphrey State Park on Pleasure Island shooting pictures.  I guess he was wondering why I was throwing him some of the fish I caught (I wasn't fishing).   I don't know what the hanging leg was all about.  Maybe it was in case I tried to some of his food or something.

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?

Vultures pay pig a visit

We were in Houston to watch our son, Charles in a bike race at Bear Creek Park. While waiting, I noticed in one of the animal pens, the sign said pot-bellied pig, but it had some very non-piggish characters inside.  A flock of about 20 of these Black Vultures had decided that the pig's water looked good, so they would fly in for a visit.  The pig didn't look too nonplussed, but I bet on the inside he was terrified.  How does that go? Never let them see you wallow.

No path is easy

"You take the high road and I'll take the low road," seems to be the theme here as our grandkids, Sullivan and Sophie,  have different ideas about reaching the goal.


This is the playground at Central Park in Beaumont, Texas.

Playground pattern draws interest

I wish I could tell you what attracted me to this shot at the Central Park playground in Beaumont.  The opposing patterns maybe?  Maybe the complexity of repetition in the shot.

I hope I can fly

The grandkids were in town this weekend.  Need I say more? Sullivan gets a little wobbly on the slide after his shoe sticks and flies off.
--steve buser

Spinning wheel, spinning round

If this gives you a sense of vertigo, it was meant to. You slide around the track going totaly topsy-turvy and the top and multiple G's at the bottom.  If that wasn't fun enough, you stop at the very top and do the whole fun things backwards.   You get to pay for this privilege.  I think I am still spinning from watching it long enough to get a in-focus shot.
The South Texas State Fair.   But then, you probably have an event with that spins this much fun in your neighborhood, too.
--steve buser

South Texas State Fair, Texas, Beaumont

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Fair days, fun days

Linda and I were at the South Texas State Fair this weekend in Beaumont.  I observed that a lot of the fun seemed to be the spinning, twisting, grinding, yelling, 10+ G's, that I used to enjoy when it would not put my body into a week of intense pain.  Those were the days.  Or, I guess I should say THESE are the days, just not for me.
--steve buser

State Fair, Beaumont, Texas

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Green Heron practices hunting skills

It a small lake at the Aboretum in Austin.  I suppose that the competition makes  a bird like this green heron have to travel some days to find food. Nonetheless, he was patient, practicing all of his hunting skills -- the bank-side waiting, the shallow water-wading, the stealthy, slumped low warrior, the tree branch sniper and more.
--steve buser

Green Heron, Austin, Texas

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Shoot for the star

Linda and I had the grandchildren this weekend.  This was the drop-off-- we met our daughter Vicky in Jennings, LA,  to pass the grandkids over.  Sullivan took the time to show his climbing skills at the park on the Interstate.

He was about halfway down when I decided to take a shot.   Always the kind of drama that he is,  and letting no good opportunity for showmanship go,  he climbed back to the top and told "okay,  now shoot."

The climbing piece resembles a derrick.  Makes sense, sense it is the Oil and Gas Park, in the town that since 1901 has claimed the moniker of "Cradle of Louisiana Oil."
--steve buser

Jennings, Louisiana, kids

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Scraping the sky in downtown Houston

This was a misty cool day in downtown Houston.  Standing in front of the Aquarium, this capture shows the skyscrapers of downtown literally scraping the sky as they clouds come just a little too low not to get hooked.
--steve buser

Houston, Texas

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Pine Warbler

This Pine Warbler was among a flock that came flitting through a grove of pines and fruit trees in Terrell Park, Beaumont, TX.  I was shooting their one day, but brisk, stingy wind had just about convinced me to take my leave.   They were hard to shoot, because they stayed deep in the thicket.
--steve buser

Pine Warbler, Beaumont, 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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Great Egret spends time in self reflection

A Great Egret, Ardea Albus, finds that fishing is a great time for self-reflection.  The shot is at Shangri La Botanical Gardens in Orange, TX

--steve buser

Great Egret, Ardea Albus, Texas, nature

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The splash has dashed

Summer where did you go?  Now the only wet is a miserable rain. 
This is the splash park in Groves, TX.  A well used park -- that in the laughing, running, splashing days of summer.

--steve buser

summer, kids

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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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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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Mount St. Sullivan

Scientific note: when you push a filter over a fountain, you have a volcano. Scientific note 2: when you let go, you have a real explosion. Kid note: This is worth doing over and over.
The grandkids were in town and they took Nanny to Rogers Park in Beaumont to play at the splash pad. (If you're a grandma you know what I mean.) Sullivan demonstrates for us.

Scientific note: Kids have more energy than grandparents.
--steve buser

Splash pad, Beaumont, Texas

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Stick built house for Cattle Egrets

A Cattle Egret, (Bubulcus ibis), has found a real treasure just below his nest -- a stick. The stick will make a fine addition to his tree-branch home at the heronry here at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange Texas.

This the breeding season for the birds and all their egret and heron cousins -- their nests are branch to branch with each other through out the several acres of trees lining the small lake - the safety and plentiful food attract them.
-steve buser

Cattle Egret, Shangri La Botanical Gardens, Orange, Texas
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