I hate wasps, but admit they are great builders. This old wasp’s nest was glued to the center of the hut, and in zooming up to it I got this nice shot involving trellises too. So, human builders and insect builders mesh well for a change. :)

Now, if I recall correctly these tall things are milkweed. And where we stopped for a break, the birds, that are probably American bluebirds (judging from my guide book and where we’re located) thought they were great perches. When I was a kid, we had this silly game called “Budge.” The idea was that you [...]

One last view as we turn away to go on to other things. I think this is just probably the most idyllic place for miles…the water perfectly calm, and sheltered. Apparently it’s fun to go swimming here and the locals do. :)

I think that the trees must either be willows, or alders. Alders are common around here, but they have a finite lifespan and the ones closest to us are starting to die. It looks as though they stole a patch of sky and hid it in the water.

There are actually two ponds, and this is the lower one. The water was calm and glassy, reflecting back the bulrushes and trees. This would make a really evil jigsaw puzzle. ;)

Several batches of frog spawn were floating around in the water. The recent warm afternoons have meant that the frog and toad population has come back out of hiding and now croaks from dawn until dusk. You can follow your ears to roughly where they are, then they go silent, and then you hear them [...]

The sunlight in the water was blinding. To really photograph this, you’d need to be there in the morning (so yeah, that would mean we’re facing roughly west). I wasn’t sure whether to try this shot, but I’m glad I did. I like the way the blinding glare came out anyway.

Kerry took me up to our local pond a couple of days ago. The water was still, glistening, and perfectly reflective. The winter colors were muted, with fluffy bulrushes standing up like soldiers all around, but the sky in the water seemed more blue than the real thing

This is saying Keep Out in a rather elegant way. Some while ago I noticed a grille across a hole in the bank of Trinity River. So yesterday I plucked up the courage to scramble up there, and found this pretty iron trellis across what was probably an old mine shaft. I don’t know what [...]