Again with the parades. Because, well, I can. They’re fun… and I get to watch (and shoot) a lot of folklorico without editors complaining.
Plus there were these other guys….
Had to cover an event in the Heights the other day, and due to a communication mixup I got there half an hour early. Left me time to look around at the venue….

This is from Nic Noblique’s “Heavy Metal Peep Show” at Gallery M Squared in the old Heights Theater. There are a number of pieces, ranging from about 2 feet to about 10 feet. They’re bright, they’re colorful, I have no idea what they’re about. (I’m not an abstract sort of guy.)
But they ARE colorful.

Moving closer:

But not TOO close…

And they’re not all blue…

(Indian Paintbrush, it’s called. Look closely and it has almost the exact same structure as the Bluebonnet, and they’re commonly seen together. I’ll have to do my homework but I’m betting they’re closely related… kissin’ cousins or better.)
But remember – take your boots off before the Stegosaurus eats you.

Edit: YES, I freakin’ KNOW Steggies are vegetarian. Geesh. There’s one in EVERY crowd…
Walkabout in downtown Fort Worth….

Aim High.
Scan from some time back when….

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Brazos Bend State Park… Cute li’l guys.
Firing up the time machine and running back about, oh, 155-160 years or thereabouts to the last days of the Republic of Texas (give or take a few years..) This is Barrington Living History Farm, which represents the home of Dr. Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic.
It’s planting time. Jessica Guidry, teamster, works with Shorty and Slim, one of the farm’s two teams of oxen; Mark Sanders is in charge of the cultivator, which is configured to turn two rows for planting.

(For no apparent reason except it seemed fun, I turned the digital image into a faux-period piece. I actually shot it yesterday….)(or maybe there really was a time warp….)
So I was supposed to go up to Garden Oaks Elementary this morning for the PTO Pancake Breakfast.
I DID try.
But… well…

It just didn’t seem like a good idea at the time.
Punxsutawney Phil says we’re in for six more weeks of winter. Leaving aside the question of how we have six MORE weeks when we haven’t had ANY yet, there’s also the inevitable fact that Texans will never submit to having their weather prognosticated by a Yankee Rodent.
Thus, we give you: Alamo. The Weather Museum’s Guest Forecaster.

And Alamo says Early Spring. Three weeks of rain, centered around Rodeo Trail Ride time.
There’s a Mexican Christmas custom I’ve always enjoyed – a re-enactment of the journey to Bethlehem, complete with throngs of followers and mariachis. (And chocolate and sweets and piƱatas after for the younglings….)
I’ve seen it done several different ways, and I’ve read that in Mexico it’s actually a several day long event. One of these days…
So this year’s version (for me) was at Baker-Ripley Community Center (in part because it’s walking distance from my humble hovel).
And it was very nice. Dark, but nice.
There are more pictures behind that one… Click on it and be surprised, amazed, or … well, I hope not bored.