End of Another Year

   As another year blends into darkness, I thought I would post a picture of a recent sunset. They make a great closer for a story, photo sequence or any good tale but for me they are openers as well. After I see one, especially a really memorable one, I can not wait to see the next one in hopes of it surpassing anything that went before. I saw this one on the way back from the mountains recently and the timing was perfect as I saw a windmill next to the road. Best memories of the year that is drawing to a close and I wait with poorly concealed excitement for what the new one has in store.

Lone Windmill and tree in the Texas Panhandle.

Late Season

  Living in Texas you soon realize that the seasons that are equated with certain months of the year do not always coincide with what you experience in this state. Spring comes really early, like January, and summer can last well into October, when other states have a few feet of snow. Yesterday I found the last few brightly colored leaves that were just changing from green to red, on the 15th of December no less. Just in time to beat the first day of winter. I bet they are still hanging on the tree when the really cold days of winter get here. Just have to hope the change over to spring happens early this year though.

The last colors of Fall.

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Ligety Does it Again

  An absolutely beautiful day for ski racing at Beaver Creek and the Birds of Prey race course. The final  race of the 2014 FIS week in Colorado is the Ted Ligety specialty of Giant Slalom. After the first run he was fourth fastest but with a blistering second run he overtook the rest of the field for another dominating victory at the most prestigious ski races on the North American continent. That guy sure can turn a pair of skis.

Ted Ligety during his first of two runs. 

Rubie Brennan of the United States on course.

Manual Pleisch of Switzerland cuts it close on a gate.

Super Austrian

For the Super-G races on the Birds of Prey course the Norwegian Kjetil Jansarud was fast again but Austrian Hannes Reichelt was faster. With an extremely difficult course set, lots of DNF's, a few hard crashes, the podium finishers were glad to survive. Wonder if this is what they have to look forward to at the World Championships on the same course in February?

Hannes Reichelt of Austria celebrates.

Kjetil Jansrud on course.

Didier Defago of Switzerland is disappointed in his final "Bird" race.

American ski fans were in full force.

Russian skier Alexander Glebov celebrates finishing in the points.

Kjetil Kills It

Travis Ganong crosses the finish line.

 Norwegians are at the top of the Birds of Prey Downhill again, but this time it is Kjetil Jansrud, not Aksel Lund Swindal who is out for the season with a knee injury. Those scandinavians just seem to have a knack for the speed on skis.

The Beaver Creek area reflected in a fan's goggles.

Kjetil Jansrud with the bouquet.

Manuel OSborne-Paradis airs over the Redtail jump.

Birds Of Prey

  It is December and the FIS World Cup Sk Racers are back in Beaver Creek, and this year it is advance of the World Championships to be held in February at the same course. Course is changed just slightly for this year, in an attempt to make the crazy lads go even faster with four fewer gates. With unusually warm weather it makes for a wonderful day on the slopes.

Guillermo Fayed of France flies over the Redtail Jump.

Kjetil Jansrud of Norway makes his way down the course.

Christof Innerhoffer of Italy clears the gate at Redtail.

Marcel Hirscher of Austria comes in for a landing.

Thankful for Everyone

 

"And the cows in Switzerland were always dirty."

The Star of the herd.

Thanksgiving is a time of year when families get together and enjoy each others company. This year we finally convinced my parents to accompany us to the Peckham's ranch to enjoy the gathering the way someone else does it. I think John was tickled to show others his spread, dad was amazed at how gorgeous his Red Angus cattle looked and it brought back all those memories for my mom of taking her families dairy cattle out to the fields and early morning milking. I think Patty was amused how differently they did things. Great fun on a beautiful day for all even if my nephew Michael would not get out of the Kubota.

Christmas Trees

   The yearly lighting of the City of Ft. Worth Christmas Tree is to take place today and in preparation I shot some photos as the crews decorated the giant blue spruce. It is displayed in the center of Sundance square right next to the fountains which create wonderful shapes as the water spouts up and returns with the pull of gravity. Frozen in time it almost looks the part of a winter scene even thought the water is still liquid with the temperature in Texas being far above freezing.

Horse head splash and christmas tree.

Looking Over Georgetown

  On my final day in Georgetown, Devon the chef mentioned to me that I could go up in the lighthouse that delineates the confluence of the Demerara River and the Atlantic ocean. Since the water in the whole area is all as opaque and approximates the color of chocolate milk it is certainly impossible to find the junction from the jetty. Of course I jump at the chance although the safety precautions and liability waivers that North Americans are accustomed to do not apply in the southern continent.

The Lighthouse on Water Street.

   One hundred and thirty eight steps lead the way to the top of the hundred and three foot structure that has stood in one form or another for almost two hundred years on Water Street in the heart of the Kingston neighborhood. Even with the oppressive heat and humidity, the view from the top over the city flushes you with a sense of accomplishment and beauty and keeps the smells from the open sewers from reaching the nostrils as well.

Panorama of the city of Georgetown, Guyana.

Biting Jungle Flowers

  In Texas, and the desert southwest the claim is that everything either pricks, bites or stings. At this point I would describe the jungles of Guyana the same way. Ants that can shred the leaves of a mango tree in one night and sting like wasps. Trees with spikes like a saguaro cactus skewer anything that passes. Snakes that carry enough poison to take down King Kong.
   These pretty blooms are held up with vine like stalks that are lined with sharp little teeth that rip flesh better than a serrated kitchen knife. Bloody forearms were found rather amusing by our guide Toby who was marching thru all this thicket in a pair of adidas shower slippers. Just not that tough unless you live in the jungle.

Deceptively pretty thicket.

Results of trying to pass the flowers.

Guyana and The Market

Play in the low tide plain at sunset.

  Humans have evolved to the point of specialization that none of us, even in a third world country, produce all the things that we consider necessities for our daily lives. With that comes the market, where you get the full assortment of items not created by yourself to survive. Those markets can vary from smallest road in Africa to the biggest Mega Mall you can think of. The only requirement is that the be traffic flowing past to help increase the sales percentage.The Stabroek Market in the heart of Georgetown, Guyana is an overload of sights, smells and sounds. They are not all pleasant but they certainly verify your existence. The stench that hangs in the back of your throat, the sights that stick in your mind and come back as dreams in the dark. The crescendo of barkers, horns and trucks making your ears ring and your mind race. It is all about increasing total sales by being the brightest and loudest.

A bowl of chilies.

Moonrise over the seawall.

A shopkeeper in Stabroek Market.

Climbing aboard a river taxi.

Fish and prawns unloaded at the wharf.

 

Rolling Thru the Garage

  Republican candidate for Governor of the State of Texas and current Attorney General for the state Gregg Abbott rolled thru the the garage at the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway meeting fans and looking for votes. He met a fellow from Brooklyn, New York that was in town just for the Nascar races.

Gubernatorial candidate Gregg Abbott with a fan.

Distractions

  Cruising, on a sunny afternoon. What else would dogs really want to do, other than take a walk in the park. They even seem to get that "grass is greener" envy when they see another dog getting to do something else. Patty was walking Yoda and Kimo when they saw their friends Rodeo and Hammer drive by (on their way to the river to play). Hammer has been suffering from a growth on his leg which seems to be cancerous, so he is scheduled for an amputation tomorrow. Heading for one last long run along the river as a quad pod.

Distracted.

Distractions.

Found Photos

Is it working?

  It is always interesting when I pull cards out of cameras that I have not used in a while. Images long forgotten reveal themselves and I see the edits completely differently after that passage of time. Some of the funniest are the tests, what I call selfies, just a quick check to see if the shutter is actually tripping are usually shots of me in some awkward pose. They look like an assortment of most peoples phone pics but I usually scrap them. Found this card from a GoPro and it made me laugh.

Swimming in Honduras

Fish and Coral in Cayos Cuchino.

Yoda hiding from the elements.

Kimo checking out the GoPro.

Calming Waters

  Looking for some images of the Botanic Garden for a friend and I came across these water frames. It is a feature of runnels at the entrance to the main building at the Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens. They give off a wonderfully relaxing sound and I can stand for hours mind surfing the intricate water patterns with a tiny kayak. It reminds me of the mouse character "Ralph" and his adventures in the children's books I read as a child

A splash into the reflecting pool.

The start of the flowing pattern.

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California Dreaming

  I can tell the dogs are thinking that vacation was way more fun that hanging out at home. Don't get me wrong, I think they make their own fun, but they sure seemed to enjoy seeing new stuff and having lots of new adventures.

Kimo keeps an eye on the Velella Jellyfish at Emma Wood State Beach.

Yoda looking out of his bunker.

Kimo plays ball on the beach at Emma Wood State Beach.

Hurricane Marie Fun

   I love to surf, there, I said it. Living in a landlocked spot I just do not get to do it very often so I have to improvise with my kiteboarding on a lake. Every once in a while I hear about a hurricane in the gulf and I head for the coast as fast as I can get there. I don't usually think about the Pacific as a hurricane destination. Oh how wrong I could be.
   Spending a little time in California, mostly to get out of the Texas Summer heat I just chanced into back to back hurricanes. I look out at lines of waves at every beach I pull up to. Never thought that hurricanes would create some rather impressive summer time south swells for the west coast. A week of great surf, some wind as well. I now know what they mean about pigs in slop. It will take a while to get my shoulders to stop aching, and my face from being cracked with a permanent grin. A picture of me taken by the accompanying trio of Patty Pressley, Yoda and Kimo the wonder dog.

Catching a ride at "C" Street in Ventura.

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Rolling Sculpture

   There is a non profit, Stream and Valleys, in Ft. Worth that has been diligently creating a usable trail network along along the banks of the Trinity River. Over the years the network of paved riding trails has extended from Benbrook lake to Beach Street and north to the Stockyards giving virtually the entire city no excuse to get outside and get some exercise.
  Thanks to some contemplating during some of that riding local artist Jim Beckman has teamed with Tom Diel to create the sculpture "The Peloton", a series of oval stainless steel tubes that represents a really fast pace line of bike riders. Displayed along the north bank of the Trinity river along that very bike trail next to the Clearfork Main Street bridge it inspires additional speed from the riders that pass it
   After a frustrating day of gray clouds and sprinkles, a little patience paid off in the evening with a colorful sunset for a background.

"The Peloton"

On a Boat

Hanging on a boat with Melissa and Rachel.

  Spent the day out on a boat, a gorgeously restored nineteen foot Thompson, with a couple of gorgeous girls. Not playing, just working. I did not even get wet and for me that is unheard of, being that close to a body of water and not ending up in the drink.
   The boat was fully restored by Andy Butchard and painted a sea foam color that made it just sparkle. Girls are model Melissa Brown and fashion writer Rachel Peters. Ended up as a perfect day, light breeze, no rain and not a lot of traffic on the water.
   A little cruising on Eagle Mountain Lake and you could not even tell the water level was eight feet down.

New Lake

  I have lived in my neighborhood for a number of years and we have had a perpetual problem with a little flooding when we get a thunderstorm now and then. Yesterday we got one of those rain events that did not even seem too bad until I walked out the front door and realized I now have lake front property.
   There was a car floating down the street in front of the neighbor's house, my purple cone flowers and prickley pears in the front yard were barely visible and I was starting to think Simon and Garfunkel had it right, I was an island. I walked up the street to take a few pictures of what was surely a bad day for some of my neighbors and found a couple more cars floating in the pond around the corner. A standing wave that I could have surfed on a board was forming over the debris flushing from one driveway.

  The good thing is that the waters recede faster than an outgoing tide, bad part is the cleanup is gonna last a long time. As the woman whose car was flooded as she was looking at a property for sale on the street, "Guess I won't be buying a house on this street".

The Ft. Worth Police try to prevent any other fools from entering the pool.

Ft. worth firefighters contemplate the next move.

Roaring rapids at the top of the street.

That is usually the kitty hangout corner.

A firefighter tries to check on occupants of a car that is floating. 

Standing wave at the light pole.

Somewhere under there is a sidewalk and a planted cactus garden.