Pampa Morning

Horned Lark.

Horned Lark singing on the grass with flowers nearby.

Bobwhite on a fencepost.

Mallard ducks and a pair I still need to identify. More later.

Scissortail Flycatcher.

View of Gray County.

A path to one of the watering holes for the cattle.

Cliff Swallows also visit the watering holes.

Doe.

Dove, Mourning, I think.

One of two frogs in the grass that startled me as I walked.

I saw many Horned Toads. What a delight to see so many.

I walked through two Prairie Dog towns.

Butterfly.

Dickcissel on a branch.

              Bird life in Gray County includes Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Dickcissels, Lark Sparrows, Blue Birds, Red-tailed, Swainson's Hawks, Great Crested Flycatcher -- that I could identify. Then there were all the little birds, the little brown birds, the little flitty birds. Also, deer, frogs, Prairie Dogs, and Horned Toads. Driving the truck along the roads I came upon numerous Horned Toads, making me veer along the side to avoid them.

Ghost Towns Along the Way

Making our way up Highway 287, we veered northward to McClean in search of the WWII Prisoners of War camp. All that is left now are healthy native grasses and Agave plants. Here and there, we stopped for quick images of beautiful but forgotten buildings.

Storms remained to our east, looking marvelous in their immensity embellished by occasional lightning. Above, Gabriel experiments with panoramic views before one of the Pampa plants.

Hog Dens Under Clouds

        This afternoon the weatherman alerted us to the potential of thunderstorms. I thought the cloud cover made for more interesting images. Approaching the overgrown pathway to the Beaver Creek, we came upon large areas of flattened grass where wild hogs spend some time.

Wheat Field Cemetery

           Gabriel and I ventured into the tall grass to look for the abandoned cemetery in the wheat field. The descendants asked us to not plow the resting places, but for ten years now they have not visited. Mesquite plants now overwhelm the tombstones.

The larger stones stand above the tall grasses.

I could hardly see Gabriel through the overgrown plants. That's the old Taylor tombstone he is photographing. 

We quickly took a picture of this nest. Perhaps the nest and its tender egg belong to a Mourning Dove.

I knew when I took this image that I would enjoy post processing it in the digital darkroom. 

Thanks, Photomatix.

Sent out an APB on the identity of this bird. Will update you when I find out. P. S. Female Dickcissel.

Fun grab shot of Gabriel opening one of the gates. 

Birds at Wild Bird Rescue

The Red River Photography Club took pictures today at the Wild Bird Rescue center. They plan to publish a calendar to donate for the organization to sell as a fundraiser. I drove out there to check things out.

I watched Alicia feed hatchling Robins.

AShepherdsHome worked on a photo of the baby mallards.

Two Yellow-crowned Herons sort of posed for the group of photographers. 

Missi's Mom held a Yellow-crowned Heron while BirdManBob slipped a minnow into its beak. 

Old Images New

Dabbling in HDR has helped me "save" images I took inside Christ Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
Here we see the chapel and a stained glass window made by Tiffany. I felt awed by the window and wished to capture the image, but until I worked on it with Photomatix, I had only a slightly under- and over-exposed picture.

Saint Petersburg Tonemapped

Some of my single images lend themselves to HDR, such as the two above from Saint Petersburg. 

Watching Men Working

I had the opportunity to watch the roughnecks at work drilling for oil. 

As I drove up, I knew which image my new old D2h my friend gave me would take first.

Man on rig.

The swivel on the derrick and fabulous clouds in the background.

Drill bit. Huge. 

Working with a cutting torch.

Walking down the steps.

Resting.

Climbing on the derrick.

Adding more pipe.

Preparing more pipe.