Retirement!

Today is the day--my last day to work for NASA.  Retirement sounds good--I'm throwing away my alarm clock!  But, after 32 years of working here, it will certainly seem strange for a while.  It has been a great ride with lots of exciting projects to work on. 

So I depart the workforce with this photo of two retirees.  I am sitting just outside the hatch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it was being readied for flight.  Now that the Space Shuttles are retired, within the next couple of years they will be on display in locations across the U.S.  Atlantis will be put on display at the John F. Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center where you will be able to get a close up view. 

So off to the adventure of retirement!!

Convict Cabins Site

This photo was taken  in Rocky Mountain National Park near the site of the convict cabins.  When construction of Old Fall River Road was beginning, the National Park recruited 38 convicts from the Colorado State Penitentiary to work on the road.  To house them, they built what came to be known as the Convict Cabins.  A marker now identifies the spot where these cabins stood.  These and many other old lodges and cabins that once stood within the boundaries of the National Park have been removed to return the park to a natural state.

A Birds Eye View

It was a good view of a bird's eye for me (and the rest of him). This Red Tailed Hawk had an injured wing and could not live in the wild.  He is residing in a large cage at the Armand Bayou Nature Center in the  Clear Lake Area south of Houston. Red Tailed Hawks are common in Texas. They are a raptor that weighs up to 3.5 lbs. with the females being larger than the males. They prefer live prey in the form of small mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. My grandparents usually referred to them as "chicken hawks".

I have often seen them soaring (grocery shopping) outside my office windows.  Although, even then, I am usually viewing them from below, and it makes one wonder about their name.  But in the photo above, it is clear that the top of their tail feathers are a nice red color.  And those keen eyes designed to look for prey really check you out when you are looking into the cage.

Merry Christmas

A short post today to say Merry Christmas to all.  Here's a light hearted holiday photo--log cabin, Christmas decor in bike basket, snowed in dog house.  Hopefully the dog was in the (human) house.  Couldn't resist this quaint photo op.





Downtown Christmas Lights

Estes Park decorates the downtown trees beautifully for Christmas.  This night was a very quiet one downtown, not much traffic.  A great time to walk around and see the lights.  Downtown is decorated from November to January, giving everyone who visits during these couple of months plenty of opportunities to experience this fairyland.

Winter Scene in the Park

How's this for a nice winter scene.   I took this photo along Bear Lake Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was a rather protected hillside with only a little snow.  The contrast of the aspens against the hillside and the shadows in the snow with the dry grasses peeking through made a really crisp shot.   Click twice on the photo for a better, bigger view.

Southern Winter Birds

Houston is a great bird watching area in November and December.  We see clouds of migrating birds that stop to rest before pushing on to points south.  They take over all the trees and power lines in shopping areas and malls.  Some species, especially grackles, go for the fast food places--I'm sure french fries are not the best nutrition for birds but they seem to love them.  

Around the yard, we have year round residents--mockingbirds, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, doves, and of course, more of the boat tail grackles.  The pair of cardinals in the photos have been visiting the feeder and bath.  The male is camera shy--he always keeps a part of the feeder between me and him.  The female, less so.  She sat on the edge of the bath and watched me for a long time.  But after a while, I guess she decided that I was slow moving and boring and that it was her tub time.

Walking on Water

See me walking on water at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.  OK, so it's frozen water.   Even so, it seemed a bit scary to me.  I could see many footprints and tracks of cross country ski's on the lake, even out in the middle.   I just kind of edged out there, knowing I was over the water, but wanting to stay over the shallows.  Breaking though that ice and snow would not be a good thing.  Sometimes it's smart to be a chicken.

Autumn to Winter

We've been having a challenge getting to autumn in Houston; it's been warmish for the past several months with a few cooler periods.  But in the past week, suddenly we have colored leaves. The areas like those in the top photo that are prairie-like with native grasses have the autumn look also.  The grassess are topped with seed heads that blow in the wind--reminds me of the reference to "amber waves of grain" in the National Anthem.   Much of our autumn color (if we have it) results from Chinese Tallow trees shown in the bottom photo.  Normally they are considered an invasive imported "trash tree", but they offer the best fall color in this area.  Also, the red oaks, red maples, barton pears, and crepe myrtles can get in on the act.  

The old joke is that, in Houston last year, winter was on a Thursday.  But in fact, autumn (if it happens at all) is the most fleeting.  I expect to see the fall color fade fast--last night temps went into the upper 20s on the north and outlying areas of Houston.  Here in the Bay Area, primarily due to our proximity to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it was in the mid-30's.  Still, a fair resemblance to winter for Houston.

Up Close and Personal

How I love my zoom lens! 

This Texas Whitetail Deer female was just determined to pose for me.  Although I am not so close to her as it would seem, just zooming big time.  Nevertheless, I love to get photos like these and then study them closely to see the real details of the fur, eyes, whiskers, etc.  My real inclination is to pet these animals, but they would never stand for that.  Photos come in a close second.  Shooting them is not even on my list.

Lovely Postcard Scenes

The snow is falling in Estes Park regularly now.  It creates such soft beautiful scenes--smoothing out the look of the rocky slopes, lying on the needles of the evergreen trees, covering the streams.  And when the sun comes out, how bright and sparkling it can be (almost blinding at times). 

Texas Icons

I just wanted to share this photo--it seems so iconic with the yellow rose of Texas and Dr. Pepper.  If there had been a container of Blue Bell Ice Cream sitting on the porch, it would have just been perfect as part of a commercial for Texas.  I took the photo outside this antique shop in Chapel Hill, Texas. 

Computer Cleanout

As everyone no doubt knows, getting ready to retire involves cleaning out the files on your computer.  While doing some of this today, I found these photos taken back in the spring.  These are the great horned owls that nested in a pine tree here at Johnson Space Center.  Every day at lunch, there were folks on the sidewalk with cameras pointing upward trying to catch some photos of them.  In the top photo, one of the parents sits on the nest with only one of the small chicks visible in front.  In the second photo, the results of the parents care and feeding are obvious.  The chicks have grown quite large, are out of the nest, growing real feathers, and almost ready to fly away.  The parents were still bringing them food, such as small rodents, from the surrounding fields.   They were so interesting to watch.