Apt Illustration

Thanks for posing, guys!

Talk about having your ducks in a row!

That didn’t last long. (Nikon S6200)

Or not.

Berries and Birdies

Not quite ready to be picked

While snapping disc golf photos during last Tuesday’s Southwest Handicap Mini, my Nikon 105mm macro lens was thoroughly distracted. The culprit?

Blackberries!

Perfect for cobbler, jam, or just plain eating

Imperial Park was bursting with the yummy (to some) gems. I had never seen so many of them there. If only they had been strawberries or blueberries! I’d have returned the next day with a bucket. Sadly, they weren’t.

The kid’s try for two (which he missed).

Of course, I was really at the park to shoot pics of my younger son (who finished second with his handicap and tied for third with his raw score) and the other players in their bids for bountiful birdies.

How apropos!

No, not this kind!

Nature Stinks!

That ain’t no cat!

What a wonderful Saturday I was looking forward to! The Mister and the kid would be gone most of the day at a disc golf tournament. The house was clean, and my stress level was low.

In other words, the Evil Eye had been tempted. Naturally, there were repercussions.

In the form of one of my worst nightmares: A wild animal in the backyard when I’m home alone.

Checking out a disc. Does he play?

And, of course, it would just have to be a skunk. I can’t even look at the photos without shuddering.

Let me take you back in time to when I had to remind myself to stay calm and not start contemplating moving. Last Saturday we had a tremendous rainstorm in the Houston area (we got at least five inches at our house). My car was out in the driveway in case I needed it, while my younger son’s Fuze was in the garage.

Around 6 p.m., the rain temporarily dissipated, so I backed the Pilot into its usual spot. As I exited the side door, something unusual at the end of the garage near the pool deck caught my eye. Something black and white. Yikes!

Yep, with my best Usain Bolt imitation, I ran into the house.

No need to come and say hi. Really.

Immediately, I called the Mister and told him to come home. Of course, he couldn’t, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be there for at least an hour and a half. So I did what any rational person would’ve done in the same situation: Grabbed my Nikon D700 and Nikon 70-200mm lens and stood on the back porch a foot away from the back door to gather photographic proof.

After the little stinker finally left where he was digging under the deck, I had a sneaking suspicion that he might be in the garage (there’s a handy hole in the back for easy critter entry and exit). I called animal control, and before long one of our deputies from the constable’s department came out.

Fortunately, I had an extra garage-door opener in the house, so I let the deputy in that way and kept my distance. Soon he found the skunk hiding. I quickly moved the cars out of the garage, and then my hero shooed the intruder out along the fence, which it skedaddled under (sorry, neighbors!) and left its calling card (talk about your Pepé Le Pew!).

I was sooooooo relieved to be rid of it!

Of course, now I’m convinced that the beast might be back in the garage (just like that ornery possum), so I won’t be parking my car in there until we fix the back of the building and then find someone else to search it.

Any volunteers?

Another Jay Literally Knocks At Our Door

Once again, the welcome mat is NOT for birds!

Yesterday morning as I sat in my office working on my new, slim iMac, I heard something hit the decorative glass on the front door. Hard.

I turned in my office chair and saw a little blue jay clinging to the glass. Apparently, a gust of wind had blown the poor thing into it. At first I was afraid he might start pecking at the glass and break it. But then I had another thought.

Grab that Nikon!

By the time I did, the jay was on the front porch. I opened the door to snap some shots, and he didn’t flinch at all. Who did this remind me of?

On his way

Our ever-lovin’ Hoppy of a couple years ago. Except this time the fledgling, who I quickly dubbed “Hoppy Jr.,” didn’t stay on the porch. He hopped over to our oak tree and tried to jump on it. But he failed, because apparently he damaged his left wing in his crash. Poor birdie.

Papa Jay (Hoppy?) keeps an eye on Junior.

Meanwhile, one of his parents sat on our neighbors’ gutter and made sure the little guy was protected.

See ya later!

Eventually, Hoppy Jr. scooted his way under the neighbors’ fence, and I figured that was that.

But it wasn’t.

Tree climbing is a breeze with two good wings.

All too soon another ball of fluff came hopping over to that same oak . Obviously, the nest in our other neighbors’ tree has been vacated, with the birth of babies and their move-out. This jay, though, was able to jump up the oak without any problem.

A wary eye

This time the other parent kept the feathered sibling safe.

I have a feeling we’ll see the blue jay family around for awhile as the kids learn to fly. And here’s hoping that Hoppy Jr.’s wing heals enough for him to move on and eventually raise his own brood.

Maybe some day we’ll be visited by Hoppy III! Hopefully, though, not so violently.

One-Word Wednesday

This little guy is doomed (at our neighborhood crawfish boil)! (iPhone 5)

Crawfish!

Two-Word Thursday

I thought it looked familiar!

Cattle egret!

These birds were in a field (without cattle) close to my house. (Nikon 1 V1)

A Moo-ving Photo Op

Was it something I said?

Last Monday my younger son decided to get in some disc golf practice. The Mister and I (and my Nikon dSLR, natch) tagged along.

Next to the course at the River Pointe Church is a large field with cattle and the occasional deer. One calf (pictured above) intrigued the kid.

Smile!

So he whipped out his iPhone 4S to grab a quick pic.

And immediately got into a staring contest with the furry beast. Maybe it thought the phone was feed . . . or that the kid looked delicious. Either way it seemed mad.

The iPhone evidence (by my #2 son)

Yikes!

Moo-ve away from the calf!!

New Neighbors

Mama sits and waits.

The other day when I noticed a blue jay flying around our next-door neighbor’s tree, I saw something almost hidden on a branch.

It was a nest! And the mama jay was warily watching me.

Looks kinda fancy with that ribbon

I wonder if Hoppy II will be making an appearance at our door in a few weeks!

One-Word Wednesday

Real snake eyes!

Snake!

He was curled up along the bank of a church pond. Creepy!

One-Word Wednesday

A family hangs out along the creek in my community. (Nikon S6200)

Turtles!