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

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

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

Going Home

When the sun sets early in the winter, going home can be a darkening experience. This shot is the Laurel Street overpass (over the I-10) in Beaumont, Texas.


-- steve buser

Oh! the web we weave...

This guy was blocking my path as I went down to the water to get a shot. I guess he was mad because his spider web was getting all messed up. The scene is White's Park -- the Chamber's County Park, just off the I-10 about 40 miles west of Houston. Turtle Bayou flows along the back of the park.

Where is this? Here

--steve buser

Clouds don't sleep

On a nearly cloudless day, the clouds have escaped onto the dark glass of this building in Beaumont, TX.

Where is this? Here
--steve buser

Sun bathing.

Thousands of flower enjoy the soft sunlight bath at the Timberline Nursery near Woodville, TX.

The nursery's indoor growing cycle allows year round output for retail nurseries all around Texas.

--steve buser

A dry kind of wet

This photo is from the Bolivar Peninsula -- just across the bay from Galveston, TX. I had stopped the car to shoot a picture of birds across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. When I looked down I saw this. There had been an extended drought that had crackled the bottom of the ditch. Then a sudden rain filled it with water. Result -- crackled bottom, wet on top.

Where is this? Here.

--steve buser

Scavenger hunt

This is on the ferry from Crystal Beach to Galveston. The birds are following the boat, hoping someone will throw them something. All you have to do is raise your empty hand and they will zoom in.


-- steve buser

Morning crossing

This is the railroad bridge over the Neches River in Beaumont. I've been told it has 50 trains a day crossing it. Which makes me wonder when, if ever, they have the time to lift it up to let boats pass below it.

--steve buser