Thursday, February 23, 2023

The Bollards of Port Aransas

The Bollards of Port Aransas Bollard- a short thick post to which a ship is moored, also a post which diverts traffic…… Occasionally we come across an unique art form. One was the large murals made from large insects. We had heard that the bollards of Port Aransas were covered with artistic knitting and needlepoint and so we had to see them, ( They will soon be removed before hoards of college students arrive for spring break). Some were stolen but they were returned after the loud community uproar. The bollard covers were made by an army of individuals, and many by winter Texans. Over three hundred are on display. The following are a few of our many favorites. Well done!
Clear skies

Friday, February 17, 2023

Valentines Day at Blue Lagoons Rv Park, 2023

Every day has a blessing. It may be hard to find but it is always there. Valentines Day was a huge blessing as our park holds a fabulous dinner feast. The whole thing was organized by our friends Zita and Alan, the entertainment directors. For the past eight years we have been blessed to have them try to include everyone in all the celebrations.
Of course, volunteers play a huge part in its success. A large group does the setup and tear down. Our part this year was to be the photographers, (we are more used to taking pictures of birds and bears, than people). Alan does most of the cooking,(with Zitas help). He’s a Kansas City Grill Master and Chef and he smoked prime rib and Cornish hens. Added to that was a kettle of au jus sauce, a huge baked potato, fresh baked rolls, salad, and a red velvet brownie, (with assorted chocolates).
Sixty couples made advanced reservations, and the club house was full!
A large contingent are from Buncombe Creek, at Lake Texoma, and they decided to have a group photo!
We were led in a short prayer by Chris and then the meal began!
Later an auction was held to raise money for our clubhouse kitty. It was also a success, (and for the first time I was outbid, so no prime rib dinner when we go to Grand Isle, perhaps frog legs?). The celebration was an outstanding success! Our blessing was to be together and celebrate with each other and with friends we have met from around the United States and Canada! Clear skies

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Looking for the comet, getting ready for The Gulf Coat show, and fishing

Its very hard to take a picture of the nighttime sly without Elon Musk’s satellites photo bombing the shot. Still, I thought I would try to take another one of the “Green Comet and so Renita and I drove over to our favorite dark site. It was clear night and I thought I had everything ready but…. One of the tripod legs had separated from the tripod and I couldn’t find it, grr. I still, foolishly I might add, attempted to use the car for a twenty second expose. Of course, the stars and planets were a series of squiggly lines. I next placed the camera on top of the car after pointing it in the general direction of Taurus the bull, then snapping the image and letting the camera and car work together. It kind of worked and as you can see I got an ok image of Taurus.
Now to locate the comet we had to look between the Planet Mars and Aldebaran, which is the bright star representing the eye of the bull, (the face of the bull makes the letter v with the horns toward the northeast). Did I get the comet, maybe but its so faint that I must try another trip with the repaired tripod?
As tomorrow is Valentine’s Day our park is hosting a prime rib dinner and Renita and I are taking pictures of everyone who attends. The party won’t last that long so we plan on driving to our deserted spot, setting up the camera and taking pictures, (the comet is located at seven oclock from Mars and is very faint. This is a raw fromat image). Sounds romantic! For the past week we both have been making jewelry for our upcoming March 4th and Fifth show. It’s the Sixtieth Gem and Mineral show of the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society. That’s the group we have belonged to for the past twelve years.
It has been cold and very windy and so fishing has suffered. Roy and I have gone out in his pram, and we have caught fish. Flounder, redfish, black drum, and sheepshead. We also had a pod of three dolphin visit us. The fish we caught were undersized and but in two days we caught and kept three sheepshead and one twenty two inch black drum. The sheepshead were nice size, with largest being nineteen inches long and after filleting them we have enough for another meal.
Two fronts are passing through this week and small craft warnings have been posted for today so today I decided to take a break and spend the day smoking a brisket!
I had hoped to have the brisket for dinner but I accidently covered the temperature sensor and the grill got too hot. Luckily, I caught it before the grill was destroyed and after cooling and cleaning out the mess, the smell of smoked brisket is finally wafting into the fifth wheel. It takes about nine to ten hours to reach the perfect temperature so I have plenty of time to write this blog. Clear skies,

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Looking for the Green Comet and Our first Art and Crafts Show of the year

The weather here has been about as bad as it can get. Luckily we did stay above freezing, (barely), but the clouds, rain, and fog has kept us from viewing the Green Comet. To keep ourselves occupied we have been making jewelry, buying rocks, and Renita had been braiding kumihimo necklaces. The day before our Blue Lagoons Arts and Craft show, the sun appeared, the temperature warmed up, and the day turned out to be one of our craziest day of the winter. Friday night we play a card game called Jokers and Pegs but instead of calling it a night we headed across Copano Bay to try to see the Green Comet. Dodging the herds of deer, we reached the Coast and found a dark sky. Our first place has changed so much that the lights from the bridge and a convenience store had destroyed any hope of spotting much of anything. There was a sight about fifteen miles north but instead we decided to try a new place and luckily we found a dark sky.
The moon was near full, and we doubted we would see the faint comet. Ever the optimists we got out the binoculars and scanned the sky. It was so bright that not much was visible, only the brightest stars of the Big and little Dippers. We spent quite a bit of time looking, Renita claimed to have spotted it, but I could not confirm her sighting. It was so bright that I did not set up my camera settling for a few pictures using my Galaxy S23 Ultra phone. The pictures adjusted for the darkness, were much brighter than it really was. We had also brought our best DSLR Canon camera and a tripod, but we never tried to take any exposures.
Returning home, we put stuff away and went to bed. It was after midnight, and we were getting up at five thirty so we could set up for the show. Still, we made it up in time to set up and welcome the other artists. People started arriving before opening, and we got so busy that I didn’t take any more pictures.
Our rv park is a small one, so we never got crowded but we were still busy showing all of our work. Pam and Roy, Renita's sister and her husband also showed their jewelry. Other’s included Zita, who makes decorated cups, t-shirts and hats. She took orders including ones that Pam and I placed for cups with our schools name and mascot, “Go University of Northern Iowa Panthers”! It was a short show, only three hours long but we were tired. We had good sales as did many others. We also bought some card holders from our friend Diana, maple syrup made by our friend Alan, and a Wyoming Jade slab from our friend Jim. It was a good show and now we are working to get ready for the Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Show! Its always the first weekend in March, and this year’s show is the sixtieth one. Clear skies