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Spring On The Bayou; Photos (I hope)
Topic Started: Apr 1 2005, 10:08 AM (486 Views)
Lon Frank
Member

I'm trying this for the first time. I hope the photos work.

The first is of a gator that was about 10 feet away on a trail in Louisiana. I'm glad they are lazy this time of year!

The second is of a Roseate Spoonbill rookery that I found last week, in the shadow of the area's largest and oldest (and nastiest) refinery. The birds found a protected spot of flooded old trees and made a splash of color in this most unusual place.
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Lon Frank
Member
OK, let's try again:

Posted Image

Posted Image


I may be dumb, but pesistent! :updown:
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Trailblazer
Member
Wow, you are CLOSE to that alligator!!! What an incredible picture, Lon!! He looks like he's turning his head a little to keep an eye on you....I swear I can see him breathing...shhhhh, walk away slow...

Oooh, the colors of the birds are marvelous! I loved Spring in Louisiana. Great pictures!! Thanks for posting them. I'll look forward to more! :)
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Lon Frank
Member
Blazer, I'll take the gator anyday over the bear! I can outrun the gator (you're supposed to zig-zag - they can't do that)

Here's one more, of the wildlife I live with everyday. Two days ago, I built a fence and this was my work crew. The non-union scab carrying boards is Kit and the suppervisor is Katy-the-Corgi, who just showed up because she thought we'd quit soon and go fishing. You can see how green and ragged everything is down here already!

Posted Image
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Lon Frank
Member
I think I'm getting the hang of this photo thing. Here's another of the spoonbills.

Posted Image
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Trailblazer
Member
Oh, there's Kit!!! :) Hiya Kit! Working hard helping Dad, I see! Cute Corgi! Nice work crew, Lon. I don't blame you for having non-union...if union there is as difficult to deal with as Louisiana tag agencies and notary publics! LOL! Are unions there bound by Napoleanic Law too? :floorrollin: Remind me to tell you about selling our OK canoe and trailer in LA. :doh:

Love the green, lush surroundings. I couldn't believe how much rain we got in Baton Rouge last winter, but it does make for a beautiful green landscape, and great fishing.

The bear picture in my signature was taken by Richard last summer while we were hiking. We had hiked around Jenny Lake to some high waterfalls. On the hike back to the car, we encountered a large family all in a dither, yelling very excited, as a bear had just gone through their gathering. They had been fishing at the lake when the bear came ambling along the trail, and one teenage son ran with his fishing pole right into the lake to get away from the bear. This boy was completely soaking wet and freezing! Everyone else scattered to their cars in the parking lot. The only one who remained calm was the grandmother who stood her ground and kept videotaping the bear. All the bear was interested in was rooting for ants or grubs, and continued on the trail. No way was I going to continue hiking on the trail and run into that bear! So Richard took off on the trail to go get the car, come pick me up, and maybe get pictures of the bear along the way. Well, he did!!!

I'm just glad that the bear was not coming in our direction that day on the trail!!! I would have freaked out! That was our very first bear encounter on our trip.

Bear or alligator? Hmmm...good question!! I'm not sure! You've got BOTH down there AND a gazillion colorful poisonous snakes. You've got to hand it to Louisiana...you have it ALL! :eek:

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Lon Frank
Member
I notice, now that I am proficient enough to post photos, that you have ANIMATED penguins! I think that is just showing off.

And you are so right about our neighbor state. As we say in Texas, it's a whole 'nuther country. I always get a smile out of the trip along the coast. Between Cameron and Holly Beach, there's a tiny ferry that takes you across the ship channel. It's free if you ride west-to-east, but costs a buck when you go east-to-west. I always expect them to kill the engines on the free ride, and ask everyone to start paddling!

My little motorhome is just sitting here, with an inch of dust and cobwebs. I can feel it watching me whenever I go outside, and I think maybe pretty soon Kit and I'll have to take it for a ramble, maybe over along the Bayou Teche and get some more scenery shots. Also, I keep hearing my name called from somewhere out west, maybe Big Bend, I think. I was going to the birding woods on the beach, but the wind is blowing from the southwest so hard today that any little guys coming over the Gulf from Mexico won't touch down until they reach Ohio. (that's very good!)

Oh, and I've never seen a bear in the wild; I can only imagine the rush! I did see some very aggressive chipmonks last trip to Colorado, however. They held us at bay for a solid hour while they ravaged the remains of the bing cherries we had brought from Washington. Luckily, we managed to escape when another pic nic broke out by a converted scoolbus from California!
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Trailblazer
Member
The spoonbills are so beautiful. Their pink color really stands out in the pictures. Sorry I keep forgetting you are in Texas. You are really close though, right?
The ferry you are describing sounds like the ones along the Mississippi River. Free one way, $1 going the other way. It is worth it just to park on the ferry and ride across, a great way to feel just how wide the river is. We always enjoyed that.

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Sunset on the Mississippi River from the Angola prison ferry when we left the prison rodeo.

We haven't been to Big Bend yet, but it's on our list of places to visit and camp.

I didn't animate the little penguins. That one I got from the other forum.

I'll look forward to more pictures, Lon! :)
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Lon Frank
Member
Blazer, as we say down here, I could chunk a rock and hit Louisiana. About ten miles by road and drawbridge, actually, but this is the Cajun corner of Texas for sure.

Did you see my postings a couple of years ago from Big Bend? If not, here's the location of a site that a cousin put up for me:

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/my_heroes/vacation.html

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Trailblazer
Member
Lon, I do remember seeing your link/pictures on RV.net quite a while ago, and enjoyed seeing pictures of you and Kit!

No chihuahua's, huh?? :floorrollin:

Gorgeous pictures of Big Bend...we'll make it there someday. It seems we always stay longer on the gulf than we intend to, and just can't pry ourselves away... :)
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Lon Frank
Member
Actually, we were fortunate to avoid the chihuahuas. As anyone knows, who has camped in this forbidding landscape, it's this time of year that the hungry pups emerge ravenous from hidden desert dens. Our folklore is rife with stories of terrified prospectors who awoke to find their camps ravaged; favorite bunny slippers chewed to shreds, yellow puddles strategically left by the coffee pot. It's no wonder that men shiver in their sleep when the wind whistles up a full moon over the Chisos and the wild chihuahuas howl.

There's even an old legend about a child, lost in the desplobado and raised by a pack of wild chihuahuas. He grew up and rejoined society, and now owns a Taco Bell franchise in El Paso.

;)
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Trailblazer
Member
Too funny!! :floorrollin:

Seriously though, I do look forward to more pictures! :yes:
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Lon Frank
Member
I'm out of photos, since the camera is new, and I've only taken it out a few times. But, how about a word picture?


The woods grow thicketty with sunlight where the road cuts through, and present the passerby with a solid wall of bark and leaf, twig and needle. But, in the early spring, after a week of longer days, the corridor suddenly becomes lined in soft green velvet. The trees and bushes all race to sprout new shimmering green leaves. And interspersed all along the thicket line, the redbuds flaunt their unabashed gaudiness. I imagine a French Impressionist painting; purple skyrockets in a green sky.

Sudden purple splash
In woods still grey with winter
Redbuds calling spring

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sylley2000
Member Avatar
Sylvia, Grand Bend ON
Your photographs are stunning. You have a very good eye Lon.

I took the liberty to resize your picture of the gator. Feel free to copy it and replace it with this one.

Posted Image

Here is the coding for it:

Code:
 
[img]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/sylley2000/gatorbytrail.gif[/img]


It's optimized and saved in GIF format, which speeds ups its loading. GIF format creates smaller files basically becase it uses only 256 colours unlike JPEG which has millions of colours. There is sometimes loss of clarity by saving in that format, but usually it is sufficient for displaying graphics on the internet. All that's required to save pictures is selecting it at the time it is saved.

Lecture now ends! And I'd be very happy to keep those details to myself and not burden you with my geeky comments. :floorrollin: :floorrollin: :floorrollin:

Please keep posting your pictures Lon albeit them word or digital snapshots. You are very gifted Lon -- that's more than enough that you're willing to share snippets of your talents with us.

The spoonbills are particularly lovely. Thanks so much Lon.

Sylvia
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Lon Frank
Member
Syl, thanks for the advice about GIFs. I wondered if there was a faster way to get them to load. I have only used my computer for word processing since my first one in '89, and I am really dumb about the ways of the internet. I usually ask my son, who does web designs, but he just looks at me sadly nowadays, and then starts talking about how nice the retirement homes are these days.

I've begun to understand the new digital camera, one not nearly as complex as some used by the real technobuffs here, but I have to admit I miss the old Cannon SLR I used in college days. I enjoyed the travel photos of Annie's so much I decided to take the plunge and join in. The new computer I got a couple of weeks ago also helps, but each time they make things "easier" they set me back a few years!

Please continue to try and impart your geeky expertise to me, but remember, use small words. And I can't even pronounce HTML, so just don't go there!



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