Final images from Houston…for now…

I was going through my images from Houston and found a few more birds that I could have included in the two previous posts.  With those, I decided to also add some of our personal photos from our last evening there.   Shannon and Scott decided that on Saturday night they would fix a fire in the pit, and with the children, we would roast ‘s’mores’.   This all took place right next to their creek.

Eastern Phoebe in early morning light.

Ann and me on creek bank. Ann crocheting, me shooting with my Beast.  Photo courtesy of Shannon.

Spotted Sandpiper on log in creek.

Shannon raking leaves around the picnic area, getting ready for the s’more roast.

White Ibises feeding in nearby creek.

Scott, Shannon’s hunk husband getting the firepit ready.

Shannon’s mother, Jane, was also in attendance but I didn’t get any photos of her or the children.  I am sorry about that, but at that time I hadn’t anticipated that I would be putting them in a blog.

During our stay we saw two life birds, a Pileated Woodpecker and a White-tailed Hawk.  No photographs of either, not quick enough on the shutter.  Click on any image to see enlargements.

Avian Wings over Houston

Last week Ann and I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting some dear friends in the Houston, Texas area.  Shannon and her family showed us some east Texas hospitality at their home.  They actually have a small creek that crosses their land that was full of birds, large and small.  So, needless to say, we had no really desire to go anywhere else to do any birding.  Perhaps on our next visit we may expand out to some other sites.  But they had enough to keep us busy.  White Ibises roamed the place, as did various herons and egrets.  We saw a total of 40 different species, during the trip, which included a short visit on our way, at the blinds at Pedernales State Park near Fredricksberg.

Today I will feature some images of a Tri-colored Heron.  This photo was taken from Shannon’s back yard.  What nice views to have from there.

Tri-colored Heron showing off his beautiful plumage.

Shannon is a decent photographer herself, and she was dying to try my 500mm lens.  So I assisted her with setting her up with the tripod and she came up with the following photographs.

Tri-colored Heron

Tri-colored Heron

I would say that she is doing very well.  I needed to pry that lens out of her little fingers before we left to come home.

My next post will have some more photos from this delightful trip.  Click on any image to see some enlargements.  To see my entire blog on your computer, go to this on this link: https://bobzeller.wordpress.com.

From the heart, and other mushy stuff…….

I am 78 years old.  I still consider myself to be in pretty darned good shape.  I still have most everything that I was born with, minus a gall bladder and a tooth or two.  I have some hair that is greying at the temples.  My wife says that I only have hair at my temples.  I guess she is refering to my rather large part in the middle.

I have been married to my dearest friend and wife, Ann for nearly 55 years.  It is funny that people, including me, don’t start appreciating the obvious things around them until it gets nearly too late.  We have had our ups and downs like any married couple.  Minor spats, nothing ever serious.  I have been faithful, but not to say that I haven’t had temptations placed before me.  You can’t be a wild sax player like I was, and not have a few teeny-boppers chase you around.  But nevertheless, she has stood by me and I love her more as each day goes by.

I was talking to my dearest (next to my wife) friend, Shannon, in Houston yesterday.  My conversation with her was the inspiration for this post.  I mentioned that I think everything happens for a reason.  When certain people come into your life there is a reason for it.  She is one of those people, and we met last year near the time I was hospitalized.  While in the hospital, she kept a continual on-line conversation going with me, while trying to take care of her own family of a husband and four children.  Ann and I have become great friends with her and of her family.  We are in contact with them almost daily and it has lightened our lives immensely.  I truly believe that Ann and I have been much closer since that time, as those three hospital stays opened our eyes that the years are passing.

I don’t know why I picked today, Memorial Day, to write this post.  It just happened to be fitting.  As I said everything happens for a reason.  And today, I am thankful for everything and everyone around me.  I knew what I wanted to write about, after my conversation with Shannon yesterday.  I just didn’t know how or when I was going to do it.  But wanting to write while the thoughts were fresh on my mind, I decided to get after it this morning.

So I am sorry there are no pictures today.  By the way, I am happy with being 78.  I like the sound of it, and maybe I’ll just keep it.  So far it has kept me from visiting the local senior center.  That is where all the old people hang out.

Now that I have written all of this mushy stuff, I am going to count to ten, then decide if I want to publish it.

Oh, hell, I only got to seven.  Darn right, I am going to publish it. 🙂