Monday, August 24, 2009

Go Texans! Professional Football is back!

The Woodlands is not very far from Houston, but you can't get to the Texans Reliant Stadium ball park in 30 minutes! Not much more than that on a good traffic day, it was nevertheless our recreational destination this week. My friend has PSL seats, so we get to view the game from a terrific vantage point. Definitely an amenity, I am so glad we live here. Our neighbors to the south host football, baseball, two basketball, hockey and soccer teams at a top professional level. This time it was the preseason opener at home for the Texans against the New Orleans Saints. I took my camera to share the event with readers.

First there was the Tailgating party. And partying was what the fans was doing! First game of the season at home. The real fans show up at this. These two photos were taken at a Tailgate bus whose owner sounds a siren each time a toast is to be made and passes out a beer to everyone in the crowd. The beer is to be chug-a-lugged on the spot without spilling it all over you. It is opened at both ends. I told the guy after the first time, I need a lesson on drinking a can of beer from both ends at the same time. Well, the guys in this photo showed me that you drink from the bottom. So "TOPS UP!" or "BOTTOMS DOWN!".

You might see Texan ladies in shorts with high heels like this one. For those who don't know, the little lady is all dressed up for a Texan game, and it was very hot outside! She was just fine. Party time!

You will run across Tejanos (if you are unfamiliar with this word, you can look it up. It means a native Texan who has a Mexican heritage.) "Tejas" was a state of Mexico and is Spanish for "Texas". Remember that Texas was at one time part of Mexico and then became a nation with mixed Tejano and gringo blood lines.

Part of being there is to watch the game, but part is to cheer them on as well. Ya gotta watch the cheerleaders to do that part, so we were good boys and did just that! Meet Brandi, one of 29 fabulous 2009 Texan Cheerleaders. She danced good too! Then there is another aspect of the game to appreciate - the fans themselves. Cute ones, wierd ones, young ones, old ones, ... you name it, that type of fan was there!

To see more photos of fans, cheerleaders, players and the festivities, I have quite a few for you to enjoy at this site:
Woodlands Photo Studio (Woody's Photography).

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Morning view of outdoors from inside

Many of us in The Woodlands Texas can relate that it feels better to have breakfast these days inside. I do it both ways, outside on the patio and inside depending on my mood. August and September typically are hot and humid months. So on this Saturday morning at the breakfast table, I looked to the west from my chair and this is what I saw. I thought, "this is why I am here". Many homes in The Woodlands have such views, because the forest surrounds the home. A home with many windows reaching high in an open house is a practical and desired design for being a part of nature. In many locations however, especially new subdivisions, this is not the case. Trees were not as valued in construction. Builders liked to remove them. Custom builders do a much better job than the traditional large companies. That is a shame! If you want such a view from inside your home and have no trees around your home, please plant them. In any home, you need trees around the house. Some people have a phobia about trees and hurricanes. The pleasure you or any new home owner will have is beyond words. Looking through glass panes to the outside world is what living should be in The Woodlands. This is the reason I am here. The squirrels are visibly playing in the trees; we have two families of fledgling Cardinals growing up in the yard, two families of Sparrows, one family of Mockingbirds, and one family of Hummingbirds. The bird feeders are apparent and I watch them as I pass through the house every day. Woodpeckers and Blue Jays are regular visitors in the yard. At times, we also have Crows. This is a great place to live and enjoy nature.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Remembering the Gardenias

Today I took photographs after the rain and was thinking about the love my mother had for gardenas. Now we always pronounced that like it was in Spanish - Gardiñas.

Mother, I remember when you told me you would love to have Gardenas because of their bright white flowers. You and I loved their smell, but you said we could not grow them well in Corpus. You could not get enough iron to their leaves;they yellowed and produced little flowers when they produced anything at all. The plants were in reality ugly, sickly. You certainly tried over and again by adding iron supplements. We have a lot of iron in our soil here. In fact we have an iron clay soil that gets harder than a rock sometimes. I bought these two Gardenas because of your love for them. Now I have two large plants and they bloom over and over in the summer. I love them. Look and see some blooms! I don't know if I ever told you some of these things.

I explained to Maria (my daughter) once that I believe it is important to say what you think and feel. That is an obligation, not an option. The other person deserves to know. You, Mother, instilled that in me. I have known it all my life but not always practiced it. I thought many times it had to be obvious. You never thought your mom loved you but she did. You were insecure in love and I don't blame you, but you were very loved by me, my brother and my sister. These flowers live and thrive; they are for you.