Monday, May 31, 2010

Nang's Flowers

Nang has a passion for Orchid's even when she lived in Thailand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the Orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots. It is currently believed to be the second largest family of flowering plants (only the Asteraceae is larger), with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species, found in 880 genera.[1][2] The number of orchid species equals more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. It also encompasses about 6–11% of all seed plants.[3] The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).

The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus) and many commonly cultivated plants like some Phalaenopsis or Cattleya. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.

The complex mechanisms which orchids evolve to achieve cross-pollination were investigated by Charles Darwin and described in his 1862 book Fertilisation of Orchids.

Etymology

The name comes from the Greek "órkhis", literally meaning "testicle", because its root has a similar shape. The term was introduced in 1845 by John Lindley in "School Botanty".

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Aha Yes Life In The Country.

A normal Saturday afternoon.
Beautiful creatures that feed the world.
Oh I forgot to tell you the swimming pool is ready for your use!
Happy summer days in Texas.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Summer Swimming Is Coming Soon!

You start with a dirty pool!
Do not be afraid of the "Sludge"
Eric is a life saver for this old man!
The smell of the sludge is wonderful????
The supervisor staff is brain storming (Abby & Elizabeth)!!!
A very carefree life!
Elizabeth is a adrenaline junkie who always wants to go faster!
Eric getting ready to power wash.
Maw Maw & Abby.
Older gentleman trying to act busy.
The boss (Nang)
Always smiling.
It was 90 degrees and she still smiles.
Am I lucky or what?
Nang did as much work as the men.
Little boss code name Elizabeth.
So sweet.
We had to bleach it and clean the sludge and after 5 hours this is what you get.

After 16 hours with 2 water hoses the pool is 1/2 way to 55,000 gallons and full.
This pool is about 13 feet deep and 20 feet by 40 feet.
I would fill it with dirt if the grand kids stopped coming. But they do enjoy!

Swimming Pool Frog

Sunday the family decided to start summer. We start summer by cleaning the pool and filling it up with water. In this process a lot of little critters get wasted by the cleanup and removal of the old sludge at the bottom of the pool (Photos To Follow). We move some of them out but the spiders and most of the smaller bugs meet their end. For some reason this does bother my heart, maybe I am just too soft?

This little guy was in the pool while I am filling the 55,000 gallons that the pool takes to be filled.

American green tree frog
The habitat of American green tree frogs is usually near lakes, farm ponds, floodplain sloughs, cattail marshes, or bald cypress swamps. They inhabit the southeastern United States and some areas to the north and west, including all of Florida,Alabama, southern Georgia, Louisiana, Delaware, eastern Maryland and Virginia, eastern North and South Carolina, eastern Texas, and areas extending along the Mississippi Valley to southern Illinois. They may possibly inhabit northeastern Mexico. They are also known to inhabit Vancouver Island in British Columbia in Canada.

This is a common backyard species that can often be seen at porch lights, where they may gather to look for insects to eat. During the day, the green tree frogs may be found resting on the plants beside the pond, or in empty flower pots.

Special Thanks To Keith for identifying this frog.






More later!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Eating Fish In Texas!

I said to Eric “Hey little buddy Paw Paw needs a fish for dinner tonight”. Eric never let’s me down! So Paul, Nang Eric & I share this nice size perch!The little guy was still alive when Eric started! I am so proud of that boy!!!Missed the photo but the little guys heart was still beating after the knife job!The yellow is the cooked eggs from the fish.Nang said wait I want the fish eggs!So all were happy!You should have see the fish that got away!!!!

Special Thanks to Eric for a wonderful afternoon in the country!

Never a dull moment at the Ranch in Texas.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My Grandson First Photos With My Nikon D200

Eric said hay Paw Paw can I use your camera to take some photos? I said sure. Eric then said I am enrolled a Photography Class next fall. So here are his first photos with my camera!

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 135mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/30s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 1400)
Nang's Roses on the Kitchen Table.

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 66mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/30s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 1600)
Nang's Roses on the Kitchen Table.

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 66mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/60s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
Flash
Flash Sync Mode: Front Curtain
Flash Mode: Built-in, i-TTL-BL
Flash Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Nang's Roses on the Kitchen Table.

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 135mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/250s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
A cricket on the sidewalk.

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 135mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/60s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
Rose in Nang's garden in the front of the house.

Device: Nikon D200
Lens: 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 135mm
Focus Mode: AF-C
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: F/8
Shutter Speed: 1/250s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
I think this is a wild mushroom?

I feel very lucky to watch my grandchildren grow up to be such fine adults.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Cobra Update, First Test Drive Is Successful!

We rolled the Cobra out of the garage and started second and final check out before the first test drive. Nang is the Supervisor and she makes sure Paul & I do our job correctly!

Paul is being very careful and cautious check the gauges for the correct readings.
Final checks and the first test drive goes just fine.
I guess we need to put the hood on before the next test drive? Paul also noted he needed to get license plates & Insurance. So soon you will see Paul on the highways & by-ways of Texas.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Progress Of The Cobra

This is a real man's car! Created by Carrol Shelby & this has a 1967 Ford 427 CID V8 which is 400+ HP and the chassis weight is 2,200 lb (1,000 kg).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Shelby

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Cobra

This is a photo of the orginal 2 seater sport car originally from England "1961 AC Ace" however nothing is the same in the model to the original 4 cylinder.

Back in December putting in the motor. The blurred guy is Benny!

427 CID Blueprinted Wayne Calvert of Denton, Texas used his dynamometer to develop 400+ HP.

More Progress but took some time!


Just about ready to start. We have just a few checks before bring this car to life!


427 CID 400+ HP

Disc Brake were rare in the 1960's and his has no power brake just your strong leg.

Manual steering.


Roll bar for driver only! But safety belts for both driver & passenger.

Speedometer, tach, water, amps, oil, gas & oil temperature.


A real man is not afraid to put everything he has into getting the job done!


More Later...............