Thursday – A Little Personal

April 23, 2015April 22, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 18 Comments

There were some unusual things on several bike rides this week. I thought you might enjoy me sharing them with you. There is no continuity in these photos, so I guess I will just call this the ramblings of an old geezer.

We have a colony of cutter ants that live under the dune boardwalk. What you are seeing is the workers carrying pieces of clover that other ants cut back to the nest. The ants heading to the left of the photo are holding the leaves by their hind legs. The ants going to the right are heading for a clover pick up. Okay, so maybe a bit strange but I thought it interesting.

I showed a picture of a Coast Guard helicopter before but here is an army helicopter on patrol during a rainstorm. These things fly over the beach every two hours.

Here is a Monday morning photo. Notice the trash cans maybe twenty paces in the background. There are signs warning no glass bottles on the beach but my belief is anyone who would leave this kind of thing is too stupid to read. (Yes I picked them up and threw them in the can)

When I was taking the photos of the buildings around town, I had the dogs with me. They were nice enough to pose for a photo. I didn’t realize it, but the professional photographer is in the glass reflection. So I guess we could call this “Lucy and Bailey in relief with a dope.”

Thursday – A little Personal

April 2, 2015April 1, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 30 Comments

Today a little personal leads me to a wonderful place Austin Boxer Rescue

My wife is a volunteer, and there are times when we need to keep a Boxer temporarily. I would like you to meet Winston, he stayed with us until my wife took him to San Antonio yesterday to join Austin Boxer Rescue, the rescue organization for adoption. He was at the Corpus Christi animal shelter after found abandoned in an apartment with his sister. The shelter estimates he and his sister were in the apartment for thirty days with minimal food and water. He is a sweet happy boy, I hope he gets a home quickly.

The poor guy came without a collar so he has to wear one of Lucy’s. (our rescue Boxer) I guess pink goes with brindle okay. He is hunting something in our backyard by the cardboard palm. (could be a ferocious weed)

Here is Winston trying to decide which toy to choose. (I would go for the horseshoe Winston) As a side note, the water skis and floats in the background spooked him since he has never been near them before. He got used to them as well as walking on the beach with the rest of the crew.

He thinks he hears something like the sound of kibble falling from the measure into his bowl a hundred feet away.

Here is his usual place which is not uncommon for most Boxers. They love a good couch.

It is sometimes troubling to witness abject cruelty and I suppose my wife and I see more than most. I hope everyone with a conscience would take a stand and have zero tolerance for the ignorant belief that animals are somehow inferior to humans and don’t deserve love and care. Thanks for the visit.

Thursday – A Little Personal

March 26, 2015March 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 19 Comments

This week’s personal item started as a trip to the library and then moved from there. Our town has a library, and it is a very nice one. In fact, they are very helpful folks there. During the winter, when all the Northerners come down here to escape the cold the use of the library expands twenty-fold. I have always wondered how this kind of increase does not cripple library operations. There is an organization called Friends of the Library who does a great job of fundraising with special book sales. Although I must say the staff never allows the overcrowding to reduce their friendliness or courtesy. Here is a picture of the front of the building.

You may wonder about those little boats (green and blue) in front of the building They are cement and are depictions of a watercraft called a Farley boat. These are for the yard and made in honor of the Farley Boat Works. There are a number of them all over town. I think one day I will do a pictorial of just the Farley yard boats. The Farley Boat Works was a Port Aransas original and manufactured fishing boats from 1915 until the mid-seventies.

The works is now a museum where a limited numbers of boats are in production. The picture above shows how it looks today.

Here is a picture from in 1936 of President Roosevelt and a Farley boat and an unlucky Tarpon. Port Aransas used to be the Tarpon capital of the US. The great Texas drought in the fifties brought the building of dams to preserve water had an effect on freshwater spawning for the Tarpon. Also, runoff from fertilizers altered the coastal waters and overfishing spelled the end of Tarpon fishing in Port Aransas.

I got lost in the story of the Farley Boat works and the Tarpon. I was going to let you know My GRL is in the library and here is a picture of her sitting in the New Books section. (You have to look close to find the little blue cover and yes I pulled her out of the alphabetical by the author arrangement for the picture. I did put her back after ) Thanks to the Port Aransas Library staff for putting up with my foolishness.

Thursday – A Little Personal

March 12, 2015March 10, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 30 Comments

Thursday is the time for me to post some things about myself or my surroundings and today I thought I would give you an idea of some of the watering holes around our town. The residents describe our city as a drinking village with a fishing problem. This tour will give you some idea of the places folks go to have a couple of drinks and talk about the one that got away.

This place is called Bernie’s. It is one of the most popular night spots since there is a band on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Inside there are three bars, pool table, and table bowling machine. If you fancy yourself as a pugilist you can always find a partner.

Shorty’s place is an institution. It was started by a woman named Shorty. Their motto is “Oldest and Friendliest.” They have a sign welcoming spring breakers put there by the Budweiser Blu guy. They don’t mean it.

Right next door to Shorty’s is The Flats. In the spirit of competition, their motto is “Not the Oldest but the Coldest.” They are referring to the beer, not the people. They also have music on the weekends

The picture above is the Salty Dog Saloon, which boasts of being the Coolest Honky Tonk on the Texas Rivera (slang for our Island). If you look closely you can see there is Karaoke Wednesday through Sunday. They also want you to know there is no bait here.(this is an important notice since most people don’t want to stray too far from their bait.) Yes, that is a totem pole on the roof.

This last bar photo is of a place that closed recently. (surprise). It was an institution since it hosted some exciting events. Through the years, most anyone in Texas music played here. Also, there were a number of sanctioned Chili cook-offs held at Sharky’s. Yes, the trailers were there when the place was open.

The words on this airplane are hard to see so what it says is Sharky’s Flight School. Open 2AM. The airplane is outside Sharky’s near the driveway and was kept in place in honor of the first student.

There you have just a few of the number of places available. Another time I’ll give you a look at the restaurants.

Thursday – A Little Personal

March 5, 2015March 4, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 33 Comments

Thursday is for a little something personal.

If you read my Bio you know, I live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a barrier island off the South Texas coast. The island is about fifteen miles long and has almost four thousand full-time residents. During the summer, this number grows to ten times the population, so there aren’t too many familiar faces around town.

What I thought I would do is give you a taste of what I find to be a fascinating view of the Gulf of Mexico. My wife and I are always amazed by the daily changes we see on a morning walk. (caption under the picture) Also, this post is being simu-published on Traci Sanders site at http://awordwithtraci.com/. Give her a hello from me.

The view above is what we see at sunrise. This shot is to the right of the sun (mama said not to look directly into the sun) and is over the water.

Here is an average day. The Gulf usually has a nice wave action

Of course in life, a little rain must fall.

Then the sun comes back (thank heavens).

All good things must come to an end. The sun sets in the West but casts a glow in the East as well.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my environment.

A Little Personal

February 25, 2015February 25, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

I was outside earlier in the week, and the sun was behind some clouds. In fact, it was forty degrees so I thought I would take some pictures of a couple of plants we have around the house. The only good time to take pictures is when the sun is not shining. The bright sun although lovely to live in makes big shadows in the images.
Here is some of the plants but we don’t have too many in flower right now.since they think it is still winter. (and it is)

Here is the first plant. It is a Cardboard Palm. It gets its name from the stiff cardboard-like leaves. The one pictured is quite a large example.

The plant here is a Giant White Bird of Paradise. This particular is a young plant and has not bloomed yet.

Pictured is one of my favorite succulents. If you brush it the wrong way you come away with a wound you would swear will be fatal. We are very careful around these guys. In the background, you can see a Natal Plum and an Hibiscus which will bloom all summer. Yes, we have river rock instead of grass in the yard. We are required to have zero scape in the front. We have some grass in the back yard.

The only flowering plant right now is the Birds of Paradise. They have been blooming their hearts out. In the background, you can see more Natal Plumb

These are Norfolk Pines, and we have two stands of them in the front yard

The last picture isn’t of the plants but of the Gulf that will give you an idea of the kind of day it was. Hope you enjoyed it.

Thursday – A little Personal

February 12, 2015September 20, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

Like every author, I have the need for a fan base. Also, like every writer I want the fans to enjoy the experience of reading what I write. Unfortunately, fans can be an elusive bunch who have devious ways of avoiding letting the author know they are in fact there as fans

So when one has a real fan who sticks with the author through thick and thin, it is important to recognize the fan as vital to the mission. I’m talking about the fan who presents himself at all hours of the day and night providing consolation to challenges and congratulations on successes. I’m thinking of the fan who asks nothing for themselves but to be able to be close enough to be part of the action.

I want you to meet my truest and most loyal fan. His name is Frank and above is a picture of him in his usual position while I’m writing. Frank will not leave my desk except for breaks when I take them. For Frank’s sake, I have to remember not to pound the keyboard endlessly without brief breaks so he can stretch, grab some kibble, check on the dogs and use the men’s room. He does catch a cat nap or two.

He also is known to take a nap on things I need (like my notebook). Here he is taking a snooze. Thanks Frank for being the fan that you are.

Thursday – A Little Personal

February 5, 2015January 31, 2015 ~ John W. Howell ~ 23 Comments

Thursday is the day to get a little personal. This week I thought you would enjoy taking a little stroll on the Port Aransas Jetty which is a part of the community. The picture can’t capture the whole thing but you can get an idea of how it is constructed. The jetty is made out of eight ton pieces of pink granite which was mined near San Antonio and hauled by train to Port Aransas over one-hundred and sixty miles away. The purpose of the jetty is to keep the Gulf at bay while large boats move down the Corpus Christi Channel. When the waves are high boats could actually be tossed on the opposite shore while trying to enter the channel if it weren’t for the jetty. The jetty also keeps the silt from the Gulf from filling the channel. The channel is an important avenue to the Port of Corpus Christi which has become a major port for the export of shale oil.

A second use of the jetty is to provide a natural pier for fishermen. People have caught the same species of fish normally found out in the Gulf right off the jetty.

I always enjoy a visit to the jetty when a boat is passing through. You can see the dolphins racing the boat in the bow wave. They seem to be having so much fun and I can imagine they look forward to each boat. Here is a shot of the jetty looking back toward Corpus Christi which gives you a better look at the channel. If you look closely you can see a pelican on the rocks

Thursday – A little More Personal

January 29, 2015September 20, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 29 Comments

I read an interesting post by Ronovan on Monday. The long and short of it was those bloggers who have a little of their personality in their blogs make for more interesting reading. As regular readers know, I have four basic features 1. Monday has the Top Ten Things Not to Do list. 2. Wednesday is story day and has been featuring Billy and Frank in their attempt to rob a bank. 3. Is the Friday JohnKu where I have a brief reflection and a Haiku. 4.Saturday is the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt which comes from Lind Hill’s fine place. The rest of the week is filled on an ad hoc basis with blog tours, cover reveals etc.

I thought I would try something new on Thursday. I take pictures while out and about and thought I could post one and then discuss some aspect of the picture and what it meant to me and why I took it. Perhaps this would add a little personality to the schedule. Well, we will see.

Here is the first.

I ride my bike on the beach three days a week. I usually go about eight miles unless the rain or the wind is too strong. After all, I am in those fragile years where one has to watch the weather carefully. I always wondered why the old folks watched the weather so religiously. Now I have the answer, they needed to plan their ride on the beach and wanted to know what to wear while sweating their butts off. So the picture is of my bike. It is a 3G beach cruiser. It doesn’t have any gears and you can’t see it well but is in a delicate state of repair. The biggest problem, with riding on the beach, is the salt air wants to dissolve everything that is not made out of stainless steel. (The salt has a rough time with stainless but manages to melt it as well over time) To have a bike made of stainless steel would be way more than I would want to pay. So I put up with replacing the chain and wheels frequently as well as the spoke bearings. This picture was taken after a ride this week with the Gulf as a backdrop. Yes, that is a gull behind the bike.