Odd Shots Monday -- Back to Rogers Wildlife Rehab

Ok, it's not really that odd. I just wanted to give Rogers Wildlife Rehab Center another spot of publicity. If you look closely, the center bird has a badly damaged wing that does make him/her differently abled, but not odd. At least not at this place! If you want to see more of the story about these wonderful people who rescue and rehab our feathered friends, please see below and see my Gun Barrel City Daily photo blog. And my Bird's Eye View blog.
For more Odd Shots this Monday, click on over to Katney's Kaboodle.

Camera Critters Sunday

Yesterday's post about the rescued pigeon promised "the rest of the story....". So, how did I get from there to these cute owls? I discovered a hidden treasure just south of Dallas. It's the Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Hutchins. Please check out their website.
See more photos and more of the story at my other sites, Gun Barrel City Daily Photo and Bird's Eye View.
Most of the photos will be at Bird's Eye View, since City Daily Photo asks us to limit daily postings! See more Camera Critters over at Misty Dawn's!

Pigeon Rescue

Last night we saw something floating in the water and checked it out....this pigeon with a broken wing was just floating to his eventual demise. No way could he/she ever have gotten out of the water. I was prepared to go in and get him, but he floated right up to our pier and I was able to snag him with our fishing net. Tune in tomorrow for "the rest of the story....."

Camera Critters Sunday -- our boy Nate

Today's photos are by our guest photographer, my amazingly talented nephew Zach. He and Nate have cornered the market on action and coordination today!
Check out another of Zach's shots on my Gun Barrel City Daily Photo site and click on over to Misty Dawn's to see more Camera Critters.

And let me know if you think Zach should start CDPB in his hometown!

Saturday Photo Hunt: Water

Corsicana is home of Richland-Chambers Reservoir...another in the series of reservoirs supplying Tarrant County Water District (my other CDP blog is about Cedar Creek Reservoir).
This shot is just one section of the spillway. I just liked the angles and action. Hope you do, too.
Click on over to TnChick's site for more Photo Hunt: Water photos.

Sky Watch Friday -- In Waco

Stepped out of our Waco office for a minute yesterday and saw this incredible (at the time) VERY STRAIGHT LINE in the sky. Ran back inside to get my camera. Tried to do a quick Stitch Photo series. In less than a minute the sky changed from the first photo here (shots 1 & 2 stitched together) and the 2nd (which would have been shot 3). And after all that, we only 1/10" of an inch of rain!
Head on over to WiggersWorld to see more Sky Watch Friday! Photos.

Father's Day --- Pioneers of Corsicana

From www.downtowncorsicana.com

HISTORY OF CORSICANA, TEXAS. Corsicana was established in 1848 to serve as the county seat of newly-established Navarro County. José Antonio Navarro, a hero of the Texas Revolution, after whom the county was named, was given the honor of naming the new town; he suggested Corsicana after the island of Corsica, the birthplace of his parents. David R. Mitchell, an early area settler, donated 100 acres for a townsite, and with the assistance of Thomas I. Smith, platted the land and began selling lots. The new town was centered near a log tavern built in 1847 and owned and operated by Rev. Hampton McKinney.

I've been trying to find the graves of Mitchell, Smith and McKinney but have been unsuccessful so far. I'll keep trying!

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday Photo Hunt: Emotion-Anticipation

TnChick's PhotoHunt subject for this week is EMOTION. Here's one from the archives of days lived in Corsicana. Nate and Cagney (Pembroke Welsh Corgis) watching mom come up the drive in anticipation of hugs and treats! Click HERE to see more Photo Hunt entries.

Sky Watch Friday --- on the way to Corsicana

Head on over to WiggersWorld to see more Sky Watch Friday photos.....

ABC Wednesday-- U is for Union Pacific Railroad

Noticed there was suddenly a lot more equipment and activity behind the Corsicana Visitor's Center lately and did a quick Google search. Here's what I found:

From the website of Railway Track and Structures:

UP rail work getting under way near Corsicana, Texas

Crews from Union Pacific got started June 2 on a railroad tie and crossing replacement project through Corsicana, Texas, local newspapers report. Preliminary work done in May prepared several crossings through Corsicana for the replacement work. Crews are working on track and crossings from Corsicana to Grosebeck as part of a $4.7-million improvement project, according to UP spokesman Mark Davis.

Over 100 crewmen from throughout the Southwest are taking part in the work in the area. Cars, trucks and campers filled parking areas in the vicinity of the Union Pacific station near Seventh Avenue and Beaton Street over the weekend as they arrived to start work.

“There are 32,000 railroad ties and about 28,400 tons of rock to be placed,” Davis explained. The work is part of a system-wide improvement plan through the 23 states that Union Pacific operates in, he added.

Approximately 10 crossings in Corsicana will be rebuilt in the work. In May, crews removed large metal plates at the crossings and filled in the gaps with blacktop.

Davis said all the crossings should be returned to normal by August. The rail tie replacement should be completed by the end of June, he said.

Anyone who's ever driven through Corsicana knows we have a LOT of railroad crossings and chances are very good that they spent time parked at one of them. I know I have!
Head on over to Mrs. Nesbitt's to see more ABC Wednesday posts!

Two Fer Tuesday: NJC campus statue

I don't know anything about this statue except that it really struck me. It's on the campus of Navarro Junior College, in front of the Cook Science and Technology Building (see past posts). I chose it for Jonna's Two Fer Tuesday meme because I shot it with the sun both behind it and in front of it. I dedicate this post to my friend Bill.

Corsicana--Then and Now: Memorial to IOOF Children

One more posting on the I.O.O.F. Childrens Home. This memorial is in Oakwood Cemetery (I've posted on Oakwood before, too). I recently found the old photo on RootsGenWeb and realized that the statue of the child in the center section of the tall memorial is now missing. Wonder what happened to it. The inscription on the base of the memorial is rather odd, at least in today's vocabulary. It says "In memory of inmates I.O.O.F. W.&O. Home 1906". The term "inmates" sounds odd to me!

Except for that, I don't really have an Odd Shots Monday post, but you can click over to Katney's Kaboodle and see plenty!

More from the Odd Fellows Home for Children

This bell tower has been erected in memory and in honor of those who once lived or worked here. The low brick wall around the tower has placques honoring some of them. It is on the grounds of the buildings I posted a few days ago.

Color Project--Blue Take II

Don't look here for Take I -- it's at my Gun Barrel City Daily Photo blog and Take III is at my Bird's Eye View blog. This is all to join in with Anna's Color Project, where you can see lots more creative captures of the color blue. My goal today was to shoot all the blue I see in the first 5 minutes of walking into my house. The first here is my door, the 2nd is on my kitchen bar and the 3rd is from my recycle bin....hmmm, wonder who drank that???? Uncle RJ hasn't been here in a LONG TIME!

Sky Watch Friday in Corsicana & Austin

I missed yesterday's post due to travels without my trusty jump-drive, left cozily sitting by the home computer. So, I give you a two-fer today! Obviously the first is in Corsicana. I love this water tower. It's on the east edge of town and looks different depending on the time of day, weather, or crops in the field around it. I may start a series! The 2nd shot was taken on my way home yesterday as I sat through a traffic signal 3 times in afternoon rush-hour traffic! Have a great weekend, everyone! But first click over to WiggersWorld to see more Sky Watch Friday posts!

Corsicana Then and Now: IOOF Home for Children

There are still several buildings on the site and other memorial markers that I will post at a later date. Below is the text from the Historical Marker above.

TEXAS HISTORIAL COMMISSION MARKER, PLACED IN 1977

IN 1885 THE GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS, INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS, FOUNDED THE I.O.O.F. WIDOWS AND ORPHANS HOME, ONE OF THE FIRST FRATERNAL ORPHANAGES IN THE STATE. CORSICANA LODGE NO. 63 AND OTHER LOCAL CITIZENS GAVE 200 ACRES AS A SITE FOR THE FACILITY. ON APRIL 26, 1886, THE CORNERSTONE FOR THE FIRST PERMANENT BUILDING WAS LAID. ONLY ONE CHILD WAS RESIDING HERE IN 1891, BUT ENROLLMENT AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT SOON INCREASED.

THE HOME BECAME A SELF-CONTAINED COMMUNITY WITH IT’S OWN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, FARM AND DAIRY, POWER PLANT AND WATER SUPPLY. ABEL RICE AUDITORIUM, BUILT IN 1911, WHEN ENROLLMENT WAS OVER 300 CONTAINED A SWIMMING POOL AND GYM, AND HOUSED THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT SPONSORED BY THE REBEKAH LODGES. THIS INSTITUTION ALSO SERVED AS A HOME FOR THE AGED FROM 1905 UNTIL A SEPARATE FACILITY OPENED IN ENNIS IN 1928.

AFTER PEAKING AT NEARLY 400 IN THE 1920S, ENROLLMENT DROPPED SHARPLY IN THE 1930S AND 1940S. THE SCHOOL CLOSED IN 1943, AND STUDENTS BEGAN ATTENDING CORSICANA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. CAMPUS BUILDINGS WERE MODERNIZED IN A 1940 “RECONVERSION PROGRAM”. RENAMED IN 1948, THE ODD FELLOW AND REBEKAH CHILDREN’S HOME HAS PROVIDED CARE FOR OVER 5500 PERSONS.

Two Fer Tuesday Theme Day

Can you see the connection? That tree at the right of the first shot is the same one at the left of the second shot! I was really struck by the contrast between the green field and the golden one and suddenly realized I had a series for the

Two Fer Tuesday theme hosted by Jonna over at Jonna's Life. Check out the others!

These fields are west of Corsicana on Highway 31. Here's an additional shot with the two stitched together.....

Odd Shots Monday -- West of Corsicana

I stopped at a cemetery west of Waco on Memorial Day because they had flags on the veterans' graves and I wanted some pictures. Toward the back of the cemetery, I came across this and I found it odd. Do you?

For more Odd Shots this Monday, click over to Katney's Kaboodle.

June 1 Theme: Favorite Corner Shop -- Dee's Place

Actually on a corner, Dee's Place is a local legend! Following is a quote from the Corsicana Daily Sun with a link to "the rest of the story....". The Dr. Pepper mural on the side of the building is probably the most photographed spot in town! I went on Memorial Day to be able to get these shots without cars parked everywhere!

By DEANNA PAWLOWSKI/Daily Sun Staff
Dee's Place has achieved celebrity, of sorts.
Segments have been done on the shop by Leeza Gibbons with PM Magazine, Jeff Crilley of Fox 4 News, Doug Fox with Channel 8, and Channel 11, with their "Tank of Gas" series. Bill Clinton and Al Gore stopped by, and Phil Gramm and his wife ate lunch at the counter. Two Hollywood talent scouts stopped in, along with various ones from Las Colinas. Dee's Place was an alternate site for the filming of a Bonnie and Clyde movie, it is registered with the Texas Film Commission in Austin, and it was the filming site for a documentary on capital punishment by a Swiss film crew.
But what about Dee himself?

See more of this story by clicking here.

And....be sure to check out all of the other entries in today's theme
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
Adelaide, Australia by Gordon, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey by afyonblog, Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by Digger, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Avignon, France by Nathalie, Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia by Bibi, Belgrade, Serbia by BgdPic, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Sarah, Whit, & Leyre, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis, Budapest, Hungary by agrajag, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Buenos Aires, Argentina by Karine, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cape Town, South Africa by Kerry-Anne, Cavite, Philippines by Steven Que, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Château-Gontier, France by Laurent, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chennai, India by Shantaram, Chennai, India by Ram N, Chicago (IL), USA by U R us, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Corsicana (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, Edinburgh, UK by Dido, Evry, France by Olivier, Folkestone, UK by Clare Unsworth, Forks (WA), USA by Corinne, Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA by Gigi, Gainesville (FL), USA by Leah, Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly, Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hangzhou, China by Chanin, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Hyde, UK by Gerald, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jogjakarta, Indonesia by Jogja Portrait, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Knoxville (TN), USA by Knoxville Girl, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Le Guilvinec, France by ds2944, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lodz, Poland by ritalounge, London, UK by Mo, London, UK by Ham, Los Angeles (CA), USA by Martha Perez, Mainz, Germany by JB, Manila, Philippines by Heyokity, Melbourne, Australia by John, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Misawa, Japan by misawa mama, Monroe (GA), USA by Tanya, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Montego Bay, Jamaica by Ann, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Moscow, Russia by Irina, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Nancy, France by yoshi, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Oklahoma City (OK), USA by ananda.tashie, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Oslo, Norway by Lothiane, Owasso (OK), USA by Jennifer, Paderborn, Germany by Soemchen, Paris, France by Eric, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Pasadena (CA), USA by Petrea, Perth, Australia by Elevation7, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Townsend (WA), USA by raf, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Posadas, Argentina by Lega, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea by Jules, Ramsey, Isle of Man by babooshka, Reykjavik, Iceland by Vírgíll, Riga, Latvia by Fotos. Riga Photos, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Rouen, France by Bbsato, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by Eric, San Antonio (TX), USA by Kramer, San Diego (CA), USA by Zentmrs, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, San Francisco (CA), USA by Louis la Vache, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Seoul, South Korea by Phil, Sequim (WA), USA by Norma, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Ann, Sydney, Australia by Julie, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tacloban City, Philippines by agnesdv, Tel-Aviv, Israel by Olga, Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Torino, Italy by Fabrizio, Torun, Poland by Glenn, Torun, Poland by Torun Observer, Toulouse, France by Julia, Turin, Italy by Livio, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Urayasu, Japan by Zono, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Wassenaar, Netherlands by Rich, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,