Calling TIME OUT ....

Life is a little crazy right now and I have to admit that I can't do it all! So, I'm taking a breather from the Corsicana Daily Photo Blog. If anyone out there wants to take my place at City Daily Photo for Corsicana, PLEASE DO! In the meantime, I'll poke my head in once in a while, but not on a daily basis. I will try to continue Gun Barrel City Daily Photo on a near-daily basis! Thanks for your understanding.

Sky Watch Friday -- We can't do it justice!

Believe me, this rainbow was much more beautiful than you can see here! Taken between Hubbard and Corsicana. Click the link above to see more Sky Watch photos from around the world!

Odd Shots Monday -- who moved the courthouse?

When I was coming home so late the other night, I got the idea to see if I could get a night shot of the military memorial at the courthouse. I was a little nervous...it was late...I was stopped in the middle of the road between the courthouse and the jail....guess something startled me because I apparently made a jerky movement just as I snapped this first one! The second is better but shooting from the car wasn't the best idea!
Click the logo above to see more Odd Shots this Monday!

Camera Critter Sunday -- Are you gonna eat that???

They say there's a place for us all in nature. I'm glad my place is not eating bird poop off of plants! Anybody know what this critter is? He's dining on an upper level of a plant who's name I cannot spell! But I know it's leaves are often used to wrap fish for cooking.
Click on the logo above to see more Camera Critters around the world....

Photo Hunt: Colorful --- sometimes it takes nerve!

There's just something about this house that strikes me every time I see it. It's hard to put my finger on what it is really. I think it's just the striking color! How many of us have the nerve to paint our homes in some out of the ordinary color like this? I know I don't! This photo has been sitting in my folder for weeks now because I just couldn't figure out how to use it. But with TnChick's Photo Hunt subject for today being COLORFUL, I decided to pull it out. This home is in the little town of Hubbard, between Corsicana and Waco. There are a lot of wonderful old homes in Hubbard, carefully and lovingly maintained or restored. If you're ever passing through there, do yourself a favor and get off the main highways to see more of this lovely town!
Click on TnChick's link to see more colorful entries today.

Sky Watch Friday -- from the archives

When I lived in Corsicana, I drove by this field almost every morning on my way to work. I saw many wonderful sunrises! But I wasn't a CDP blogger then and had never heard of Sky Watch Friday, so I usually made it to work on time! LOL. This particular morning I just had to stop and shoot a few. Click the SkyWatch Friday logo above to see the sky around the world!

Late arrival....

Missed yesterday's post because I was in San Antonio for a couple of days. Came in pretty late last night and was struck by how pretty the fountain at Navarro College is at night. My photos don't do it justice!

On the road again.... no words needed for this one.

One I had considered for our August 1 theme of "metal" .... pulled from the few photos I brought with me on my thumb drive ... taken west of Waco.

Odd Shot Monday-- Why didn't I think of that?

It's a little hard to see what this is...I had to shoot it quickly while "pausing" in a traffic lane on a state highway! The front "wheel" of this bicyle is actually a rotary push mower! What a novel idea! Wonder how well it works? Good for the environment and good for the lawn caretaker!
Click the logo above to see more Odd Shots at Katney's Kaboodle!

Camera Critters -- Elusive Locust

This locust was on the outside of our screened porch so I had to shoot thru the screen. Our property is very sloped, so to reach this critter from outside, I would have to fetch the extension ladder and climb about 15' off the ground. Passed on that little chore! The 2nd shot shows the shell left behind by another locust. We were serenaded nightly for a week or so, but they seem to have moved on again now.
Creep, crawl, trot or fly over to Misty Dawn's for more Camera Critters!

Cloudy Sunrise in Corsicana

I'm being indecisive again! Couldn't decide which of these to post. I like the first because the landscape orientation shows more of the clouds. But I like the second because you can just see the line painted on the edge of the road (click to enlarge) that adds some dimension. What do you think? These were taken on highway 31 on the eastern edge of Corsicana.
Click the Sky Watch Friday logo below to see sky views from around the world! And have a great Friday and a great weekend!

Another one caught my eye....

I've already posted photos of this building ... Smith's General Store ... The color combination between the red-painted brick and the green-painted doors and window trim just really struck me today, though I've looked at it a dozen times. Today I saw a better way to crop it.

Sometimes I don't see the small details like this and sometimes it's all I see. Does your photographer's eye have "moods" like that?

ABC Wednesday-- C is for Corsicana CDP Challenge -- Arte y Pico

Today marks my 106th post on this blog. The photo above is the first one I posted, on March 30. I started this CDP blog in hopes that someone else would take it over and I could concentrate on just the Gun Barrel City/Cedar Creek Lake CDP. I must admit that I haven't put as much energy or thought into this one as I do the other. But with the encouragement of Babooshka (see note below) and others, I've a renewed interest and I pledge to do better! Thanks for the CHALLENGE!

I was deeply humbled to receive the Arte y Pico award from Babooshka last week. It's my first award ever! It's been hard to decide which five of my favorite bloggers to pass it on to. I decided to spread them around the world and to a very diverse group:

1) Steve Buser--New Orleans Daily Photo for the spirit of New Orleans people and nature, captured beautifully
2) Michelle at Rambling Woods NY -- for showing us how close we are to nature at all times
3) Strangetastes--Saint Louis Daily Photo -- for showing us how to take one subject and see it in so many different ways (plus there's much more there than the arch!)
4) Fotka po Fotka -- Belgrade, Serbia Daily Photo -- for sharing a part of the world I'll probably never see
5) Dina -- Jersusalem Hills Daily Photo -- for helping me relive a childhood dream of becoming an archeologist.

Now, you five get to spread the award! Here are the rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each awardee has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award: http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

5. Display these rules.

For those of you looking for more ABC Wednesday posts, please be sure to head on over to Mrs Nesbitt's Place!

It just caught my eye...

I was sitting at a traffic light in Corsicana yesterday morning and this scene just caught my eye. I zoomed a bit to get it and was thinking that it was a quick "grab what you can get and crop as needed later" shot. But seeing it on the computer screen, I decided to leave it as is. What would you have done?

This is a portion of the front of a chinese buffet restaurant on Highway 31, Summer Palace.

Odd Shot Monday -- car body shop

This was taken on one of my West Texas trips.....I'm pretty sure it was in Brownwood. See more Odd Shots at Katney's Kaboodle!

And check in here Wednesday to see who gets the next Arte y Pico Award!

Have a GREAT Monday!

Camera Critter Cool-off

I think the first one has the right idea.....it's so hot here that the only way to stay cool (other than inside with the air conditioner) is to stay wet! I've certainly used that trick! But the 2nd porker has fairer skin and seeks to avoid sunburn by staying in the shade and enjoying her mud pack!
Spotted on a farm on the western outskirts of Corsicana.
Swim on over to Misty Dawn's Camera Critters site for more Critter Captures from around the world!

Photo Hunt: Cloud

As I was driving home yesterday about sunset, I was admiring the pink clouds and blue sky on the eastern horizon leaving Corsicana. Maybe it's just me, but can anyone else see a face here? I see the face of the Native American that was once on our nickel!
When I realized that today's Photo Hunt subject was CLOUD(S), I knew I had to share even if you all think I've lost it! LOL. Check out TnChick's site...she hosts Saturday Photo Hunt and you can follow the comments to see lots and lots of Clouds today!

August Theme: Metal --- Sky Watch Friday

Double-dipping on themes today! Our City Daily Photo theme for August 1 is METAL. As Babooshka is fond of pointing out, I am a very literal person. Different CDP bloggers were talking about heavy metal music. Well, that's not a big interest in Corsicana. So I decided to post our version of HEAVY METAL HEADS! Each of these statues have been posted on this blog before, so you'll have to go digging to find out more about them!
Since Friday is always Sky Watch Theme Day, I've made sure a couple of these have the sky in them and used a blue sky background (there's that literal me again). Click the Sky Watch logo to see more entries and scroll on down to see all the participating City Daily Photo Bloggers' more creative takes on the theme! And have a great Friday!
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Cash Crops

Two cash crops out in this field! I love the early morning colors and this field plus the bright yellow on the pump "horse" just caught my eye.

ABC Wednesday -- B is for Bowling in Corsicana

I've been wanting to shoot this interesting entry way to the bowling alley for some time and waiting to catch the morning light/no cars/no banners posted on it, etc. Yesterday I decided the time had to be right, because I could use it for my "B" post on ABC Wednesday! Click the ABC Wedneday logo above to see MrsNesbittsPlace and her posts, as well as others. She will also direct you to the shiny new ABC Wednesday blogspot!

Odd Shots Monday --- FOD or Not?

Back in the old days when I was in the U.S. Air Force, birds and planes were a really undesirable combination. A bird sucked into the wrong orifice or crashing into a windshield became deadly FOD -- Foreign Object Debris. But it seems that these pigeons are enjoying the ride! Of course, if you take a look at the next shot, you'll see that this plane has served her time and has been retired to the campus of Navarro College in Corsicana. I hope she's not feeling degraded by becoming a pigeon roost, but realizes that she still has a role to fill and can now peacefully co-exist with them!

Fly on over to Katney's Kaboodle to find more Odd Shots.

Westminster Presbyterian Church

I promised a better photograph and a bit of history on this lovely church. Because of it's location between downtown and the county courthouse, it's a bit difficult to find a spot to take a good photo without a lot of other interference (or getting hit by a car!). Hope you get the general feel. The lovely trees and the brick street in front really complement the architecture.
From RootsWeb: Click to see a "Brief History" of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Corsicana.
There's actually quite a bit of information on the history of the Presbyterian Church in general and in Texas as well as how this particular building came to be.

SkyWatchFriday --- not in Corsicana!

I'm unexpectedly stuck away from home and my folders full of Sky Watch Photos....so I'm running through the CF cards in my camera bag and decided to post this one from a trip last May. This was taken from the airplane window. How many can identify the peak? Bet Raf and Kim and Chuck know! Click the SkyWatch logo above to see hundreds of sky shots from around the globe!

A friendly little corner bank.....

I have no idea whether or not that's true, but it sure LOOKS like one! I was just passing through the area and happened to look to my right at the stop sign. The scene just struck me as very pleasing, so I lowered the window and shot through it then had to move on. You can see the shadow of my car in the 2nd. I'm posting both photos because I just can't decide which one is best. Your opinion, please??

ABC Wednesday -- A is for Allyn

The Allyns were one of the early families of Corsicana. Here's a family marker found at Oakwood Cemetery and the placque displayed outside the Corsicana Visitor Center.

I've had internet issues today and haven't had a chance to figure out the new ABC Wednesday posting process, but check out the new site for other ABC Wednesday entries!

Lover of Liberty....Foe of Despotism

I had a request to show the words engraved on the back of the statue that I featured on Father's Day. I am so glad for the opportunity because I don't think I'd ever read them! Please click to enlarge.