mike-jacque-c-the-world

[mike-jacque-c-the-world]

09/10/23 - Fredericksburg, TX - THREE GENERATIONS - Grandmother, father & son. They all have two things in common: great eyes and great hugs. Always a good thing when we get together. Now that we’ve settled down in Texas to be closer to family, our Fredericksburg / Harper families are the closest and those that we see the most. Love the 90 minute drive back and forth: especially during the Spring wildflower and Fall colors seasons.

#fredericksburg #texas #three generations #family time

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09/09/23 - Lago Vista, TX - FEEDING IN THE SHADE - Still hot outside even though our 45-day triple-digit temperature streak is over. Still, I’m sure this hummingbird doesn’t mind doing his feeding in the afternoon shade on our patio. Maybe that’s one of the things that keeps him coming back.

#lago vista #texas #hummingbird #feeding time #shade #patio

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09/02/23 - Austin, TX - BRAND NEW LONGHORN - Triple-digit temperatures again today for the University of Texas vs. Rice football game. Mixed emotions about who I’m rooting for as I was a longtime Rice Owls fan when we lived in Houston. But now, we live in the Austin area and the Texas Longhorns are my new team which makes me a brand new Longhorn. Hook ‘em Horns!

#austin #texas #texas football #texas longhorn #hook ‘em #mixed emotions

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08/23/23 - Lago Vista, TX - THE LITTLE GUYS - It’s been a tough summer for these little guys. It’s been hot with triple digit temperatures every day for weeks and the lake is less than 40% full. When the lake is low, it’s a much longer walk for the deer to quench their thirst and it’s not hard to notice that they are fatigued. That’s why we put out a water bucket in a shaded area on the other side of our fence. It saves the deer a trip down to the lake. Lately, they’ve been so thirsty that I’ve been having to refill it three times a day. Glad to do it. Hope they make it.

#lago vista #texas #deer #hot #thirsty

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08/22/23 - Lago Vista, TX - FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME - What’s wrong with this picture? That’s easy: the rain. It’s been so long that nobody can even remember the last time it rained in Lago. Note the browned up golf course. We are in the midst of a multi-year drought. Lake Travis is 40% full. We need a lot more of this sooner than later.

#lago vista #texas #rain #rainy day #brown golf course #drought

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08/11/23 - Lago Vista, TX - YOUNG FAMILY - It’s been one of life’s simple pleasures entertaining our daughter’s young family who came all the way from Kenya to see us. Our new house had plenty of room and it’s open floor plan made it easy for everybody to be together and enjoy the fun. Can’t wait until next time. By then, we’ll have a swimming pool in the backyard and hopefully, we won’t have to endure triple digit temperatures everyday. Thank you Alex, Andrew, Liana and SiSi for a great visit.

#lago vista #texas #young family #life's simple pleasures

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08/10/23 - Lago Vista, TX - TATTOO GIRL - It’s early in the day and Liana has declared victory: she is very proud of her new tattoo and we are too. You go girl!

#lago vista #texas #tatoo girl #proud

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08/08/23 - Lago Vista, TX - SISTERS COOLING OFF - It’s been hot lately: so much so that we can’t remember the last time the daily high temperature has been below 100° outside. We had planned to take Liana & SiSi to the playgrounds in the parks by the lake but it’s just too hot. So what to do? Buy a small inflatable pool and set it up in the shade of our covered patio. Worked like a charm. As you can see, our two granddaughters are having fun cooling off and life is good again. Maybe we should join them.

#lago vista #texas #sisters #cooling off #inflatable pool #improvised

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08/07/23 - Lago Vista, TX - THREE GENERATIONS - One of my favorite parts of any family gathering is capturing the multi-generation pics: in this case, GiGi, Lindsey, Lainey and Lorelei. If I would have been in the pic, it would have been me, Alex, Liana & SiSi. In case you’re wondering about these combinations, this is what a blended family looks like after many years of blending. Not bad; we’ll take it.

#lago vista #texas #three generations #grandmother #granddaughter #grandkids #blended family

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08/06/23 - Lago Vista, TX - NOT MY DOG - But if I had a dog, sharing some moments of quiet time out on the patio, after a busy day with the grandkids, would be just what the doctor ordered. Thank you puppy; it was great while it lasted.

#lago vista #texas #patio #dog #quiet time #sharing

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08/05/23 - Lago Vista, TX - BIG GIRL - Two of our granddaughters are visiting this week: all the way from Kenya. This is SiSi, the youngest of the two. Last time we saw her, she was just learning how to walk. Now, she’s a big girl with an easygoing personality. Both she and her sister are used to seeing wildlife in Africa. So why are they so excited about seeing deer and squirrel in our backyard? Because they don’t see them in Africa. What a difference a continent makes. Never occurred to me since we take them for granted here. Good to know.

#lago vista #texas #granddaughter #big girl

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07/28/23 - Lago Vista, TX - BUG ON A CACTUS - Brought home this baby Saguaro cactus from Tucson, AZ for a friend of my son’s. It’s staying with us out on the patio until we have a chance to take it to Fort Worth. Was surprised to see what looks to be a baby praying mantis or stick bug clinging to the spiky stalk. Hope he doesn’t make a misstep. Speaking of cactus, there are lots, mostly prickly pear, in the area. We have some yucca and ocotillo in our yard. Maybe we should try our luck at bringing back more Saguaro from Tucson next winter. Might be too humid for them here but you never know until you try.

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07/26/23 - Marble Falls, TX - PLAYING DEAD - We are keeping the Airstream at a storage facility in Marble Falls: about a 30 minute drive from Lago Vista. For some reason, we’ve seen quite a few Praying Mantis (or maybe they are Stick Insects) on the grounds. My curiosity got the best of me and upon further research and the use of a bug ID app, this appears to be a Giant Walking Stick with skills. It knows how to mimic a scorpion with its tail when under attack and also, is adept at playing dead like this one appears to be doing. Who knew?

#marble falls #texas #giant walking stick #playing dead #bugs #who knew

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07/23/23 - Lago Vista, TX - ON MY WAY TO PICKLEBALL - It’s about a fifteen minute walk down the golf course cart path to the pickleball courts at the country club. It’s a great way to warm up and get up close and personal with all the deer along the way. By the time I get to the country club, I’m nice and relaxed and ready to go. Let the games begin.

#lago vista #texas #walking #deer #let the games begin

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07/20/23 - Lago Vista, TX - RUNNING THE FENCE - We’re finally in our new house and loving it more everyday even though it’s the oldest and smallest house we’ve ever lived in: we’re calling it our cottage. What makes it a little bit special is our big backyard, the golf course, and all the nature (deer, birds and squirrel) that come with it. Speaking of squirrel, we even got one who knows how to run the fence. Wonder why he’s doing that: maybe he’s just having fun showing off to his new neighbors.

#lago vista #texas #running the fence #squirrel #showing off #golf course #big backyard

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07/02/23 - Lago Vista, TX - LAGO SUNSET - Still waiting to move in on July 14th. Having problems with the Airstream’s air conditioning in the midst of a streak of triple-digit temperature days. Must be a sign that it’s time to end almost ten years of full-timing. Enough of that: tonight, we’re visiting with friends to watch the sunset and later, 4th of July fireworks from their place high above the lake. It’s going to be great.

#lago vista #texas #sunset #high above the lake

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06/27/23 - Lago Vista, TX - IT’S OFFICIAL - We’ve been holding off on taking this picture at the entrance of Lago Vista until we are official residents. Good news: this morning, we closed on our new place; and can finally say that we are. Unfortunately, we won’t be moving in for another couple of weeks. In the meantime, we’ll relocate the Airstream to a campground on the lake for Lago property owners and their guests. Next up: it’s time to start making arrangements to round up our storage stuff and get it to Lago by move-in day. Life is good! Lots to look forward to.

#lago vista #texas #town entrance #outdoor sculpture #life is good