Artesian Springs

Artesian Springs is a hideaway resort east of Newton Texas. The area offers exciting white beaches in the middle of pine forests. It is a favorite camping area.

--steve buser

Steamy sunset

Low hanging clouds above, a retiring sun, a clear horizon and steam billowing from a plant combine for this effect. I caught this shot south of Lafayette, LA the other night as I was driving home from a trade show. A little bit different twist on the sunset genre. Seems to me the sun doesn't just use clouds to do his aerial art works. Like any good artist he likes to experiment with different media.


--steve buser

I am not talking to you

Are bird tempermental? I mean do they do things like not talking to each other for several days? Or is that just a human thing. I know I have seen some pretty human things from them.

I remember a cat I had back in college. She would lay in the front yard and the mocking birds would come and perch on branches near her. She would pretend not to notice.

Then the game would be for the birds to swoop down and try to rattle her. She would continue to feign inattention -- it was a game of chicken. More and more daring, the birds would sweep closer on their strafing runs toward her. Time after time, she would look away, totally unbothered.

Then on one bombing run, a bird would come into her air space and she would spring suddenly to life and swipe at them. She would occasionally knock them out of the air. A few times she even grabbed one in mid flight -- it was after one of these episodes that I would get a gift.

But the pair of pigeons in the photo today seem to be having just an ordinary lover's spat. "I'm not talking to you, and I'm not telling you why."

--steve buser

Gentlemanly attire

Grandson Sullivan shows how the gentlemen port themselves at a New Orleans wedding reception. In the background, the jazz and blues band are red hot.

-- steve buser

Wall-waved flag

Jasper, Texas has a series of murals on several of its downtown businesses. If you'e in the area, it's worth a swing by and a drive through the downtown area.

-- steve buser

Bubbling baby

Our granddaughter Sofie tries to understand what makes the ground bubble up at a water play ground at the zoo in Houston. This picture was taken by her proud mom, and my daughter, Vicky Lynn.

--steve buser

Water pad

The Tony Houseman State Park and Blue Elbow Swamp greet you as you come into Texas on the Interstate 10 from Lousiana. It's unfortunate, that without a boat, you can see much of the beauty. Even the boundaries of the park and wildlife management area are not marked off.

But with a good guide, the park opens its soul to you, as you see in this shot. Canals lead you to old logging sites and drilling areas. How about Swamp and River tours in Orange. I totally enjoyed my time with them --

-- steve buser

I'm in high cotton

I'm in high cotton. You don't hear that saying so much any more. I always liked it though. It always had a sense real good feelings about life. I'm not sure there are good substitutes. High cotton -- an overwhelming sense that life is going your way.

I caught this picture coming back from Alexandria a few weeks back -- decided to take the back way. Glad I did. I was in high cotton.

--steve buser

Blue Jelly

If the blue seems to jump off the screen here, I can assure you it was even bluer in real life. The jellyfish were a big hit with our grandkids on this visit to the Aquarium in Houston. Guess they never even imagined that something like this can exit. Of course, there we lots of tanks and lots of wide eyes. The sharks sure kept them quiet.

Where was this? Here.

-- steve buser

Atlanta and the leadership question

This was Atlanta a night from my hotel room a couple years ago. I was there for a leadership conference. I took a lot away from it. I did, however, leave with a bigger question than I can with.

Every community needs leaeders. There is big interest in learning how to develop leaders. At the conference, and other meetings I have been to, there was a strong assertion that enthusiasm is a hallmark of a leader. In fact, many believe that it is a "sine qua non" of being a leader -- without this, despite all your other leadership skills, you can't be an effective leader.

My question -- how do you train a leader to be enthusiastic? Is enthusiasm a skill? Can it be trained?

--steve buser

The fence walker

This fence walker was one of my favorite photo subjects in the backyard of our last house. He and I would spend quite a lot of time together . It was a strained freindship -- he was always ready to bolt if I did anything he considered threatening. But some times he would let me get close enough for a good shot. Sometimes, like this, he thought he was more invisible that he would. Any tree was to him a cloak of invisibility.

-- steve buser

Tools of the trade

Every trade has its own unique tool box. Lawyers have their writs and suits. Journalism have their style books and note books. Dentists have their drills and filling tools. This toolbox of ropes is from a shrimp boat down in Sabine Pass back in 2004. There is a whole fleet of shrimp boats which sail from there -- ice houses, docks, repair yards, all support that effort. I haven't been down there this year, but I suspect that things are mostly back from Hurricane Rita (and the smaller hurricane this year), but there are probably lingering scars.

Sabine Pass is a about 25 miles south of Beaumont Texas. It is the where the Sabine and Neches Rivers (they're one river at that point) empty into the Gulf. The waterway there is a busy place with repair yards for offshore oil rigs and two new LNG terminals under construction. The river there also brings in ships to the refineries and petrochemical plants in the area and the area's three ports.

Where is this? -- Here

--steve buser