On our way to the Capote bee yard today, we were worried to see what looked like a big fire. Later we learned that it was about one hundred acres and something like seven fire departments worked together to get it under control. I hope they did and that everyone was okay. This winter has not seen as much rain as last year and things are still a little bit "crunchy" out there. Pretty easy to toss a cigarette or something out the window and cause some trouble. I see burnt patches of grass and field here and there as I drive about my business so I try to be conscious of the hazard.
Besides that bad news, we did manage to have a great day with our bees. Hope you got out there and enjoyed the warm weather a bit. So nice for a bit of glorious sun, right? The bees loved it and so did I. Here's hoping tomorrow will be just as lovely. :)
I have noticed some really interesting looking mushrooms around lately and wanted to share two of my favorite shots. The top one is one that Mark noticed out in the countryside along a fence line as we excited one of our bee yards just outside town on Highway 123. The one below is a tiny little one (of many) that I saw hidden under all the overgrown grasses at the same Big Oaks bee yard. Both times were evening lighting and I changed the lighting just a touch on the shot below. The shot above I changed lighting a color just a little also.
A couple of weeks ago, before I started traveling, I accompanied Mark out to one of new bee yards, affectionately called Pizza Yard. I love going out to the country around here because you just never know what you're going to see. This year, there's an abundance of flowers AND bugs, insects, and creatures bigger. :-)
I loved this walking stick! I had not seen one in so long and I don't recall seeing one this big before. I believe he was perhaps 4-5 inches. I saw a smaller one in a different part of the yard but it was too hard to get a great shot because it was on the move. Anyway, wouldn't you know it, Mark went to another bee yard without me on a later date and he saw one that had to be about 9 or 10 inches! WOW, that would have been so neat to see and photograph. From what I saw on his phone, it looked a little menancing or at least freakish. I'll see if Mark will send it and I will share.
I want to say hi to a couple of ladies who have stopped by the house within the past several weeks to discuss our bees and honey (I didn't ask you so I didn't want to put your names on here but you know who you are!). They are fans of the blog and told me how much they enjoy looking at it, which made me feel so bad I have not been able to post as often as I'd like. THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading the blog, for your kind comments and for introducing yourselves to me either at the house or at an event or virtually. I love those encounters and they encourage and inspire me to keep blogging. Hope you have a fabulous Sunday and upcoming week!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope it's been a good one so far for you. Isn't it wonderful when you have a three day weekend? :-) Lots of bales of hay can be seen all around town and in the countryside these days. I love the different shapes of the bales - round, small rectangle and very large rectangle. Pretty cool to drive over a hill and see the fields dotted with these. Stay cool out there!
Well, I'm a little late on the Sky Watch for the week so sorry about that. Was feeling under the weather most of the week so I just didn't have the energy to post.This is a view of the countryside where we're going to have bee yard #4 soon. I love this area and right now, the weather's been pretty perfect for south Texas. Not too hot yet and the flowers keep blooming like crazy. If I'm this happy, then I can't imagine how happy the bees must be.
I hope you all have a really wonderful weekend! The past week has seen some cloud coverage but yesterday and today were fairly sunny and crisp. It's been wonderful to get out and see all that nature has to offer us lately. This is a shot of a tucked-away pond out at one of our bee yards. This was the first time I explored beyond the immediate area of the yard so it was a really sweet treat. The air was soft as it was dusk and I could hear the nearby buzz of the swarming bees we went to capture. It's nice to get away from work and man-made noise once in a while.
Also enjoying the spring sunshine are the mesquite trees. Today Mark saw the first bloom coming out.
Today we went driving on Hwy 90A towards Gonzales in order to check on the bee yard out there. It's gorgeous along the way! If you haven't seen enough wildflowers, then you need to go out that way. I love how the blue and the red flowers are mixing in this area. Last time we were out that way (a couple of weeks), the Bluebonnets were not even around yet. This time, you can find many fields of blue. And yellow, purple, lavender, violet, white and so on. It's a great spring so far with the bright sunny days after a good dose of rain.
The flowers are starting to really pop around here and I can't wait to see how they develop over the next month. The rainy winter should really be just what they need to shine this year. I love looking at all of them! I have not seen these red flowers in such quantity before this year. If you know what they are, please let us know. :-)
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.
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:
