Office View

Although our part of Texas may not have the dramatic beauty that our part of Colorado has, it does have its scenic aspects.  Take the view from my office window.  From 70 feet in the air, it overlooks the open space and ponds referred to as "the mall" at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). 

There are ducks, turtles, koi, squirrels, egrets, and herons in or around the ponds.  Flying over the ponds (often just outside my window) are hawks, osprey, and vultures (or buzzards as we call them here).  In the spring there is a pair of great horned owls that returns each year to nest in a tree by the ponds--usually producing two offspring. 

JSC also has a large Texas whitetail deer population.  This year one doe had twin fawns, and possibly due to the drought and lack of vegetation, she elected to raise them among the office buildings.  Usually, the deer  will remain at the back of the Center where there are fields and forests.   Often when walking to or from the parking lots, I will see her and the twins eating grass in front of the building. 

I will miss the people I work with when I retire in a couple of months, and maybe I will miss the work at times.  But I know I will certainly miss the wildlife viewing.