Oh, hello. I didn’t notice you standing there, in the shadows. You’re quite patient, considering how long it’s been since I’ve come around. Perhaps you should take up a hobby. Anyway, as long as you’re here, please allow me to share a cautionary tale. It’s a simple story about what happens when you reach a… Continue reading One of these things is not like the other, but I forget which
Coming soon to a beach near you: OK, you don’t really want to know
As if there’s not enough biting going on at the World Cup, we now learn that the Shark Attack Capital of Brazil is Recife, where the US team lost/won yesterday. Apparently, the sharks in that area are feisty enough that the beach lifeguards do their training in a swimming pool, a practice that no doubt… Continue reading Coming soon to a beach near you: OK, you don’t really want to know
Return of the Quail
As an alert and perceptive Gazette reader, you no doubt recall this time last year when I undertook to stalk the wily blue quail residing in our landscape. I was able to see but not photograph the two baby birds that the adults were protecting. And shortly afterward, the entire family moved out, apparently tired… Continue reading Return of the Quail
I say manly affection; you say assault and battery. ToMAYto, ToMAHto.
Since time immemorial, it’s been the duty of uncles to harass nephews at every turn, particularly during family reunions. This is a manly way of displaying affection without, you know, being affectionate. Both sides know their roles, generally speaking, and the tradition is passed down through the generations. I have only one nephew, and that… Continue reading I say manly affection; you say assault and battery. ToMAYto, ToMAHto.
Random Thursday: The Tuesday Edition
I saw one of these today on the streets of Midlandtown: It’s a Tesla Model S (I think the “S” stands for “Sparky”), a $70,000 all-electric sedan that features seating for “5+2”, which, although it technically means that seven people can sit inside it, two of them have to be kids and they have to… Continue reading Random Thursday: The Tuesday Edition
The shoe must go on
Here’s a photo of what arguably is the most compelling conversation piece in the history of pieces of conversation: No, not the sock – although shark socks definitely haven’t yet jumped the you-know-what. It’s the shoe, seen here in fashionable out-of-focus fashion (hey, you try taking a surreptitious photo with your phone in Sunday School… Continue reading The shoe must go on
Snooping on the birds and the bees
The barn swallow nest on our front porch that provided some video footage last summer is once again occupied. However, I haven’t noticed the presence of baby birds, and my curiosity got the better of me this afternoon. I mounted my GoPro on an extendable monopod, connected it via wifi to my iPad so I… Continue reading Snooping on the birds and the bees
First trail run of the season…or “Death in the Desert”
Most of Texas was blessed last week with some of the best rainfall we’ve had in months, and lake levels across the state reflected the results of that bounteous precipitation. However, one lake that didn’t get much benefit was Lake Travis, outside of Austin, as you can tell in the photo below. Sad, isn’t it?… Continue reading First trail run of the season…or “Death in the Desert”
2014 Vacation Report (Vol 1) – A cruise around Coronado
We recently returned from a vacation stay at Coronado, California (with an extended stopover at Las Vegas, but that’s another story for another time). This was our fourth visit to Coronado, and we seem to be getting better with practice. We stayed at the 1906 Lodge, a 17-room bed-and-breakfast named not for its address (which… Continue reading 2014 Vacation Report (Vol 1) – A cruise around Coronado
Preaching to the birds
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell–and great was its fall. Matthew 7:26-27 (NASB) I suspect that… Continue reading Preaching to the birds