Twisty, Curvy Roads

One of the things that I like most about traveling off the grid is that I notice things that would normally be lost in the noise of city living. This photo is an example. It appeals to me because it is a juxtaposition of the temporarily modern technology and the agelessness of the earth. I was camped in a beautiful spot a mile or two from the nearest paved road. During the night, there had been a fresh snowfall and Max and I were out enjoying the freshness of the scenery. I happened to look up and notice the jet contrail approaching the still visible moon. I snapped several frames and got lucky with this one. To me this photo is filled with symbols. The snow covered evergreen tree has long been a symbol of rebirth.  The moon in it's fourth quarter is said to represent reflection and re-evaluation. Of course the jet contrails do not have a full history of symbolic meaning, but the juxtaposition of the modern day phenomena of jet contrails over the ageless symbolism of the ever...

Max found me late one evening. I was driving home and in my headlights there was suddenly this tiny dog.  I stopped the car and opened the door. Without hesitation, the dog jumped into my car. Rather than leave him to the danger of traffic (and the pound), I took him with me for the night. He had no collar so the next day, we visited several local pet stores, and veterinarians to try to locate his family. We posted "found dog" notices and watched for "lost dog" notices, but could not locate his family. We made several trips to the county humane shelter to see if anyone was looking for a small fluffy dog. The workers at the shelter asked if I wanted to leave him, but I did not want to put him through that. After a couple of weeks, I decided that it was time to figure out the name of my temporary visitor. It is not a matter of "giving" a name to an animal. Animals already have their names, and if you pay attention, they will tell you their name. I alwa...

Well maybe not that cold when compared to someplace like South Dakota, but still chilly enough that the cats want to stay inside! I took the photo above with my phone the other night while Kat was showing me around where she works. They were hosting a dinner for a group from Notre Dame University. That is Kat in the middle.  She dosn't really have three legs, she just never stands still long enough for a photo. I do not know where the snow effect comes from. Probably something on my smartphone added it. I kind of like it though. It was certainly cold enough for snow that evening, but it was not snowing when I took the photo.

 My photographer friend, Andy Blake, came by to pick me up this morning. Andy has been working on a series of photos of Texas grist and gin mills so we traveled to Martindale, Texas where he hoped to be able to photograph a mill. Here are a couple of photos of the mill that I snapped using my cell phone. Andy's will be much more interesting, I'm sure. After photographing the mill, we traveled to Lockhart to visit Black's Barbecue.  Al Dressen's band was performing.  I played with Al a few times back in the 70's and it was nice to have a chance to visit with him a bit and to hear some genuine Texas Swing. The barbecue was as good as ever. Being a bit of a hot sauce fan, I tried some of their "ghost" sauce. It was hot believe me.  Tears to my eyes and I pride myself on being able to handle hot sauce!

Boondocked in the Granger Dam Overlook near Taylor Texas last night.  Temperature dropped below freezing but the Surburban furnace kept my little Casita very comfortable and I had a very good night's sleep, aided, no doubt by the marvelous Thanksgiving dinner at Kay's house yesterday evening. It is a beautiful, sunny morning. Max is outside exploring around. I am having my morning coffee and writing this at the dining table. I took a panoramic photo of the lake outside using the camera in my phone. It is another of those views that makes one glad to be alive.  Then I came inside and took my heart meds so that I will have time to discover more views like this. There was a slight mystery this morning.  Last night as I was getting undressed for bed, I had laid my jeans on the dinette table.  This morning the were wet! There has been no rain and I had not spilled any water. Max never jumps onto the table so it was not a "doggy accident". I had not unhitched the Casita fr...

This was the view outside my front door on the morning after Thanksgiving.  After a wonderful dinner and visit with friends, Max and I pulled the Casita to Grainger Dam and spent the night. The night was chilly but not uncomfortable, and the next morning we were rewarded with this wonderful view of the lake. Max wanted to explore a bit. Here he is just short of the water's edge. It was quite a climb down to the water because of two bands of very large rocks that are just visible in the photo above. Each band is about 15 to 20 yards across and there is no trail.  Just have to scramble over the rocks and be careful not to break a leg.

Today, (well, actually it was yesterday now that I am getting around to scribbling this), was a very good day musically. Scott Bailey's Second Line Jazz Band, (in which I play clarinet) performed at noon for a community group in Lakeway, Texas. It was an excellent room for music and the house sound man did an outstanding job. It helped a lot that they had a very good grand piano on stage. We play so much with electronic keyboards these days that I forget what a real piano sounds like. It was a packed audience and they were very appreciative. This evening was the Tons Of Fun Jam in Round Rock. In addition to our regulars, a couple of Dan Augustine's friends showed up. Todd Sloan brought his piccolo and a wonderful tubist, Bill (I did not catch his last name) surprised us with some simply excellent ensemble and solo work. After the jam, I was talking with Todd and discovered that his Dad is an old friend and sometimes musical cohort, Dave Sloan. Dave is one of the better string b...