3/26/11

3/24/11

The Yellow Rose and The Yellow Waterlily

The Yellow Rose of Texas.....It's a Flower...It's a Song...It's a Texas Symbol.
It's All of the Above!
This one is from the Rose Garden at the International Waterlily Collection in
My Town...San Angelo, Texas

The International Waterlily Collection has been designated by the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society as a premiere collection of lilies in existence. This collection is the life work of one man with the mind of a scientist, the heart of a poet and the soul that embodies preserving waterlily heritage for the generations to come. His name is Ken Landon. Ken is only able to display about 1/2 of 1% of the collection each year so there is always something new and wondrous to see.

Wonderous to see is an understatement!  Here is the wonderous Yellow Waterlily called Texas Dawn!

The centers of the Lilies are Yellow and the Petals are a variety of colors.

 are the Crowning Glory of the collection.
The giant water platter Victoria has captured the imagination of the world from the very first glimpse of it in its wild South American home in l801. Named for Queen Victoria, it was nearly 50 years later that it was first brought to bloom in "captivity" in England, inspiring a wave of enthusiasm for its size and the beauty of its flowers. Victoria Amazonica

My Waterlily Photo Collection Slideshow...click HERE to view on Flicker.
All photos are taken by CollectInTexas Gal
(all rights reserved)

As much as I would have liked to have gotten in the pool to photograph the waterlilies, I stayed dry and shot all my photos hanging over the railing and getting as close as possible without falling in.

That's me standing by the Victoria Amazonica Pond.

The guy in the pond is the official Waterlily Collection Photographer.  I was lucky enough to visit during the International Waterlily Festival last September and catch him at work and giving a very informative commentary.

You can see more of his photographs on the International Waterlily Collection Website.


The Color Yellow in My Town

3/18/11

Keepin' The DustPan Handy...Spring PhotoBlog Cleaning!

I got the urge to Spring Clean today! 
 That's a good thing when your about ready to hang out the Closed sign or one that says
'This Mess is a Photo Place'
and it really looks like
'This Photo Place is a Mess'

So I borrowed the DustPan from the shop next door....I don't think they will miss it.

I doubt they are much interested in Spring Cleaning.

Last time I saw them they were taking a LongNeck Spring Break!

I don't think they are coming back, so I'll be
Keepin' The DustPan Handy!

Photos from Photo Shoot in Miles, Texas
All Photos by CollectInTexas Gal
all rights reserved

3/14/11

NeatONikon LUCKY SHOTS!!!

Luck is when opportunity knocks and you answer!

May there be a generation of children on the children of your children!
My Son's Son







May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun.
And find your shoulder to light on.
To bring you luck, happiness and riches.
Today, tomorrow and beyond.

3/12/11

Photo Rewards for Birdies Bed & Breakfast


Welcome To 'Birdies Bed and Breakfast'


Ya'll Come Back Soon!

3/11/11

Looking for Chaos....Finding the Aftermath

Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!
Where are You?


I've been Out and About My Town looking for Chaos....ready to Shoot anything that shouted,
 "I am Chaos"!
I got Zip, Nada, Nothin'...not even a whisper!
I guess I'm just not able to recognize Chaos! 
Unless.....

.....you count the rusted remenants of a windmill that once whirled in wind.

...or the view from the back of a bus that once traveled the country roads taking children to and from school.

...or perhaps in the aftermath of a single shot through the window.  Now it's been shot twice!

It may be Chaos!
I guess I just don't see it that way!
Linking To
March 11th Theme - Chaos!

3/8/11

Cowgirl Gear


The Gear




The Cowgirl
My Beautiful Niece

3/6/11

Texas Longhorns...The Ones With Horns Not Helmets

The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to 7 feet  tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and 36 to 80 inches tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring.

The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America and the International Texas Longhorn Association serve as the recognized registries for the breed. Texas Longhorns with elite genetics can often fetch $40,000 or more at auction with the record of $170,000 in recent history for a cow.  Due to their innate gentle disposition and intelligence, Texas Longhorns are increasingly being trained as riding steers.

The early Texas settlers obtained feral Mexican cattle from the borderland between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande and mixed them with their own eastern cattle. The result was a tough, rangy animal with long legs and long horns extending up to seven feet. Although this interbreeding was of little consequence to the makeup of a Longhorn, it did manage to alter color. The varieties of color ranged from blue; and all hues of "yellow"; browns, black, red and white. both cleanly bright and dirty-speckled.

 The leaner longhorn beef was not as attractive in an era where tallow was highly prized, and the longhorn's ability to survive on often poor vegetation of the open range was no longer as much of an issue. Other breeds demonstrated traits more highly valued by the modern rancher, such as the ability to put on weight quickly. The Texas longhorn stock slowly dwindled, until in 1927 the breed was saved from almost certain extinction by enthusiasts from the United States Forest Service, who collected a small herd of stock to breed on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, Oklahoma. A few years later, J. Frank Dobie and others gathered small herds to keep in Texas state parks.

One such Park is the San Angelo State Park here in San Angelo, Texas
 where a herd of Longhorns are protected and cared for by the State Parks Service.

In other parts of North America this breed is used for much more. Longhorn cattle have a strong survival instinct and can find food and shelter during times of rough weather. Longhorn calves are very tough and can stand up sooner after birth than other breeds.

Longhorn cattle can breed for a long time, well into their teens. There have been cows that have bred for up to thirty years. Some ranchers keep Longhorns for their easy calving. A Longhorn cow will often go off on her own to a safe place to have the calf then bring it home. They are also known to hide their calves in safe places to avoid predation, sometimes causing difficulty for ranchers, who may need to work on the animal.


Today, the breed is still used as a beef stock, though many
 Texas ranchers keep herds purely because of their link to Texas history.
All photos by CollectInTexas Gal
(all rights reserved)
History of the Longhorns - Wikipedia Website

3/3/11

The Letter 'S' ShootOut Deep In The Heart of Texas

San Angelo, Texas is 'Rich in Texas History and The Letter 'S'.

There are the Stars

The Song - Deep In The Heart of Texas - On the Sidebar Player
(Several Versions for your Entertainment while you Visit the Letter 'S' in San Angelo, Texas)

Texas is known as The Lone Star State

Corner Stone of The Old San Angelo National Bank which still stands in Old Town San Angelo 109 years later.  The Old Bank Building is now a part of Historic DownTown SanAngelo's Visitor Center Block where Murals are painted around the Doors of the Old Buildings that depict a Time Gone By.  The following photos are of a few of the Murals that depict The Letter 'S'.

A Sacred Place

The Picture Show

Shaving Parlor

Old Town San Angelo is a few blocks away from the Concho River. 
Another place for Photographing The Letter 'S'.

Sculpture in the Concho River Park

Swimmer in the Sparkling Waters of the Concho River


A Thristy Steer

Sunset Silhouette of Mesquite Tree

Stunning Sunset

Thanks Ya'll for coming to San Angelo, Texas.

More of the Letter 'S'
from the
My Town Friday ShootOut Shooters
on

Ya'll come back anytime! 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...