You Can't See Me!

I'm sure that's what this deer was thinking.

You have to admit she's pretty hard to see. 

Here's another one that posed for me on my morning walk last week.

I couldn't believe she stood still long enough for three photos!

Normally, all I see is the flash of a white tail. 

But considering the number of deer blinds dotting these hills, 

I don't blame them for trying to be invisible, do you?

Hello, Tuesday

Are your days flying by like mine? 

I can't believe it's been over a week since I shared my Austin photos with you.

But guess what? 

Mortal Muses chose the one below for their Street Photography Mosaic!

Click HERE to see the mosaic itself.

And I have more good news!

I spent the afternoon yesterday at a park on a creek, capturing the smiles of my friend Debbie's family for the second year in a row. 

I'm not quite finished editing them, but here's one of my favorite group shots so far....

Isn't that a gorgeous family?

I'll post my other favorites on my website when I'm finished.

Time to get going.  

I hope you have a fabulous week!

On a Thursday In Austin, Texas

I spent most of Thursday in Austin, 

running errands with my daughter, 

hanging out in a genealogy library to pass the time, 

having dinner with my son, 

and then attending a magazine writing panel 

hosted by the Writer's League of Texas.

Naturally, I had my camera with me.

I hope the folks above don't care that I snapped their photos.

Like I had nothing better to do than play with this photo this week.

Which one do you like the best?

We ate at Opal Divine's. 

The food was really good...

...and so was the scenery.

I fell in love with these little faces!

This building looked really, really old. 

I hope someone salvages it.

I love living in (well, near) Austin!

May Day, May Day

On a whim, 

coming home from work on May Day, 

I pulled over

and photographed the wildflowers 

waving to me from the roadside.

The next day, 

the roadside had been freshly mown. 

I'm so grateful I listen to whims.

Our Hoary Bat

Did you know some bats fly during daylight hours? 

And some are loners?

I didn't, 

until Tom and his brother John 

witnessed one swooping low over our pond 

in the middle of the afternoon 

before trying to hide in the foliage of a nearby willow. 
Actually, a willow overtaken with grapevine.

It was larger than the Mexican Freetail bats 

that Austin is famous for, 

so Tom hurried to the house to get me. 

(me = my camera)

John snapped the first few shots, 

then I wobbled down the bank in my flip-flops to shoot some more. 

I couldn't help it.

It was tough because he was really hidden in those leaves. 

I've cropped and increased contrast 

so you can see him.

Thanks to Mr. Google, 

we determined he was a

 Hoary Bat. 

Our best guess, anyway.

We were too excited over seeing him to be 

(too) 

disappointed he wouldn't be bringing his friends to Long Hollow 

to help eat up the mosquitoes.

(Dang it.)

But isn't he cute? 

Doesn't he look like a panda bear? 

Although I admit I'm not tempted to cuddle him.

I sure hope he's still hanging around! 

(Get it? hehehe)

The Color Purple

Prairie Verbena

I'm not sure what this is, but the bees and bugs sure loved it! 

Wine Cup

Prairie Onion

Wild Chicory

(this actually hasn't bloomed again yet, but I'm keeping an eye out for it!)

"I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... 

People think pleasing God is all God care about.  

But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back."  

~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

Trust me, it was beautiful!

My son and his new bride forbid me from bringing my camera to their wedding. 

Can you believe it? Something about "relaxing" and "enjoying the moment" and "paying big bucks to someone else"...

So I don't have any photos of my own to share of 

The. Most. Beautful. Wedding. Ever. Amen. 

but you can click on that link to see a few that others posted on Facebook, and I "borrowed" to share on my Long Hollow blog.

I do, however, have photos from the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner, and here they are!

(I still had fun!)

 Oh, well, congratulations to my precious son and his beautiful wife!