2016 June . . . Will the rain ever end?

Jul 1, 2016
8 min read

I neglected to mention in my May post that we were contemplating building an ark because of all the rain and flooding in and around the Houston area. Needless to say when the weather forecasters began telling us we would have 3 to 4 rainless days this first week of June we were ecstatic!

On the 4th Tony and I headed down to Galveston to the Art Walk where I had 2 photos in the Incinerator Art Contest and 3 photos in the member show. Marsha met us down there. We enjoyed looking at all the art and seeing old and new friends.

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Tony is standing by my 'Stepping into a Spring Bouquet.' I am standing beside one of my incinerator photos . . . 'Remembering.'

Regrettably I did not win the Incinerator Contest but value the experience greatly. On to the next contest . . .

We ate at the Gumbo Bar a few doors down after our art walk and were able to see the Veteran who plays taps at sundown on the corner of Post Office and 22nd. We were thrilled to be there to witness his presentation.

I posted a new FB profile picture on June 1st in honor of Fathers day. This was taken in the fall of 1949.

On the 8th of June, Miss Dell (our RV Park Manager) and I went to Chili's in Angleton for lunch and encountered a handsome group of service men and women who were also dining there. We thanked them for their service and took pictures.

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Mother Mallard faithfully sat on her eggs through rain and heat. On the 4th we noticed activity and 4 chicks emerged followed by 4 more the next day. None of the other eggs hatched after the second day. I followed the group down to the pond and saw an amazing sight . . . the first of several Life Lessons 101 from Mom. Mom Mallard took her chicks on a stately march to the edge of the pond where she showed them the tender morsels they could find. The chicks all stayed close together on these early outings and close to her also.

She took them on a swim around the edge to look at the potential meals awaiting them. Then they ventured out onto the deeper water, still staying close to Mom. She demonstrated the diving method of food acquisition. I did not see any of them trying out this exercise that day. They merely watched.

As time passed she took them back to the shore and demonstrated how to bathe, then proceeded to the shoreline to teach them preening. The chicks were very observant.

The chicks are growing fast and more pictures will appear before the end of the month. All eight are still following Mom and learning fast.

The small rabbit that lives under a porch near the Mallard's nest gave me opportunity to get a couple of profile pictures . . .

Other birds continue to share the same space as the new family and are respectful and friendly to them. We enjoy seeing not only the Mallards but the Black Bellied Whistlers. I wonder when they will begin migrating again?

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You can see Mom Mallard and her brood . . . as they get older they venture farther from Mom's embrace. She is a good Mom though . . . one day they were headed across the field and Mom sensed something wrong and sounded the alarm. The chicks quickly did an about face, gathered in a tight group, headed to the edge of the pond and waited for Mom. Phew . . . close call! I never saw the problem but who knows what it could have been . . . snake? who knows?

On the 10th of June I finished my YouTube Video, Gator on the Go. I revised it the next day, so there are two versions out there one is almost 9 minutes long and the other is 7 minutes. So you can choose which you want to watch . . . The visit to BBSP occurred on 5/17/16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2KVp7tbTvM

This was possibly the most awesome thing I have ever witnessed . . . a gator moving from a lake in Brazos Bend State Park to a creek. It would take 20 to 30 plodding steps and collapse for 1 to 2 minutes, gather its strength again to start the process all over. The gator had to cross two picnic areas that were dissected by a park road. The whole process took approximately an hour but was very much worth the wait. A park ranger came out an chatted with us while this was taking place. He said it is breeding season and he felt the gator had either gotten in a fight and lost, thereby being ousted from Elm Lake or there was a girlfriend in Big Creek it had to join. Either way the trip was amazing.

We almost missed it because we had visited an area that was different from the one we had visited our last trip. Marsha said, why don't we drop by the other area before we leave and see what there is to see. I am so glad she suggested that.

Marsha and I went to Bolivar on the 16th to photograph Fort Travis, the Bolivar Lighthouse, and the Bolivar Ferry. We arrived at Fort Travis to find HOT temps . . . it was in the mid 90s and with the humidity, it felt as if it were over 100 degrees. I had never been to the fort but found it interesting to investigate the bunkers left behind from WWI. You can see where the 'big' guns were bolted down and the thickness of the walls of the underground rooms was understandable.

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The lighthouse is across the road from the fort and makes for an interesting picture . . . billboard and all . . .

The last visit we made was to the pier in the bay where the fish markets are. We arrived about the time several boats arrived with their catch. As soon as they offloaded their payload, they dumped remains into the bay waters and the birds quickly consumed as much as they could hold. It was great practice trying to 'shoot' (with a camera) a moving target.

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On June 19th I posted this pic of Tony with the dogs for Father's Day. His time with SunBelt is coming to a close and although it is bittersweet to him, the puppies and I will be glad to get back on the road.

I edited this pic with PhotoShop. Notice how the color is concentrated in the center around Tony. That software is awesome!

A month's blog would not be complete without some gator pictures. This one is a flirt . . . look at the last three where he came right up to the bank and sat in the spot, moving only slightly, for the longest time.

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Of course I am sure if I offered a body part he would not decline the offer. And the horrible incident at Disney where the 2 year old was killed by a gator is horrific!

On Father's Day we had a wonderful family gathering at my parents' place. My brother, Dean, did the lion's share of the work, putting together a new awesome grill, cooking enough chicken, sausage, hotdogs, and hamburgers to feed an army. His son and his wife (James and Angela) brought some delicious sides including fresh lettuce, onions, tomatoes, guacamole, watermelon, and much more. Jason's mom and grandmother filled out the delicious spread with homemade potato salad, and watermelon. I brought beans and cole slaw. We all contributed beverages, adult and otherwise.

The kids had the time of their lives playing Marco Polo almost non-stop. Mom and Dad and several other 'adults' had a lot of fun watching the kids and some adults in the pool. Dean and I took pictures and I even caught a lizard running around the columns at the edge of the overhang.

All together Mom and Dad had two of their three kids there with two grandkids, and 3 great grandkids along with a couple of in-laws and other relatives. What a fabulous day!

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My photo class is going well . . . new information to learn. We are dealing with motion blur right now and it will take some time to get this one right.

Donna, Dessie and I went to Tanger on Tuesday after Father's Day and finished the day of with lunch at Jason's. I succumbed to the Reuben sandwich . . . it never disappoints me. Yum!

Thursday Marsha and I headed for Galveston early . . . we had volunteered at the Galveston Art League. So prior to our volunteer time, we took pictures at the seawall and meandered through east Galveston taking a few photos, then stumbling upon some of the tree sculptures I looked for a map of their locations and found that there was one at Mosquito Cafe. We love the place and quickly decided to make that our next stop.

Brunch was delicious and after enjoying it an taking photos of the sculpture, we headed for the art league.

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It was pretty quiet. We had about 20 visitors and were able to take some photos on the street in front. We discussed motion blur a lot but I still have a lot to learn and I guess in this case practice makes perfect.

This Sunday Dean came over with Jason and dismantled the deck . . . which helped Tony, but he still overdid it. You are wondering why we are taking the deck apart . . . Tony's stint with Sunbelt has come to an end. His back situation and the heat are not a good combination. So, we are moving up to Lake Conroe for about 10 days and then going to Dallas for the summer class I participate in. We will probably come back here for a few weeks and then may head to Alabama to visit Tony's brother and sister. We will find out for sure next month . . . so stay tuned!

Here we are one day before we move to Lake Conroe. Yesterday our photography class was cancelled because Trudy's Mom is in ICU awaiting treatment for an aneurism. I went to Mom's and then about 1:30 pm went by to pick up Marsha and head for Galveston to exchange my photos at the Galveston Art League. We stopped at Mario's (Seawall) Restaurant on the way out having an Italian Margarita with soup, garlic bread and Italian Nachos. Check out my review and pics on TripAdvisor.

We end the month as we began with an intense storm today. Jack received his quarter tablet to tolerate the thunder and lighting . . . unfortunately by the time it takes effect the storm is almost over. I need to be more prompt.

Tony has cleaned out the storage trailer and has put the golf cart in . . . a must for Lake Conroe. I cleaned the carpet under the table and in front of the sofa. Hopefully it will stay clean for a long time.

Mom is getting a hair trim on Friday so after getting settled Wednesday and Thursday I will return for another short visit.

Today (Wednesday) the Mallard Mom and her crew came my our RV for a farewell visit. I will miss them so much. The chicks are growing so fast. Take a look . . .

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Wednesday we 'set sail' about 10:30 am and arrived at Lake Conroe about noon. It took about an hour and a half to get everything back to normal but that included a re-vacuum and mopping.

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We pampered Jack on the 28th for his 5th birthday. He got a doggie donut that was a dog biscuit with what looked like icing on the outside. Pepper got one also. Then Tony brought Frosty Paws frozen treat and some chicken jerky. Spoiled puppies!

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I was able to get in ten laps at the pool just before sundown and Tony and I enjoyed the hot tub for a while. I am hoping it will help my tight shoulders.

Today is the last day of June . . . HALF a year is GONE! It was a very busy day . . . we had our awning fixed . . . the connection to the arm failed last evening and the back side fell OFF. I was able to separate our non-working light strings and get two blue strings back up on the RV. Burned out lights were replaced. Pictures were taken on the 'island' at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe. Did 15 swim laps today . . . last year I was easily doing 30+. I will get back there! Here are some photos of this awesome place . . .