Crooked

Sometimes the right path is not as straight as we expect. This one along the bayou in the Barataria Preserve a part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore that is located in Mississippi. stepping off this crooked walk will land you in thick mud or worse. Not the picture that Isaiah had - but he lived in a very different ecosystem. 

"They don’t know where to find peace or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads, and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace." Isaiah 59:8 NLT

Like Bruce says, "You need a band."

This was clearly her band, but the other four were also quite good. So much fun walking the street - it was closed to traffic - and hearing group after group. When I came to this one, I stopped. Then 20 minutes later they opened the street and the concert was over. Rats. 

Virtuoso on the Street

Many of the performers you see and hear on the streets of New Orleans are good, some very good and then there are those who excel beyond any expectations of what you would hear just walking along a street. This lady was one of those, just exceptional. And having a lot of fun. Treat plus hearing her. 

Beach Line

Just before sunrise on the beach at Gulf Islands National Seashore. While the seashore covers miles of island, this section on is on the western edge just west of Pensacola Beach. The campground is located here as well as an old fort to explore. But the beach is the draw and it is simply gorgeous. And if you are keeping track, NPS number 195. Nearing halfway. 

Minion Number Seven...

...almost missed posting on Wednesday, the 7th of February. He has been demoted to Minion Number Thirty-one.

Meanwhile, this Osprey was considering whether this fixer-upper was in the right neighborhood.

Roaring

The waterfall in Yosemite Valley last spring were simply breathtaking. The enormous snowpack from the winter fed every stream past the banks and the result was an amazing experience. This falls was on the way to Nevada Falls, an ascent trail from the valley floor. Rusty was here but he did not go to the top:)

Alice

Though not in wonderland, this gator was at the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi. She was about 9 feet long and seemed to be enjoying a bit of sunshine. 

Clever

Louisiana has several museums in the New Orleans area - this one, in the old mint showcases Jazz and is a shared space with the National effort. I thought the whole place was underwhelming - but I did like this piece of art work made of tambourines.

Fats Domino

At the National Jazz Historical Park - we saw this piano, Louis Armstrong's first horn and precious little else. It was a disappointment. They do offer some brief live "shows' twice or three times a week but they are more on the explanation side of a program. 

Burp

I think (hope) he - he was uncovered on the trail - ate the groundhog so we don't have to put up with this nonsense anymore. At least the movie was very good, very good, very good, very good.... 

Bass Harbor After Dinner

Four of us ate a super meal outdoors and watched the sun slowly set over the water at Bass Harbor, Maine. Perfect temperatures, no bugs, good company - everyone needs to eat like that occasionally. 

Working

There are boats in the harbors that dot Mt. Desert Island and lots of them are quite expensive and used occasionally for pleasure. And there are others, some also expensive, that are used for work. Lobster boats, ferries, fishing boats, Coast Guard ships, tenders and dredgers. There are also lots of "getting to" boats, as in from the dock to the boat. These are two that have seen hard service, years of back and forth carrying anything and everything and gaining lots of character. These two are in Northeast Harbor, Maine. 

Fort Foote

This was one of the string of forts built to protect Washington DC during the Civil War. Fort Foote is on an embankment on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Unfortunately it is currently a rather sad place. Now, I was not there at a great time, mid-winter and all that grey. But it was trash filled, very poorly maintained and just disappearing into the ground. It is much more of a local dog park than a National Park Service site. Even the view of the Potomac which in the day of the fort was unobstructed - and would be amazing today, has been grown over with scrappy trees. The only redeeming feature, aside from its place in history are the two amazing 15 inch Rodman Smoothbore Cannon. These massive weapons were placed here is 1864 and considered so big they have never been moved. It took 40 pounds of black powder to propel the 434 pound ball. The crew could fire every 4 minutes.  

Extra

What would you do with your buoy collection? Also in Tremont, Maine. 

Bird Week IV, Cactus Wren

This was a new bird for me on our S/W trip but I did see several examples. This one was in the Saguaro National Park's eastern unit on a short hike. We were on the hike not the wren. He seemed to follow us for a while after we passed a picnic area. I think he knew what might happen if we stopped to eat. So he scurried along the ground and bounced from bush to cactus and back for a couple of hundred feet. 

The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
he is filled with kindness. Psalm 146:15-17 NLT

Bird Week IV Red-tailed Hawk

Or at least I think so. I am not too good on hawks that show variation on their patterns. And many do depending on time of year, region and maturity. This one sailed over the NC Museum of Art on one of our walks. Red-tail is the most likely ID for the bird but it is not typical and I did not see the translucent red tail but how he flew it would not have been apparent. Still beautiful.

I double posted a photo on the 19th and missed it when it was "scheduled" so I am putting this up today where it belongs. Several editorial staff folks have been sent to re-education camp. 

Bird Week IV Lesser Goldfinch

The name is not pejorative from me at least. This little guy was at church, the Tumacacori Mission in Southern Arizona. He was in the walled garden, a really pretty place with small shade trees and stunning flowers. The Lesser was a new bird for me on the trip last spring. 

Bird Week IV - Curve-billed Thrasher

This little guy (juvenile -note yellow eye) was quite chatty. We were on a hike in the Organ Pipe National Monument and he popped up on this cactus and scolded us for a couple of minutes. It was a new bird for me, this area was full of birds I had never seen that are mostly local to southern Arizona.  

Bird Week IV Cedar Waxwing

This shot was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southeastern corner where the elk herds are being restored to  the area. We were watching elk that afternoon and then took a short walk along a stream. I saw several of these birds, they usually flock together, eating berries. They would then fly over to this tree and rest and then back to the berry tree. I think this is the best songbird photo I have taken and of one of my favorite birds to watch. Cedar Waxwings have great color.  It is with the Fuji X-T2 and the 100-400 zoom at about 310. 

Bird Week IV White-winged Dove

I was able to see and identify several of these birds - the first one was in Arizona at Fort Bowie. However, the best photo I got was this one at our campground in Nevada near Great Basin National Park. There were two of them and one was flitting about while this one seemed to be stuck on this branch, hardly moving.