Ellis Paul has a new CD out!

Hello again. Long time readers of this weblog will remember my post about Jan's Mothers Day present from Amy--tickets to see Chris O'Brien and Ellis Paul at the Cactus Cafe here in Austin. For those that haven't seen it, Click Here to see the previous post.

I got a note from Mr. Paul's producer, Ralph Jaccodine, that Ellis has a new CD out. I was glad to hear it, 'cause I really enjoy his music. Even better, Ralph said in his note that I could listen to and download a song from that CD, called "Annalee," for FREE. Yes, for free. ~no emails no personal information no come-ons~ You can listen to the song or download it by clicking Here.

One sad note, The Cactus is no more, I hear. The University of Texas needed the space for offices and such, and decided to close it. Sad. But at least we got to go once!

I hope you like the song. I do. And come back to the Memories often. I plan to get more photos up and yes, the movie too.

All the best,

Mike Z

Lighthouse at Port Isabel TX

Wow, it's been almost 2 months since I have added anything to the Memories. How time flies. I have taken some photos since April, and I intend to get some of them up on the weblog. Feels good to be back!

This photo was taken in early May, while I was on a business trip to South Padre Island (yeah, I can hear it now, tough duty Mike! You really got it rough). On the way back to the mainland I saw the lighthouse and it just called to me. The sky was clear and very blue, and the whole scene just begged to be photographed.

I took several shots of the lighthouse, from several different angles, and this one was the best of the lot. I have been learning about the Orton Effect, which was developed many years ago in the days of film and 35 mm slides to give a "glow" to the subject of the photograph. It seemed to me that this lighthouse was a good candidate for a dreamlike photo, and I think it came out pretty nice.

I hope you like the lighthouse. I am working on a video (my first for the memories) and hope to have it up by week's end. Also some photos of Big Bend, which I highly recommend to anyone who loves the outdoors and wild scenic places.

So thanks for stopping by, and I will try to get things interesting around here once again. Till next time!

Mike Z

Wildflower field in Hempstead TX

Driving back and forth from Houston as much as I have, I couldn't help but notice this very large field of wildflowers. It has attracted hundreds of visitors in recent weeks to get "bluebonnet photos" (a tradition here in Central Texas) of kids, loved ones, and even pets. Most days there would be dozens of cars and vans parked along Highway 290, with people walking through the wildflowers, taking photos, and mostly enjoying the sights and smells of such a large field of beauty.

But coming back this week, there was only a couple of cars, and since I had the "travel cam" I decided it would be a good time to get a couple of shots. I think the rainy overcast day had a lot to do with the scarcity of visitors. The trails between the flowers were quite muddy, so I stayed along the main road into the property.

I took this photo at the entrance to the field, where the road into the property begins. There was a beaten trail right along the fenceline, which you can see in the lower left corner of the photo.

I hope that you have wildflowers blooming where you are. This is really a great time to be in Texas.

More later,

Mike Z

Salivating for Salvia!

For those who are anxious to see the salvia in our front yard (all 1 of you I suspect) here are two shots I made in the late afternoon yesterday.

I didn't realize until after I pulled them up on the computer screen that I need to do some weeding in that garden! Argh... oh well, they are doing much better this year after all the rain we've had recently. Last year it was so dry I didn't think they'd make it. Glad they did though.

Have a great week everyone! I will try to get some of the photos of the Flat Creek Winery up sometime this week. They had some interesting outdoor sculptures on display when we went by. The owners are so nice, I wish we could visit more often.

All the best,

Mike Z