More Alamo City lifers!

Confirmed once again: There's no basement in the Alamo!

Mary and I got up early again this morning and hit the trails at Eisenhower Park northwest of San Antonio by a little after 7 a.m. We were greeted by this sign at the trail head:Um... Daddy! Help! Several times, we were certain we heard grunts and movements in the brush; any second, we might've been charged by feral hog or pounced on by a mountain lion! However, we didn't actually encounter anything but a bunch of coyote poo: and a bunch of wrens, Carolinas and (drumroll please!) a lifer: Bewick's Wren!
Okay--WTF is with the bad focus, right? I accidentally had the camera on P mode, which is "exposure and flash compensation." Sadly, the morning was overcast so lighting was terrible. This was the best photo I got of the Bewick's, but we observed him for several minutes. We called him in with the fabulous birdJam on my Sony Ericsson Walkman phone. We had several of the wrens exhibiting territorial behavior (read: sounding pissed off), so we hurried with the pics and left them to their own testosterone-fueled displays.

The terrain was scrubby undergrowth with cedars everywhere, most of them over 200 years old (according to the brochure). Here's a pic of me in front of a rather harsh natural tableau: Here's more: After walking about a mile on the trails here and seeing/hearing only wrens, we went to Freidrich Natural Area. According to the write-up by the local Audubon Society, the best place to see the most birds here was around the parking lot because of all the diverse plantings and stuff. We saw more Black-Crested Titmouse:
bunches of cardinals singing their hormonal little hearts out: (this was disappointingly blurry, sorry)

and this strange pic, which I THINK might be another lifer! Look at these pics (sorry, but the clouds creating terrible backlighting)--

and this one of him coming right at me!
Is that an Orange-crowned Warbler?????? --no wingbars, yellowy underparts, a light eyebrow stripe. Philadelphia Vireo, which is a fairly common migrant here????? I haz teh dumb.... help?

This tree was obviously in close contact with an armadillo--it has leprosy!
And boy howdy, Black Vultures are everywhere! Here's one having a spot of lunch:


We're planning to go birding again this afternoon and evening with nieces Bronte and Lilia, so I hope to have more birds to come!

wrestling images

Summer 2006 - Ray and I visited the Olympic facilities at Colorado Springs, in the shadow of Pikes Peak. Lovely city and facility. Here are some wrestling dummies lined up, ready for action. Eager for a tussle. Well, writing is a daily struggle and like these dummies, words are waiting for some commotion. They are waiting for me to do something creative - align them in a formation that makes sense, that draws in the reader, that paints a picture. It can indeed be a strain or endeavor, and yet it's worth the effort to pummel, to strike, to beat up the English language, and end up with a sentence worth reading. Whew! Where's the Gatorade?

Joanne

Look up

Splendid Saturday in Fort Worth, TX. Lunch at the Modern overlooking their reflecting pool. Normally this is a calm oasis, however, last Saturday thanks to the wind it was whitecapping.

A stroll to the Kimbell to revel in classic art. They are currently preparing a new exhibition on the Renaissance Period, so the large main galleries were closed. Guess I'll have to return.
This picure, courtesy of Ann Summerville, is the vaulted exterior of the Kimbell. She was taking some pictures and I said, "Look up. Such a clear blue sky, cool arch, amazing architecture. Snap it for me." Thanks, Ann.

Indeed, it's good to look up. Gain a new perspective. This concept was brought home at the Amon Carter Museum's featured exhibition, Barbara Crane Challenging Vision. This woman's 40 year retrospective is fabulous. She truly does look at the world in a unique way, and I came away from it with an enthusiasm for my writing. Keep the thesaurus handy and compose. Twist words. Overexpose. Have fun with creativity. (And get out to museums. Support the arts!)

Joanne