Time to Head South

This is one of the great sights of October. These geese were in a flock that was five to six times what you can see here I am guessing. Maybe 150 birds. Cody said they were blues when they flew over but on blowing up the picture, the chest looks light with black markings to me. The head seems too dark for a blue goose. I think they are the white-fronted goose, Chen caerulescens. I am ready to be corrected though.

Waterlily

Some day I would like to have my own pond. Waterlilies have to be among the most spectacular flowers and of course some fish would be nice. It is a lot of maintenance though. If nothing else, it would be nice to be near a park where you can see them.

Honey Bee

Here is a bee in the bottle brush in front of the house in Houston. I have decided that bees can be hard to photograph. They move a lot, the wind blows the flowers they are on, and they are kind of small. They are busy little critters...

Texas Renaissance Festival

Why is it at times we have trouble thinking of something interesting to do, something to photograph, something to write about? Can a rerun of a hospital drama or the latest reality show on television really be the most interesting thing available day after day? I know there are lots of interesting things if I can just get myself going...

Anyway, We have not been to the Renaissance Festival in quite a few years - at least 10. It is the same crazy place with food, drink, and people having fun in wild costumes. This is the best costume I caught on my camera. I think you would have to be pretty sure of yourself to wear this costume and pull it off.

If you have the figure and a sword to go with it, may I suggest Xena, Warrior Princess? I kept looking for her but never saw her. There were these two elfin fairies that were pretty good. I thought the best male costume was a centaur...

Head of a Pin

I bought a new camera lens for taking pictures of small animals and things outdoors. So far, I haven't been able to use it outside because it has been dark when I get home. But here is an example of what it can do.

The picture on the left is a snapshot of me holding a straight pin with a glass head. Click on it so you can see it up close. The picture on the right is a close-up of the head of the pin. Cool... Think of how great bug eyes are going to look with this lens....

Zipper Spider

I took this picture a while back but it is getting close to Halloween so I thought I'd post it. This fellow lives in Round Top, Texas and is pretty spooky if you are a small insect flying around.

Kingwood Butterfly

It is true that I have been taking a lot of wildlife pictures lately. My new camera is better suited to it and pictures of furry critters and things that fly are usually interesting. They are all around us, even in the city...

Back in Texas

Here is the little bluebird of happiness being patriotic on a barbed wire fence near Round Top, Texas.

Kookaburra

I like kookaburras. They are handsome, quick to adapt to people, and have lots of character. They can sound like excited monkeys. They remind me of my kids.

This picture was taken in the Glass House Mountains not too far north of Brisbane.