WINTER IN WACO!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!

So... Winter in Texas can be very diverse!  Why do I say that?  Well... when the high for the day goes from about 72 degrees to about 35 degrees... in 13 days time... yep, I'd call that diverse!!  So let's take a look at what can be seen over that period, shall we?

Returning from an area west of Waco recently, we drove through an area where a turbine farm exists.  Beautiful, sunny day... nice and warm.  Here are a few of the turbines off in the distance.

Pretty cool to see... and they look as though they are barely spinning... but they are actually blazing!  Size makes a big difference in perception.

Upon arriving back in Waco, we made the turn onto the main street from which we turn into our neighborhood.  There it was again!!!  The lovely hot-air balloon we had seen before... but it was MUCH closer and quite a bit lower.  Is it over our house?!?

Kept driving, turning onto our street.  Holy Cow!!!  We can hear the hot air being released from the propane tank in the basket!!!  It is NOT that far away!!  (Hope you can hear it!)

So... ended up at home and took a few more pics from the driveway as the balloon floated over a neighbor's house.

Oh... and while out on our run, we accidentally ran across the most wonderful piece of "yard art"... for which I have a very soft spot.  :)  The spinners spin in opposite directions when the breeze is good and it finds it "sweet spot" to sit after turning into it.  When the sun hits the metal circles, it shines beautifully with various colors.  Really felt lucky to run across it!

Wait!  I mentioned diverse weather, didn't I?  Well... let's take a peek at what we awoke to on the early morning of February 6th:

Before Daybreak

Sunrise

Morning Has Broken!!

Uh... yep.  We had snow on the ground.  Not my interest when it comes to weather.  Sigh.  Oh well... didn't stay... but the cold weather hung out for a while.  UGH!  That's alright.  March will bring warming temperatures here.  Until then... I will just stay inside!!

So... hope your Winter has been going well and you are looking forward to Spring, also!!

Until next post...

THE "PERFECT VISION" YEAR HAS ARRIVED!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!  And Happy New Year!!

Yes... I am quite late with that... but I still wish it for you all.

So... only a couple of pictures this round.  You will see them near the end.  Have a comment to make  about something first.

For the many years Facebook has been around, I had refused to set up an account.  I do NOT like a lot about it, especially the amount of information they wanted as well as the amount of information they were happy to hand out to places without a need for it!!  Yep.  I am a privacy freak.  FB did NOT meet the parameters required for me to become involved.

However, upon joining the real estate brokerage here in Waco, I discovered they wanted us to have an account for a business page.  Sigh.  Okay.  I had to get a young'un to help me set the darned thing up!!  I also did not include much information about me personally.  (If you ever wondered about the "other" Mary Condren's birthday, it's on there!  RIP, Momma.)  LOL!!  I used only my initials rather than my full name.  I just don't trust anything they do at FB.

Now then... after setting it up, I have a very good friend in my hometown who had an account.  We "friended" as a test for me to learn and see if it worked.  It did... and it was fine.  What I didn't realize was the rather large number of other FB friends this friend had!!  LOL!!  And... apparently your FB friends are available to the world to request as friends by others!  Yikes!!  I became slightly inundated with requests... and wasn't even sure whether I should respond.  I honestly do not really post a thing to FB.  I have found a site I love with lots of nature postings to share.  I have begun sharing those just because they are beautiful!!  But I will NOT be posting anything there I don't want the whole world to know (which is what my Mother told me about ANYthing I wrote down!)!!  So... with all that said, if you have sent me a friend request and it has not been confirmed, do not take it the wrong way, please?  I don't really even look through them very often and have not clicked on many at all.  I just don't have much to offer so I don't really track those requests.  Alright.  That's all about FB.

So... now that you have a little insight into my opinion of places that are out there in cyberspace, the spousal-unit called me out of the house on January 4th.  It was a beautiful, cool, crystal-clear day with literally NO wind at all (rare here in Waco!).  He pointed between the neighbor's trees and I saw what he wanted me to see.  I followed it so the pics are from the backyard then the front yard as it traveled.  So funny to see here!  Have not seen one here before.  Look closely in the first pic as it was done without Zooming!  Hard to see!

Alrighty.  I hope I have satisfied those who have shamed me for not posting frequently enough!  (You know who you are!)

Hope the "perfect vision" year is "perfect" for you, as well!!  :)

Until next post...

TIME GETS AWAY!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!

Wow!  Again, time has just whipped by without my even noticing!  How does that happen?!?

Well, I do hope you have all had a VERY Merry Christmas and that the upcoming New Year will be Safe, Healthy, Prosperous, and Happy for you and yours!  It is the year of "perfect vision", after all!  LOL!!

Okay.  Just have some odds and ends to share with you... mostly pictures.  Nothing critical so you can go get a cup of coffee... or glass of wine... or whatever you want!!

Let's see.  Let's do a little nature run first.  During our walks in the park, we ran across this lone flower alongside the lake.  There was nothing anywhere nearby as it had been a portion of the land that had been underwater for quite some time during flooding!  Decided to follow it to see what it became.  Here is a series of pics with dates:

Oct 21st:

Oct 22nd:

Oct 29th:

Oct 30th:

Halloween overnight brought a really cold morning!  You can see the frost on the picture from Nov 1st:

I was a little concerned after the cold and it was not a surprise to see this on Nov 2nd:

The leaves and the petals looked a little better on Nov 3rd:

Nov 5th:

The next day, one could clearly see the tips of the petals had been damaged slightly by the cold... but this little gal was pushing on!  We had started calling her "Twoey" (Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors) as she seemed a bit strange and out-of-place for the time of year and location.

The next morning brought sorrow.  "Twoey" was gone.  Completely.  Something (or someone) had completely stripped her from the ground.  It was so sad.  I had really looked forward to seeing her in full bloom.  Sigh.  Oh well.  She was fun while she lasted.

At the same park, after the flooding receded, there was an area of water that was cut off from the lake.  It was shallow and was along the path we walked.  I did not walk on this day... but the Spousal-Unit got a couple of shots for me that I enjoyed.  What is that little dot?  A mud pile?  Wait...

It's Mr. Turtle!!  He was hanging out in the isolated water area.  Check the top pic for the water bird footprints!!

Just before Halloween, there was a doctor's visit on the schedule.  When we arrived, we found the pumpkin "carving" contestants provided by the office staff!!

Rolling forward to December 1st, this was what greeted me as I prepared my coffee.

And, finally, a couple of "newbies" for the tree this year... and a couple of "old" favorites!!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday!!  Look out for 2020!!

Until next post...

FREDERICKSBURG FOOD!!!!

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!!

Okay.  This is the last of the "daily" posts!  Hope you haven't been overwhelmed!

As an FYI... it got darned cold here last night!  BRRR!  Must be time for our second season in Texas... "less hot"... vs the "hotter" season we have.

Okay.  Enough of that.  Let's just take a peek at some of the fabulous food we encountered (and devoured) on the Fredericksburg run.  If you aren't a fan of foodie-type pics, delete this now!

From first night's dinner (actually in Johnson City, Texas):

First morning in Fredericksburg:

A cheese/nut/fruit plate at one of the winery stops!

Okay.  Went to the Airport Diner for brunch... and got so interested in the planes coming/going, forgot to get pics of the food!!!  DOH!!

Met and chatted with the owner, Ed from Bulverde, TX.  Super-nice guy who told us to fly in to the airport there!

There was more lovely dining... but got wrapped up in the fun and food!  Did remember to catch final pics of our last morning's brunch.  So sad to leave.

A farewell Cranberry Mimosa...

Breakfast Chicken Pot Pie!!

Alrighty.  You saw the fun yesterday.  Today you see the food.  So great to have them at equal levels!!

Until next post...

FREDERICKSBURG FUN!!

Greetings, Blogging Buddies!!

Okay.  It is that time of year!  YAY!!  My TX BF and I tried to make a Fredericksburg run twice a year... once in April and once in October.  While we didn't manage every year, we are finally back on schedule.

This time, it became a foursome as my LA (Louisiana) BF and a very good friend of hers joined us!!  What a party!!  I was so happy to have my LA friend (whom I have known since early childhood!) and my TX BF (whom I have known 30+ years!) finally meet each other!  Such a hoot.

At any rate, just going to post some of the pictures here that were taken "on the road."  There will be another post that will be strictly food!!  Yes... we did eat like crazy!  Yum!!

LA took the following sunset shots as we left Johnson City and were heading to Fredericksburg for Night #1.

Since LA had not ever been to Fredericksburg, we actually spent a little more downtown time than we typically do.  Was really glad as we found a shop that had the most interesting work from a local artist who uses hand tools, etc., to make really fun stuff!!

Another spot we popped into had some interesting barstools!!

While doing one of our early morning "strolls", we came across a Century plant that had bloomed then died (typical).  The bloom on this one, however, had not just toppled over but had somehow managed to curl itself to the ground and the dead bloom remained in the air somewhat.  Have not seen that before!

There was a property nearby to where we stayed that had exotics.  Saw some deer-type pretty far in... maybe Springboks?  We ran across several Wild Turkeys when we passed the gate.

At any rate... food to come!!

Until next post...