Beverly Sills

I like to say that Carolina wrens are the operatic divas of the bird world 

because they have such a huge voice that emanates from a little tiny body.

Rusk County, Texas

Linking to Barn Charm

The Old Store at Martinsville

Fishing Hole

I caught my first fish, a little sun perch about five inches long, 

63 years ago sitting with my feet danging over the side on a wooden bridge much like this one.

Come and Sit for a Spell

Glenrio (on the Texas/New Mexico border in the Panhandle area)

Flowers and Fences

Jerome, Arizona

Linking to Friday Fences

Orange Rose

Alone on a Hilltop

Obnoxious Weed

Milkweed

Mexican Petunias After a Rain

Galveston Architecture

Galveston has some of the most beautiful Victorian architecture I've ever experienced.  And I only experienced a small segment of it.  The next time I go it will be a mansion/church tour.  Above is the Gothic Revival Eaton Memorial Chapel at Trinity Episcopal Church.  Construction began in 1879 and it was dedicated in 1882.

The Bishop's Palace is an imposing stone and steel structure build by railroad magnate Walter Gresham.  It is recognized as one of America's finest examples of Victorian exuberance and Gilded-Age extravagance.  Its sheer size can be appreciated by the perspective of the bride and her photographer approaching in the right-hand corner for wedding photographs.

Open Gates was the home of George and Magnolia Sealy and served as the party palace of Galveston society since the 1880s.  Today it serves the city as a business conference center.

Restored to its turn of the century splendor, the 28,000 square-foot, four-story Moody Mansion was completed in 1895. W. L. Moody, Jr., bought the home from the heirs of the original owners soon after the great hurricane of 1900.  The Moodys established one of the great American financial empires.  Based on cotton, it grew to include banking, ranching, insurance, and hotels.  The house remained home for the Moody family until 1986.  Today it is a museum, open for tours, and is available for private events.

Rainforest at Moody Gardens

A visit to the Rainforest at Moody Gardens was to be the highlight of my trip.  It saddens me to say that I was extremely disappointed in this attraction.  It's billed as one of the largest rainforest exhibits featuring over 1,000 species of plants and animals from rainforests all over the world..  Perhaps with that kind of hype I just set my expectations way too high.  My first big disappointment was seeing only three butterflies in what was supposed to be a large butterfly enclosure.  Maybe it was just too hot for them, but if butterflies abound in rainforests in South America, they should fare equally well in the stifling, humid enviornment inside the Rainforest Pyramid.

I did have an opportunity to see scarlet ibis in the open rather than in wire enclosures.  I think there were three or four of these beautiful birds.

There were four Amazonian parrots.  My trip to tiny Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas, proved much more worthwhile in the number of brilliant parrots on display.

I was able to photograph one lizard, but which species it is, I have no clue.  There was little information on the names of most of the species.

The plant life was very pretty, particularly the orchilds.  However, many of the orchids were simply varieties of phalaenopsis similar to the ones you can buy in almost any supermarket these days.

The other more exotic specimens also were not identified by type.

Perhaps I should have opted for the Aquarium Pyramid but I had seen an outstanding aquarium earlier this year on a trip to Arizona.

I won't bother to mention the rather high admission price, which would not have seemed so bad had it included the entire facility, but each venue is separately priced.  I do have to extend kuds for the free parking!

Galveston Island

On Sunday this week I traveled with a cousin down to the Gulf Coast where I reexperienced the lure of Galveston Island after an absence of over 30 years.  It was all I remembered and more since the population has grown tremendously since my last visit.

This iconic sculpture of a boy and seagulls is found at Pier 21 on the bay side of the island in front of the Elissa, a 3-masted, 19-sail barque sailing ship constructed in 1877.  Until a year ago she was one of the oldest sailing ships in the world until the U.S. Coast Guard at an inspection discovered massive rot in her hull.  The Texas Seaport Museum, her present owner, has hopes of raising the $3 million it is expected to cost to make her seaworthy once again.  I found it impossible to take a photo of the Elissa since she is moored at the wharf and is so large it's impossible to show her totally in a photo.  Maybe if she is restored I will have a chance to see her sailing away from the shore at a distance to appreciate her size.

This pier was across the street from our hotel.  In this area of the island the sand beach has been reinforced with granite blocks and boulders to help combat erosion of hurricanes Rita and Ike which came close to destroying the island in 2005 and 2008.

I loved photographing seagulls.

I almost tossed this picture because of the negative space and the poor composition.  

But after converting it to black and white I think it's now one of my favorites!

I'll be posting more pictures of Galveston in the coming days.

Kissed by the Sun

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a three- to four-day trip  to a place in Texas I have never featured before. I'll be back then, hopefully with new photographic subjects and will try to catch up on your blogs at that time.  In the meantime, happy blogging!

Sister Fun

Fence Near Toledo Bend

Near Toledo Bend Reservoir

Shelby County, Texas

LINKING TO FRIDAY FENCES

Old Man Strolling in the Park

Chimp Haven, National Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Near Keithville, Louisiana

On a Misty Summer Morning

Nacogdoches County, Texas

LINKING TO BARN CHARM

Juvenile Female Cardinal

Lady Hummer

Since all the hummingbird sites I've looked at show only the ruby-throated hummingbird being located in East Texas, I must surmise that this is a female ruby-throated.  I do know some of the females have a tinge of green feathers on their wings and back but this one just seems to be a freckled darling!  I would love to think that we've been discovered by another variety of hummer, but I'm not putting much stock in that.  If I'm wrong about her heritage, I'll bet Chris of Las Aventuras can let me know!

Thee Hubbell House

The Thee Hubbell House was built in the 1890s in Winnsboro, Texas, about 75 miles east of Dallas.  The stately plantation style mansion is now a bed and breakfast with rooms available in the mansion, the carriage house, and a cottage.  The house sits among 400-year-old oak trees and has a history with ties to many famous persons.  A brief history can be read HERE
.

Original horsehead hitching posts are prevalent in this area.

A Heavy Burden

I think it would definitely be a heavy burden to carry this plumage around for any length of time.

Eyelashes

East Point, Texas

I spotted this charmer in the community of East Point on a recent road trip to North Central Texas.  Sitting out on the Texas prairie it is unique to this area in that it appears to have glass windows and even a door with glass panes that matches the red roof.  I'm sure the door is a modern improvement although the windows seem to be original.

Another view of the same barn from a different angle.  East Point was settled in the 1870s.  By 1896 its one-teacher school had 86 students.  In 2000 the total population was 40.

Linking to One of Blogdom's Most Popular Memes, Barn Charm