Washington Monument at the edge

Our son, Charlie, and my wife, Linda, check out the map of Washington D.C. in the portico of the Washington Monument during a recent trip there.
-steve buser

Washington D.C., Washington Monument

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Black-capped Chickadee

I had to shoot between the legs of a railing to catch a shot of this Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) eating on some tender shoots of a branch in Yellowstone National Park this summer.
I think the railing provided just enough cover to keep my friend here unfrightened by me.
--steve buser

Black-capped Chickadee

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Blowing off steam

Will the geyser blow soon?  If you know the ways of this beast, you can probably guess the time it will blow within a couple hours.  A Yellowstone National Park ranger would come out to the site periodically to check the signs and give her prediction. 

When the geyser blows, it really puts on a visual and sound phantasmagoria.
--steve buser

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

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A Peek at the Peak Peak

At the top of the photo is the peak of the Grand Teton.  The photo is from our trip to Yellowstone earlier this month.   We were climbing to Inspiration Point on the far side of Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons National Park.
--steve buser

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

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Do not spindle.

How willing would you be to assume that the cloud shape overhead was just an accidental formation as the clouds swirled around?

I walked outside and saw this one day back in November.  I then ran into the house, grabbed my camera and started shooting.  I'm still perplexed by what it was all about.  Despite what you see, it didn't seem to be spinning rapidly.  At least it wasn't spinning any more rapidly that anything else in the sky which look more like a ocean full of splashing clouds that a sky.

This is a SkyWatch Friday post.  Hundreds of other bloggers post sky-based photos each Friday
Go and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!

--steve buser

clouds, weather, swirling.

Rolling during the marathon

While the older people were running the Houston Marathon Sunday, a fewof the kids took to the hill in from of the George R. Brown center to enjoy the art of rolling down the hill

--steve buser

Houston Marathon, kids, sports, Houston, Texas

Looking down on Atlanta

A shot out my hotel window in downtown Altanta,GA from a trip there a few years ago.

--steve buser

Home away from home

a 

Stairs lead to the second floor of a home and then to a deck on the third floor.

The home itself was last seen shortly before Hurricane Ike slammed ashore on the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas.

In the foreground, not even the pilings remain of a home that was washed away. On the other hand, the slab is still there for the parking area under the house. Many homes even had the slabs washed away on the finger of land facing the Gulf just southeast of Houston.

In the background, two homes remain standing, though most homes on the island that withstood the fury of the massive 400-mile-wide beast still have to be gutted to return them to a livable condition.

--steve buser

Lost and found, but not fixed

While driving on the Bolivar Peninsula a few days ago, we came across this collection of found items.

There was a man wandering around, and I assumed it was his work. All around stood sticks where houses and been -- gutless houses with nothing below them -- and every kind of destruction you can imagine.

It has been more than 90 days since Hurricane Ike unleased its destructive force on the defenseless finger of land.   Still little has been done to restore the island to life. Building codes, financing, real estate laws, insurance, FEMA assistance, flood elevations, work to restore utilities, roads, dunes -- it is all in a snarled mess.

So, this man does what he can. He places things he finds in this pile, hoping that someone will recognize something that was theirs. Maybe it will restore a little, though very little, order to their life.

Behind his foundlings laid out on the driveway is a gaping hole where homeowners used to park their cars on a slab beneath the house. The slab is cracked into pieces, some in the hole, some missing.

Meanwhile, on a internet forum board for the peninsula, volunteers saying they are working to get donated ladders so that people can enter their houses and see what is left.


--steve buser

Technorati Tags: Hurricane Ike, disasters, hurricane recovery, Texas, Bolivar Peninsula

Peek morning

The early morning sun peeks through a glen in west Houston.

--steve buser

Technorati Tags: Sunrise, Houston, leaves, bright, trees

Shine On.... you

May the Star of Bethlem shine your way this Christmas.


--steve buser

Blind kiss

Our grandkids came to visit a while back and their friend, Jenna Anderson, took them to see her FFA project -- Randy the goat.   Sophie gets in close for a kiss.   Do you close your eyes when you kiss a goat?

--steve buserTechnorati Tags: kids, children, goats, animals, kiss, FFA

Blanketed with Christmas spirit

The weathermen and weather ladies said Beaumont received three inches of snow this week. Maybe at the weather station it did. There were lots of places that clearly got five to six inches.

Let us not quible over inches. It was a rare event, in terms of  1) it snowed at all  2) how much it snowed   3) that it snowed so early

It, put me in the Christmas spirit, though.

Oh, see the green in the foreground, by they red curb. That is a helium balloon that lost its spartanic battle of trying to stretch to the heavens. I suspect it sucumbed to the cold before it sucumbed to the snow. The shot is at the Preserve on Old Dowlen Road. ( I left this picture pretty big, so double click it to get a good blast of snow in your face.)

--steve buser

Flag still wave into the sunset.

 
Flags in the sunset from a couple years ago at a church in Beaumont Texas.  You can tell the flags had quite a whipping in the wind.

One thing about flags,  they may get a bit frayed, but their message just intensifies.
--steve buser

The unbelievable adventures of Dr. Jones.

We ran into Indiana Jones at the mall in College Station. TX, this weekend. (Actually, he prefers to be called Dr. Jones, if you please.).

From the look on our grandson's face (I mean Dr. Jones' face) you can tell he was letting his imagination and his energy run wild in the play area. He has the whole garb -- the whip, the hat, the khakis, the Crocs (Dr. Jones does wear Crocs doesn't he?) and the case (do not call it a purse, handbag, satchel or anything like that, if you don't want to feel the crack of a deadly whip!).

This is his daily garb now. You are probably thinking that he got this as a Halloween costume. Actually, he got it before Halloween and began the daily drama immediately. When his mother went to ask him "Do you want to dress up as Indiana Jones for Halloween?" he was quick with the retort. "Mom, I AM Indiana Jones. You can't dress up for Halloween as someone you are!"

YOU probably would've known better thnt to ask that silly question. Wouldn't you? Never mind, I know you better than that.

My daughter is wondering where he got this drama streak. I was not brave enough to tell her that when she was just a little older than he is, she decided she was going to be the first kid astronaut. I decided I needed to "manage her expectations" in the parlance of today. I said very politely, "You know, Vicky, they don't have any kid astronauts."

She didn't miss a beat -- she popped a pose, arms akimbo and head bent in that "I can't believe what my dumb dad just said" way.

"Of course not, " she said "If they did, I couldn't be the first one."

Drama, it seems, runs in the family.

--steve buser

The lazy days of summer's shadow

It was a lazy day at the Houston Zoo this past weekend when we were there. It wasn't all that hot, which brought lots of people (we had the very last parking spot, furthermost from the entrance.). ;

The animals were languid. There didn't seem to be any snap in anybody's pace, on both sides of the fence.

Just a lazy semi-summer afternoon.

The brown pelican above and his (her?) mate barely moved unitl the fish were brought out for their meal. After eating, they took a short swim on the pond. Don't ask me what that was about -- don't you always take a swim after you eat? You don't? 


 Go figure.      --steve buser

Eye zoo

This is the American Bald Eagle at the Houston Zoo. We took our grandchildren there recently to see the elephants. This guy didn' get a glance. Giraffes were the surprise favorite.


--steve buser

Ocean sand slide

 
The water slides up and along the beach at Perdido Key in Florida. While a couple figures splash along.


--steve buser

Steamy D.C. sunrise

 
This was the steely-blue scene in Washington D.C. recently when we travelled to see our son in a triathlon. The sun was still yawning and jets flying in over head were leaving vapor trails behind them as the snaked along the river into the Ronald Reagan National Airport nearby.


The summer humidity was already wrapping us up even in the early D.C. hours.

Can I have a bite?

 
This is one of the gators at the Louisiana Gas and Oil Museum in Jennings, LA, where I stopped off the Interstate the other day. If I remember right, he is about 14 years old. It's a fun stop for kids and the whole family. The visitors center there is a great place to stop and learn more about the region and these guys.


This gator has just one question for you. "Can I have bite?" Fortunately, he can't get to you.


--steve buser

Come on, let me see you wash a tail feather

Bath time. Save these pictures for the next time the kids complain. Even ducks like to take baths. This fellow was ruffling his feathers at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings the other day. Several good long splashings later, he was ready to retire to the shade, straighten out his feathers and pick off the stuff that had come out.




Abraham Lincoln on this bird blog, Sunday, had a great little write up about this routine and more.

Stare-down -- Great Egret and Comorant

 
A Great Egret and a Comorant seem to be having a stare-down on the small lake at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings, Louisiana. The Egret flew off when he noticed me. A few minutes later the Comorant's partner swam up to it as if to plead with it to make a quick escape, also.


The I-10 park, which is midway between Baton Rouge and Lake Charles, is a great place to pull over for a break and a little scenery


--steve buser

Washington Monument -- early up

This is the Washington Monument in Washington D.C in an early-morning, before-sunrise shot.
We were up early to make it down by the Tidal Pool for my son, Charlie, who was racing in the Nation's Triathlon.


-- steve buser

Wind and water skimming

A Great Egret (Ardea alba) skims gracefully away over the water to find a better feeding spot. This is at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park in Jennings where I stopped the other day for a break from my I-10 travels. Never one to miss a good shot, even on a bathroom break, I had to hold nature back while I ran back to the car to get my camera. Map

Buddy, can you spare a meal?

 
I looked down and this Ring-Billed Gull was standing right beside me. Maybe he was just trying to get a hand-out, but he stood still long enough for me to get his picture. Then he had a enough and took flight.


This was on the Nation's Mall in Washington, D.C.


-- steve buser

Jefferson Memorial

 
The Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. is a good ways away from the other monuments.  The lazy walk around the tide pool to get there is well worth the effort. When we got to the Memorial on our recent trip to the nation's Capitol, I had one of those aha! moments. Why did they build with columns so much in ancient public buildings? It allowed access, free flow of air and light -- I suppose a closed in building in historic times could be a pretty dark and steamy place.


- steve buser

Gustav's angry seas, frothing sky

 
Who would have ever thought that if you went more than 200 miles from where a hurricane hit, you would be lashed with tropical storm force winds. Angry seas and frothing skies threatened us for two days in Perdido Key, Florida, where we evacuated from Hurricane Gustav. Gustav, for his part,  was zooming toward New Orleans at the end of August.


--steve buser

Aragonite, the unstable sister

 
No idea.

I had absolutely no idea there were so many varieties of gems and minerals in the world. We were touring the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. and wandered into the gem and mineral display. I could have spent days in there. But, had to settle on a half hour. Gleaming, beaming, shining, waxing, and every other thing a mineral can do, they were there.


This is a specimen of Aragonite, a strange, and weaker sister of plain calcite.


-- steve buser

Starling -- the beautiful pest (Sturnus vulgaris)

 
They're mostly considered a pest. Nonetheless, the they have striking markings. This European Starling came right up to the table as we sat the National Mall, in Washington, D.C. this weekend.


We were just drinking lemonade at the outdoor stand, but across the patio, the couple was enjoying a hamburger and french fries. Suddenly, a Starling swooped in and stole one of the fries from the woman's basket as she held it. Needless to say, she was nonplussed by the theft.


The birds were artificially introduced into the U.S. from Europe.


-- steve buser

Hurricane Gustav gone, getting back to normal

 
An elderly lady gets escorted on to a evacuation bus last week by a photographer, while a National Guardsman helps with her pet. The thousands who took advantage of the city-provided evacuation by bus and train are now returning home. New Orleans and the region are fighting their way back to normalcy.


Electric companies are reporting that this weekend will be a point by which vast numbers of customers will have had their electricity restored. In this storm, damage to electric infrastructure is the biggest impediment to getting things back to normal and getting people back home.


The state still fights damage and weather worries to the south of New Orleans and up in the northern part of the state. Gustav still is messing up daily life for the folks up Michigan way.


I think many people across the country fail to realize that hurricanes are a threat both to the shore line of the Gulf Coast and Atlantic states, but also to interior states when they unwind and spill the billions of tons of water they have stored and continue to suck from the Gulf.


- steve buser

Wading out Hurricane Gustav

 
A young man ventures only into the shallow waters, aware of a storm heading into land far to the west. The Perdido Key area in Florida was pounded with heavy winds and violent surf from Hurricane Gustav, but escaped the problems faced in Louisiana where the tropical system wreaked destruction.


-- steve buser

Hunkering Down from Hurricane Gustav

 
It was a time for hunkering down Sunday as Hurricane Gustav roared toward Louisiana and made the Perdido Key area in Florida an express lane for winds and rain showers rushing in from the Gulf. Even animals which were used to the elements were having a hard time of things. This bird was finding some shelter from the wind behind the log. It appeared to have an injury of some sort, no doubt from the almost unrelenting gales.


-- steve buser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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