Landscape appreciation out West past Highway 6

Silhouettes of dead tree limbs against sky at sunset

West Houston landscape in rusty orange hues at sunset in November

Lake in George Bush Park in November

American Beautiberry Season

Lakeside caterpillars and butterflies

Caterpillar at the Lake (Barker Reservoir behind the Dam)

Buckeye in George Bush Park near lakes on East end

It's November, but it's wet, and it's dragonfly season no matter what

Dragonfly Love

Lake in George Bush Park - Dragonfly Habitat

Rare Spoonbill sighting in Barker Reservoir area

Roseate Spoonbill (11/1/2013)

This remarkable bird is rarely seen in Barker and Addicks reservoir. Egrets and herons are much more common; as are white ibises, at least this year. This roseate spoonbill was spotted on the drainage channel on the city-facing side of Barker Dam near the Briar Forest/Noble Road parking lot at provides access to George Bush Park from Highway 6 on November 1, 2013.

Historic West Houston cemeteries and grave sites

Graves of members of German settler families in Bear Creek - Addicks area

The cemetery is US property because it is located on Addicks Reservoir grounds,
a project of the US Army Corps of Engineers

Koch-Schmidt Cemetery Marker with historical background info

Koch-Schmidt Cemetery South of Groeschke Rd is framed by large trees
and almost invisible from the park road to the pavilions, playground, and recreational spaces

Bear Creek / Addicks cemetery on SH-6 at Houston Farm & Ranch Club ground
with historical marker. Unlike two other nearby cemeteries inside the Addicks Reservoir,
this one is still in use.

Enclosed grave site at Beeler Family Memorial Park on Enclave

Beeler Family traces around Addicks and Barker, TX (Energy Corridor)

Beeler Rd - Street sign in George Bush Park at Equestrian Area Parking Lot

Amanda Beeler's leaning grave stone

Beeler Family Cemetery on Enclave Parkway

Pocket Park on Enclave Pkwy with site of old graves 

Pocket Park with family cemetery on Enclave Parkway

Beeler Memorial Pocket Park on Enclave Parkway near Corporate Campuses

This is a small park off Enclave Parkway (ca 1 acre) that was excluded from the corporate office building developments nearby because it is the site where members of a local family that settled and farmed the land are buried.

Tomb stones in Beeler Family Cemetery on Enclave Parkway

Pocket Park on Enclave Parkway in Energy Corridor with Grave Site

Spider at work weaving its web at sunset

Happy Halloween from a Scruffy Black American Vulture

Halloween Dance of the Vultures Rehearsal

Resident colony of American Black Vultures in Bear Creek Pioneers Park on rehearsal for Halloween spook night, or so it seems. Seen a couple of weeks before the big event. The imposing and eminently useful creatures can be observed there regularly in and near the pen that houses the pot-bellied pigs -- and on light posts, trees, and roof tops -- but they rarely strike this kind of pose.

Flooded Bear Creek Park proves popular with ibises

Sections of Bear Creek Pioneers Park are currently closed because of high water. 

The ibises, which unlike the black vultures are not seen as commonly in the reservoir, seem to like it.

American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)

Two American white ibises foraging for food, which consists
 of small aquatic prey, such as insects, crayfish, and small fishes.

Colony of ibises foraging for food in flooded meadow

Dragonflies come in many colors - Houston area wetlands

Little blue dragonflies out in force in George Bush Park after heavy rains (11/1/2013 pic)

This dragonfly  is special, featuring two colors: green and blue. Monochromatic ones are more common.
Spotted in Bear Creek Pioneers Park, which is currently partially flooded as a result of heavy rains in the watershed, is heavily frequented by dragonflies (and ibises).

The pics below show a variety of dragonflies, in different colors, that are common in the West Houston area.