Through Brazilian Eyes

Sunset over the Laguna Madre at South Padre Island, Texas, with a long wooden pier extending into glass-still water and a small cluster of boats moored at its end beneath a sky of magenta, orange, and soft blue.

A Last Light on the Laguna

On our last evening at South Padre Island last month, we gathered for dinner with our hosts and friends at a small bayside restaurant, the kind where the air carries equal parts salt and laughter. The conversation moved easily from … Read More

A small pond seen through overhanging branches, surrounded by spring-green trees whose foliage and reflections fill the frame; a soft, painterly edit gives the scene a dream-like quality. Copperfield Nature Trail, Austin, Texas.

A Different Green Every Spring

Lens-Artists Challenge #398: Choose a Color “Nature in her green, tranquil woods heals and soothes all afflictions.” — John Muir Ritva sets this week’s challenge: Choose a Color. In her post, she gives us plenty of beautiful examples and ample … Read More

Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) perched on a bare branch against a pale sky, showing rufous wing and tail feathers, buffy underparts, and raised crest — National Butterfly Center, Mission, Texas.

A Flash of Yellow in the Canopy

“It’s not what you look at that matters,it’s what you see.” — Henry David Thoreau Spring migration through South Texas brings surprises, and this Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) was one of the first birds to greet me during my … Read More

A thin waterfall spills down a moss- and lichen-covered limestone cliff into the cypress-lined pool at Krause Springs on a calm winter afternoon.

A Hush in the Hill Country: Krause Springs in Winter

Considered by many to be the best swimming hole in Texas, Krause Springs sits in Spicewood, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Austin. Thirty-two springs feed its pools and waterfalls, all held inside a 115-acre (about 47-hectare) property listed … Read More

Twin Suns and the Beauty of Being Different

“In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”— Maya Angelou It is believed that diversity makes us strong. In the world of wildflowers, would we apply the same principle? Most definitely so, I think. There is beauty in a … Read More

A small stand of Wild Bergamot in bloom, its lavender-pink flower heads rising on slender stems above green foliage, with a softly blurred stone courtyard wall in the background.

Touched by Light: The Textures of Wild Bergamot

Lens-Artists Challenge #397: Texture For this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, Anne has chosen a topic close to my heart: texture. As she puts it, texture “gives us the visual quality of a surface — how rough, smooth, gritty, or soft it … Read More

A Pearl Crescent butterfly clings to a slender green grass blade with wings folded together, revealing the warm orange and black-veined underside lit by late-afternoon sun along Katy Crossing trail at San Gabriel Park, Georgetown, Texas.

Pearls in the Prairie

Some treasures travel light. Along the Katy Crossing trail at San Gabriel Park, the Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) carries its namesake quietly — a small, milk-pale crescent tucked beneath the hindwing, visible only when the butterfly closes its sail. Late … Read More

A wild bobcat, Lynx rufus, crouches low among rocks and green vegetation along Brushy Creek Trail East in Round Rock, Texas. The image has a textured, painterly quality revealing the animal's spotted tawny coat as it moves cautiously along the limestone ground.

The Bobcat Who Stayed

Some mornings on the creek, the water tells you everything. The clarity, the flow, the temperature — data points that paint a picture of a living system. But on this particular morning at Brushy Creek Trail East, just below the … Read More

Soft, impressionistic reflection of bare trees and a wooden footbridge mirrored on the calm green-blue surface of the San Gabriel River, with grasses along the bank.

The River’s Quiet Garden

Although I enjoy biking at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, Texas, lately I’ve spent more time walking one particular trail there — Katy Crossing. It’s a beloved route for mountain bikers, but what keeps drawing me back, besides the riding, … Read More

Close-up of a male Red-Winged Blackbird perched beside a green wire suet feeder at Garey Park in Georgetown, Texas, his glossy black body filling the frame and a flash of red and yellow showing on his folded shoulder.

Wings of Fire: A Red-Winged Blackbird in Full Display

Since I first spotted a Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) many years ago, I have always wanted to see one with its wings thrown wide — shoulders flared, the scarlet epaulets blazing in the sun. It was not until last month, … Read More