Autumn East Texas Trails

Leaving My Mark

Tiny Treat

Hangin Out in the Woods

Windy Day

 

Spring

 

Spiders and Decay

 It’s weird. Spiders climbed all night, but their trajectories kept missing the desired lamp lit window, landing instead in a tangle of crystal clear wind chimes lost in the shadows. Iridescent tones gave away their location. No outline of the glass tubes was visible, only the distortion of moonlit silver threads as it magnified the web and then disappeared.

In contrast to their gentle music, the breeze that helped weave this curious scene, was anything but light and peaceful. Heavy with the stench of decay, it carried the story of dead swine laying in the ravine below. Turning to climb the steps back into her RV, she wondered if the spiders were trying to escape it as well. The air inside seemed more sane once she closed the door.

What drove those wild hogs to their death? She knew the locals wouldn’t miss them. Their population had exploded in recent years, causing damage to property and crops. Hunters were having little success culling the herds. The sharp contrasts of the night echoed the imbalances of the world today.

Solitude, peace, clear sky, shadowy music,… decay, sickness, pandemic, mental illness… The howl of a feral cat outside the door sends ripples through randomly drifting thoughts. Wild life is trying to clean up a mess that is too big for all of us. 

After the Rain

Cedar needles

Juniper berries

Spider web

Palafox

Yaupon berries

Yaupon berries

Dirt road in a rain drop

Wild Berry Jelly

Beauty berries 

Beauty berries 

Black gum berries 

Greenbrier berries 

Greenbrier berries 

I made jellies out of these last fall with stevia, local honey, and arrowroot.

 

A Peaceful End...

 ... to a crazy year.

It hailed three times, two tornadoes, and one month straight of 100+ degree weather during a drought that brought an onslaught of aphids and their sticky excrement. No rain to wash that syrupy poop off my camper, car, and door steps where it got tracked indoors in spite of hosing things down. Then came the stink bugs to feast on the aphids. They invaded all the campers here in this campground like something from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. They were followed by the Asian Beetle that shouldn't even be on this side of the planet. After a two month long Bugaggedon, my camper was splattered with little yellow stains (from the Asian Beetles) and smelled like a sweaty metal work shop (the stink bugs). I'm not sure who won. I'm still finding their carcasses everywhere. 

For the first time in my 3 years of being a full-time RV-er, I was not a happy camper. But, I'm over it now, and these pic show why. They were all taken walking distance from my camper door.

Outsider

 Today, being the outsider is a good thing.

Happy Camper

My life is changing dramatically now. I've left everything behind, bought an RV, and moved to a campground in the middle of the East Texas woods. There are some kinks in my plan that still need ironing out, like internet connection problems and no phone service, but I'm so happy to be away from Houston that these things don't bother me.

I have no address now, though. Does that make me a homeless person?

90 Degrees (32 C) in Februrary

Went to Mercer Arboretum yesterday. The trees were covered with a bright orange moss in one of the oxbows, adding cheer to the winter grey. I guess the unusual weather has created perfect conditions for this.

All the locals were sunbathing and napping.

The water was oily from all the Cypress leaves.

The warm breeze gently blew the bog's damp musty aroma across the Cypress knees, providing the perfect escape for the day.

Water-girl Dreaming

 

This piece of aboriginal art was painted by Amy Gunawarri. To quote the literature that came with it: The story tells of a woman who was banished from her tribe and forced to live in the sea. Eventually she grew fins and scales on her body like a fish. She saved any of her tribe unfortunate enough to fall into the sea and unable to swim.

  

From what I remember learning about aboriginal spiritual beliefs, dreams are a glimpse into the after life.  It's interesting to me that the artist chose the name Water-girl Dreaming. I imagine she had a deeper meaning in mind when she painted this story.

Here's my version:

Victory

The humiliation of Dahlia's awkward ascent from the floor had been caused by muscles too weak to lift her and joints too inflamed to hold her weight. But, not today. Today, dignity lunges forward to take a bow on confident and empowered legs.

Photography Haiku

These photos seemed like a poem to me.

winter glass striates

defies lonely evening chill

mute rage radiates

Relief from the Heat

Well, I guess it's officially fall in Houston, though we probably won't see any fall color until December. I'm still working on writing everyday this month for the October Wine and Write, but not getting much done on the weekends. The weather's been too nice to stay inside and write.