December was spent at Omega Farms and Thousand Trails Lake Conroe. It was filled with fantastic photo opportunities and some unexpected Texas surprises.
On the 4th our Hobby Photography Class met at the Texas City Dike and caught a beautiful sunrise along with some beautiful pelicans. We topped it off with brunch at Taqueria El Jaliciense and some great food! Enjoy the photos . . .
Next I pulled out my Macro Lenses and shot some beautiful blooms on my African Violets. What a comforting sight they are in our small space.
The Super Moon reappeared and I did not miss the opportunity . . . also found my tiny tripod that will help with still shots with the macro lens.
We were surprised with some cold white stuff on our 39th Anniversary . . . the 8th. We were at Omega Farms and I got some gorgeous photos of the rarity. The snow was hiding in the coziest places . . .
We also were treated with a handsome Bald Eagle pair. That is as rare as the cold white stuff . . .
We headed to Pappasitos for our anniversary where I enjoyed my all time favorite . . . spinach, chicken quesadillas . . . they are unsurpassed in my opinion. Tony enjoyed the quail and we both enjoyed thinking about the last 39 years together.
Frost replaced the snow before we departed Omega Farms . . .
On the 9th the Houstons brought a beautiful fall bouquet to church and here is the proof . . .
When we moved to Thousand Trails Lake Conroe we found a frozen sheet of ice nestled on top of our driver side slide. When we pulled the slide in the panes of ice slid to the ground with a crunch. When Tony saw it he thought the glass window had broken.
Erika Rochelle gave Tony and I a pair of beautiful Mug Rugs which we will cherish with our morning coffee and breakfast.
Mom’s birthday was the 12th and she wanted to go to San Lorenzo’s for her favorite . . . stuffed peppers. It was wonderful to see her out and about and enjoying a nice dinner with family. Dean made his way by to help celebrate. She topped her meal off with delicious flan.
Jim Malm, one of my fellow photography students took a photo of me at the San Jacinto Monument on the 11th and it became my new profile pic.
We started at the monument with the reflection pond full of more beautiful pelicans.
Then advanced to the monument and rode to the top to gain access to a 360 degree view of the ship channel and surrounding areas. We could see the Battleship Texas from that vantage point and it was awesome.
Next stop was that ship where we were able to shoot photos of the ship, on the deck of the ship, and under the deck . . . nicely documented area where they must have gotten the idea for tiny houses . . . not one inch was wasted!
We had a nice campfire on a cold evening where I experimented with photos of the fire. This month I have decided to divorce “P” the program mode and venture into “M” (Manual), “S” (Shutter Speed), and “A” (Aperture). It is a challenge but after all this time it is a natural progression for the learning curve.
I managed to get to the Zoo Lights on the 20th which was another high point of the month. The lights were very well done along with the ‘guided’ tour (roped off path) which insured we did not get lost in the zoo. There were thousands of people there but they did not present a problem getting photos if you were wearing your patience. I spent almost 4 hours there and the time was well worth it.
There were also some wonderful flowers and sleeping animals at the zoo.
The month ended with some stunning sunsets and moon shots at Lake Conroe . . . enjoy!
The Houstons brought another beautiful bouquet that I could not resist shooting . . .
I found a few pops of color around the lake one day while walking the puppies . . .
Then shot more of the beautiful African Violets on our dash . . .
Then fall leaves that I used to dread. In fact I have never liked winter at all because everything looks dead . . . however, due to my photography I have come to cherish winter because I have a clear site to birds, the moon, etc. that is not possible other times of the year. The tiny Eastern Bluebirds were flitting around the trees and I managed to capture a few.
One visit to Kroger netted me some weird photos of crows/grackles atop the autos in the parking lot.
I began putting together a photo album for Mom and Dad in honor of their 70 years of marriage and have run into some really interesting photos.
We welcomed the end of the year in our RV, listening to fireworks in the park and watching the ball drop toasty warm in bed.
Here are a few shots of the Muscovy Ducks and colorful berries on Mom's ferns.
I am trying to get caught up and you will find the blog dates are not consecutive . . . but I want to get them all finished soon. One of the issues is my limited WiFi . . . so I figured out I could write it on my computer and then transfer it to my website without draining my limited gigabytes. I will collect all my photos in one place and transfer them at one time also. We will see how it goes.