Some Houston Beauty- Mercer Arboretum .
I have been known to comment on Houston and its lack of interesting places in Houston.
It's certainly humid, flat, has its fair share of bill boards, power lines, Strip Malls, and Freeways, no hills or Mountains or clear blue coloured rivers and lakes.

However, there is much of beauty in the area and Mercer Arboretum is one of those places where there is a lot of beauty, tranquility and much of interest to see and enjoy.
(despite the clearing of some woodland just behind the Japanese Gardens, edge where yet another housing development is about to be built).

Hummingbird in the House.

During all the turmoil of the water in the house we discovered a humming bird had got trapped in the screened porch.

Many attempts to help it find the exit did not work.
It would fly around back and forth and then rest on the hanging chimes and look around.

Eventually I decided to lure it out with flowers.
It sucked nectur from some trumpet flowers I placed by the entry way.





However it still continued to fly back in and around ithe screened porch looking for the way out.





We washed out the humming bird feeder and made up a strong solution of sugar water and place it hanging low down by the door.








The humming bird no doubt by now exhausted and needing energy eventually fed from it and then flew out of the door to freedom.








Hopefully he flew away full of nourshment and not too exhausted or over stressed.

Always something going on, and then there is always Other Stuff:

Main event of the weekend occurred Sunday night and that set the direction for the remainer of last week and will do for some weeks ahead. This event was an over run bath tub downstairs last Sunday night.

It was a usual Sunday evening in many ways, up until that point.
I cooked supper after returning from a photography meeting. This was in fact my first attempt at getting to meet some people with the same interest. These were professionals and that event turned out to be a very interesting afternoon. However it paled into insignificance compared with what was about to happen Sunday evening.

After Supper I walked the dog which I usually do before a bath ,and then bed. I was already packed for my week working away in Indiana.

I returned from walking the dog to find a hot bath running for me, and in addition to that, a water filled bathroom, and everyone asleep.
(My advice is never fall asleep whilst running a bath).

An hour or so of filling the up the tub is usually more than enough water, this was no exception.

The first thing I thought to do was stare at the water in a frozen sort of , 'oh boy', 'what now' sort of way. Then to rush into action waking Hazel and delegating the act of putting towels around the room edges, whilst I started sucking up water from bathroom with the carpet cleaning machine. That machine was a saviour, as how else do you get inches of water off the floor.
However, the bedroom, bedroom closet, understairs cupboard carpets were all wet, and then some. I decided at around 3.00am that this was bigger situation than I could deal with.

The worst of the water was sucked up and poured down the sink, but everything seemed still very damp. The more carpet I ripped up, the more dampness I found. It was totally incredible to me.

I'm used to a house where walls separate rooms, and not a house where water can run from room to room, through walls, and under the carpet underlay further into a room without even soaking into the carpet.
Also I found that our house, it seems is lower at the front than at the back as all water ran through from the bathroom at the back of the house through to the front of the house.

I got one hours sleep Sunday night, then for me I was up at 4.45am to head to the airport for an early flight, to work in Indianapolis this week. I slept on the plane.

I set off believeing that a few rooms would need replacement carpet after a little drying out had been done.
Seems that a little more than that was in order.

Hazel's first task in the morning was to call the insurance company to come and assess the damage, and to get the place dried out. A renovation company were soon around doing their thing.

Hazel reported to me on the phone of dry wall being cut off a foot high in places and of doors and frames being taken off, and more carpets being lifted as well as the wood floor in the hallway being taken up. Did she call 'renovation' or 'demolision' I wondered.


The bedroom and the offending on suite bath.










The Hall way with Study door off to the right.
Water marks up the bannisters.






Water marks came some inches up the wood frames in rooms far away from the bathroom. All needing drying out. I live in a glorified shed that can be cut up and sliced up and dismantled with all too much ease.

So now most of our posessions from downstairs have been packed up in boxes and are being shipped off to storage.
My desk area and all computers are now moved from the Study to the Dining room and there are industrial drying machines and fans running constantly in the background.

The process of drying out continues, and then reconstruction will commence over the coming weeks.

Hazel heads off on the Royal Caribbean's 'Mariner of the Seas' Sunday morning, for her Cruise College. (I'm in the wrong job !!).

I will stay at home amid the chaos this week, working and looking after the kids.
Then the following week after Hazels return, I will travel off to work for a couple of weeks once again in Indiana.


On the lighter side.....

Not everything is BIGGER in Texas...


Left is a Tahoe Pine Cone

Right is a Texas Pine Cone.

More from The Mountains around Lake Tahoe:




Truely a majical place in the summer. Insects of all kinds including many and varied butterflies.









Chipmunks scuttled around everywhere.







The contrasts of the deep blue sky and the green of the shrubs and trees was stunning. The smell of the pines and the rocks and the dry dusty paths fills the air.





I bought back a Pine Cone, larger than the size of my hands and it still holds the smell of the freshness of the Mountains and the pine forests.






From every point there was a stunning view and a breeze almost carried the freshness of the lake up the Mountians, even on the damp rainy morning of the first day.










Many fallen trees , some cut where they lay across pathways.









The sunsets were always phenominal, such beauty in the sky, as the Lake begins its long nights, peaceful sleep.
The storm that had just past was powerful and the most violent that Reno the other side of the Mountains had experienced for over 20 years.




The calm of the water edge, gentle waves lapping at the shore line.