Translate

Thursday, August 21, 2008

You've got the cool water

 
Wading in a pond is not only a way of getting food, but also a way of staying cool on hot New Orleans afternoons. These two Ibis were at Lafreniere Park in Metairie --- the 150-acre park is built around a central lake and birding habitat that rivals anything in the wild. It features Ibis, Egrets, Canadian Geese, Black Swans and more -- I have even seen a pair of Roseate Spoonbills there.


--steve buser

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Keep falling on my head



Rain drops. Outside my window. The weatherman said the afternoon would be clear, dry and low humidity.


So it goes.


--steve buser

Friday, July 18, 2008

Feathery flying freeloader

 
Okay, you can take back what you said about being stupid as a bird. Take it back.


This feathered fellow was faced with an obvious problem. "If I can't fish, I can't eat and I will starve to death." So he put some good old bird-brain power into it  and decided to panhandle to earn enough for some bird feed. The Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron wasn't getting any takers, but he had stick-to-it-ness. He was standing like this for about an hour while I was there. ("there" is the rookery on Oschner Island at Audubon Park in New Orleans.) I figured he was just one of the indigent species here.


-- steve buser

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Double Glide

 
A phantomous Great Egret glides over the lagoon in City Park, New Orleans, while its image glides in rhythm with it across the glade-green water.


-- steve buser

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Home with the groceries

 
An Great White Egret navigates through the top of the trees at Oschner Island in Audubon Park, New Orleans, to zoom into its nest.  Once there two hungry chicks will fight and make a big ruckus over who gets to eat first. Mom will thrust her beak down the beak of the chick to deliver a delicious concoction of digested insects and other creepy things.


- steve buser

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The ouch caterpillar

 
This is an Io Moth caterpillar that was hanging just a couple feet from me the other day in New Orleans. These caterpillars like their space, if you get stung by one (by touching it), you will give them that space from then on. Notice the red and white strip that is an identifying characteristic of these caterpillars


--steve buser

Monday, June 16, 2008

Listen to the rhythm of the pounding rain

 
The rain finally stopped just short of noon. It was the 7 a.m. to about 9 a.m. time frame that did the damage. For a while, rain was coming down at the rate of about 5 inches per hour. The garage roof, just outside my window was a sheet of water -- not water trickling down, a SHEET of water. Then, it stopped and the sun came out. sparkling the leaves, evaporating the drops on their bright surfaces. 


-- steve buser

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Like a fish in water

 
The end of the slide has come and you now slip into another feeling, another being. You let the water surround you and shoot past your face. You slide into the colorless world of your new aqueous being. Mouth closed, you hide your life-giving air tightly inside you while you explore your new watery existence.


Hey, its what being a kid is about. Exploring your world in all the ways you can. But never too far from mom.


Our grandson, Sullivan, forgot that he had become a fish at the end of last summer, but he quickly remembered that was what he was in his first visit to the deep. The fisherman becomes the fish.


The site is a water park in College Station, Texas


-- steve buser

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Cloudy robes

 
Trees can only sit and oogle as the sun wraps its majesty in princely clouds -- this photo was on the road (I-10) from to Houston, Texas.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

At The Top

 
Okay, you have climbed and climbed. You've justled and pushed. You bounced past all those other water drops. You're at the top. You've won. Now it's time to look down. Let gravity have its way. You've had your day. It's time to let go and find your destiny below. Don't hit the ground in vain. Push and bustle your way down to smash on your target. Find a kid. Splash him. Grand style. Do it.


At the splash park in College Station, TX.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Almost finished line

 
This picture is from the Triathlon at Moody Gardens on Galveston a couple weeks ago. The center rider is our son, Charli. The small group comes in for the finish of the 28 mile bike ride and prepares for the 6.1 mile run to finish the Quarter Iron Man.


--steve buser

Monday, April 7, 2008

Wave jumper

 
At the beach in Galveston, our grandson practices the fine art of wave jumping. Our daughter, Vicky, and our son-in-law Aaron, also dip their toes in the salty waves of the Gulf of Mexico


--steve buser

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Water weary



We were in Galveston this weekend for our son, Charlie's (Chuck) first triathalon event. He ran his first marathon in January and ran another one last month. So he decided to see how he would fare with a triathalon. He ran the quarter Ironman -- here he emerges from the 800-meter swim in Galveston Bay, stripping off his wetsuit (the water was 70 degrees) to jump on his bicycle for a 28-mile ride before finishing with a six-mile run.

The event was a better spectator event than the marathon, because they came back near the transition zone several times -- we saw him five times during the race.

Waiting

 
Waiting. Waves lapping close. Waiting till the family returns from their sea shell hunt. The buggy sits at the beach in Galveston, TX, on a misty day. Waiting

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Babies in the back window

 
We've got babies next door! The Mourning Dove that has been silently brooding in the tree out our bedroom windows had her babies last night. She was up cleaning one early this morning. Then,  she has tucked them tightly under her for protection. Every once in a while one will push the feathers aside for a peek. We can't wait to capture the first photos when she shows them to the world.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Here Ye! Here Ye!

 
Waiting for dad to come by at the Houston Marathon a couple weeks ago, this young lad took advantage of a nearby hill for some play time. However, with his placard in hand, he seems to be practicing for some oratory. "Friends, Houstonians, countrymen, lend me your ears..."




--steve buser

Friday, January 18, 2008

It's all about love

I can not report this first hand, however,  they say that last 200 yards is maybe the toughest in the whole 26.213 miles of a marathon. If it is so, then you'll pull out any stops to get you over the line. At the recent Houston Marathon, this man's whole family came out for that last two grueling blocks of running -- 26.2 miles behind you. Now it's the .013 miles left.


The smiling, laughing faces of your loved ones, full of pride, urge you to the finish. You can do this -- suddenly your legs realize it's do-able and spring back to life. The message spreads up to your brain. You lift your eyes and fix them on that clock counting out the seconds. In your mind, you are already there. You did it. They did it -- they gave you that last burst of energy.


By the way, his tag says his name is Victor. The shirt says "It's all about love. How much do you love yourself?"


--steve buser

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Pastoral prayers

While we were standing around in Houston waiting for the marathon runners to come by, this scene unfolded across the street. The Methodist church is down by the museum district but looks like a scene from some European country, 1800's. The vestments that the service offerers were wearing hearkened me back to my younger years.


--steve buser

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Lily life is sweet on the river

These lily pads get to play in the sun on the tranquil Rio Dulce (sweet river)in Guatemala. We took the boat ride up from Livingston two years ago. Along the way, scenery was amazing cliffs and hillsides along with waterfront bungalows where the locals lived and earned their living. Sweet River, sweet life.


--steve buser

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Sun sitting


Alone with your thoughts and a gentle breeze that keeps bringing you back to the moment. The lake is whispering in staccato cadences -- white sounds that enclose you from the traffic far away. The sun has to use glitters on the waves to get your attention because the canopy of green above you won't let him intrude on your moment.


The thoughts flow and flow. Slowly you are becoming at peace with your cares.


As in a dream, you don't want to be aroused. "Let me just juggle my thoughts some more." The day will slowly melt. Time isn't what's important. Another day will come to take its place. But this time, this moment with your new peace, it can't be replaced or regained.


--steve buser

Friday, January 11, 2008

Colorful tunes

The famous Soji Tabuchi Show in Branson Missouri is not just a delight for the ears. The show comes right at you with a cornucopia of colors and images. I have to admit I was skeptical going into the show. But I came out a fan. --steve buser

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Merry mountains

It's an all-American tradition, the holiday parade (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and more I guess) . However, when you have the mountains as a backdrop, it just seems a little more poignant. Certainly it has a more patriot feel to it. This is from Asheville around Thanksgiving a few years ago. We were visiting my daughter, Vicky and her family.

-steve buser

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Stark reminder

From the Stark House website : "Completed in 1894, the Queen Anne home of William Henry Stark and his wife, Miriam Melissa Lutcher Stark, stands alone in Orange, Texas, as an extraordinary statement of Texas social history.... Today the W. H. Stark House appears much as it did in the 1920s with rooms filled with original family furniture, carpets, silver, a collection of antique porcelains, and an outstanding collection of American Brilliant Period cut glass."

Well worth a stop off the I-10 in Orange for a visit.

--steve buser

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Texas to the max

At the state line, as you cross from Louisiana to Texas on the I-10, they have a huge star at the welcome center. Of course it doesn't look like this. But I started with a picture of the star and said, "Now if I had designed that welcome sign, how would it look?"


It would have to have the colors of the Texas flag of course.


--steve buser

Monday, January 7, 2008

Papa 's present

Guess what my grandson Sullivan got Papa for Christmas? 

He does his own shopping at the dollar store and it is a real pleasure to see what he picked out for each one in the family. Every one of his presents has a real connection to the person receiving it. For instance, guess why Papa got this?


You're way off. I am sure this is so I can find clues.


Not.


-- steve buser

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Previewing the game

It seems there are broadcast booths set up all over New Orleans for the BCS College Football Championship game here Monday night. In this photo, the Fox Sports Network were previewing the game at Artillery Park, across from Jackson Square and with St. Louis Cathedral as their backdrop.


--steve buser

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Maiden Texas


Elaborate costumes are everywhere at the Texas Renaissance Festival just outside Houston each spring. This young lady lives her dream as princess or maybe dutchess. That is what the festival is all about -- you are your dreams. You wake up in the 16th century. Remember those good ole days?


--steve buser

Friday, January 4, 2008

Slowly faded glory

 
Weather has done its best to wash and fade the color that the builder added to this wood on a house in New Orleans. But the color refuses to die. Hiding deep in the pores of the wood, it holds on to its originally, if faded purpose -- to make the house sparkle with color.


Glory fades quickly at first, and then stubbornly refuses to go away completely.


--steve buser .... Technorati tag:

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Fly in, fog in


A seagull comes flying in low to get a better look into the fog-dimmed water in the bay in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We took the ferry over from Seattle. Unfortunately, the weather on Victoria had not desire to be sunny that day. This was a disappointment, perhaps, but the fog always has a romantic element to it. It was generous to my lens, yielding up several interesting shots.


--steve buser

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

What's old, what's lost

Two old technologies together in one package are shown here -- they are from an old house we were in recently (the shot is from the floor looking toward the ceiling, and "up-door' view). The shot got me thinking -- a lot of old technology goes by the way side because it gets replaced by better more useful ways of doing things. For instance, the old key and lock in the picture. There's no doubt that modern locks are a lot more secure. What was good technology for its time has to give way to the new.

But the glass door knob is a different thing. It's mostly been replaced by metal knobs with faux finishes. I don't see them as something better. The old glass knob had an aire of refinement and grace. While it didn't turn the lock any better than new ones, it didn't turn it any less efficiently either. On the other hand, the glass knob kept its luster for much longer than it's metal replacement - a simple cleaning wiped away the inevitable grime that builds up on door knobs.

I say bring the glass knobs back. We could use more refinement and grace in our lives.


--steve buser

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

To sleep, perchance to dream

A quiet room. Subdued light. A comfy stroller. A tired child.


Adds up to a cozy nap.


We were at a open-house/Saints-game party that my brother-in-law Bob was having this past Sunday in New Orleans. Meanwhile, my granddaughter Sophie made use of this back room bedroom of the Chippewa Street home.


I guess they should add that to the sales brochure. "Marble counter tops, renovated wood floors. Bedroom comes pre-dreamed-in . . ."


By the way, the dreams were considerably better than the game.


--steve buser

Monday, December 31, 2007

Berry Merry Christmas

We ran into these berries while visiting our daughter's family in College Station over Christmas. I had never put it together that these berries were around for the holidays. I guess that cutsy saying, "Have a Berry Merry Christmas" was true to life.

--steve buser

Make sure you stop by and see New Orleans Daily Photo while your here

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Flying fearlessly

You're big now. Four-years-old. Nearly a man. It's time to take the big leap. Grab that motorcycle by the handle grips and leave the bounds of earth. Mother Earth. Cut the strings. It may be only for a second or two, but you are flying into a place where only clouds and eagles live.

Again and again. Around and around. Almost seems like a ride at the fair. Almost.

Our grandson Sullivan shows how it's done. Who would have thought that out of all those motorcycles, he would get the fastest, meanest, highest-flying of the whole bunch? Who would have thunk it.

Only the bravest of the brave.

--steve buser

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Slipping out to sea.

Looking back out the plane window as we jet out of Houston, the alluvial deposits sparkle in the late after noon sun. The City of Anahuac is in the lower left on the shore of Lake Anahuac. That lake is released through a dam which is barely visible into the Trinity River. The Trinity isa line come in from the right of the picture and taking a sharp turn toward the top of the picture right in the center. It spills through a channel into Trinity Bay.


The water finds its way from there into Galveston Bay that comes up to Houston. Eventually the effluent makes its way out to the Gulf of Mexico. But before it does, it makes a lot of sailboat enthusiasts happy and makes it possible for large ships to come into Houston.

So much for all the commerce and geography. I just thought it was an interesting shot.

-steve buser

Friday, December 28, 2007

Shared existence






















 

The single stalk of grass owes its existence to the weathered fence behind it. Snuggled close to the aging boards, the grass is inaccessible to lawnmowers chomping by. So what can it give back to the fence? It's too small to offer much shade from the weathering of the sun or the the pounding rains. Just companionship, that is all it can offer. They live separate existence. Neither aware that their fates are intertwined.


-- steve buser

Monday, December 24, 2007

Sunset jet stream

The last rays of the sun capture this high flying streaker. Standing on the ground, it was obvious that the plain was zooming across the sky. The camera, lens however, looses track of up, down -- a sort of vertigo, loosing track of the horizon. The effect makes it look like a comet striking down.

In a sense, it's a kind of metaphor for life. Loose track of what's terra firma in your life and things that are just streaking by you seemed to be crashing down on you.

--steve buser

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Bird watching

This critter is one of the regulars at the Trinity River Mouth Waterbird Rookery on the east side of the I-10 bridge over the Trinity River. The Rookery has a parking area and a overlook pier that makes a favorite spot for bird watchin. Bring binoculars -- the view is incredible but the action is often on the other side of the lake. Look for Anhingas, White Ibis, Little Blue Herons, and Roseate Spoonbills in this area. It is incredible that a site such as this is available just off the I-10.

So what's this guy doing there? Well, birds sometime slip from the trees.

Boy in a bubble

Another shot from the Downtown Aquarium in Houston. Our grandson, Sullivan, gets a fish-eyed view into a tank filled with sting rays.

--steve buser

Friday, December 21, 2007

It's Christmas time in the village

The Christmas Village, where time stands still. Peace and warm lights. Snow, for sure, but not the messy kind. No traffic. No snarling faces. No fences. No jails. No crime. No run down buildings -- they're all ideal, architecturally perfect.


I was just preoccupying myself for a few moments at my daughter Vicky's house and started shooting pictures of the Christmas Village on her counter.


The Village has been reinforced over and over in our mind from young ages. It lays deep in our psyche. For one moment in time --- a week, a fortnight, a day, a morning -- we drop our defenses, our bickering, our jostling and enjoy the peace of the season with one another.


It's Christmas time in the Village. May yours be Merry and Bright.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Fog focused

A walk along the waterfront in Victoria on Vancouver Island. The fog doesn't let distractions sneak in. You're fully in the moment. Strolling. Sharing the moment with friends. Even the cold seems more of a friend than an enemy. The water is only making soft rippling sounds. The birds are quiet. "Why sing when you don't know what lurks?" they think.


The quiet stillness of fog. One could say the focus of fog.




--steve buser

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Ferried away

One of life's simple pleasures -- the ferry boat ride. The water and the waves. The passing ships. The eager seagulls. The sea breezes. Kids of all ages love it And why not. Fifteen minutes off from the regular world into a world which we share with explorers of yore. This is the ferry from the Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island, Texas.


--steve buser

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WhatChaGot?

Expecting some good eats, the sea gulls zoom in on a lad just wanting to see the ducks down in the water at Kemah, Texas. The Kemah Boardwalk had a bird feed vending machine just behind the rail here, so the gulls knew what the rules are and what to expect. They zoomed in and took a very close look over and over, wondering "what's wrong with this guy?"


--steve buser

Monday, December 17, 2007

Not with a whimper but a bang


And thus it end, not with a whimper, but with a bang. After the jousting match, while the band plays Renaissance songs, the fireworks explode above. The Texas Renaissance Festival closes for another night. The fall festival outside of Houston is an annual attraction for thousands
--steve buser

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Spindled sunset

Your guess is as good as mine what the four poles are doing out in the middle of Keith Lake. The lake is one of a handful of shallow lakes just to the north and west of Sabine Pass, Texas. The sun was doing one of its high value shows and so I pulled over to capture it. The black band on the horizon was a front passing through. The sun had to skip over it to find clouds to paint. Thus the sunset colors only start in the middle of the lake.


-- steve buser

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Gator baiting

This guy came swimming up to our boat on a swamp tour in Orange, Texas a couple years ago. I think he was hoping one of us would hop overboard. He was about 4 1/2 foot long -- I guess that makes him a teenager or something. Tour guide Eli Tate of Adventure Tours 2000+ had a great command of the ways of the river and bayous and where to find these wild creatures.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Galloping water steeds

The Aquarium in downtown Houston is the home for these two gallopers. The Sea Horse tank is at kids' eye level, so you will always see little faces pushed against the glass is wonder.


-- steve buser

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Late gate wait

You've been there. The plane waits at the gate for clearance. You wait for the plane to board. The sun doesn't wait. When it's tired it slips below the horizon. It will be a dark flight through the night back home. And then a dark drive to your house.


Travel. The destination and the journey are not the same -- that is never more clear than when you are suspended in twilight time.


--steve buser

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Jumble, bumble fun

Okay. Here's the scenario. You take a large tube and spin it and then tell a bunch a kids to walk through to the other side. I suppose the idea is to give them a sense of what their clothes go through in the dryer. Anyway, it turn instantly into a jumble of arms and legs and body parts that come flying through.

The scene is a fair in the parking lot of the mall in College Station, Texas.

--steve buser

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Driving down the sun

It's getting late. The sun is sliding from the sky. The road is getting longer. You're out over the Atchafalaya basin -- the 25+ miles of bridge with virtually nowhere to get off. Up ahead the bridge at Whiskey Bay rises straight into the sun... what's left of the sun.

It's going to be a long drive through the night.

--steve buser

Monday, December 10, 2007

What's missing is the message

It's just half the mountain it was when I was a kid -- and that's what's so fascinating about it. Unless you're a member of the X-generation or Y-generation, you remember how it lost half of the mountain in a huge explosion in 1980 -- the most significant event in recorded history (this link has a fascinating tale of the event). In the foreground, the two travelers do what people do every day -- stop to take a shot to remember it by.


Here's a full view inside the crater. You can click in the image and move side to side to spin around 360.


The drive up to the mountain is a wonderful history and biology lesson in itself. If you haven't already done so, put it on you life's list to make the visit to Mt. St. Helens.


--steve buser