January Six Word Photo StoryChallenge : “Hometown Pride” — “Hook ’Em Horns” With Texas Longhorns. A mature steer can have horns measuring between six to nine feet. The animal featured above is a Texas Longhorn. These cattle are the large mammal symbol of Texas. Two other state symbols are the armadillo and the Mexican free-tailed bat. Most bulls and cows have horns that are about…

Do you like watching people eat? — I once tried watching a mukbang video at a friend’s suggestion. These are online videos of people eating. Mukbang is a portmanteau word of the Korean “Meok” (eating) and “Bang” (broadcast) — pronounced, “Mook-Bong.” The phenomenon began in Korea in 2010 and spread worldwide. The woman in the mukbang video…

From my backyard and neighborhood — Phoenix rising — This is a picture I took during my morning walk. The sun hadn’t come up yet. But the day was already aflame on the eastern horizon. A phoenix rising from the ashes of the night. I thought of the line, “Where the sunlight precedes the sun,” from Hayden Moore’s brilliant…

Although, the photo didn’t do justice to my gorgeousness — As a teenager, I hated being in photos. I was convinced I was not photogenic. My nose was too patrician (long), my eyebrows too luxuriant (thick), and my forehead too intellectual (wide). Every time someone asked me to “Say cheese!” my expression instantly went from cheery to gloomy. I knew…

The softer side of the famous author — a Photo Story — The above print is a reproduction of Hemingway’s photograph that hangs in his house on Florida’s Key West Island. The original was created by the noted Canadian portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh in 1957. The portrait is held (not currently on view) by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Response to a prompt by Dr. Preeti Singh: My Experiences With Snow — February 17, 2021 — Day Five of the freak winter storm affecting Texas. This is what my daughter’s backyard in Austin looks like. Frozen —

My response to the A to Z photo challenge — FAMILY — The weekend before Christmas this year, we had a Family reunion.

Six Word Photo Story: “Hometown Pride” — Our Texan grackles are eco aware. BYOB a.k.a. Bring Your Own Bag — The grackles framing the message about reusable grocery bags caught my eye. Had to snap a photo. Lodging and Board— In the evenings, Great-tailed Grackles carpet our grocery store parking lot. The birds hop about on the ground uttering their signature questioning cry. …

Do Animals Have Dignity? — Alligators — I was driving with a friend to a safari park in the Florida Everglades to view alligators. Then I looked out the window and spotted two hefty specimens speeding through the canals alongside the road. We had already gotten a ringside view of the Everglades’ chief attraction. …