Ice Formations

      Walking, um, running Hodge -- I have to say running the dog because Hodge runs, having only two speeds, zero and run -- has more potential for photos during the slow thaw of snow and ice. While he dashes (joyfully) on the snow, stopping occasionally to acknowledge a squirrel, I stoop down with my nifty little Coolpix P7700 to record some of the amazing formations that thawing ice can make.

Dripping ice from the tip of a leaf.

Broken ice on a leaf.

Hard snow on a clump of leaves fallen on the ground.

Reflection of a green door on ice formations and leaves.

Ice on concrete.

Moss thrives on the north side of my house even during these times of drought. 

White Christmas

Wildlife at the Creek, Four and Two-legged

     The stealth cam functioned last night. It took several pictures of wild hogs munching on the corn that MyMrMallory and I spread around. A couple of raccoons pop up in the collection of images, as well as cattle and our vehicles.

         I liked what I saw as I looked up at the ridge, so I attempted to make a photograph of it. The sun shined brightly through the cloud cover that will bring, we hope, some moisture this evening. The path below the ridge leads to the creek where we placed the stealth cam that took pictures of the animals. I improved the image in Photoshop by darkening the sky and bringing up the foreground in order to see the broomweed and other plants. 

And now the stealthcam images: 

Wild hogs enjoy the treat of corn.

Big hog on the left. 

Two raccoons. 

Cattle cross the creek in the morning. 

Approaching the stealth cam.

Wild Cam Near Possum Lake

       I made my way into the country to check on the wildlife cameras MyMrMallory and I installed near the creek. What a lovely countryside even in winter time! 

         Two deer watched me with too much curiosity, I thought, as I drove past them only seventy yards away. 

And a sweet calf exchanged glances between her mom and me. 

And what did the wildcam capture? Not much our first time.

       Never mind the year and date. I had difficulty managing the menu; the next images should show the correct data, but I'm not holding my breath, doofus at computers as I am. The flash lit up the broomweed but no creature of God. New batteries and a fresh SD card, more corn and acorns spread around, and another day watching for wildlife may reveal our visitors. 

Grilling Evening

      MyMrMallory grills at least once per week. The joys of grilling may reflect our inherent love of watching the flames in our fire while our foodstuffs cook. Could this joy have developed millennia ago when our ancestors survived by the warmth of their fires?

MyMrMallory builds beautiful fires in our Weber grill. 

Ready to cook veggies or meat. 

Beauty of Winter

      The grandness of nature ensures that the countryside looks lovely during the sleepiness of winter.

Lichen on the south side of rocks. 

Cows, innately curious, amble over to observe us as we visit their pasture.  

Grays, browns, and some greens . . . predominant during winter. 

Jumbled rocks look as if they meant to stand together. 

      In reference to cats, I enjoy and feel grateful to make them a part of my life. Twelve years ago -- and, My! How quickly time goes by! -- an acquaintance then living in the countryside encouraged me to adopt a kitten from a litter born in a barn. MyMrMallory and I drove out there to meet our new feline friend for a lifetime. Behind the lady's home, we walked toward a structure that for all its dilapidated looks we recognized was once a barn, long ago. Inside, there stood a tractor that I thought belonged in a museum. Underneath it we saw blurs of fur as kittens ran and jumped in and out of, and over, the tractor. I sat cross-legged watching the kittens, about ten of them. From a distance, I noted that mama cat eyed us, with either wariness or with just as much interest as we felt in her kittens. 

        The two kittens I scooped into my arms long ago grew to become an important and delightful part of my life. They are beautiful and intelligent; mischievous and naughty; distracting and humorous; loving and tolerant. They provide a certain unpredictability in my life that I cherish. They are my feline friends for a lifetime. 

Bisous sleeps under a wool blanket. 

Cocoa looks contentedly at my camera. 

        And in between things, we study how to write poetry. I made an image of the page and pen in front of me as we sat at The Silver Lining restaurant. Here I show Roberta's poem and some of the notes I made as we attempted to improve on it.

      The countryside in North Texas looks a bit harried still from the drought of 2011. Fortunately, in early 2012 we received more rain, and it shows in the levels of water in the ponds. My bird list remains delightful: Canvasback, blue-winged teals, buffleheads, hooded mergansers, mallards, geese, great-blue herons, northern shovelers, widgeons, pie-billed grebes, a cormorant, ringed-neck ducks . . . and still looking to add more.

Cattle come to sip at a pond where I spotted buffleheads. 

A gadwall at one of the ponds.

      I note with appreciation every year the delightful custom of people picking up pecans. I joined them this year.

        Two ponds, ten species. A trek through the freshly fallen snow yielded a delightful morning of birdwatching. Ringed-neck ducks (thirty or so), hooded mergansers (fewer than six), buffleheads (a pair), canvasback (four to six), pie-billed grebes (a pair), blue-winged teals (four to six), mallards (forty or so), Canada geese (three), a great-blue heron, and the resident goose at Martin Park. 

Around Wichita Falls

       For Gary Goldberg's photography class, both MyMrMallory and I engaged enthusiastically in the assignment he gave the students. Professor Goldberg sent us out into an autumn North Texas to make images of a town, any town. We visited several places, including Bugscuffle, and then opted in the end to make images of Wichita Falls.
      The Elevator Rock, pictured above, began as a grain silo, then transformed into a climbing wall. Nice article by Matt Ledesma here.

      An abandoned building, or so it appears, on California street, leans backwards.

A water tower stands by the railroad.

       On a wall that harkens to a happy age in the history of Wichita Falls, wild plants and foliage grow, framing the graffiti of the street artists. 

The abandoned road that leads to the graffiti wall. 

Moon over the skyline of Wichita Falls as seen from Riverside cemetery. 

Through the clouds today, MyMrMallory flew us to Fort Worth.

Mission: Lunch with Nancy and Julian at Joe T. Garcia's.

Approach chart opened and within reach. 

Radios and instruments set for our destination.

Into the clouds we took off. Aviators would say, "We took off into the soup."

At 5,500 feet, we flew above the soup. MyMrMallory mentioned 

his desire to order menudo at the Joe T. Garcia's. 

Meacham airport appeared underneath the layer of clouds. 

The city of Fort Worth stands in the background to the left. 

Pause for lunch. 

Delighted to see my friends again after two or three years, 

though Karl's passing still pains us. We feel honored

and joyful to have known him; and I feel 

honored to know my friends.

Returning home, we flew into clear skies over Fort Worth, and soon

spotted the line of clouds that would remain until we arrived 

at our airport. 

We held around the VOR while a King Air pilot negotiated ineptly around Sheppard's airspace. 

What a doofus, but thankfully he finally landed safely. 

Finally, ATC gave us instruction to land, but only four miles

from the runway and at 6,000 feet, I asked MyMrMallory, 

"Are you going to slip?" He chuckled and descended to 1,800 feet,

landing on runway 31 smoothly. 

       Speaking of friends, after landing, MyMrMallory then hopped into his helicopter to take B.J. for a ride -- a surprise for her arranged by Mac. Gretchen and Gibson asked me, "What is the surprise," I said, "Let me show you," and pointed at MyMrMallory, who appeared from around the hangars pulling the helicopter. Such glee in B.J.'s eyes when she learned about the ride. 

Leaves Standing

I used to press lovely leaves between the pages of a book; 

these days I preserve their beauty with digital photography.

I found these leaves standing up and backlit by the afternoon sun.