Blue Fountain

Greetings from Gainesville, FL. I have really missed posting and while I am pretty exhausted, I am trying to catch at least the first half of Spurs/Hornets Game 5 and post this before calling it a night.

We're doing some training and today was a rough day. Technical issues, training manual issues, blah. Everyone's great though but we didn't even finish everything so that's not a great feeling. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

This is a shot of the water fountain on the square downtown from the stroll we took last week. I zoomed in and shot several close-ups of as the lights changed colors. I chose this one today because we are close to the coast and we wish we had time to see the Atlantic if only for a little while. I love the Atlantic - it's where I grew up and spent each summer with the family. Great memories.

Garden update - week 7

We harvested our first couple of yellow squash today and we sauteed them to go with a spinach quiche Mark made. The squash was beautiful and tasted delicious. The tomatoes are still doing well and we still await some ripening.

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Hope you have all had a great day. Mark has treated me wonderfully and did cooking and clean-up all day. I felt so spoiled! I'm off to finish packing for FL for the week. I'll try to post when I can. Have a great week!

Voting Day

Today we held elections in Seguin. The highlights are the mayoral race, city council seat, city secretary, school bonds and other propositions. I love voting in Seguin because we don't have the really long lines like when I live in bigger cities. Today we came in right after a crowd had cleared.

Whipping Oak & Sky Watch

We have some very old (estimated 500+ years old) and very beautiful oaks in town. Some are also very famous! This is a shot of the Whipping Oak on the north side of Central Park (our downtown square). The ring you see here is about 3 inches and was driven into the oak about 5 feet up from the ground. During the mid-1800's, prisoners were tied to the ring and receive their punishment in the form of lashes. Mark showed me these after he learned about them during some research this week. He found two of them on the square. I thought it was very intriguing to think of the justice dispensed there on the square.

You can Google "whipping oak seguin" for more information or check out these links: Texas A&M or Seguin Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Other famous oaks include: the Civil War Oak (Seventh block of West Baker Street), the Coffin Oak (Corner of South Camp and West Donegan Streets), the Ranger Oak (Gonzales and Camp Streets), the Goodrich Oak (South end of Goodrich Street), and the Sam Houston (Sixth block of East Nolte Street). No longer standing are the Hanging Oak (Corner of South River and East Nolte Streets) and the John Ireland Oak (Middle of North Travis)

And for Friday, here is my Sky Watch. You can check out other Sky Watchers as well. Have a great weekend everyone!

Fountain on the Square

Sorry we got home from Kennedale (TX) too late to post but we did have a great trip. The mystery will have to wait one more day. I want to post this before heading to bed. We just got back from the Spurs game so it's pretty late.

The water fountain received a makeover recently and now it displays beautiful colors throughout the evening. I got several shots I like and wanted to share this with you. You should stroll around down there in the evenings...before it gets to hot! :)

Mystery on the square post tomorrow; I promise.

A stroll on the square

I am once again traveling and missing my honey so I want to post this shot from one of our walks around the square last week. Mark was very patient as I snapped away. He had something interesting to show me based on some research he is doing with documents at the courthouse. I will share some of my photos from our stroll, along with the mysterious bit of history he learned.

Fields of gold

For the past several weeks, I have really enjoyed seeing these beautiful fields right out front of our plant entrance. On the evening I snapped this, there was quite a breeze coming through town and as I took pictures, I noticed that the field was making a really, really cool sound. I don't even know how to best describe it. It made me think of my bamboo windchimes in our yard. It was such a nice sound that it mesmerized me. I could have sat there for a long time just listening to it. I was so glad that I stopped that day or else I would not have experienced that special sound. Very cool.

Seguin Photo Blog turns 3!

Today is the Seguin Photo Blog's 3rd birthday and for my 250th post, I would like to provide an update on the garden with a few pictures. Smokey has found a new snoozing spot in the garden. He really seems to enjoy hanging out in the tub and the real garden.

Our tomatoes are abundant and we await the first ripe one so we can cut into it. They still smell wonderful. Our squash is also starting to produce but Mark noticed that one of the little squash was shriveling up so he researched it and read that it was due to the plants not getting polinated. So funny our bees did not seem to notice the squash yet I guess. So Mark used a q-tip to cross pollinate himself and at that time, he did see a bee so between the bee and Mark, the squash should be okay. :)

Ducky #5

To make up for yesterday, I have one more shot to share of one of the ducks sitting in the big, old oak tree in the yard behind Second Baptist. His partner was on one of the lower branches.

Added comment: A coworker thought they might be whistling tree ducks and I think she is right b/c I Googled images of that type of duck and these do match up to a couple listed. There are other names for this type of duck, depending on who you ask and where they are from in TX, apparently. Other names might be: Fulvous Whistling Duck, Dendrocygna bicolor (official name), Mexican Squeaker or Mexican Squealer.

It's a gorgeous, gorgeous day outside and we're keeping busy cleaning, baking (bake sale at church tomorrow morning), reading my David Baldacci, visiting with a friend, enjoying the yard and garden, and waiting for tonight's Game 1 against the Hornets. Go Spurs!

Sky Watch Friday

I was going to post one more ducky shot but at the request of a new blog buddy, I decided to post a shot from the sky for Sky Watch Friday. This is something that many other bloggers participate in so we can share photos of the sky. :) You can check out other Sky Watchers.

Technically, I am pretty certain this is not in "Seguin air" but I shot it from the plane on my way back to Seguin. I always love sitting in the window seat because the sky is never the same and each trip I take, I see such beautiful clouds and they make me feel good.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Duck #4

I like the feathers on top of his head, very cute. They have a nice way of tilting their head to check me out as I snap their photos. I guess they are wondering why I keep pointing that silver thing at them.

Update on the tomatoes -- they're doing super! I guessed they would grow about 5-6 inches while I was away but they actually look like they grew more than that. Also, there are tons of tomatoes everywhere. I was thinking I'd post updates on them each Sunday since so many of you ask about them. Still waiting on the first red one but it's fun to check on their progress each day. Still smell wonderful.

Ducks #3

If you don't like ducks, tune back in next week because I think I'm going to do a duck series this week. They're so cool and I couldn't decide which shots I loved best so I will share some this week.

This is the same pair I photographed in the first photo -- that's the oak tree they seem to like to hang out in at Second Baptist Church. Here are two observations and wonderings:

1. How in the world do the ducks not slip off the trees and the tip of the church roof? I notice their webbed feet do not form and cling to the surfaces. Interesting.
2. That cool hole in the tree that one of the ducks is standing in has also been home to an opossum, a snake (unconfirmed but that's the story) and who knows what else. I am curious to see how deep that thing goes down. But I'd need a ladder in order to get to it.

I want to share with you all how much I have enjoyed being a part of this photo blogging community. I learn so much photograpy, blogging and other cities. Thank you for all your support, visits and comments!

Ducky

I got some nice shots of the ducks so I decided to dedicate this week to them since they are so active around town it seems. I think they are very handsome birds. Anyone know what they are?

This was shot last Saturday, same batch as yesterday's post. The ducks were standing on the roof of Second Baptist Church on Guadalupe.

Ducks at Second Baptist

We were at church over the weekend and these pretty ducks kept flying by us. They come back by the church every year I am told. It's so funny because I have never seen them on land. They are either flying or they are perched on a building or tree. I'll find a close-up shot so you all can help me identify them.

These two hung out all morning Saturday. They stuck together even though there were several other ducks hanging out across the street behind the church. Walnut Creek runs behind there and it seemed the majority of the ducks were by the creek. I shot this standing on the ground, looking up at the church roof. I liked the sky a lot that day.

The Tractor

Got in late last night but still had enough left in the tank to watch the Spurs go up 3-0 in the series with the Suns. It makes for a nice welcome home. We also had a good storm with lightening and thunder. I love a good storm. The yard looks amazing and I enjoyed checking on things today. The garden is coming along fine; the tomatoes grew about 5-6 inches in my absence, it seems. They look wonderful.

The lawn also looks great; Mark had gotten the mower out. When it's dry, we like to use this sprinkler. You put it on a long, long hose and it does a great job pulling itself along the hose and it covers a pretty big area without you having to go out and move it here and there. Who needs an expensive sprinkler system. This classic, heavy-duty (and plain ol' heavy in general) tractor costs about $50 and will last for a very, very long time.

Redbud, Mark & the Bees

I love technology. I can sit in SC but online chat with Mark who is back in Seguin. It makes traveling not as bad as when you couldn't keep in constant contact. :) He was on his way out to the yard to check on the bees this morning. Last week he got a second package of bees and new queens. He wants to make sure the new queens are doing well. I'll do a post of the beautiful golden bees we got recently. They're still getting settled in.

We're almost done here and will catch a flight home this evening. Woo hoo!

Tomatoes - Week 3

Here are the plants at about 3 weeks. We have been very pleased with their progress. :)

A note from SC: We have had a blast but we're tired and missing home for sure. Looking forward to our trip home tomorrow!

Fiesty Bluejays

The bluejays have been flying all over the neighborhood lately. I know they are not so friendly and often swoop down on poor little Smokey, but they sure are pretty to look at.

Cranking up the grill

Since Mark is home more now, we are back to doing some things we really enjoy...like grilling! He makes great ribs and the barbeque chicken is pretty yummy.

We put in the Crepe Myrtle you see in the picture a few years ago and we've been amazed how fast it has grown! I love the arching branches of this particular white myrtle (don't know the official name) and the way it partly shields the grill. I wanted to provide a bit of shade since the summer sun is so strong here. And yes, it has been warm enough for lots of grilling.

Mega-Moth

Bees are not the only flying creatures in our backyard. Last week I ran across this little guy on our step up to the deck. He was very big in my book of moths. I didn't take a measurement and I wish I had put my hand up there so you can see the scale but trust me, he was B-I-G. Stopped me in my tracks. And reminds me of that Richard Gere movie. The name escapes me and I'm tired so I won't Google it right now.

Note from SC:
We actually had no delay in Atlanta this time, unlike the last 4 times I went through there a few weeks ago. I am really enjoying traveling with 3 other ladies from work. I do fine going solo but when you are sharing laughs with friends, it's even nicer. The weather is great and after a great dinner (I love eating in Columbia, SC) and some prepping for training tomorrow, we got in a workout and now it's time to relax. I'm off to my David Baldacci book. Good night everyone.