Posts tagged ‘desert’
Photos on the journey #454
A Tree in the Desert
A tree in the desert thirsts for water
A tree in the desert gets too much sun
A tree in the desert is alone in the freezing night
A tree in the desert might never be seen
A tree in the desert might never be touched
A tree in the desert may or may not thrive
A tree in the desert struggles to stay alive
Photos on the journey #387
I have been reading a lot of blogs reminding me of all the things that each of us has to be thankful for.
And so, I ask, what is it that are you are blessed with this Thanksgiving?
One of the truest reminders I have is God’s hand painting another sky for my pleasure. Okay let’s go around the table.††††
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL†††en theos…..jim
***credit to my wife Susan for making this image of me, I am also thankful for all of her love, work & patience with me….peace out
Photo of Da Day @ Da Pine #369
On Wednesday of this week, we had just finished photographing our local high school cross country team. We battled cancellation because of the threat of rain and distant lighting, but persevered. As I turned to start loading up the gear I was meet with this awesome West Tex thunderhead topped off with the Waxing gibbous moon rising above the storm. This was followed with two days of rainfall, a needed respite to the dry high desert. Hoping for the sun to reappear today.
I am always trying to bring things that are far away closer, make small things bigger. This seemed to put me in my proper place. Be happy with the perspective of the view right from where you are on your journey…………..nada te turbe………jim
Photo of Da Day @ Da Pine #368
I was scouting a locale for our local Cross Country team when I came across a tank filled with water this afternoon. I don’t get a lot of water images out in west TX, and this one took my breath away.
George Harrison’s mournful lyrics from “All things must pass” rebounded off the water and into the sky. Good & bad, it all does pass.
“Sunrise doesn’t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn’t last all day
Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning
It’s not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Sunset doesn’t last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this, my love is up and must be leaving
It’s not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
None of life’s strings can last
So, I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays the night-time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good at arriving at the right time
It’s not always going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
All things must pass away”….George Harrison, the quiet one.
It all does pass while on your journey, enjoy it or shed tears while it’s still fresh††††††nada te turbe†††††††††††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #322
RAIN BUGS !!!
We got a nice gully washing rain yesterday. We found this small (1/4 inch) “rain bug” on our morning walk. I used to see them quite often, well as often as we have rain in West Texas. They are also know as Red Velvet mites, Santa Claus Bugs. My granddad called them “resurrection bugs” as he claimed they could lie dormant in the ground for years during droughts. I found no substantiation for Papa Jim’s story, but I would have a hard time not believing an old West TX Caballero. Also, I would be quick to dispel the rumor that they are used to make the red in red velet cake, NOT TRUE.
Hailing from the family Trombidiidae, there is actually very little known about these creatures – Liam Heneghan, an ecosystem ecologist from DePaul University called them an ‘under-researched enigma’. He did explain that they are chelicerates, making them closely related to spiders and scorpions, and told of their fascinating mating ‘dance’, where the male lays down sperm along a branch and then crafts a silken trail to entice females to come and sit down on his sperm. He also hinted that their bright red color is a warning that the mites have a terrible taste – he said that he’s placed them on anthills and observed no ants moving in for what would seem like an easy meal.
It’s known that the red velvet mites somehow play a supposedly vital role in the decomposition process. But the details of that role are still missing.
Keep finding His magic & mystery on your journey††††††nada te turbe††††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #316
Growing up in West TX, these were as common as pick-up trucks and oil wells. We called them “Horny Toads”. Texas Christian University has them as their mascot and call them “Horned Frogs”. Neither name is technically correct, they are properly called Horned Lizards and they also serve as the official Texas State reptile.
In 1967, the Texas legislature passed laws prohibiting collection, exportation, and sale of Phrynosoma cornutum. Prior to this legislation, tens of thousands of Horned Toads were exported (dead and alive) from Texas every summer by tourists, would-be pet owners, and others, leading to the death of many a horned toad. Today, all Texas Horned Toad populations continue to decline.
In the wild, the main diet of the Texas Horned Toad is about 69 percent harvester ants, with the remainder mostly being a mixture of termites, beetles, grubs, and various insects.
They are fairly tame, slow and easily caught by young boys and old men (obviously, I caught this one this morning). Texas Horned Toads, when alarmed, may puff up and squirt blood out of the corner of the eye as a defense. How could a young boy not be attracted to any thing that might spit blood out it’s eyes. I can still hear my mom yelling the dreaded “JAMES LAWRENCE” when she found one in the pocket of my Billy the Kid jeans as she did her pre-laundry check of my clothes.
May you see at least one Horny Toad on your journey†††††nada te turbe††††††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #305
This lovely blossom is the Datura. It is a bewitching flower. It blooms only once in the evening and shade of the morning. It has an intoxicating smell at night and has a long history and is a native plant to the Suthwest.It is a potent and lovely plant with beautiful flowers but one should be aware that all parts of this plant, especially the seed, might be extremely poisonous. Datura plants possess hallucinogenic properties and it may be fatal if ingested by humans and animals. The active ingredients of Datura are the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. These are classified as deliriants or anticholinergics. This means that datura may induce a medical state of delirium and block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and the peripheral nervous system. Delirium, caused by ingestion of datura plant causes complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy, hyperthermia, abnormal heart beats, changes in behavior and a painful photophobia that may last for a couple of days.Datura is also known as the Devil’s Trumpet. The native names for this plant are based upon the deliriant effects it produces on the nervous system. In Europe, datura was used for witchcraft and the seeds were used to brew beer.Mexicans used it in religious rituals, dried and smoked, to produce the effect of hallucinations. Aztecs used it to manage fevers and cure the pain in the chest. The people of New Spain rubbed a leaf on painful areas to cure spleen diseases. Thanks to Dorthy, who does such a wonderful job of caring and growing the gardens at Blackstone Springs in T or C, NM. It is a visual oasis, and she is a great source of knowledge and peace. It is such a pleasure to watch her work the plants.Learn of the things you pass on your journey††††nada te turbe†††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #304
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #304.
Ah, a fitting close to our trip to Bosque Del Apache. We had a full day with three separate trips through the refuge. We saw pheasants, elk, deer, turkey, butterflies, dragonflies, nurtria, cormorants, heron, egrets, red wing blackbirds and I got to follow a pretty black & yellow snake down a hole. Way cool. We had cool weather this afternoon and a little rain, but the sun set behind the mountains as the Great white herons came to roost.
Also had the absolute best green chile cheeseburger in the world at the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM. Met some nice folks from Belen NM and had the pleasure of sharing their table. Much fun!
Have some fun and share your story on your journey†††nada te turbe†††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #300
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”
We drove past this Texas size dust-devil near Valentine, TX. We had watched several of them whirling across the desert and I finally had to stop and make an image. I got off 4 frames and it was gone, evaporated, dissolved, flew away. Quite magical!
Believe in the magic of nature on your journey†††††††nada te turbe††††jim
Photo of Da day @ Da Pine #291
MISPLACED CAJUN IN SOUTHWEST TX
I actually started my day in a pretty glum mode. Things got put back in place rather quickly when my neighbor Mr Johnson came a rapping on my front door to inform me of an unusual visitor to his pond.
This Tricolor Heron (Egretta tricolor) was wandering about the pond. I loaded up Mongo (my 500mm) and hastily hoofed the 2 blocks to his house. I was told the Heron had gotten freaked and flew off. Oh well, I retraced my steps back to coffee and was about to go on out on my am walk when my cell phone rang. The Heron was back. Re-gear, retrace back to the pond and are greeted with “he just left again”. All we got to see was a small V in the sky heading north. Oh well, we hung at the waters edge for a while and had a bit of a Walden’s moment as we watched the Purple Martins do aerobics and a litany of butterflies and dragon flies circling about.
At about 5:00pm, I loaded up a smaller telephoto (300mm) stuck the 1.4 extender in my pocket and went back to see if the heron had returned. I came to the edge of the pond & set up my photo stool and was greeting with the loud flapping of wings as the big boy was exiting away from my disturbance. So it goes with birding. I whiled away an hour or so trying to catch an image of the Martins skimming accoss the water when once again I heard the sound of large wings. The big boy came in right over the top of me and settled across the pond from me about 20 yards away.
He proceeded to slowly fish his way around the pond until he ended up about 15-20 feet from my stillness. He was close enough that I could hear the small bones of the little fish being crushed in his powerful beak. It was a truly golden moment, I felt so warm and blessed to get to experience this. Thank you Abba, thank you Mr and Ms Johnson.
The Tricolored Heron’s migratory route in generally 200-300 hundred miles to the north. But with drought and the fires, nature is forced to adapt. This is the only dark covered heron that sports a white belly. He is the most abundant heron of the Deep South and was formerly known as the “Louisiana Heron”
Accept the gifts you are given on your journey††††nada te turbe††††jim
