Tugboats and Benzene Barges

November 26, 2016 at 10:04 am (Photography, TX, Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , , )

Benzene barge, Port Arthur, Texas

Benzene barge, Port Arthur, Texas

Well, I’m in Southeast Texas where I did some of my growing up. Visiting family for Thanksgiving. Didn’t talk politics so it went well. Yesterday we did something fun. We went first to the Spindletop museum in Beaumont, where the first oil well gusher in the area roared to life in 1902. (Stay tuned for another blog post on that one.) Read the rest of this entry »

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Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge – Gators, Birds, Dragonflies, and Such…

November 30, 2012 at 4:00 am (Birds - Texas, Butterflies, Dragonflies and Bugs, National Wildlife Refuges (US Fish & Wildlife), Nature, Photography, TX, Wildlife) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Vermillion Flycatcher, male

Although my recent trip to Texas was to visit relatives, I could not pass by one of my favorite birding spots without stopping for my bird fix.  Anahuac NWR suffered during Hurricane Rita in 2005, but was really devastated by Hurricane Ike in 2008.  There are fewer trees now, and while Spring seems to have the best variety of birds, November was pretty decent for a windy day.

So without much further ado, here are the results. Read the rest of this entry »

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Black-and-White at Big Bend

February 17, 2012 at 4:04 am (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, Black-and-White Photography, National Parks, Photography, TX)


Moonrise over the Window, Chisos Mountains

I decided to do something different and go retro – back to black-and-white.  These are a few of my favorite BW images of Big Bend National Park in far west Texas.  I worked and lived in Big Bend for two winters, and it is truly a special place.    Of course, these are all digital images. Read the rest of this entry »

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No Rain, Green Anyway

April 2, 2011 at 8:48 pm (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, National Parks, Nature, Photography, TX) (, , , , )

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Cottonwoods along wash near Sam Nail Ranch

Three weeks ago the only spring green to be seen at Big Bend was on the cottonwood trees, which had only lost the last of their tangerine leaves two months earlier.  (In Maine the trees are leafless for seven months!)  These cottonwoods were sprawled in snaky washes like green apple lollipops.  The effect on the landscape after so much brown and beige was startling.   Read the rest of this entry »

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Northeast Rim in January

January 24, 2011 at 8:36 am (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, Birds - Big Bend TX, National Parks, Nature, Photography, TX, Wildlife)

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Sunrise from Southeast Rim of the High Chisos
The weather forecast was delightful, and the moon would be full.  In two weeks the trail would be closed because of the peregrine falcon nesting season, so I decided on the spur of the moment to stay overnight at Northeast Rim in the High Chisos.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Ice Fog in the Chisos 1-11-11

January 11, 2011 at 6:37 pm (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, National Parks, Nature, Photography, TX)

 

Casa Grande 
When I couldn’t see the mountains this morning from my front window, I knew something glorious was happening up there.  In Panther Junction it was in the 20s, and combined with little droplets of moisture up higher, hoarfrost would surely be the result.
Road to the Basin 
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Sun Dogs and a Sun Pillar

December 3, 2010 at 7:53 pm (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, National Parks, Nature, Photography, TX)

Sun Dog on Right of Sun
 A pair of sun dogs flanked the setting sun this evening, formed by ice crystals in the cirrus clouds.
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Tufted Flycatcher

November 29, 2010 at 6:41 pm (Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park TX, Birds - Big Bend TX, Birds - Texas, National Parks, Nature, Photography, TX)


 
I would not have known about this rare bird at Big Bend National Park if a fellow who worked in Southern Florida hadn’t come through my entrance station on Friday to tell me he drove 30 hours straight to see it after it was posted on the North American Rare Bird Alert.  It was number 731 or something like that for this young man!  Evidently this is only the third US sighting ever of this Mexican bird, as far as I can tell, and the second for Big Bend – the first was in 1991.  Read the rest of this entry »

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