Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know y'all are roasting chestnuts around the fire, there is beautiful white snow and the nip of frost is in the air ...
Just ain't happening here in Houston, Texas! A few years ago around this time we got a skiff of snow - you would have thought the world was going to end! It was ever so exciting! I heard it actually snowed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day one of the years we were living in Norway - but since I was enjoying a very white Christmas that year I didn't think much of it.
Until I came back ....
That is one of the things I miss - the SEASONS! It tends to confuse me and here everything is green and beautiful - and not the least bit Christmasy ...
We did the unthinkable and set our alarm clock for 5:30am to head to Brazos Bend State Park. An interesting park for sure. When the Alligators get too big for the zoo, or they find one in someones backyard (I have loads of friends who have had this happen ... eek!) they take them to Brazos Bend State Park! It is ... what - an Alligator Sanctuary, Alligator Refuge? I don't know - but they don't kill them and they are ginormous.
Needless to say there are many, many signs around stating that the Alligators are about and to NOT GET IN THE WATER. Or let little Fido go for a swim, unless you never want to see him again.
I had HEARD there were snakes there, and there are signs warning that the park has Venomous Snakes but ... I mean ... really? Then one day we were driving into the park and the car in front of us was stopped? We looked and there was a GIANT SNAKE crossing the road and they were being ever so kind as to not chop it into three pieces. Thing is? It spanned the TWO LANE ROAD! It was huge - and as it slithered off into the grass the most horrifying thing happened! IT COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED! You couldn't even see the grass move where it headed into the grass. There could have been a 100 snakes just waiting for "Ole Slowpoke" to get across the street for all I know.
Needless to say - I have never camped there since then. YES, IT IS A CAMPGROUND. But I have grundle of friends who have also found venomous snakes in their backyard. They fall into two groups - One: the ones that beat them to death with a shovel and Two: the ones that call animal control. Guess which category I would fall into if I found a giant, venomous snake in my backyard?
Nope ... group Three: I would be dead of a heart attack ...
Was hoping for some fun photos and I think I accomplished that. I have put them in in the order we took them.
This first photo could have been SPECTACULAR ... alas ... it was only after I had taken my first few photos that I realized that I was not set to 'Auto+' as I had thought (the main reason we decided to go before I read my books, I decided just to leave it on Auto and figure the rest out later) it was one down from that - which is a fantastic setting - it is "Flash Off" but since it was still a bit dark - the shutter speed was slow and handshake comes into play at 1/60 of a second shutter speed. This was about a 2 - 3 second exposure so I am thanking my lucky stars that it is at least ... well ... what it is!
I'm torn between naming it "Curious" and "Just Take the Dang Picture Already..."
We slowly drove through the park and, unusual for us, saw a few deer (photos were bad because I had not figured out my setting issue yet) but not the herds we had seen before.
Stopped off at what I am calling Lake1 since we went to three lakes and I don't know what they are called ...
I noticed a lovely spider web right where I was standing:
Then off to Lake2. Gotta warn you - a TON of photos to follow - but mainly because I have a 14 photo sequence called: "The Grey Heron Dance" - you would hate to miss it ... I'm just sayin'
Fell TOTALLY IN LOVE with the dock and its perfect reflection in the water:
Liked it in Black and White also:
I photoshopped a woman and a sign out of the ones above. I was so proud of myself, thinking that it looked Just Perfect, when I noticed that I had totally not noticed or done anything with the woman's reflection in the water! Whew! THAT would have been embarrassing - so off to Photoshop I went .... NOW I declare it Just Perfect ... Or Close Enough ...!
I took some with Gary there - he is sort of hiding the sign ...
Here we saw much animal life to my great enjoyment!
Some White Egrets:
Camera shy turtles, who as I took their photo immediately darted under the dock:
I excitedly yelled over to Gary: "Gary! There are two alligators in the water over here!"
He came over and took some shots with his telephoto lens and said: "No they aren't those are just rocks."
I INSISTED they were alligators.
He was SO CONVINCED he was right he even bet me ... well - I'm not going to tell you but he was rather serious about it. Later he saw one of them move - I did not and it was not until I was in the car reviewing my photos on my touch screen - something I just learned last night. While reviewing your photos you can pinch and I don't know what you call the opposite - like you can on and iPad, iPhone, iTouch etc to zoom in and zoom out.
I said "Ha! I was right! Alligators!" This is when he told me that he already figured that out.
I replied with that 'I told you so' voice: "I'm telling you ... I know my alligators. Wanna know why?"
He took the bait: "Why?"
I said: "Because the first time we were here and there was GINORMOUS alligator sunning itself on the walking path we were on - making me VERY NERVOUS to pass, you seemed not so scared. And THEN YOU SAID TO ME: "Not worried at all..." I asked: "Why?" and you answered "BECAUSE I CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU!" .... butthead."
And then I fell in love with this Grey Heron:
He stood so still - Gary said he was in the "Crane" position saying "Wax On, Wax Off" but probably not ...
Isn't this just the funnest thing ever? The reflection of all the weeds make it look like some child scribbled all over the photo! Gary said "Hmm, that would be nice posterized." and he was right!
And all of a sudden our lone Grey Heron was not alone - swooping in was another one who landed a wee bit of a distance from the other one:
**** HERON DANCE SEQUENCE ****
ALL OF A SUDDEN, they turned and started walking towards each other! How ROMANTIC!!! I could hear romantic music playing in my head as they ever so slowly walked towards each other ...
I was getting excited - would they snorgle each other and wrap their cute bendy little necks around each other - entwining themselves in 'Bendy-Neck-Love'?
SO CLOSE!!!
OKAY!!! Start the LUVIN' ...
Um ... WHAT?
Y'ALL DIDN'T EVEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER!
SERIOUSLY guys! Get back together RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!! I need to see some bona fide BIRD SNORNGLING!!!
I'M SERIOUS - STOP RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!!
*sigh*
I mean, couldn't you have at least said 'Hi'?
Y'all are SERIOUSLY just going to walk by each other without even ACKNOWLEDGING each other?
SERIOUSLY?
*Shakes head*
Man, that is cold ...
Gave up on the INCREDIBLY UNFRIENDLY GREY HERONS and took a couple of panorama shots that turned out rather lovely:
One more shot of the dock - I could not get enough of it! And as the mist is burning off - you can see all the way across the lake:
On the way back to the truck I took a photo of the (I believe) Live Oak trees with the ... dang - it is not moss - I forget what the creepy danglies are called - but it is all over down here - does not seem like 'home' without it hanging off the trees ...
With my camera set properly it was taking photos with the flash on. So EACH AND EVERY PHOTO of deer that I took looked like they were possessed by demons.
It took me quite a long time to fix this one up - and if you look close it looks like crap - but I believe she has been sufficiently 'exorcised' ...
On to Lake3.
The first 4 shots are from my 'sunrise camera' and look rather distinctive:
And one from my new camera:
There was a tree full of very large birds that had been flying around. I could not see them very well but was SO HOPING that they were hawks.
As I crept ever-so-slowly towards the tree so as to not frighten the birds - they were having NONE OF THAT. And most flew off.
Gave up being subtle and took my photos of the lake.
Turning back to the car - I realized that they had not gone very far and now the sun was in my favor and not silhouetting them! Took a close up and saw the red on the beak - ugh! Not hawks ... and just as I suspected - looked it up on the Internet:
TURKEY VULTURES!!!
I took a final shot of the original tree - Titled: "The Few, The Proud, The 'I Don't Give a Shit That There is Someone Sneaking Up on Me'" ...
A couple more of the Lake and we headed out of the park ....
And off to IHOP for a Very Merry Christmas Eve Day Breakfast.
Night all - I am cooking Christmas Eve dinner and I gotta go pull some stuff out of the oven.
What?
YES I AM!!!
I
LORI PETERSON HURST
AM ACTUALLY COOKING CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER
Lets hope nobody dies of food poisoning tonight - would really put a crimp in the Christmas Day festivities ....
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