For my friend Frances, I set out today with my 50mm lens to capture images that might inspire her to take a picture a day for fifty days with her own 50mm. Here are the results.

My Mr Mallory and I searched for beer to take to Dave and Pat for their "Prior Meeting" this evening. (They call it the prior meeting to the dinner at the Thai restaurant.)

We walked around to find more images for Frances.

I got bug-eyed after a while.

But the challenge of finding images to take with the 50mm felt inspirational to me, and gave me a better appreciation for a remarkable lens. 

Lake in the City

My Mr Mallory and I did not venture outside too far in the bitter cold temperatures. We drove to Sikes Lake, an inner city limit sanctuary to several species, such as the Great Blue Heron.

Ring-billed Gull.

Hungry at the Feeders

Looking out my back window, I watched some of the birds fly in from the trees. The White-winged Dove above balanced on the small bird feeder, scattering seeds on the ground. 

Female House Finch.

Slate-colored Juncos.

Rufous-sided Towhee, Western Type, scratching for food. 

In addition, I spotted the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and what looked like an American Goldfinch with its winter plummage. 

Cormorant, Coot, and Shutterbug Clicks

Heavily post processed photograph in the digital darkroom to emphasize colors of the grass, the mallards in flight, and the Wild Bird Rescue Center. 

Several dozen American Coots live near the WBR Center.

A resident cormorant in flight.

Resident Goose in Martin Park

Prickly Pear, Rocks, and Mesquite

Lichen grows on stones at the ranch.

On the branches of the mesquite in the background grow mistletoe plants.

Prickly Pear.

Rock crops.

In a small forest grove I found another nice stand of Prickly Pear cacti.

Interesting stones are everywhere.

My Mr Mallory poses before stones and a view. 

Caterpillar tracks? 

And above us we saw Snow Geese.

God at Work with a Small Creature -- Me

"Elizabeth,

Jesus invited all to His table, tax collectors, prostitutes, slanderers, adulterers, and hypocrites. Do not deny yourself His blessing, His body and blood, because of indignation or righteousness.

I love you,

Nancy"

I do not feel surprised when I see the Almighty working through my friend, Nancy, and yet, I feel awe, wonderful weirdness, inspiration, and sense an element of mystery whenever she expresses God's work through herself. With no other way (yet) to show my solidarity with Jesus of Nazareth, I will resume communion. I see now, thanks to my friend, that there is no sense in denying myself.

Cedar Waxwing at Wild Bird Rescue

This patient suffers from head trauma and will remain at the center for a few days.

Emil Painted the Good and the Bad

Respected and held in high esteem, the Maskat Shriner

and town mayor pictured above "got away with murder"

after he murdered his son-in-law.

This was one of Emil's favorite paintings.

He painted "The Arrival in Calvary" in 1905

and restored it in 1965. It is now

at the Lamar Baptist Church in Wichita Falls.

Northern Shovelers, Angus Cows, and Prairie Dogs

This photo shows the unusual shape on the bill of the Northern Shoveler. This is one of a pair I saw near Holiday.

Caught My Eye

I enjoy looking at the contrasting textures

and colors of a Hereford skin (yikes), the Saltillo tile, and the silk rug.

Replacing the "u" with a "w" seemed highly clever to me.

Was I the only one who noticed?

Meet Fernando Ramos

We drove through beautiful countryside in North Central Texas.

The S in Texas carved into stone covered with fossils.

We visited with our host (pictured above) who introduced us

to another cool cat, tile artist Fernando Ramos.

Shown above, Susan Toomey Frost's book,

Colors on Clay: The San Jose Tile Workshops of San Antonio,

in which she mentions the work of Fernando Ramos.

Work by Fernando Ramos, who became famous, too, as a Flamenco dancer.

Detail that shows Ramos's signature.