Hill Country View

This was taken from a hill top in Waring, Texas. Look closely and you can see that some of the trees are taking on their fall colors. For some reason, the colors are slower in coming this year than usual. But the view is still breathtaking.

Fall Butterflies

Summer was so hot and dry and every thing was so crisp and brown. Then the rains came and suddenly, everything is once again lush and green. With the rains, we also had an explosion of butterflies. They are all over the butterfly plants. I wish I could take a picture that would show the sheer numbers of the butterflies. They are beautiful.

Betty Boop

I passed by this figure of Betty Boop as she stood on the sidewalk in front of a local boutique. I haven't seen a menu placard like this in years. I came back thru town, and took a quick picture of the little show girl. Betty B. was way before my time, but apparently, she was quite the popular cartoon of her day.
"Boo Boo Be Doop"...............

After A Lightening Strike

After a recent thunder storm, our neighbor told us that he thought one of our trees had been struck by lightening because he saw an array of sparks after a close hit. Upon close inspection, we found this. One side of the tree is devoid of all bark and the other side of the tree still has all the bark, tight and intact. The photos show the tree trunk and all the bark that was 'blown' off of the burned side.

Four O'clocks

I love these flowers, though my husband calls them weeds. They are really prolific and will spread by seed and underground by roots as well. There is a tuber similar to a carrot and then roots run off that. I have these pinks, and some reds as well. I have also seen white ones and tried to start some in a corner without my husband seeing them! He says they come up every where, but I tell him a weed eater gets rid of them faster than they can grow. So he keeps them controlled with the weed eater. I just wish the bloom was present all day. But evening and early morning will suffice.

Purple and White Datura

There aren't too many things in my every day life that just take my breath away, but I gotta admit that the beauty of this flower did a pretty good job. A very dear friend gave me this plant after I mentioned that it should be the official flower of my old alma mater because the purple and white blooms were the same as the school colors. The plant is loaded with buds. As I was doing research to find out how to care for it, I learned that it's extremely poisonous and is a hallucinogen. Since I don't plan to eat it or smoke it, I will just enjoy it.

(Wikipedia states that the Datura belongs to the classic "witches' weeds," along with deadly nightshade, henbane, and mandrake. Most parts of the plants contain toxic hallucinogens, and Datura has a long history of use for causing delirious states and death. It was well known as an essential ingredient of love potions and witches' brews.)

Roadrunner

I am cheating a little bit here. I did not have any new photos, but I found this one that I took last year. This roadrunner was in the parking lot in Kerrville where I work. He and I played ring-around-the-roses as I tried to get a good shot. He did his best to stay on the opposite side of the tree from the one that I was on. This is the closest I have ever been to a roadrunner. He eventually tired of the game and left me at a dead run!