Celebrating . . . a walk

"Let every man praise the bridge that carries him over"

- English Proverb

The prompt for Texture Tuesday is celebrate, and there has been a lot of that in the last week.

My son has started back to school after being home for 4 weeks, although only half days by doctors orders right now, and not only was he happy to go back but his friends were glad to have him back as well. My daughter turned 18 and had her prom this past weekend and even though it was not in her comfort zone to wear one, she looked so beautiful in her dress!

I also had a minute to run out around sunset and take a little walk, boy I've missed these walks!

I celebrate this bridge, it has carried me more than just physically over water, but emotionally over troubles... 

I celebrate the wildflowers that show up along the way . . .

{KK sybil and daisy}

I celebrate being able to walk along a birding trail, that ends up here . . . 

I celebrate tiny lizards that will pause long enough for me to get 2 inches in front of them to snap their photo . . . 

I celebrate the nursery that runs along the trail  . . . 

. . . and all the beautiful flowers and vines, and that they don't mind I'm there ALL the time! ;)

{Love That Shot Naples, and KK Anna}

I celebrate stepping out of my box and trying new photography techniques. . . impressionistic painting

with my lens. More thoughts on stepping out of the box on my post here today at Focusing On Life.

(SOOC)

I celebrate the view from different perspectives . . .

And I celebrate the the sun and the beautiful light it gives at sunset.

I celebrate that we have such a wonderful Children's hospital, and Critical Care Center and am thankful for those who dedicate their lives to helping others. We will be there most of the afternoon for another infusion, and unfortunately I don't have a computer to take with me, but hings have started to settle back into some normalcy again, and I look forward to visiting you all to see what you have been up to!

I also celebrate and appreciate all of you!

Have a wonderful day,

Love, Kim

XO

sharing with Texture Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Tuesday Muse

Foto Friday - A little of this and a little of that

How does one resist going back again,

where your heart sings

and your spirit soars.

Where nature enjoys her own patience

and angels disguised as dragonflies

escort you along the way.

Yes, I went back. How could I not? The weather yesterday was fabulous - a  very nice 71 degrees as I started on my walk, with a bit of a crisp breeze.  Because we are in a drought most days lately are without humidity and I intend to fully enjoy it while I can. Because as soon as we get some rain, they will come . . .  the mosquitoes!! And they make a walk in a place like this nearly impossible.

You would never know from this picture that Galveston Bay is only a few hundred feet away! And at the end of this trail on the edge where the land meets the water something interesting is happening. The shoreline is receding, and no that's not the interesting part, but what it's leaving behind or should I say exposing, is! Yes, I'm leaving you in suspense but I will give you something to ponder. It's a piece of history that dates back about 1,400 to 1,900 years ago and I promise I will let you know in a future post.

As I get closer to the bay and out into the open spaces I have to cross a very small foot bridge that goes over a small inlet of water and when the tide is in so is the marine life. On this day the water was pretty clear and I watched some blue crabs hurry to hide while these little fish gracefully danced through the water as if they were performing a ballet.

 

As I mentioned earlier, dragonflies, lots of them escorted me along most of my walk. Some flying eye level right along side of me. Red ones, orange ones, blue and green ones, and all camera shy. Then I was able to get only 3 shots of this one before he flew off. With over 200 different odonata (dragonfly and damselfly) species, I believe Texas gets to claim title of dragonfly capitol of the United States.

And then as I was almost finished with my walk I came around the corner to find this squirrel very busy in this grass and all I could see was his tail darting about. But all of a sudden he realized I was there,

stood up, gave me a quick stare and off he went.

I got a shot of this agapanthus at a small park on our main street in town. They only bloom in the

spring and have the nicest true blue flower heads. 

In this same park is this small waterfall feature which was perfect to practice my speed settings.

This one if from Bay Area Design, the view through the door from inside - Love it!!

Have you ever seen a black and white bee - me neither. Have you ever noticed almost perfect circles

cut from some of the leaves of your plants - yes, I have ( especially my roses). Well, this is she, the

female leaf cutter bee and your culprit. And unlike the honey bee she is not a social bee, but solitary

using the cut leaf pieces to construct her nest cells.

I have started planting in my garden and I noticed an immediate increase in butterflies and bees the

moment I brought them home from the nursery.

My daughter needed some more driving practice on the highway so she drove us to Galveston and

 they threw me a bone and let me get out and snap some pics. This is the door handle to the

Ashton Villa, circa 1859. If only this door handle could talk!

The last three times we have gotten up early and I mean early, to watch the sunrise, they have been

very unexciting. All three of them have been almost completely overcast. On this morning, we got just a glimpse of the sun, God's way of saying it's still here. Giving me hope and anticipation to try again. 

I hope you all have a weekend filled with a little of this and a little of that!!

Love, Kim

XO

Foto Friday - A walk, some reflection and a vine called Passion Flower

As tired and exhausted as I have been lately, I needed to take a walk. To walk somewhere that was peaceful, quiet, and where I could reflect on my thoughts.

As I walked I thought about the journey that Jesus took to the cross. What did he see? What did he think about? I thought about how he freely offered his life for ours. How he died in our place on the cross taking our past, present and future sins upon himself. He paid the ultimate price for you and me and he could have saved himself, but endured this suffering because of His love for us.

For this, I am very thankful.

My walk began on a coastal birding trail leading to Pine Gully Park diverse in marsh areas, estuaries and restored wetland. In most areas there are trails on both sides of the marshes where you can cross from one side to the other by an iron bridge. This is the view from one side of the bridge:

Since this area is only about a mile from Galveston Bay the water levels will vary according to the tides. There is an American alligator that lives here, but I have yet to have seen it. And as diverse in nature that it is, I could only hear that which was around me. Everything seemed to be quite elusive on this morning.





That is until I came across this gorgeous dragonfly! He seemed quite happy to have his picture taken, appearing at times to be posing. I could swear that he's smiling in this one!

This dragonfly is a skimmer called Halloween Pennant.

I love the way the light reflected off this grass.

After my walk and a quick lunch with my man I headed over to Bay Area Design in search of some flowers for my garden and to specifically take some pictures of the Passion Flower Vine. The smell alone will capture your heart much less its beauty! But even more interesting is how it got its name.

Spanish Christian missionaries in the 15th and16th centuries named it the passion flower because they believed it symbolized the suffering or "passion" of Christ and his death.









The five petals and 5 sepals which on the passion flower look almost the same, represent the disciples who remained faithful, leaving out Judas the betrayer and Peter the denier. The double row of filaments or Corona was thought of as the crown of thorns Jesus wore. The three stigmas at the very top represent the three nails and the five stamen underneath those, his wounds.

They also noted that the flowers are spent after a single day, the time Jesus was on the cross. And the petals do not drop from the flower but re-close symbolizing Jesus enclosed in the tomb.

Anything that wants to delight in this flowers nectar must work extra hard to get it.

I couldn't resist this beautiful pink zinnia...

One of the things I love about Bay Area Design aside from the flowers and the wonderful people

 who work there is all of their fountains! Not only are they beautiful, but the sound of trickling water is just, well, mesmerizing and very relaxing.

I love how the background in this one turned out - like a watercolor.

I could just spend all day here, flowers, fountains, wildlife - who could ask for more?

(Hmmm, one in my yard would be nice) : )

I hope your weekend includes a walk, some reflection and a little passion flower.

Have a blessed weekend!

Love, Kim

XO

Foto Friday - A trail walk through Pine Gully Park

Another week and another vastly different sunrise. It makes me wonder what I miss when I'm not there...but so thankful for the opportunity to see what I can. It's hard to even imagine that there are people who live here that have never gone to watch such a beautiful spectacle.

After the sunrise I took a walk on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, that took me to Galveston Bay.  I went to the end of a pier and sat against the rails and it gently swayed as the tide came in. The sun warmed my face, there was a slight breeze, and I closed my eyes and just listened to the gulls and the water and it was wonderful. It was just what I needed after a very cold week.

When I got back to the car I was inspired to write in my journal:

The sun rose over the horizon

and seagulls flew in to perch.

The water rippled and shimmered like gold

while shrimp boats left for their search.

A rooster crowed,

there was a smell of fresh pine.

Near the waters edge were deer

and a Great Blue Heron dined.

A long walk on a pier

to sit against the dock of the bay.

A slight breeze and warm sun on my face,

while the motion of the tide made in gently sway.

A cardinal,

a woodpecker,

a hovering hawk.

On this day, I had the most heavenly walk.

      I really wish I had a audio to go with these pictures. The sound is just as much a part of it as the seeing.



The sun and the reflection in the water makes it look like a candle to me.

I love how the shadows of the wood makes it look like a water color painting.

Pretty much right after I got on the trail I came across these two looking

for food together. The one with the curved orange beak is a White Ibis and the other

is a Snowy Egret. I just love the reflections in this!

This one is a Great Egret, a large white heron.

This a Great Blue Heron and had caught a fish that he could hardly

manage to swallow. He worked at for about 20 minutes.

As I was watching the Blue Heron, a group of White tailed deer appeared and this one

came down to the waters edge. Everything that morning reflected so beautifully in the water!

Not sure what kind of bird this is, but it sure it cute!

The trail was just alive with bird activity, much more than I was able to photograph

with my lenses. This one is a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

This is a little walking bridge over a small inlet of water that comes in off the bay.

 And just beyond those trees is Galveston Bay.

Just shorty after reaching the bay, there is a park with this 1000' fishing pier. I have a similar picture in a previous foto Friday, but this one just reminded me of heaven. I went and sat at the end

and just closed my eyes and enjoyed the sound of the water and the seagulls while it swayed ever

so gently.

Oh, and as I was on my walk back I could hear hawks calling back and forth and then this one flew right

over to where I was and just hovered over me. It was a little difficult to get a sharp focus since he

was moving so quickly. This one is a Red Shouldered Hawk.

Did you know that Texas is one of the top birding destinations in the world, and extremely diverse in it's species of wildlife. And that the Lone Star State was the first state in the nation to create birding and wildlife viewing trails. I encourage you to check out the trails where you live!

I'm looking forward to the warmer weekend that is forecasted. Back into the 60's, which means I'll be back on the trail again......looking for that American Alligator! Perhaps I should get myself a walking stick?

Have a fabulous weekend. Be a hunter (of photos) and shoot something (with your camera) !  ; )

Love,

Kim