221 - Outdoor Seating

Someone was having a good time on a Saturday night! (And a fun ride home.)

1- One Hundred

Four days old . . .
One Hundred days old . . .

Symphony is 100 days old! My how she's grown, and the things she's learned! Still fuzzy, but less so. That fuzzy baby coat is almost gone. The coat under it is still a little fuzzy, so no slick, summery coat this year! When she sheds her winter coat next spring as a yearling, then she'll have that nice slick shine. Look at that face! Huge difference in 3+ months, don't you agree?

Free Theme #5 - Against All Odds

On the ledge running below the roof level of the historic Collin County courthouse in downtown McKinney, pigeon spikes--intended to prevent pigeons from landing and roosting on the ledge--hold in place . . . a pigeon nest!

Using the spikes to keep the nest in place, it is protected from being blown off by storms or attacked by aerial predators. The very thing put up to prevent the nest is the thing that keeps it safe -- against all odds.

54 - Closed

Ski shop? Snowbird store? No merchandise that I could see inside, but I loved the sign and the sentiment!

53 - Clocks

County courthouse, downtown McKinney, Texas. Another Photowalk photo. (That was just so much fun! I'm going to try to do it again next year!)

196 - Navigational Aids

This is the bit of a carriage horse in McKinney, TX, photographed during the Photowalk last Saturday. The bit (and the reins attached to it, of course) are the lines of communication with which you navigate your horse. So, I see the bits as navigational aids. It's a stretch, but this was one of my favorite shots (don't know why!) from the walk. (And I love that you can see the shank part of the bit of the nearer horse, out of focus.)

85 - Entrance

This is one of the entrances to Chestnut Square in McKinney, Texas. Chestnut Square is a combination museum of old houses, farmer's market on Saturday mornings through the spring and summer, and party/festivity rental (there was a wedding about to take place when we went through there during the Worldwide Photowalk).

This lovely little brick walkway takes you into the very nicely kept, eye- and spirit-pleasing grounds. I always get the feeling that those houses may not be historical landmarks, but rather lived-in homes. As long as their dogs don't bite . . .

145 - Heart's Desire

It took me 4 years to get a Miniature foal of my own breeding! She is definitely my heart's desire!

293 - Solitary

I just can't seem to get the timing right to get a good shot of a red-tailed hawk! I was driving home the other day, and saw this guy taking off from the top of a telephone pole. (Would love to have captured the takeoff!). I stopped the truck and got out as quickly as possible, but by then, of course, he was soaring high. I snapped a few anyway, and I kind of liked the look of this one, with him backed by all the little clouds. (The ongoing challenge to get a good close shot is still fun.)

I just love the red-tails. They are so majestic. (But they are one of the reasons I haven't gotten any chickens yet, which I want very much to do. Red-tails love chicken, feathers and all!) I miss seeing the pair that used to nest in the trees by the lake. A runway, directional windsock, etc. has gone in for radio-controlled airplanes. A couple of idiots chased the hawks with their planes, so the birds relocated to the other side of Lake Lavon.

I do have to wonder WHY humans have to be so stupid sometimes! (Sorry! Every time I think about that, it makes me angry all over again!)

But watching this fellow, and hearing his calls to his mate, who showed up just after I started driving again (of course!), eases my spirit. To be nonviolent and vegetarian, I don't understand why I'm so enthralled with predatory birds (and cats--I love the big ones as well as the domestic type)! But I am who I am. I love 'em!

195 - National Pride

Happy Independence Day!

352 - Watch

Believe it or not, I'm being watched. Horses have an amazing field of vision. The only blind spots they have are directly down their nose (which means those fantastic jumping horses you see in the shows or on TV can't actually see where the bar is, or where their own feet are!) and directly behind them.

Although Symphony is turned away from me, she is watching every move I make from her left eye. Her ears are locked on me, which tells me where her attention is. If the ears had been forward, she would have been watching the geldings running and playing in the pen in front of her. Where the ears are, there also is the mind.