Hot air balloons make the Moon Glow

A hot air balloon pilot release sa flare of fire into his eagle-shaped hot-air craft at the festival yesterday in Gonzales, LA.   We were there for the Moon Glow -- a show put on by several dozen of the big heat bags.   Quite a show.  Check out my post on New Orleans Daily Photo for another peak at the fun.

Heron "hand" stand

I don't know what the one-legged stand is all about. Perhaps this tri-colored heron is just practicing gymnastics with a goal of a run at the Featherlympics?

Fantasies of Chuckie Cheese's

Our granddaughter, Sophie, slowly releases her Nanny's hand as she heads off into a world of dreams and fantasy at Chuckie Cheese's. It's a world that they love to travel to.

Caterpillar strikes fear in his crawl

This prickly little caterpillar can put a whole can of hurt on you with his minute stingers.   I have a close up below.  I learned the hard way to stay plenty far away from these guys.

Born digital means not having to ask how to plug in

The Millenials, including our grandson, Slade, are born digital.  They instinctively know how to use technology.  Slade, for example, who in this picture is 11 months old, doesn't need any instructions on how to use a computer.  It has a seat, and a back -- climb on, sit down and get plugged in.

Tongue is bird's best tool

A sparrow performs magic with his tongue. After cracking a seed with his beak he uses his tongue to flit out the shell an preserve the tasty germ of the seed.

Food fights at the bird feeder are serious

I told you, stay away from my side of the bird feeder, you thief.  The attacking sparrow, lets the snacker know he is serious by putting his claws on him.

Never had the swing of it

I never was much good swinging on those handles.  When I see kids doing this with such deft and ease, I get jealous.   Not jealous enough, mind you, to want to jump on one of these playground contraptions and risk wounding my body and pride.

Don't jump!

Who do you suppose would have jumped the farest if the glass had not been there?  I suppose the iguana and our grandchild Sophie, would have both set a world record. Right there in downtown Houston at the Aquarium.

Hummingbird -- That's a lot of nectar, by golly.

This is something new for the Hummingbirds that have been hanging around our backyard.  This guy stands on top of the plastic petals and stares at the nectar reservoir.  It's like he's planning how long it will take him to drink it all.

The rest of them will take their drink and then fly away or fly up to the top to play King on the Hummingbird Feeder -- chasing after any rival that comes near it -- including, one time, giving me a ear-popping buzzing as I was walking past.

Fountains whet appetite for concert

Sometime back, we were at a concert in the courtyard by the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, LA.   I don't know if this is a common occurrence, but many of the kids were splashing in the ponds and fountains.  It was great relieve from the heat, I am sure.  This young man took it up a notch, lying in the water and leaning over the waterfall.  It was not long, though, before dozens were as immersed in the water as the adults were immersed in the music.

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Sunny Serenity of Selected Seats.

Looking out from a baptismal font in a church into which we wandered in Washington D.C.  The sun had found a trio of windows it could blaze through and was adding real ambience to the scene.   It's nice to have a production assistant like that when your shooting photos.

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Ferris Wheel wait

These two are waiting to go soaring at the Aquarium in Houston.  Big Ferris Wheels always get my stomach quesy.--steve buser

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Smiley Gators

Well, snap my finger!  

It looked like a chorus line of Alligator mississippiensis.  They sat staring out at the crowds from their French Quarter shop perch.  They seemed almost to be saying "Come on, snap me up."
Okay, it was a bad joke, but I tried didn't I?
-steve buser

Aligators, New Orleans, French Quarter

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Duck -- the water is your world.

When you live in it, swim in it, and eat from it, even a little extra murkiness in the water can't stop you from appreciating its vitalizing power.  Yeah, that's refreshing.
--steve buser

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Nightfall hush

Nightfall out in the backyard.  Calm, quiet, still. As if the night had sucked the sound as well as the sun from the horizon.
-steve buser

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Black-Crowned Night Heron

I go all over the place trying to find these birds, then I walk out my door a few months back to find one is there in the ditch.   This is a Black-Crowned Night Heron.
--steve buser

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Rules of the road: buffalo rule the road.

Don't get out of your car to get close to wildlife near a road, the park rangers tell you at Yellowstone Park where this was taken.  Still, people do it all the time. The buffalo looks calm and peacefule moving across the road, but apparently they can get riled easily.  If they do get riled,  they can put up such a tantrum that a car can be the loser.

--steve buser

Yellowstone National Park, buffalo

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Giraffe ballet anyone?

A little giraffe ballet anyone?   These giraffes were just checking me out -- trying to guess if I was going to feed them or something.  I was standing about eight feet back from the fence at Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, LA. Nonetheless, the attendant wandered over and suggested that giraffes have a longer reach than that, should they decide to lean across.   I had no problem moving back.
--steve buser

Giraffes, Louisiana

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Giraffe, eye-to-eye.

Seeing wildlife is an up close and personal thing at the Global Wildlife Center near Folsom, LA,  north of New Orleans.  The animals come up to the wagon train to eat from the visitors' food cups.

--steve buser

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Crystal flowers from Yellowstone

I love these lovely crystalline structures that grow in the pools of geysers at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.   Unless I am mistaken, that is a quarter that someone dropped (hopefully accidentally) on the "flower" -- it gives a sense of the dimension.
--steve buser

Yellowstone National Park

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