Birthday Wish Come True!

Okay, so I have been dying for a chance to actually take some real pictures of Hawks. (I would love to take pictures of Eagles, but there just aren't that many around here.) Anyway, so we went to mom & dad's for my birthday and while we were sitting on the back porch I heard a Hawk crying out. (An adult Red Shouldered Hawk to be exact...thanks Marlo.) So like any good photog would do I grabbed my camera and went running to the woods. :) I get out there and believe it or not he is still crying out so I knew he was calling to another Hawk. Sure enough, I hear the other one about 100 yards deeper in the trees...but getting closer. I look up, not prepared for a picture and 10 feet above me he comes flying over head. I was so frustrated and at the same time in shock because he was so close to me. About that time I hear the original one I heard first cry out again and he's in the tree just in front of me. Didn't fly off. I hoisted the camera, applied "most" of my skills to the settings and began shooting. The more I shot the more he got agitated until flew away. All of this happened in about 2-minutes. I haven't tried to clean them up or anything, or even crop them so you can see the Hawk clearer...yet. The in flight shots are not very clear (thus the reason for saying "most" of my skills) but they are okay. (Remember I had 2 minutes to take the tree shots and then he launched, which I was unprepared for.)

Anyway, after he flew away he went to another tree where I was able to get a few more shots before he left for good. Either way, for me it was a SUPER FANTASTIC day that I have been waiting for for a LONG time. Can't wait till next time. ;)

#1...My initial sighting.

#2...he took off after about 10 clicks of my shutter. :)


#3...On his way by.


#4...Just over my head.


#5...In his new location but still within my reach. ;)


I have others that I need to clean up of some hummingbirds as well, but I will save those for another day when I clean up my hawk pictures.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

So we've come to an end...for now

Well, it was a week of 1,000 miles and 1,000 pictures. 7 days full of great memories, history and wonderful sites in Texas. We really hated to see it end, so we have decided that we are going to try and continue our Texas travels one weekend a month if we can. After all, if I want to get all the Courthouses in Texas I will have to get out of town. ;) So without further delay, on to the final day of travel...

First stop, Johnson City. This is the county seat for Blanco County. (If you will remember from earlier in our travels, I took pictures of the Courthouse in Blanco, but it was no longer the county seat. It had moved to Johnson City after just 4-years in Blanco. (#1 & #2 below)

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After Johnson City we headed Marble Falls where we had dinner at the River City Grill overlooking the river. It was truly beautiful there, but unfortunately I didn't pull out the camera. :( (I know, its a miracle.)

Now on to Burnet where I really enjoyed the historic district. The Burnet County Courthouse was honestly pretty boring, but on the list none-the-less. :) (#3,4 & 5 below)

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And on to the last Courthouse of our vacation...Llano County. Truly beautiful! Great one to end the trip with. (#6, 7, & 8 below)

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So to finish it off we stopped at Krause Springs in Spicewood Springs. What a totally awesome place to take a dip in the springs. Beautiful area, just wish I would have taken my tripod down to the river with me. Oh well, I did get a couple of pictures to share at the river and up in the gardens. (#9, 10 & 11 below)

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If you have been one of the followers this week, I hope you enjoyed the travels. Check back from time to time as I will probably be adding new images from our trips. There were so many pictures to sift through for display and many I want to edit and re-post.

Keeping Near Our Roots

So Wednesday we stayed closer to home and toured around the Austin area. First stop was the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Due to the drought I would give it a 75% rating, but when everything is in bloom I bet that place is amazing! I am REALLY looking forward to going back when we finally get some rain. (Any photographers reading this should consider taking family pictures there. Even now its still really pretty as you will see.

On the way in there were some beautiful Water Lilly's in a pond just outside the gate. (Picture #1 is from that pond...and yeah, I'm having it printed.)

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Continuing down the trails we were serenaded by this funny little Eastern Bewick's Wren. He posed and sang (#2 below) for about 3 minutes while I sat and changed my lenses out. :)

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So moving forward we saw many spectacular photo opportunities, but I will only post a few. (#3, 4 & 5)

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So after we left the Zilker Gardens we moved on to the Texas State Cemetery. I know this sounds odd, but the grounds are absolutely beautiful and perfect for pictures. :) Steph and I took a few pictures for fun. (#6 & #7)

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Since we have been taking pictures of beautiful chuches we couldn't forget to visit St. Mary's in Austin. Talk about a wonderful show of craftsmanship! Absolutely gorgeous! (I also decided to remove the business building in one of the pictures to show its full beauty. (#8, 9, 10 & 11)

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And now on to the main reason for the trip to Austin. Here is the Travis County Courthouse. This is certainly not one of the prettiest on our trips this week, but one on the list none the less. :) (#12 & #13)

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Beer, Churches and Court Houses

So Wednesday was a FULL day of driving for sure. Today's drive took us to San Marcos where I took pictures of the Hays County Courthouse. Not the prettiest, but a very nice courthouse. (#1 and #2 below)

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After leaving San Marcos we headed to New Braunfels for the Comal Count Courthouse. Very nice building, but unfortunately it was covered by too many trees to get a full shot, so I did what I could. :) (#3 and #4 below)

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From New Braunfels we headed to Seguin where we saw the Guadalupe County Courthouse. Not one of the better looking ones unfortunately. (Steph and I call these the "box" style. In comparison, pretty boring. (#5 and #6 below) At the same location we did take some other pictures of interest though. (#7, 8 & 9 below)

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#7 (anyone ever thought of opening a bakery, here's your chance.)


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Now we move on to one of the most beautiful courthouses we have seen so far. The Gonzales County Courthouse was absolutely beautiful. (We even went inside this one and it was just as nice inside. And met the county Judge without even knowing it. He was very nice.) (#10, 11 & 12)

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As I always knew, my reputation precedes me. (#14 below)


So from here we moved on to Shiner. No there is not a county courthouse in Shiner, but there was beer. :) There was also a spectacular church. (#15, 16 and 17)

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Like I said, it was a busy day. In the Shiner / Schulenburg area there are 4 painted churches that are a MUST see. I took a LOT of pictures of them, but will only post a few. (#18, 19, 20 & 21) The insides of these churches are the best, but this post is already VERY long.

#18 (St. Marys in High Hill)


#19 (St. Marys in Praha)


#20 (St. Cyril & Methodius in Dubina)


#21 (St. John the Baptist in Ammannsville)


So moving on we went to La Grange and took pictures of the Fayette County Courthouse. Another spectacular courthouse. (#22 & 23 below)

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Finally on Wednesday we stopped at the Bastrop County Courthouse. Not spectacular, but it was a nice courthouse. (#24 and #25 below)

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Like I said, it was a busy day, but one that will not be forgotten any time soon.

Hope you enjoyed our travels today. :)