Skywatch Friday

Same field, taken at "ant level" this time. I couldn't get into the dirt as I had my work clothes on so I couldn't see in detail all that I was getting in the photos but I loved the way some of these came out. I loved the colors. And then I saw the clouds and it thrilled me to catch the cool sky - what a treat!

Check out other Sky Watchers to see what they have captured for us. Have a great weekend everyone.

Silos

From the same spot where I shot yesterday's picture, I took several pictures of the silos. There are many cool silos around the Seguin area as we are surrounded by great, big fields, ranches and land in general. I love looking at all the different types and configurations of silos.

Sepia Ground

The other day I took a different route home because it was such a beautiful day and the sky was perfect for picture taking. I found a really nice spot and snapped several shots. Here's the first. I set the color to sepia to see how it would look and I ended up liking this a lot. I shot this with the camera almost on the ground and held in my hands. To me, it looks like a ravaged land. And that is partly the case. This looked like it had corn in it at one point but with our extremely dry summer, the crops did not far well at all.

Woodpecker with Pecan

Sorry I have not posted in a while. First of all, I just haven't felt inspired. Secondly, I had been enjoying the great weather outside! Third, the great weather also meant some bad allergies (boooo!) and some bad headaches that turned into migraines. So, little energy and motivation to post.

But, I did spot our woodpecker again from our kitchen window the other day. It seems when the weather turns cooler, we start seeing the woodpeckers more often. Here is one trying to get that pecan open. He carried it around and banged it against the tree trunk and hopped and climbed up and down the pecan tree. It was very fun to watch. Then he disappeared high up in the tree and so I don't know if he ever got that pecan cracked. I hope so! Because the squirrels are eating up all the other pecans! We are really being overrun by the squirrels lately!

Pumpkins #3

All over town, you can find more pumpkins as people start decorating for the holidays. Not just Halloween really, but also Thanksgiving, which is already next month!!! Yikes! You know what that means. Time to get going on Christmas shopping!

Pumpkin Theme #2

In honor of the season, I think I'll keep adding to my pumpkin collection. I had a difficult time picking my favorites so I'll share them with you this week. I like this one mainly because of the beautiful stem still on it. You might notice most store bought or even the ones in a patch have the stems trimmed down close but I think they look so much more interesting and beautiful with long stems. Adds character.

Spurs Time

Friday we go to our first Spurs game. Despite it being only a pre-season game, we are still very excited! Nothing like going to the SBC Center to get into the spirit of it. Their first game of the season will be against the Phoenix Suns on October 29! This is a snap I took last year I think, maybe 06, I forget. I thought they were real at first and was very impressed. But upon closer inspection....fake. Not so impressed. But still cool. The shoes belong to the camera man doing a shot of the pumpkins for a TV spot. You know how they show "things" during the commercial breaks. He kept pretty close to the pumpkins, hence the shoes. :)

Red Barn

Once I drove by this red barn, I knew I wanted to go back to snap some shots of it but I really wanted the sky to be blue rather than cloudy. So I waited and Friday I was finally able to get a few shots in though I'm already thinking I want to go back for more. Just something really neat about barns, old or new. I like them. We have lovely ones all around us and if I had all the time I wanted, then I'd be stopping the car more. Instead, I pass by and make a mental note, "Come back later for a shot." :)

It's another beautiful, beautiful day in Seguin. Gosh, you could not ask for better weather to be outside. I'm about to go wash my car; it's been ages. LOL. Hope everyone's enjoyed the weekend and I hope you have a great week!

Here's another shot of the barn that I like:

Fruit Stand on FM78

Yesterday was a gorgeous day and we got out of work a little early so I drove a different route home in order to see what photo opportunities I could find. Here's a little fruit vendor located down the road from the mill. He's on FM 78 near the Chevron and 1620. I'm glad the weather is beautiful for the seller now. The hot summers were brutal on them I'm sure.

Sky Watch Friday

Well, better late than never! Here's my shot for Sky Watch Friday. This past week, we actually got some cloud AND rain action around the area, though Seguin could have used a bit more rain. But, we'll take what we can. The weather has also been cooler and I'm really enjoying that. The mornings have been nippy, lower 60s, and the days are in the upper 70s or lower 80s. It's getting to be the kind of weather I love!

For other wonderful sky shots for this week, be sure to check out the Sky Watchers page.

Working Girl

Just been working so I thought I'd show you my desk. I'm just very happy to actually BE at my desk...so nice to be home three straight weeks! :)

Sonia and I were trying to update some training laptops before they get shipped out for more classes, hence the abundance of laptops.

Treat Tuesday

Sorry I have been a bit busy with stuff and haven't been keeping up here. Plus I have not been particularly inspired lately with my camera. It's not that I've stopped snapping shots; it's just that few of them excite me. I don't know what this rut is but perhaps it will soon pass.

On a brighter note, yesterday we tried out Treat Tuesday at work. If you are a Hoops & Yoyo fan, you should know what this is. I love those little characters. Basically, these are the guidelines:

1. Bring a treat. This can be store bought or homemade (by you or anyone nice enough to do this for you).
2. Have fun.
3. Do not think about calories or how many minutes you have to bike in order to burn off the pie AND donut. Just enjoy them.

It was so much fun and we enjoyed socializing with everyone. Our office is sort of small so we tried to keep the group to our team and a few frequent visitors. We'll have to see what to do next time as the word got out a bit. Anyway, treats included three pies, Pinwheels (yum!), cheese, crackers, sausage, Shipley's donuts, Donut Palace donut holes, chocolate covered cashews....that may be it. It was all fabulously fun!

And for you, Dennis, who asked if my new friend Jessica has a blog....she does! Jessica wrote and said you visit her blog anytime. It's called KWED - Jessica's Weblog.

Spurs Time

It's hard to believe that it's already pre-season time for the NBA but I'm not complaining. This is one of my favorite times of the year for sports because you have so much to choose from -- college football, pro football and soon, pro basketball.

Last weekend, we had our annual Divide-Spurs-tickets-while-getting-stuffed-at El Ranchito get together and had a blast. We share season tickets with others and it's always a big event to do this dividing business. LOL. There are guidelines, game-selection strategizing and some good luck getting to pick first is always nice. This year, I drew number 1 again so we were pretty happy! It's pretty serious stuff and when I started getting involved in the selection lunch, I was impressed by the process our group had in place. It's all fun. Here's to a great season NBA fans. And hopefully our boys will win the big one this year. It's another odd-numbered year so that's a good start. ;)

[Alan, I have gone by the feed mill a couple of times hoping for a great shot but the lighting has not been working with me the times I went. I'll keep waiting for a good shot for you. I haven't forgotten!]

Sky Watch Friday

Lately we have had really beautiful weather -- clear skies, low humidity, cold mornings, warm days and lots of sunshine. I love it. Now if it would stay in the 60s or 70s during the day, I'd be in total heaven.

Be sure to check out other Friday Sky Watch pages. Have a great weekend!

Making a new friend

One of the nicest things about this blog is that I have gotten to meet some really wonderful, friendly people in town. This is my newest friend, Jessica. She works for our local daily, KWED's Seguin Daily News, and she told me she loves to check out my blog. I was so, so flattered and happy to know she likes it so much. We met at the archeology dig a couple of weekends ago, where Jessica also snapped some photos of the grounds and activities.

It was wonderful to meet you Jessica! Remember to email me if you want to go photographing together. :-p

Giant HEB Cart

Saturday, on our way to meet friends at El Ranchito, we were headed up College Street by the high school when we spotted this gigantic shopping cart. Naturally, we pulled over so I could snap a shot. This gentleman was just about to unload the vehicle for a 2pm parade as part of the Fair this past weekend.

Saturdays are for yard sales

We saw at least seven yard/estate sales today. We walked to the one down the street from us b/c the lady has a pretty house. Plus it was such a lovely morning that we just enjoyed the walk. Mark bought a cool two foot measuring tool. Can't beat it for a buck. :)

I was impressed by the quality of this photo as I snapped it with my cell phone, a Samsung A737. I might just have to do what the Mitchster does and have cellphone photo day each week. Honestly, I was expecting a more grainy photo than this. Good job Samsung.

Sky Watch Friday

Better late than never. :) Here's a shot of a cute little cloud floating over the Saffold property while we were there. I just really liked that cloud.

Old Shack on Saffold Property

Here's the full view of the old structure I posted about yesterday. It appears it was perhaps a storage facility but we're not sure. It's a real shame but there were several other structures on the property that were slave homes but they were bulldozed into a great big pile prior to the McKees owning the property. The good news is that the pile is still on-site so eventually a team will be put together to go through and see if there are things worth salvaging. Jody showed me a door plate and door knob they pulled from the pile and those items looked really interesting; finely detailed. I hope they find other wonderful things in that big pile.

It's Archeology Month!

Hi everyone! I'm back from NJ and I had a blast. It was so much nicer than I had anticipated. You can read about it on Ta-Ravel Blog if you want more on that.

Last weekend, we were invited to visit Floyd and Jody McKee, current owners of the Saffold property located on Austin Street, across from Starke Park and the dam. We had a great time and got to meet a really nice group of people with interests in archeology, history and preservation. Did you know October is Archeology Month? I didn't until I visited the McKees. They were really nice to open their home to all of us and they allowed us to roam their house and property. I won't go into a detailed history of the property and the McKees' project since others have documented it. You can check a Seguin Gazette article from June and also a more recent article from earlier this week. Mark's research is also mentioned! :) I'll find the other articles when I get a chance and post them tomorrow.

I will post more pictures of our day there in the coming days. Thanks for being patient with me as I don't post regularly anymore when I have to travel.