Austin with Koko - Gnarly Roots

Anyone following this blog for any length of time knows that I like roots and patterns made by roots, these being examples of such.

This is it for our Trip to Austin with Koko.  She did great, and we're looking forward to taking her to Dallas in just a short time.  Time to dig for more not-yet-posted pics from the past...

Taipei - More Banyan Roots / Desire to Write

These banyan roots are remarkable.  They seem to crawl down from most any height, wending their way to soil even if they have to crawl around or through something like this brick wall.  The example below is an extreme case.

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I was visiting with some friends last night, and we got to telling stories.  Got me to thinking I need to get some down on paper myself.  After all, I've been supremely blessed with a varied and interesting life, full of blessings and experiences.

My greatest story-telling hero is Jim Wight, out of Thirsk, England.  He's the vet who wrote the All Creatures Great and Small series as James Herriot.  It's not too often that I'll read books - much less a whole set of them - twice, but I did with his and enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did the first (some twenty years earlier).  After the second reading I found out that his son wrote a biography, so I eagerly snapped it up and learned of the dedication and hard work that went into writing those books...and more publications later on.  The message was clear:  It doesn't come easy.  Once he identified his craft he worked at it patiently over a long period of time, starting in youth.

So how does one start when he's 57 years old?  There are dozens of stories shared over the years that my listeners have often said must be written down.  And at the end of the day, no matter who reads them, at least there will be something to leave for the children and their children to get to know Dad/Grandpa just a little bit better.

Austin - Street Scenes, Gnarly Roots

Always liked gnarly roots like this, which is a pretty good example.  The pic below, however, takes the prize (captured in Taipei):

Taipei - Bamboo Fence with Banyan Roots

This simulated bamboo fence, with simulated logs serving as posts, was at the base of Mountaintop Trail flanking the larger temple of several postings ago.  The background blur was created by utilizing medium depth of field with my walkabout lens.

These fences were not limited to the boundaries of religious grounds; they appeared here and there throughout the city.  The photo below shows another one with banyan roots slithering around its base.  It's easy to image these things coming alive, feeling their way across the sidewalk...which is in fact what they're doing, only in motion too slow for us to notice.

Fallen Warriors Memorial - Parting Shot

I'm reading a book now on war, and it's amazing to explore the roots of patriotism and how it contributes to the willingness to risk it all for one's country.  It's also amazing how quickly we forget that it's the sacrifice of others on our behalf that paved the way for the freedoms we enjoy today.  I've not been honored to serve in that way, but will always honor those who have, whether willingly or not.  Thanks guys.

Bookmark - Gumballs / The Fate of the Old House

Boy this guy brings back some memories.  There was a sycamore tree or two down the street in our neighborhood in Orange, and I can't count the number of gumball fights we had growing up.  The prickles were not hard enough to hurt while throwing, but stung when hit with enough force.  Very handy.

Once a year or so my brother Mike and I will go to Orange and trod the streets of our old stomping grounds there next to what once was Jones Elementary.  Suppose one can get carried away by too much nostalgia, but it's good to touch base with your roots once in a while.

But nothing stays the same, the only certainties in life being death, taxes and change, as they say.  In the 1990's decay started to settle in.  Our old house at 1512 Chapman began to crumble as it went through a succession of owners, until it was finally an abandoned heap.  Even then I was amazed at how many of the things that my father added to the house were still in place.  I would take pictures of this evidence and store them in the digital files.

Things reached a tipping point when Hurricane Rita hit, then Ike later on.  When we were kids my brother Allan planted an elm tree in the back yard, which I had to be careful to avoid mowing the grass.  Well, through the years this thing grew strong and tall, but during one of those storms (think it was Ike) it blew down and clipped the corner off of Dad's workroom in the back.  The owner at the time didn't even bother to fix it.  I considered just buying the place so it wouldn't fall down completely, but better judgment prevailed.

It had to happen one day, I suppose.  Mike called to tell me that the old abode had been torn down completely.  Not a trace of anything is left except the two live oak trees out in the front yard.  I have an urge to go and see this, maybe one day after Orange recovers from more recent storms and hurricanes.  Lord willing...

Another gumball bookmark was created from this trip to Trinity County with the Girl Scouts in 2008, which with the Fuji 7000 was a fairly productive shoot:

Bookmark - Banyan Tree (Other Plants and Foliage)

Captivating, these banyan roots...think I like these even better than branch patterns.

Bookmark Project - Bayou Bend Fountain (fountains) / Bob and the Lemon Tree

We took a walk on the "Azalea Trail" here in Houston this past March, a few weeks before the COVID pandemic hit.  This is a familiar sight to anyone that's been to Bayou Bend.

Can't come here without thinking about our church friend Bob Ross, who was the administrator and head gardener of this property.  He was regularly on Channel 8 as a gardening expert, and was invited to go to England on several occasions to share his horticultural expertise there.

He and his wife Polly were friends of ours for several years.  They moved to Arizona and Polly has since passed on, but Bob's legacy lives on in our lives because of a lemon tree in the back yard of a previous home we owned.  I told him that I wished we could grow a lemon tree just like another one we knew about in the neighborhood.  Bob said No problem, just show me where it's at.  So he and I walked up the driveway of that home where the tree was and snipped off part of one of the branches (we knew the homeowners and got permission beforehand).  When we got it home Bob did something with some sphagnum and foil to graft it onto a lemon tree we already had in the back yard.  After giving it time for the roots to grow into the sphagnum we planted it as a new tree and away we went...a genetically identical twin to the one we'd cut from before.  Though we no longer live in that house, when we pass by and see it over the fence on our walking route I think of Bob.

Cancún 2024 - Palm Tree Roots

 Big...

 Bigger...

 Biggest...

 

Canadian Rockies - Emerald Lake, Open Field on Western Shore Hike

Much of the land in the Banff National Park is wild, and fortunately protected.  This scene greeted us while hiking the trail along the western shore of the lake.  I overheard a guide saying that not one, but two grizzlies were sighted recently close to one of the trailheads here, and it's easy to imagine seeing them romp in terrain like this.

Later in the day we hiked another trail that supposedly led up to a waterfall.  It was just the six of us and the trail was a little rough, with lots of roots and rocks, so it was slow going.  A little more than halfway there I began to get anxious, because if a bear - or anything - popped out of the forest we would have no chance to make a quick getaway.  Thus, we turned around to play it safe.  As it turned out the "waterfall" had pretty much dried up anyway for lack of snowmelt, so no worse for the experience.

Taiwan 2024 - Northeast Coast, Tree Growing Out of Abandoned Structure

Focusing now on this tree that literally grew out of the side of the abandoned structure.  Looks as though it's possible there's some dirt in the floor where the roots are coming out, the same that could be providing a toehold for the smaller tree popping out of the window to the left.

Different perspective and profile of same below:

Alaska Cruise - Victoria's Butchart Gardens, Overview

This place is the perfect example of art overcoming an eyesore.  We had a very good bus driver/guide that narrated the history on our way over there, saying that this used to be a rock quarry...a big hole in the ground.  Once operations (of the Portland Cement Company) were removed to another location, the owner decided to spruce the place up a bit.  And at the time it wasn't for the public - just something nice to show family and friends when they came over for a visit.  Then in time a descendant decided to make it available to the public, which evolved into what we see today.

Not many posts will be this type of panoramic view, which are clichéd and boring to me, but wanted to capture and share at least one spot that makes it easier to imagine the roots of its past and the incredible transformation into what we see today.

Europe 2014 - Lucerne Hike, Roots

Shovel Point - Root Pattern #1

IN ADDITION to mushrooms, a favorite subject is patterns.  Most everything, especially in nature, has a pattern, and every photographer keeps the radar tuned for those that can be found wherever he or she may be.  This is why winter is my favorite time to shoot, as the branches of leafless trees present interesting patterns.

And this is another case in point.  These roots may look like a tangled mess, but there is beauty, and even symmetry, found in the meander of where they have grown.  Wider shot below: