Seattle flowers

Seattle, nuff said.

Chicago swells with traffic for air show

It was an extra busy day on the Chicago River Saturday when we were passing through to catch a flight back to Texas.  We were sitting eating by the river side, wondering if it was always this busy.  A person sitting near us told us it was the Air and Water Show was going on.  (That explained why so many people on the train had fold up seats and ice coolers).

We tried to make it out to the Navy Pier to watch the show and were almost at the gates, when we realized we had left our suitcase back where we ate lunch.  Oh, well.

Ominous clouds can't deliver on rain threat

This was the weather system that blew past our neighborhood last night. Ominous as it might look, it was all bluster and no rain.  The air cooled down to about 80 degrees, and it turned breezy  -- but not even a sprinkle.

Blue Heron stands watch at Mishawaka Dam in South Bend, IN

This blue heron was standing watch below the Mishawaka Dam at Central Park in South Bend, Indiana where we were visiting my daughter's family last week.
It didn't look like he was having much luck finding lunch. Maybe he was just trying to keep cool in the 90-degree heat.

Butterfly flies off to mythical world

So this butterfly and I were having this photo shoot up in Seattle along the side walk.  I guess she just got tired of waiting for me to set up and take a shot or something.  She just says "to heck with this cameo, I'm out of here."  And just like that she flies off to some mythical world. Oh well, who am I to blow against the wind.

Baseball: team effort

This is a shot of my grand-daughter Sophie playing baseball a couple years ago. Notice how many players are coming in to make the play.  (the boy on the right eventually gets the baseball glove off his head.)

Now look closely where the ball ends up... She stopped the ball, that's what counts.  If she hadn't stopped it, I am sure they would have been pile of players behind her smashing down on it.

Elusive butterfly

We were in Seattle recently and this butterfly was wandering through the flowers next to the sidewalk as I walked along. I let the others walk along without me while I stopped to spend some time with my new BFF. He proved pretty elusive. (Wait, wasn't that a song?).

Great Egret does a high five

How about a high five?

You always see egrets standing on their legs and rarely see them using them for anything else.  In this case, the Great Egret is getting ready to do some scratching.  It does, however, look like he's doing a high five.

The shot is from a small bayou at the edge of the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana.

Fishing the falls near Seattle

I took this shot several years ago when we were up near Seattle.  I didn't  take this guy long to get a bite at this waterfall fishing hole.

Flower opens for business

Some flowers seem to hide their pollen and nectar displays down deep in a petal tunnel.  Not this one. It's open for business - clearly visible from all directions.

Louisville iron bridges by the dawn's early light

A view of bridges over the Ohio River in Louisville Kentucky in the dawn light. We were there a few years ago for a Iron Man competition our son was in.

Glacier calving is caught in photo

This is a somewhat close-up view of a glacier as it meets the water from our recent Alaskan trip.  The big blue columns of ice form a wall at the water's edge.  The best I could estimate the size is that the columns are about 200 to 300 feet high.  Periodically, a sliver will fall into the water and create a big splash. You can see that splash at the bottom center of the photo -- I think that splash is about 30-50 feet high.  The process is called calving.