Mom was the glue that held everything together. When we were all together, Mom was the conversationalist. We could (and would) talk for hours. Dad would mostly listen, or busy himself with doing some chore. Dad was always more of a doer than a talker.

So Dad and I got started navigating that first year without Mom by having weekly lunches. Most of the time, we’d meet at Sandy McGee’s in Sugar Land. We’d put in our order, get a basket of the deliciously crunchy toasted bread pieces, and start talking. I’d catch him up on what was going on with us and the kids, and he’d tell me a little about what he was doing.

Sometimes he’d tell me about how blessed his 60 years and 10 days married to Mom were. Sometimes he’d talk about the future. Often times we’d struggle to find a common subject, but we didn’t quit trying. And it was during this time that I first discovered that Dad didn’t have a feeling vocabulary. He couldn’t talk about how he felt.

Little did I know, though, that the time invested in these weekly visits would form a foundation for being able to help him a few years later when he really needed it.

Yesterday, on the day I made a court appearance to begin probating his will, I had lunch at Sandy McGee’s in Richmond (the Sugar Land location closed years ago). The crunchy toast, the familiar menu, and the taste of a mushroom cheeseburger brought the memories of those lunches with Dad flooding back, the feelings of love and respect, and the feeling of awkwardness.

Here are a few photos from yesterday that are processed to show something of how I was seeing and feeling during lunch.

The Contrast of Past and Present

The Menu

Photos: iPhone 4S, processed with SnapSeed for iPad

When you read the history of the Texas land grant plantations located around what is now Sugar Land and Missouri City, you rather quickly become appreciative of the changes that have occurred. The Brazos River bottoms were not very hospitable, to say the least. Mosquitos, floods, and more made the area almost inhabitable. But canals were dug, railroads were built, and hardy people persevered. Now, on the sites of these old plantations are some of the most desirable communities in the country. I love reading the history, but I’m sure glad the plantation we live on is a lot different than it was in the 1800′s.  

And of course, I’ve taken a few photos. So here’s one, showing some of the local wildlife in his back yard.

Instead, we took off for Waller, having seen a report of a large field of bluebonnets. Getting to see bluebonnets is like an elixir for Eloise — it just makes her feel better automatically. We struck out, although we did see some pretty countryside.

While last year was a banner year for wildflowers and bluebonnets in particular, this year is just the opposite because of the lack of rain.

Maybe I’ll pull up some of last year’s shots and post them later just to remember. But meanwhile, here’s a shot from our backyard. Ben calls it my flower garden!

The problem with that is that long lenses, especially with good optical quality, are unbelievably expensive.

I’ve tried lots of alternatives over the years — digiscoping where you utilize a spotting scope and point and shoot camera, and later a 70-300 not so good quality telephoto. I got a few shots, but my success rate was quite low. Sure enough, there is no inexpensive way to dependably get good shots of birds.

So I started researching options. A 300 mm lens is pretty much the minimum focal length to get in the game, while the folks that are serious wildlife photographers use 400 and 600 mm lenses, with their ultra-serious price tags, not to mention weight.

A great compromise for people like me, however, is a f 2.8 70-200 lens coupled with a teleconverter. A 2X teleconverter makes it a 400 mm lens, and on my D90 with the cropped sensor, a 600 mm equivalent. Although there were lots of other uses driving my purchase of the 70-200, adding the teleconverter was also part of the plan.

I used the excuse of my birthday to buy it this week. Interestingly, because of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a lot of the prices on Nikon gear are going up because of shortages. The grey market teleconverter I looked at in December at $300 is now $450. But I found a used TC 20 in good condition, and couldn’t be happier.

The photo up top is the rig assembled. And here’s one of my test shots with no post processing. Now to find more willing critters to shoot!

Dad turned 86 this past Thursday. It turned out that we made a road trip to Nederland for the funeral of my aunt that day. This photo was taken at the luncheon for the family after the services. As you can see, Dad enjoyed a full sized plate of the homemade desserts provided by the church ladies. (I sampled several myself.)

He’s made an amazing recovery from his heart attack earlier this year. But being at my aunt’s funeral was a stark reminder that he and my 80-year old uncle are the last survivors of that generation in my family. I’m glad to have still him in my life!

When I look out through the blinds, I’m also sometimes amazed. It may be a bird or a dragon fly, or even a stick insect. But there are also the times I just see the work that needs to be done, or recognize that the heat is uncomfortable and that staying in the cool might be better.

I want to be more like Madi — always fascinated, always drawn to explore, always amazed. I bet you do too!

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