Morning After

Trying to walk off yesterday's food binge, I went out the the Red Cedar River this morning. In otherwise untracked snow I saw these deer tracks on the sidewalk alongside the river.

Even in Michigan where people are used to the cold, there was only one other person willing to brave the sub-freezing chill.

 The temperature has been in the low 20s F. the past three days. The river still flows freely, but there are many patches of ice on the water.

Branches from an overhanging Willow dip into the water to provide a surface where ice crystals form. They appear as  brushes recharging from an artist's palette.

Thanksgiving Morning

Light snow fell most of the night. We woke to a powdery dusting on the ground and trees, by early afternoon the wind had blown it all onto the ground.

Outside Barb's back door we were treated to a variety of songbirds: Slate Gray Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Sparrows, Nuthatches, Chickadees and a Flicker.

In the photo a Junco sits in a berry tree outside the backdoor waiting for a Red Squirrel to finish gorging itself from the bird feeder below.

Winter Sunset

Black Walnut Trees stand naked, silhouetted against a winter sunset, in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Michigan November

Cattails stand upright in a frozen pond bending away from the icy wind and drifting snow near Grand Ledge, Michigan.

I didn't really expect to find open water frozen over and new fallen snow so early in the year. Then again, friends in Texas have been writing that this is the coldest weather in the Rio Grande Valley in more than forty years,

Ice patterns in a quickly frozen puddle provide testament to sub freezing temperatures that are still hanging in.

I'm hoping that south Texas warms up before we return next week.

Bleak November Morning

All it needs is a flock of grackles and an Alfred Hitchcock story.

Minimalism

Wind Ripples in the Dunes

Another version of the South Padre Island, TX dunes in the early evening. The photo has been manipulated a little to balance the light in the sky with the light on the sand.

Laguna Madre Sunset

Cross the Queen Isabella Causeway, turn left onto South Padre Island, take State Park Highway 100 a few miles north. The road is also known as Ocean Boulevard. Drive a considerable distance away from the city. When you spot a patch of sand unmarked by human footprints, park the vehicle, climb a small dune to the west of the highway and watch the sunset – it happens very quickly so plan to arrive well before sundown.

If you're an early riser, follow the same directions except you will climb a dune on the east side of the highway where you will watch a sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico. For me, it's a sight I'll likely never see.

They Grow Up So Fast

Vicki said she thought there was a bird's nest in our Grapefruit tree. A quick glance confirmed her suspicion. I began this series of photos October 13th.

Sometime before October 21st the eggs had hatched to produce two very ugly little chicks.

Four days later, October 25th, they had developed feathers and looked much less ugly.

This afternoon, November 1st, they have a well-developed set of feathers with a nearly "cute" appearance, although, they don't particularly like having a camera stuck in their faces.

All this development took about two weeks. Next thing you know they'll be leaving home and starting families of their own.

Analog Files

Is it 1950s style texting while driving?

Contact management system?

Scheduling?

Turn-by-turn GPS?

Little Black Book for god and everybody to see?

Honey dew list?

Macular degenerate driver trying to cover up the floaties in his eyes?