Views of the Neighborhood. The Birding Center is Being Rebuilt

January 13, 2019January 12, 2019 ~ John W. Howell ~ 56 Comments

I was pleasantly surprised to read that the repairs to Birding Center had begun.

As a reminder, this is what the center looked like after Hurricane Harvey.

Another shot.

A whole new boardwalk is being installed. My understanding the cost will be North of $600,000.00

The old boardwalk went straight out into the lagoon. The new is making an extreme left-hand turn

It continues along the shore for quite a ways. I hear it will then turn right and go into the lagoon.

I took a shot of some pink spoonbills to the right. Too bad I’m so far away.

I have passed this sign before and wanted to let you know the different kinds of birds that make this area their home. Thanks for coming along. I’ll do a return visit when it is finished. I think it is going to be something.

Views of the Neighborhood – A Ship in the Channel

January 6, 2019January 5, 2019 ~ John W. Howell ~ 56 Comments

A beautiful day. Here is a shot of the beach at about eight o’clock Saturday morning

The Producer and I decided to check out the shipping channel to see if any boats were on their way to the Gulf. Sure enough, that orange thing way down there is headed our way.

You can see the Port Aransas/Aransas Pass Ferry making it’s way to Port Aransas.

This is a shot of the Port Police boat.

Now we are getting somewhere. The ship is almost upon us.

There she is, The Eagle Kinarut a crude oil tanker built in 2011 and currently sailing under the flag of Singapore. She arrived in Corpus Christi on January 3rd and passed Port Aransas on January 5th. If you would like to know her exact position right now click on this link

Obviously riding high after unloading her cargo.

Now heading for the Gulf. Till next time.

Views of the Neighborhood – Winter Sunday

December 30, 2018September 15, 2020 ~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

The days between Christmas and New Year are pretty low-key around the neighborhood. I thought I would give you two views of the Gulf while the sky is overcast and the wind is blowing. The temperature was in the fifties. All in all a winter day.

A shot of the Gulf from the boardwalk. Shows the dune in its winter shade of brown as well.

A shot from the ground level. The Gulf is churning.

Views of the Neighborhood – The Enchanted Forest

December 23, 2018December 22, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 50 Comments

As Christmas approaches, Port Aransas celebrates the season with its annual Enchanted Forest sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The forest is put up in the community center and is a collection of trees decorated by local businesses and organizations.

The community center welcomes folks from around the country to the Enchanted forest inside.

A family from Oklahoma had a swell time.

Enchanted Forest

This is a backdrop for Christmas card photos.

Tiny display in the corner.

Each tree was done by a separate organization. The signs below identified the group.

More trees. The lights on the floor gave the feeling of a path through the forest

Looking back toward the entrance.

A polar bear

The Port A Strong tree.

Three snowmen. The center was pretty dark, but my iPhone made it appear lighter.

a golden tree and a tree of stars.

Frosty of course.

Thank you for coming along and a very Happy Holiday to all.

Views of the Neighborhood – Middle and High School Art Show

December 16, 2018December 15, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 53 Comments

Every year the Art Center of Port Aransas has n art show featuring the art of high school and middle school students. The competition is juried and open to students from Port Aransas, Flour Bluff, and Seashore Academy. I thought you would like to see the level of art being taught in the local schools. I don’t have too many comments as the art can speak for itself.

Let’s start with the sixth grade. Where you see a ribbon that student’s piece took a prize

Another view.

Art Show

Seventh grade.

Eighth grade

Ninth Grade

Tenth Grade

Eleventh Grade

One view of the Twelfth grade

Another View of the Twelfth Grade.

High School and Middle School Art Show

The Best in Show is the purple ribbon.

As you can see there is a large turnout. Here in Port Aransas art is taken very seriously. I hope you enjoyed the walk through the Art Center.

Views of the Neighborhood – A Little Like Christmas

December 9, 2018December 8, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 48 Comments

Port Aransas is looking a little bit like Christmas, so I thought I would do a quick run through town and see what evidence I could find of holiday preparations

My first stop was Winton’s candy store. They have a pet rattlesnake inside, and sure enough, there is a cartoon version on one of the front windows.

The other window featured snow people who are very rare here unless served with some kind of syrup.

On to the souvenir shop for a look at an entirely non-commercial holiday message.

The other window had a festive message as well.

The IGA is all decked out.

The city banners are up. Here is a message from Port Aransas to you.

The city tree is ready with gifts and decorations.

The motel with an airplane theme has Snoopy out front preparing to meet the Red Baron.

Here is a shot of one of the resorts holiday display.

My summation is not everyone is ready for the holiday. Maybe there will be more this week.

Views of the Neighborhood – Holiday Parade

December 2, 2018December 1, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 60 Comments

There was a parade yesterday in Port Aransas. It was the annual holiday parade to benefit the EMS toy roundup. There were so many who came to participate that to take photo’s of the parade itself would have made selecting which carts to show here an impossible task. So I went to the staging area and took some shots. Hopefully, you’ll get an idea of the festive nature of this parade.

Santa in an Aloha shirt

Folks decorate their golf carts and make a voluntary donation to the EMS toy roundup. Here is a number of carts arriving at the staging area.

The staging area is getting quite crowded.

Love the nose.

Gifts under the Christmas Palm tree

Quite a decorating job.

The kids love it.

The dogs love it.

Santa’s elves

EMS will lead the parade

Holiday dog.

A common sentiment here.

A jeep to enforce the Don’t mess with Texas mantra.

Tree on a cart.

Snowmen on a cart.

Old faithful.

Merry participants.

More participants.

Boat float.

Santa on a cart.

Views of the Neighborhood – A Fund Raising Event

November 25, 2018November 24, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 69 Comments

This is the poster announcing the event to raise money for the EMS Toy Roundup and The Port Aransas animal shelter. PALL stands for Port A Low Life one of the sponsors.

The sign at the Civic Center

The fire department was there.

The EMS was there.

Bud Light was there.

Look a signpost up ahead

It is Santa and not the Twilight Zone.

Th e room is ready for the party.

Silent auction is ready.

The bar is ready.

The food will be ready.

The bounce house is ready

The bandstand is set up.

Close up of a table.

As a result of this event, no child in Port Aransas goes without a Christmas. Also, needed funds are raised for the Port Aransas animal shelter. Those attending have a great time while contributing to a worthy cause.

Views of the Neighborhood – Check In To Paradise Pond

November 18, 2018November 17, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 46 Comments

While community events are in a lull, I thought it might be a good idea to check in with The Paradise Pond to see how the Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts are progressing. It looks like the pond is making a nice recover except for the black willow trees.

Nice new sign

The vegetation has returned.

Bird sightings have returned. (Note the sighting of grilled chicken)

Funding for the recovery supplied by the Texas Ornithological Society.

This sign informs about the Saturday Bird Walk which happens each Saturday.

A statement of the recovery plan which concentrates on native plant replacement

Can see the black willows that have died as a result of the salt water.

You can see the lack of tree canopy over the pond. The replacement of the canopy is a priority.

Another shot of the absence of a canopy.

This grackle followed me around, so I decided to make him a portrait.

Hard to see but many new tree plantings.

Native plants returning.

Grasses

A lot of green

I could not help take this shot of Mrs. Woodys auto repair shop on the way back from Paradise Pond. Pink is the new olive drab

Views of the Neighborhood – Pools . . .Yes Pools

November 11, 2018November 10, 2018 ~ John W. Howell ~ 73 Comments

First, a note of appreciation to our veterans. Thank you so much for your service and sacrifice

I have to admit there was nothing going on in Port Aransas this week. I have wanted to do a pool feature for a while. Could I do it in the summer when the water is blue, the temperatures in the 90s, and there are tons of happy people around the pool? No, of course not. Needed to wait for a rainy, cloudy, and in the 50’s. Put on your overcoat and come with me.