Meanderings of a Mermaid

The Great Horned Owl mama is ever vigilant at the front of the nest. In behind her you can just make out the fluffy very large baby. These photos would've benefitted immensely from the use of a tripod, as I had to zoom from a great distance to get these. But as happens when you are moving and your stuff is all in limbo, you have nothing that you need and what you are carting aroubnd seems to be all wrong. I'm still camping in Texas and waiting on the closing for the house I've bought. How is it that I can jump out of planes, cook meals for 400 guests at a banquet, write a book, find a new mineral deposit, yet I can't sit on my hands. This is driving me crazy. I suppose I should be like mama and just chill out.

Hey Folks Here I am just catching the last of the rays of sunlight. Camping out and waiting to close on the purchase of my new house. Yup I bought a rock house! It feels fine. Super fine.

On Easter Sunday I am cruising the highways and biways looking for my new winter nest. This image was captured on the Blackberry while driving. Honest folks. If the highway wasn't empty or if there was a black Angus on the road, I wouldn't. But a white heifer standing there. Wow, that would be some shot!

The house hunting is going quite well in Texas. This is a close up of the stonework on one of the homes I checked out today. Get a load of those worm burrows. There were also chunks of petrified wood in the wall, and all kinds of fossiliferous sediments. I couldn't live in this house - I'd be outside with my nose up against the stone all the time! The bluebonnets are so gorgeous now and fields of them are springing up everywhere. It is a type of lupin, but very short compared to what I am used to seeing. Here's a stunning Baby. A corvette. Several antique autos graced my parking lot last night. The group were on a quest to find bluebonnets. They had driven in from one edge of Texas just to do this. How's this for a slick car? A Lincoln Continental. Not one fly speck on there. How can that be? My van looks like it crossed the demilitarized zone.

Ahhhh. This evening's walk was along the Colorado River in central Texas. This shot was taken with the cell phone and I like how the rays of the sun wrapped around the trees to embrace me. Everything is green is every direction. Roses, both wild and domestic, are in full bloom. The amount of birdsong is at times staggering. The house hunt started off very well today. Incredibly friendly people here and generous to the extreme. Honestly, it stuns me. Does it come from the rural way of life? Neighbours helping neighbours? Whatever it is, I like it.

Okay so I am sitting here and waiting for movers to arrive. A call has just come in that they will be late; some issue with the truck. Time to think....I had some plans to hole up at my wintery cottage for a few days but..... I may just head back to Texas to start the actual house search! The van is fully loaded with the camping gear. And there are a few homes I've spotted over the web that want me to come visit. We are all ready to go. Camping gear, me dogs....more adventures. We could be seeing scenes like this in a week again. Maybe wetting a line myself. After trout. My predilection to stop and look at everything means that the journey isn't too rushed. Lots of inviting wayside stops where I can stretch my long legs, rest and work on my income taxes! (only critical thing for April) This was the route I took entering Texas the first time. I zoomed in through Wichita Falls. It was a nice way to go. Better than the interstates around Dallas and Fort Worth. Okay Folks. It...

First of all, each day I was greeted by a myriad of songbirds. This is in March. How wonderful. Early evening brought out the doves and the rummaging armadillos. At night I could hear coyotes communicating across valleys. The wind rustling through the leaves spelled out a welcome that I could not mistake. My tires crunched over many gravel roads, caliche packed trails and nicely paved roads. The automatic gears got a bit of a workout on some of the hills. The people of the Hill Country are wonderfully warm and inviting. Each gas station attendant and waitress was proud of his or her community. Many introduced themselves and shook my hand. I feel very welcome to come and make it my home. Each and every day, from each roadside I could hear that this land will be a good fit for me.