Wild Things Part 4: Turtles!

So, whadda ya wanna to do?

Uh, I dunno. Whadda you wanna do?

I warned you there would be some turtles wandering up here. 

It just took them awhile to get here. 

You know... 

...they're turtles.

They're not in a hurry to get anywhere.

Especially these, it appears. 

They live in a pond on the University of Texas campus.

I got distracted by them during Daniel's photo shoot. 

I had developed a severe case of turtle-photo envy because Beth at Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken kept posting great turtle shots. 

(Of course, now I can't find any of her turtle shots to link to to show you.) 

(You just have to trust me they were great.)

I'm over it, now, anyway. 

Turtles are cute, but let's face it... they're not very exciting.

(These are all separate shots!)

A Week of Moons

Most glorious night!
Thou wert not sent for slumber!
~Lord Byron, Childe Harold

Was the moon stalking me or vice versa this week? I think it was a little of both.

He rose early, in time for my evening walk with the dogs.

He didn't call it a night until he told me good morning...

...and hung around even longer the next day.

But then he teased me, playing hide and seek with the clouds in the middle of the night...

...until finally rewarding my patience by breaking free.

Same time, next month?

O wild and wondrous midnight, 

There is a might in thee

To make the charmed body

Almost like spirit be,

And give it some faint glimpses

Of immortality.

~James Russell Lowell, Midnight

The Fourth on Lake Travis (well,what's left of it)

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature.  It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.  

~Henry David Thoreau

Grab a hat, a cool drink, your sunscreen and meet us down at the dock. We're heading out with our friends George and Karen for a ride on Lake Travis (thanks, G and K!) 

What's left of Lake Travis, anyway. 

These docks are at the end of what used to be a cove full of water, not grass.

There's just enough water on G and K's end to maneuver the boat.

If you're really, really careful.

The lake levels have dropped a tad.

Easing past the neighbor's dock (the roof in photo #3) 

Cheering us on our way!

Ah, wide open spaces at last...

Guess they didn't hear about the drought.

Still enough water for lots of fun, though!

I want one of these. (Not really, but seriously, who lives here?)

And here? 

This is actually the one I want.

I've always wanted a turret.

In fact, just give me the turret. I can do without that much house.

Unless it came with a maid, of course.

And it probably does.

Okay, I'll take it.

And this sailboat.

Thank you!

Okay, I'll stop dreaming...

We're going to anchor near this island for a little while.

It's normally under water.

Time to relax in the water.

Doesn't this look like fun?

And this?

Too soon, it's time to head back to the dock 

 Hope you enjoyed the ride! 

(Put some aloe gel on that sunburn. Works wonders!)

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.  

~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732


This is my contribution to Jan@twoscoopz's Focus 52 project for this week...

Wild Things Part 3: Feathers, Fur and (No) Fangs

"I wonder where that woodpecker is," Daddy says every time I visit. "He drops by for a little while every day, but I haven't seen him today at all."

For some reason, that woodpecker never made an appearance when I was there, and it was giving me a complex. Why didn't it like me?

I began to think Mr. Woodpecker was friends with the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny... wink, wink. You know what I mean!

But then finally, last time I was there, my mom called from the back room... "Barbara, come quick! Bring your camera!"

Well, whaddaya know...Yes, Virginia, there is a woodpecker! 

And he likes peanuts!

I also grabbed a few cute shots of this precocious squirrel in Mama and Daddy's backyard. How could I resist? It was obviously posing for me!

Tom and I were on a walk near our pond when he spotted this skink. I never did see it through the weeds (remember, Tom cheats by wearing his glasses all the time) so I passed him the camera...

A flash of orange and green stripes slithered past me last week, disappearing into the rock retaining wall in front of our house. Later, this little head peered out at me and Tom. Just a cute little garter snake.

I angled around to the side and crept closer...

...and it said that was close enough, thank you, by disappearing back into its comfy snake-size cave.

Stay tuned for even more wild things... (I'll give you a hint: Turtles!)

On this 4th of July, just remember...

"Just remember, as you celebrate the 4th of July weekend that there are 6,118 between Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and members of the Navy that paid the ultimate cost for you to be able to...This Shit Ain't Free (TSAF)! We are very blessed to be from the USA!" ~ Heath Williamson, United States Army 

Heath, the son of one of my dearest friends, has served two tours in Iraq. He posted this on Facebook last night and when I saw it, I knew I needed to share it.

Happy birthday to the United States of America. I may grumble about you at times, but I'm always grateful to call you my homeland.

Thank you, Heath, and all of the others who serve so valiantly to guard the freedom we too often take for granted.

(Click HERE to read more about TSAF.)

Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea.  ~John Gunther

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.  ~Abraham Lincoln

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. ~ Adlai E. Stevenson

What is the essence of America?  Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from."  ~Marilyn vos Savant, in Parade

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died,who gave that right to me. ~ Lee Greenwood

Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every other country.  ~Sinclair Lewis