Odd Shot? -- Kitty In a Cast

She wasn't happy about it and, as you can see, worked diligently to get it off!! She finally succeeded, but luckily it was the day that the veterinarian was supposed to remove it anyway!
I apologize for the poor quality...sometimes the closest camera at hand is just your cell phone!

More Odd Shots at Katney's Kaboodle.

Camera Critters Sunday -- No Eyeore here!

In fact, these guys were very friendly! I spotted them on small rise in the field and was struck by their silhouettes against the beautiful, almost spring-like sky. But when I stopped the car, they quickly came right to the fence to say Hello! Too bad I had nothing to offer but an opportunity to be seen around the world by Camera Critter fans! Click the CC Logo above for more entries today!

One more frosty photo?

We actually have had beautiful weather the last couple of days....in the 70's. This is another shot from our frosty morning last week. I just like it! I don't think of our winter landscapes around here being colorful, but this one almost was!

Paths and Passageways -- Late entry!

I didn't get back from my "hiatus" in time to sign up for this month's Theme Day, but thought I'd throw out an unofficial entry anyway!

Taken from a highway bridge, I'm shooting the Trinity River, an old railroad bridge, and power transmission lines!

Whatcha' been doin'?

Since all of my many fans (you 3 know who you are!) have commented on my little hiatus, I thought I'd let you see what I've been doing. The interior work is now going on and we're hoping to be in by Easter week! Good thing CDP has a limit .... I've probably taken 1000 pictures since we broke ground!

Sky Watch Friday --- peek-a-boo sun

Some of you are laughing .... I know ... but ice is an infrequent experience in this part of Texas. We usually get 1-4 days a year of it! It was tough getting out of my nice warm car in 27 degree weather to take this picture for you, so stop laughing!

More Skywatch here.

P.S. Thanks, Babooshka! Happy Belated Birthday!

Hoary frost?

Sky Watch Friday --- Double your pleasure!

You may need to enlarge this to see what's going on. The bottom half of the photo is the reflection on a glass table top. Click the Sky Watch Friday logo above to watch the sky around the world!

Another scene on it's way out.....

This was taken at the north end of the other bridge that's about to be replaced. The heavy equipment and orange-flagged stakes tell me that this pretty area of rushes will soon be gone, too. The south side has already begun construction. This is between the bridge and the Caney City public boat ramp.

Skywatch Friday -- scene on it's way out....

You may have noticed that I'm fond of shooting over my shoulder in the mornings and evenings as I cross two bridges going to and coming home from work. The sunrise scenes will be changing soon. Both bridges are going to be replaced. In place of the 2-lane bridges, we'll have 4 lanes...I think we'll have two 2-lane bridges at each location. They've already started the end supports of one of them. So, this quiet little scene with the old boat pier will be history soon.......

Click the SkyWatch Friday logo above to see wonderful views of the sky from around the world!

ABC Wednesday -- F is for FISHING, of course!

OK, it's an easy out when you live on a lake! These are all cropped because nobody wanted to share their faces with you! All were taken right here on our dock or very near it. That's NOT me holding the one on the top right, but that's about the size I usually catch! LOL.

Click the ABC logo above to see more participant entries in ABC Wednesday!

Wood Duck Nesting Boxes

Our neighborhood has really gotten into our "Woodies" or Wood Ducks and we have several nesting boxes scattered around our cove. Some sources would say we have too many too close together. But the Woodies aren't reading those sources! This is a design enhanced by our own local Duck Lady. The first shows the hand carved male Woodie (not bad for an amateur carver!), the second shows the Plexiglas shield that holds the nest in the box while we sneak a peek occasionally (it can be lifted in it's slot for cleaning out an old nest) and the third shows it mounted over at Buster's house. It's been a very successful lake home!

What you can't see is the hardware cloth installed below the opening on the front. The babies use it to pull themselves up and out of the box when mama calls (within 24 hours of birth). They must fall at least 5 feet to get their little digestive systems started! It's amazing..they hit the water running to mama! See my sidebar link to Michelle's Rambling Woods, too. She just ran a beautiful series of photos of Wood Ducks with a great story!

Camera Critters Sunday -- get those skeeters!

I'm not really sure what this is, but someone said it was a "mosquito hawk". If that means it eats mosquitoes (or "skeeters" as some call them around here), then I'm all for it!
Click the CC logo above to see more Camera Critters from around the world today!

Sky Watch Friday -- Here I go again!

If you come around my blogs much, you know I'm a sucker for round hay bales and sunflowers! This was taken just south of Athens, Texas (our county seat). Click the SWF logo above for more views of this wonderful sky we share!

Odd Shot Monday: What's slithering down my walk?

My neighbor has been talking about seeing a black snake with a stripe down it's side just across the chainlink fence from our yard. Hmmmmm.

Click the logo above for more Odd Shots this Monday!

Camera Critter Catching Dinner

This fella has been wading around our cove for the last few days snatching minnows. Not sure if that's a delicacy or why he's hanging around here more often since the water got so shallow. They're certainly easier to swallow than some of the fish I've seen these guys catch!
Click on the logo above to see more Camera Critters from around the world.....

Photo Hunt: Colorful -- to color or not to color?

When I saw today's theme for TnChick's Saturday Photo Hunt I started trying to find something that fits my blog AND her theme and this is what I came up with. I was goofing off a few weeks ago and took the same shot in vivid color and in sepia. Then I got the idea of cutting and pasting them together. At the time, it was just a goofy idea. Today suddenly it almost makes sense! LOL. Click on TnChick link above to see more Colorful entries.....probably LOTS more creative!

Sky Watch Friday -- Not photogenic but beautiful!

I usually go for the glorious sunrises or sunsets, or the big fluffy white clouds, or the really ominous storm clouds. But today I'm over-joyed to bring just plain old rain clouds! This was taken about 7:30am ... still dark because WE'RE GETTING RAIN! I know that doesn't sound thrilling to many of you who have had way too much this year. But our lake is down 1.4 feet and we need the rain. This won't fill the lake but it will help...and it will certainly help our yards, which also helps the lake. Many water-front property owners have pumps that pump lake water to their sprinkler systems. So curl up in your favorite chair with a good book and enjoy the gentle rain with me! And imagine my sweet Corgi curled up under my chair because he hates the thunder!
For those glorious sunrises and sunsets and big fluffy clouds, click the SkyWatch Friday logo! I know I will!

How do you do that?

Ever wonder what it takes to build or repair a boathouse? Oh come on, SURE you did. Well, here's how they get the heavy equipment to the site. It's sometimes a long, slow journey. This morning I kept hearing something that sounded like heavy equipment and at first thought (hopefully) that they were working on our road. But when I looked out the other side of the house, this is what I found! These shots were taken from my deck looking over to Buster's boathouse.

Guest Lake today!

I'm out on the road again and digging through the few photos I have on a USB drive I had in my pocket! I took this at Lake Nasworthy on the outskirts of San Angelo, Texas a couple of months ago.