Dancing skies

Sitting on the back porch of my daughter's house, I noticed the dancing skies.

Stretching time

Stretching out that last hour of daylight driving, travelers push in to the heart of the sunset down I-10 near Lake Charles, LA.

Night for herons

The sky is rusting and its brilliance is tarnishing fast as these herons feather in for a night together in their secure tree-top motel.

Egrets fight for landing rights

This shot from Lacassine, Louisiana, reminds me that crowded skies are not just a human problem. The herons (Cattle Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Blue Herons and more) come to this spot each night for some camaraderie. They start showing up about an hour and a half before sunset and quickly the supply of available branches approaches zero. This incoming feather ball seems to be saying, "clear the way for landing or we all end up on the ground!" 

This was the sunset by the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge the other night as I was driving to Beaumont, TX.  The sky was a giant maelstrom of sorts. It was very distracting.

Featherly evening festival amazes

The birds come flying in for the nightly confab at Lacassine, La, on Interstate 10. Hundreds of birds fill the trees near the I-10 exit.  The birds send up a cacophony of squeaks and squawks until each has settled into its short space of limb span for the night.  I was able to see Ibis, Blue Herons,  Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egret, Cormorants, Roseate Spoonbills and even some shore gulls.  It is an amazing site to watch the feathery festival.

Foggy droplets make spider web sparkle

A spider guards his pearl-covered web -- the tiny droplets came from a morning fog that settled in thick in the woods of Mandeville, LA, over the weekend. I suppose the spider was having a panic attack about what the weight would do to his handiwork.

Flying the Saints Superbowl banner in New Orleans

I don't know if this is what is meant by "when the Saints go marching in," but someone had Jean D'Arc carrying the banner for New Orleans favorite footballers.  The statue, quite frankly, never look so powerful and inspiring.  It got a lot of attention down in the French Quarter before and after the Superbowl.
--steve buser

Superbowl, French Quarter, New Orleans

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Clouds shouting darkness

Heading into a hefty thunderstorm on my way back into New Orleans one day.  The clouds were shouting darkness at me, probably trying to get me to turn around.
--steve bus

Thunderstorms, New Orleans

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Sun Slip

The sun held on as long as it could. The moon was starting to airbrush the waves in the foreground. The sun eventually lost its grip and fell behind the horizon. Lake Pontchartrain went dark, with just meager moonlight staining the surface.
--steve buser

sunset, New Orleans, Louisiana

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Searing sunset

This is a shot from a while back in Lacombe Harbor (just across Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans). It was a beautiful night to be watching the sunset. Just now when I put this up here, I realized I had my directions all wrong. I thought I was looking south toward New Orleans. But, of course, the sun sets in the west. That ever happen to you? You figure something out long after it doesn't matter any more.

--steve buser

Sundown, New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain

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