It's a Puzzle

Today was another great day of relaxation and not too much time on the computer (I'm trying to not be a slave to work and blogging all day and night). I finished my David Baldacci book; I believe that concludes my Camel Club series which was very, very good reads. I was about to start another Baldacci but then I thought about a puzzle we've been meaning to work on.

I bought Mark this puzzle while on a trip to SC, in anticipation of having more time to do things together that we enjoy. We started sorting out the pieces and I'll let you know when we finish.

We also went for a little walk and just now (it's about 10:30p) we went for a drive around town. It's been so hot during the day (mid to upper 90s) that you just need to wait for the sun to go down a bit before it's pleasant enough outside to run around. On the way back to the house, we passed by the high shcool and it appears graduation was tonight. So congratulations to all those seniors out there and to their families.

Sky Watch Friday

This is my Sky Watch photo for Friday. Check out other cool skies at Wiggers World.

A friend at work reminded me of the Auxiliary Airfield area out on Highway 90A so Mark and I took a drive out there. Looks like the sun has set on gas prices like this for a while, if not forever.

The sun also set on my Spurs so that just means I'll probably now have more time for visiting blogs I enjoy. :) There's always next season!

Here's the field to the left of the sign I photographed. It's really nice out there with all the open space.

Two of my favorite things

It's game night and my sister joined us from Austin AND she brought yummy soup with her (tomato base broth with crab on top of vermicelli noodles). We have our gear ready -- t-shirts on, clappers in hand voices ready for cheering. I sure hope the guys make it. The yarn is for my stress...a distraction from the intensity. :)

Before I moved to San Antonio, I never even bothered watching pro basketball. We grew up in North Carolina...Atlantic Coast Conference college ball (go Wolkpack!). But when my brother took me to my first Spurs game in 1995, I was hooked. And it's wonderful to watch Tim, who played in the ACC for Wake Forest University.

Spurs Sterling Silver Dancers

The loss to the Lakers last night was a big disappointment but I thought of a few things that made it a happy day for me:

1. It was a night out and I had fun with Mark and other Spurs fans (what with all the high-fives here and there).
2. During one of the time outs, we saw the Sterling Silver Dancers. These ladies are from Seguin! There are about 20 dancers and they are in their 40s through 70s. They have performed at a previous game I recall but we didn't know we'd see them tonight so what a nice surprise.
3. It's my one-year anniversary at CMC and I'm very glad to be there.
4. There's still Game 5 tomorrow night and I'll get to watch it with Mark and my sister at home. We'll still use our clappers so that they can hear us all the way in SA. :)

White wildflower

I shot a series of shots when I saw this flower a couple of years ago and they remain some of my favorite photos. I love looking at the leaves as they remind me on onion-skin paper and I used to love writing and drawing on that type of paper when I was young. These are in bloom right now around town and at a distance, they look like weeds but up close, they take on a beauty you might miss as you drive by.

We're off to Game 4 of the Spurs/Laker series but I just had to try and get a post in. GO SPURS!

Cool ride

I thought this was an interesting ride. Mark and I spotted it outside the library during one of our outtings.

Garden Update - Week 9

Today I have several pictures about the garden. First, we have some squash and tomatoes that we fixed for dinner last night. It was such a great feeling to have fresh vegetables that you grew yourself and that tasted so great. I remember our store bought squash was good but it was always a challenge to find any that were not all banged up from handling.



Our tomatoes are finally turning a bit but we'll have to make a trip to Home Depot tomorrow to find some netting that will keep out some critter that's been chomping on a few of ours as they ripen. Mark pointed out that we still need to make the plants accessible for pollination so I show you what we end up doing in next Sunday's post.



Our sunflowers are in bloom and it's fun to see the bees on them. There's a lot to be had I would say. However, after I snapped this yesterday, we noticed today after church that something has bent and broken another of our big sunflowers. Might be the squirrels. We are over-run with them here and they get into EVERYTHING. :(

Finally, can anyone help us identify this mystery plant?? We had bought a package of okra seeds and this is what grew. Obviously NOT okra but no one seems to know what it is. We are just going to let it grow and see what happens. Mark's been researching it and can't figure it out. He's eliminated any kind of root plant (carrots, etc.) since there's no action down there. But there are no flowers up top. As for the other okra plants...no luck this year. We only have 3 that are showing any progress and they're in a little pot and are no taller than 10 or 11 inches. Too bad, because we were really looking forward to some okra this year.

A-frame #4

Mark helped me find the 4th a-frame home in town. This one is on Jefferson.

You can check out the other homes here: #3, #2 and #1.

Sky Watch over Hay Field

This is my Sky Watch photo for Friday. Check out other cool skies at Wiggers World.

This is the same field I posted about on May 5. It's right out front as we enter and exit CMC Steel Texas where I work. Time to store or sell the hay I guess since many of the fields look this way. Mark and I miss seeing the fields of cotton. I wonder when that crop will be rotated into the fields. It's got it's own beauty as well.

It's so good to be home. I spent most of today catching up on sleep and haven't even unpacked yet so that means I certainly haven't cruised around town to see what's new while I've been away. It's a small town but you never know. While we were away in FL, our area (Seguin plus some of the close by little communities) got some more bad press but I won't go into it all here.

Green Birdy

This little guy is so, so adorable! I am always amazed that I can see so many different birds just standing in the kitchen.....gazing out the window...watching...waiting for the birds. I don't know what this is but it's my all-time favorite color! And the little guy scratching melted my heart.



This made me think about my teen years when my parents bought me two cute little finches. Beaky & Tweety. I haven't thought of them in a while. Nice memory.

Pollinating the Squash

Finally the bees have discovered the flowers on the squash plants. Mark still helps them using the q-tips but they seem okay on their own now. You know what's really cool about these plants? I don't believe I ever realized that these flowers become the actual squash! Did you know that?? After the bloom peaks, it starts shriveling until at a certain point, it becomes a tiny little squash. And then that little squash grows into a big, beautiful, healthy squash that we enjoy for dinner. I think it's fascinating to watch this process.

Meanwhile, we have one more day in SC and then we go home tomorrow evening. I love it here but I'm pretty tired with all the travel. Looking forward to some kind of routine at home for a while.

Curly Q

One of my favorite things about climbing plants is the swirling, curly twine. Is that what they are called? My friend and I can't think of the word nor could I find it on the web. I know there's a specific word for it.

Back in Columbia, I'm having a great time with my fellow coworkers. Despite logistical issues, this week is a much better start than last week when a slow network really slowed training down for us. We also moved the class up an hour so it runs 7a-5p though we managed to finish at 4:17p today. It made us all very happy. The weather is fantastic, food superb and companionship awesome!

Garden Update - Week 8

Our tomato plant finally showed progress this week! I got home from the trip and Mark told me to take a look at the plants and I was treated to this shot. It was really exciting! The cucumbers are also coming along and I eagerly await my cucumber/tomato salad.

I'm in Columbia, SC again this week so I'll try and post when I can. I anticipate long days during our training.

Bees Update

This morning Mark checked on the bees and I watched and snapped photos...close-up if possible and from a safe distance when they got a little too curious with me, which was only twice and then they left me alone.

Mark noted they were noticeably less irritable than before he put in the new queens and the second package and that's a great thing.

Now we're off to mow the lawn and work on the bamboo. I have been neglecting my yard work with all the travel and it's showing. I have two flowerbeds calling for mulch before the hard heat of a Texas summer hits. I heard on the forecast that there may be two days of 100F degree weather this week. YIKES! I'm glad I will be in SC. :)

Sky Watch & Water Tower

Happy Friday to everyone. Here's my shot for Sky Watch Friday. I snapped this a couple of weeks ago and have saved it for a Friday post. Looks like another tower's getting a facelift in town. Here's a far-off shot on the same day before the clouds blew away. I liked them both.



You can also check out other Sky Watchers to see some pretty cool photographs of the beautiful skies across the world. There are over 167 blogs participating!

My Welcome Home

It is so, so good to be home. It was a really rough week of travel and training although everyone we met was so wonderful to us at our company site in FL. Here's what I saw when I walked into the house. This week I had a birthday and edged a bit closer to 40. :) Mark and I will celebrate before I leave for SC on Sunday. (Exciting garden news to be posted on Sunday despite my having to travel that day.)

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.