Cypress trees...I just love them.  Part of it has to do with where they hang out.  That would be all along the lovely river banks in the surrounding area.  They provide lovely color for us in the Fall, a handy roost for buzzards (see black spots at the top of this one),debris catchers for flash floods, jumping off points for imagination.   In the image below a fallen bit is suspended above the colored stones of the Comal river in New Braunfels.  The water was soon clear and beautiful it reminded of stained glass.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Bald Cypress that grows along fresh water rivers in my neck of the woods only grow in the United States now.  The Sabinal river takes its name from the Spanish word sabino which means cypress. 

This image The Cypress Sirens was captured along that river.

So you can see why these are some of my favorite subjects.  It doesn't matter if they are viewed from the bank, or a tube but they really shouldn't be viewed from a speeding car.  Next time you see them, stop and say Hello.  They'll have a story to tell if you listen. 

Back road gem

 

Little Joshua Creek

I've been running the roads again and there is no better time than October to do that in my neck of the woods.  At this time of year we've gotten some rain.  The humidity has dropped.  I like nothing better than driving slow with my windows down listening to bird song and looking for what's around the next bend in the road.  This bend showed me a low water crossing at Little Joshua Creek in the Texas Hill Country.  I pulled off the road and just stood there with my camera.  Several farm and ranch trucks passed as I stood and each driver waved with a smile.  They knew they had it good out here.

 

That's it!  I'm diving in head first folks.

I've quit my day job and am going to explore my photography to my heart's content.  What exactly that means will be determined along the way.  I will continue to have my work available in a variety of venues online.  I hope to have a presence in select local galleries and shops as well.  Now that I have weekends free for the first time in almost 30 years I'll be taking part in local art shows and sales as well so I hope to meet you person one day.  Stay tuned and follow my photo adventures big and small. I've got a trip to Italy and Scotland (of course) in the works for the coming year and who knows where else I'll find myself.  I've made a start on the dance hall project I've been dreaming about and my "to do and to see" list has grown gleefully.  Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.  Vacilando baby!! 

Vacilando

 

I'm in the process of reading Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.  I can't tell you what a chord this has struck with me.  Perhaps it reminds me of my young life living in Alaska and camping out most weekends during the summer.  Maybe he is capturing they same feelings I'm having now when I MUST "go and see".  For whatever reason I am thoroughly enjoying it.  About 22% in (thank you Kindle for the lack of page numbers) he describes the word vacilando.  Its a Spanish word that doesn't really have an English equivalent.  He says, "if one is vacilando, he is going somewhere but doesn't greatly care whether or not he gets there, although he has direction.  This so closely describes my "go and see" trips that I actually said "exactly!" out loud when I read it.

I'm on an Easter egg hunt, a visual troll using my imagination as bait. I hit the high planes west of San Antonio last weekend and came across cows in the winter scrub brush, empty houses with stories still to tell and a new word that just might make a great tattoo.