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Saturday - May 30, 2009
Can you hear me?
Elephant ears. Taken last October along the Hamilton Greenbelt Trail.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Friday - May 29, 2009
Creek
It's a crick. Okay. A creek. Taken along the Hamilton Greenbelt Trail in late October, 2008.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Thursday - May 28, 2009
Sunflower #2
Another couple of takes on the sunflower photos:
I always have such a hard time deciding how to crop these things. So, you get two crops today.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Wednesday - May 27, 2009
Sunflower
Driving away from Pedernales Falls last October, I couldn't help but pull the car over and take photos of these gorgeous sunflowers.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Tuesday - May 26, 2009
Beetle-bop!
So, I'm walking along the trail at Pedernales Falls and I see this bug pushing along a big ol' round rock. What? So, I take a closer look:
Not a rock. Dung. It's a dung beetle! Gross. Yet, kinda cool. Did you know they apparently push the dung along with their haunches? Weird.
I have to say, I never thought I'd post a picture of dung here. Nope. 'Never thought it.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Monday - May 25, 2009
Memorial Day 2009
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Sunday - May 24, 2009
Purty little birdie
Yep...taken near Pedernales Falls in October. Such a cutie. He was sitting in the sun so things are a bit washed out. No time to put a polarizing filter on my camera. I can live with it. Can you? Heh.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Saturday - May 23, 2009
Fungus!
Another photo taken along a trail at Pedernales Falls in October. That thing was enormous. Well, perhaps "very big" is a bit more accurate. Regardless, it was much larger than the average mushroom/fungus you see when you're wandering around the trails in and around Austin. And, it was basking in the sunlight. So pretty and so yellow. Cool.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Friday - May 22, 2009
Fern!
Taken in October at Pedernales Falls. Is it a fern? I was so sure about that and now that I'm about to post... I'm not so sure. Heh.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Thursday - May 21, 2009
Bee Creek
I didn't take many photos on our second hike around Pedernales Falls. I guess the vistas weren't quite as striking as they are at the falls. But, I rather liked this creek scene.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Wednesday - May 20, 2009
Pedernales Falls moon
It was back to Pedernales Falls after Hamilton Pool. This time, we hiked a trail that doesn't really go near the falls. The moon was out in the middle of the day:
Can you have too many photos of the moon? 'Cause I seem to have a lot of 'em.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Tuesday - May 19, 2009
Public art
Back in September, some workers showed up outside our building at work. They started digging 4 holes in the grass. Then, late in the month, they took a couple of days to install this:
It's part of an initiative to develop a collection of public art on campus. This piece is called Clock Knot and is by the artist Mark Di Suvero. I rather like it. But, some folks don't. I especially like it late in the day when the sun gets low on the horizon.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Monday - May 18, 2009
From the archives...6-Sep-1997
My trip down memory lane yesterday prompted me to post another photo from the old Photobox archives. One of my all-time favorite photos:
I took this back in '93 on that trip to Hamilton Pool. And, I posted it to my old Photobox site in '97. Here's what I wrote about it at the time (Sept. 6, 1997):
This is TomTom, my best friend's nephew. 'Course, TomTom is just his nickname...don't be silly. Several of us went to Hamilton Pool about four years ago and, by a great stroke of luck, happened to be the only people there. We walked around enjoying the scenery and the quiet. The boys took time to have a bit of a stone skipping contest. 'Looks to me like TomTom was doing his best to find the perfect rock at this point. Or, maybe he'd found a bug that needed special attention. He's much older now and still has an incredible eye for detail. I've never known anyone quite like him. What a great kid.
Here it is, nearly 12 years later and my opinion has not changed. He's a great kid. About to graduate from high school and moving on to college. I can't believe it. I really can't.
I now feel compelled to tell one of my favorite stories about TomTom. He was probably 4 or 5 when he had an entertaining conversation with an optometrist as he was looking through one of those devices where they flash things on a screen and you let the doctor know what you can and can't see:
Dr.: "Which is in front?...the circle or the square?"
TomTom: [silence]
Dr.: [repeat question]
TomTom: [more silence]
Dr.: [repeat question...with a bit more force]
TomTom: "Actually, it's a rectangle."
Heh heh heh. Really, doctor, if you expect an answer to your question, you must be more precise...and ask the proper question.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Sunday - May 17, 2009
The pool
I've posted several days worth of photos from our hike around Hamilton Pool without ever actually posting any photos featuring the pool. Time to rectify that situation!
And...
Somehow, I managed to not take any photos from the "beach" at the pool. So, I went looking through my old photos and found some I took with my old 35mm SLR back in the spring of 1993. Geesh. 16 years ago. Wow.
Anyway, I didn't find any I liked from the beach but this one struck me:
Look at all the water falling back then...versus what was falling this past September. Interesting.
PS: I think that's Katie and Carolyn standing at the railing. And, it must've been a rather cool day since they're both wearing light jackets. My, how time flies by.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Saturday - May 16, 2009
More trees
Two more shots of trees taken last September on our hike along the Hamilton Pool trail. First another reflection:
And, something truly wacky. A tree growing out of the stump of another tree:
How crazy is that?
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Friday - May 15, 2009
River reflection
Taken at the end of the trail from Hamilton Pool to the Pedernales River.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Thursday - May 14, 2009
Soar!
As I've mentioned (once, twice, a few more times than that?), I rather like taking pictures of birds in flight. Here are a few I caught at Hamilton Pool last September:
Catching 2 together is pretty unusual for me.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Wednesday - May 13, 2009
Dragonflies!
A couple of dragonflies spotted last fall at Hamilton Pool.
There are focus problems with both of these photos. I found the coloring contrasts to be fascinating, though, so decided to go ahead and post the photos.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Tuesday - May 12, 2009
Orange moon
As I was driving home on Sunday evening, I wondered about the moon. I couldn't see it. About 10 minutes later, I noticed it rising above the horizon. And, it was very orange. As soon as I got home, I grabbed my tripod and camera. And, shot this:
It wasn't as dark as that. And, neither was the sky. But, that was the best I could do with such short notice. About a minute later, power lines were in the way. And, once I found a spot where the lines weren't in the way, the moon had risen enough that it was clear of whatever it was in the atmosphere that was turning it orange. Oh well.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Monday - May 11, 2009
Butterflies!
'Saw these butterflies last fall at Hamilton Pool.
Purty.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Sunday - May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
Rather than deliver cut flowers on Mother's Day, I'm sending out some photos of flowers to my favorite moms. Especially my mom. I took these last September at Hamilton Pool.
First, another Turk's Cap in the wild:
And,then...you know...some others:
Anyone wanna offer some help with IDs on the kinds of flowers in the last three photos?
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Saturday - May 9, 2009
Hamilton Pool rock formations
As you walk down the creek trail from Hamilton Pool to the Pedernales River, you see some cool rock formations along the bank of the creek. To wit:
Cool, eh?
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Friday - May 8, 2009
Cool trees
From McKinney Roughs to Hamilton Pool...where we found some cool trees.
Look at all those exposed roots. Wow.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Thursday - May 7, 2009
Cactus pear
'Saw this cactus pear at McKinney Roughs back in September.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Wednesday - May 6, 2009
River critter
At one point, on our hike around McKinney Roughs, we get close to the water's edge so we could take photos like this:
We were taking these photos and Jennie suddenly shrieked and ran back up the bank to the trail. I turned and spotted this guy:
A couple more shots:
Notice his tongue in the middle photo? After looking at us for a few seconds, he got bored and swam away. Heh.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Tuesday - May 5, 2009
Still life with leaf
Taken at McKinney Roughs last September.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Monday - May 4, 2009
Pretty purple
A pretty purple flower found at McKinney Roughs last September.
UPDATE. Mom wrote in to say she thought the flower is probably a wild morning glory. She's probably right. Thanks, Mom.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Sunday - May 3, 2009
Bluff Trail Overlook
Another view from the same overlook...
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Saturday - May 2, 2009
Larry and Jennie
See? Larry really was with us at McKinney Roughs. Here he is with Jennie at the Bluff Trail Overlook...
That's the Lower Colorado River behind 'em.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
Friday - May 1, 2009
McKinney Roughs berry
The week after we visited the Longhorn Cavern State Park we went over to McKinney Roughs (an LCRA park). Larry joined us for the hike and picture taking. I'm sure he got some great shots.
This was one of the first ones I took:
Those look kinda like blueberries, don't they? Needless to say, we did not taste 'em so can't tell you if they tasted like blueberries.
Posted by Joanna at 6:00 AM | Permalink
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