Things you may spot at DFW Airpot

I left Dallas Thursday on a direct flight back to Belize. It is good to be home.  I had some time to spare at DFW Airport before the flight left, so I had a walk around Concourse D, the international concourse.  They have commissioned some very nice public art for the airport and I discovered that Concourse D is the permanent home of some really cool floor medallions.  The medallions, which are large at 20 feet in diameter, were each designed by a different Texas artist.  I took photos of all the ones I saw on my nearly 2 mile walk along the concourse and back to my gate.  The lighting was a challenge - glaring and reflective, but I think you will be able to get the idea.

Not my favorite, but fun never-the-less.

Linda Guy.  "Dance! Don't Walk"  2005

It was so cool to watch this toddler stagger around this one, stopping to place its (boy or girl? - I couldn't tell) hand on each of the blue hands before running to the next one.  I imagine the mom was happy to have her child so entertained while burning off some of that crazy kid energy.

Viola Delgado - Untitled, 2005

Couldn't find the artist or any information.

I'm not sure what this one is and it is the only one I couldn't find any information on.  I can see all sort of images in it ranging from animal totems to cityscapes.  What do you see?

Not its real title, but  I thought "Onion Rings" was fitting.

Jane Helslander "Floating in Space, a Waltz" 2005

This was the most difficult one to photograph.  I hope you can see the mockingbird on the fruit tree.  The Northern Mockingbird is the state bird of Texas.

Billy Hassell.  "Early Morning Flight". 2005

 I found this one very calming.

Ted Kincaid, Untitled, 2005

A lot going on in this one.

Beatrice Lebreton.  "Celebration"  2005

I wish I had taken the time to explore all the airport orange-colored 3-letter designations in the yellow rectangles on this game board.  You are supposed to be be able to get to DFW in the center from lots of other places.  

Pamela Nelson.  "Destination Game". 2005

Fantastic and fantastical horses in 3 colors - gold, blue, and red.

Richard Zapata.  "The Highest Power". 2005

My favorite is this very peaceful depiction of a cypress swamp.

Arthello Beck.  "Cypress Trees". 2005

 I also saw this:

Wilma Lingle.  "Airport Bathroom Selfie" 2022

The DFW website shows 2 other floor medallions that I didn't find and it doesn't show one of the ones above.  I'll have to do more exploring next time.  Which will be pretty soon.  My procedure is scheduled for May 16. 

Spring Colors in Dallas

I'm in Dallas for a few days, enjoying the gorgeous spring weather in between medical appointments.  I always stay at a hotel next to Bachman Lake City Park.   I enjoy walking around the lake and the location is fairly convenient to the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Clinics, which I where I come for healthcare that is not available in Belize.  Healthwise, everything looks good, but I do have to come back for a procedure on my left eye.  The vision in that eye has deteriorated in the last 6 months to the point that it gets hard for me to read or use the computer unless I make the font pretty large.  And the left eye image conflicts with what I see in my right eye, so it pretty much makes me crazy!  Problem diagnosed now and a simple(-ish) solution, if eye surgery can ever be called simple.  I'll come back to Dallas for surgery  and hopefully can get it scheduled before the weather in Texas gets super hot!  A few photos below to share the beauty of spring in Dallas.

Can you see the turtles on the log?  I also saw some very large fish in the water.  This is the shallow end of the lake where the stream comes in.  I can almost see the turtles from the window in my hotel room.

Texas is known for its roadside primroses - here are lakeside primroses.

These colors look like autumn!  I think this is a Japanese maple.

Lakeside flag irises.

A closer view.

The weather has been delightful - cool at night and low 70sF (~22C) as the daytime high.  Still, I will be happy to get back home on Thursday.

Buzzy, Buzzy

One of the Gumbo Limbo trees is in full bloom.  Not a very impressive sight, but the sound was stunning - when I walked under it, sounded like I was in a beehive!

Later on, multitudes of birds will come to feast on the young fruits and, later still, the mature seeds.

Still Hung Up on Red

Back in January while walking the dogs along a path that passes through the site where a little eco resort used to be, I heard a vigorous tap, tap, tapping from up in a dead tree.  Searching in the tree canopy,  I was able to spot a flash of red and saw a lineated woodpecker busily working on what I thought might be a nest hole.  It was too obscured by foliage to get a photo, but you can see that the chips had been flying!

Wood chips on the ground.

I walk the dogs this way a couple of times a week and heard the woodpecker at work on several more occasions, with more chips collecting on the ground.  Then nothing - not another speck of wood, not a sound - until early March.  In March I saw and heard lineated woodpeckers making a grand commotion whenever I would pass by with one of the dogs.  I assumed they had an active nest and were busy with their young.  Finally on March 24th I saw this:

Two little woodpecker heads sticking out of the nest hole!

And a little later that morning when walking dog number 2, I saw a little woodpecker on the other side of the tree.  So there are at least two woodpecker chicks, maybe three.

Search for the spot of the red crest.

They are not easy to see with the phone camera images when they are up so high, but they made lots of noise and some odd almost purring sounds.  They looked ready to leave the nest and sure enough, there was no sign of them after that day.  I think I saw them as they were getting ready to fly.   It was a real treat to see that the parents had successfully raised their young.

In other red news, the tomatoes are coming in fast and furious.  The bags are keeping would-be tomato eaters away long enough for the fruits to ripen on the vine.  There is nothing like a just picked ripe tomato with a little sprinkle of salt.

Tomatoes and salad greens fresh from the garden.

Too many tomatoes to eat, so I made some quick sauce that I will freeze for later.  

Two pints of tomato sauce.  

More red-on-the-wing in the form of a butterly.

Finally, a variable cattleheart butterfly sat still long enough for me to get a decent shot of it.  Look at those ruby red spots along its body.

And the final bit of red for today's post is the flower of the prickly pear cactus.  Some species of Opuntia develop fruits that are large enough to eat, but ours don't get much past this stage.  The hummingbirds and butterflies love this flower.

Prickly pear flower

That's all the red for now.  Wishing you a colorful day.