Sunrise serenity

Sunrise fishing. You, the pier, the water, the fish.... and serenity. This is the pier at Walter Umphrey State Park at the lower end of Pleasure Island in Port Arthur Texas. The fish swim in from the Gulf here and their drama with the wily fishermen begins.

--steve buser

Lazy, glazy

Oh, those lazy, glazy lakes of summer. The Boomtown Lake in Vidor, Texas, is right on the I-10 which makes it a draw for campers. The lake is a former borrow-pit -- the dirt is "borrow" for construction projects. In this case, I'm guessing that the dirt ended up being used to raise the I-10 when it was first built.

That boat laying there looks awful temping. I didn't notice it when I shot this picture a couple years ago, that there was chair on the deck on the right. I'm pretty sure it has my name on it.

--steve buser

Needle in the night

Night piercing amour
The Seattle Space Needle in the night is a beautiful site. It pushed the limits of my camera to get this pix though. We were staying a few miles away and it was a landmark for getting around. I tried shooting it a few nights while we were there. The Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built. And, since you asked, No, I did not get up the courage to go up it.

Click on their web site above, they have a neat web cam that you can spin around and view the whole of Seattle.

--steve buser

The fun never stops

Birds wait for food to be tossed into the air. The ducks wait for it to fall. People face in the wind, staring out at the boats in the bay grabbing the wind.

This is all why the Kemah Boardwalk is one of my favorite spots -- activity is buzzing around you on several levels. But each actor knows his part. "The fun never stops."

Kemah is just south of Houston along Galveston Bay. The Boardwalk is lined with great restaurants and there are rides for the kids. In the middle is a hotel looking down on a courtyard where bands keep the buzz going as kids splash in the dancing water spouts.

Great fun.

-- steve buser

Country spirit

Anybody home?
Was the church abandoned? It appear that is was. But the grass was neatly groomed.

In any case, it was on a lonely country curve miles from the nearest town . Next to it was the cemetery. Where church members were laid to rest. Kind of a traditional thing, and not just for the Deep South.

But was the church abandoned? Or does the spirit still live?

People sometimes abandon churches, but does God?

--steve buser

March of time

Wandering the back road a few weeks back I cam upon this house out in cotton country near Simmesport, LA. Probably and old share croppers home. The weather-worn look just have a nostalgic feel to me. As we march through time, technology by technology, we leave behind things that were once active and useful. We leave our past to the elements.


-- steve buser

Sun worshiping

This sun worshiping perennial was on the side of the road at J.J. Mayes Wildlife Trace just to the east of Houston, Texas, when I stopped there several years ago. The nature preserve is on the Houston side of the bridge over the San Jacinto River near Wallisville.


--steve buser

Don't tell

Uncovering secrets.
Don't tell.
It's dark, nobody will notice.
You remember when you were a kid and were just so fascinated with things, that sometimes it was worth getting in trouble just to find out what made that fancy Christmas gadget work. Here, Our grandson, Sullivan, does a a covert operation in stealth mode in the darkness.

Paw Paw sits in the shadows unnoticed, gathering photographic evidence.

Don't tell.

--steve buser

Lagniappe

Icons on icons

Two well known icons, with their icons on top of the icons -- Grand Central Station and the Chrysler building in New York City. The John Donnelly Company did the statue at the top of the station . Fleet-footed Mercury (messenger of the gods and god of abundance and commercial success) stands tall in the middle, flanked by Hercules (renowned as having "made the world safe for mankind" by destroying many dangerous monsters")and Minerva (who was noted goddess of wisdom, commerce, crafts and more),

The Art Deco Chrysler Building, opened in 1930, remains the worlds tallest brick building. The 125-foot spire was actually built inside the building to keep it a secret until it was hoisted into place.

--steve buser

The clock's stuck on five

The beach. The sun. The life. Cozumel here. One of the commercial beaches. Umbrellas ready. Drinks and eats a few steps away. Blues. Every color of them. But no one can mimic the color of the ocean. Azure blue. Turquoise blue. Clear blue. All in one. And its always five o'clock.


--steve buser

Getting nosy

Our grandson, Sullivan, is excited and at the same time unsure, as an elephant gets a little nosy. Still, the rest of the day he kept talking about how he and his Nanny touched the nose of an elephant at the Texas Renaissance Festival near Plantersville (don't ask me where we were, just go to their web page).

It was and exciting day seeing, jousting, and knights and a medieval sights of every variety.

--steve buser

Last rays, last pumps

Central Park. New York. Chilly Day. Dusk just around the corner.

The dark filters first down into the tree shaded jaunts of City Park. Buildings around the park soak up all they can of the last rays. Our hero here, the skater on the bottom, has a open road as he gets his last muscle-hurting pumps in before retiring for the night.

--steve buser