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Some of you may be aware that in April this year I went to Texas to bird. I also came across some very cool doors. I’m way behind and a bit overwhelmed with all the new birds and sorting through the images. There were a lot. 98 Lifer birds a lot.
So, bare with me as I slowly work my way through birds, doors, and all the things.
Here’s one door I loved. Somewhere in the Rio Grand Valley. I didn’t make a note of where this door was. 🤦🏻♀️
I love the arched theme, the sun with long rays and the natural colors on the walls beside it. The hardware stands out in gold and the rust below the middle ray is just icing on the door cake.
This post is part of the weekly challenge Thursday Doors hosted by Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/
Hop on over there to see more doors from around the world or join the craze and add a door or two of your own. 😊
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
I saw this mural peeking at me on a tunnel wall while birding last week and straight-away the Beatles song ” I am the Walrus started playing in my head.
“I Am the Walrus” is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It served as the B-side to the hit single “Hello, Goodbye” and appeared on the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album, featuring prominently in the associated television film.
Lennon composed the track to confound listeners attempting to analyze Beatles lyrics for deep meaning, particularly after receiving a letter from a student whose teacher was assigning such interpretations. The lyrics are a surreal collage of three distinct song ideas: one inspired by a police siren, another about sitting in a garden, and a third involving nonsense phrases like “sitting on a cornflake.”
Key elements of the song include:
Lewis Carroll Inspiration: The title references the poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” though Lennon later noted he mistakenly identified the walrus as the villain rather than the carpenter.
Orchestral Arrangement: Producer George Martin added a complex orchestral accompaniment featuring violins, cellos, horns, and clarinet, along with the Mike Sammes Singers providing vocal effects.
Radio Experiment: The outro incorporates a recording of Shakespeare’s King Lear tuned in from an AM radio broadcast, creating a psychedelic fade-out.
Chart History: The song reached number one on the UK charts as a B-side while “Hello, Goodbye” was at number two, a unique distinction.
I invite you to enjoy yourselves today…Happy Wednesday!!
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Today I’m sharing two doors a birding friend shared with me to share with you.
Eleanor say’s this first door is from a Jesuit church in Arequipa, Peru. Her husband posing in front of it adds a great sense of scale. The doors are huge.
Image used with permission
The second door image Eleanor sent me is from a Parish Church in Dinan, France. She thinks the writing on the door is Hebrew. Anyone know what it says? It’s a lovely weathered door and the door hardware we see in silhouette on the door jam looks neat.
Image used with permission.
When I saw she had written the town of Dinan, France something clicked in my brain. I thought, I’ve been in that town. So, I went to my archives and sure enough back in October of 2008 while on a Rick Steves’ tour we stopped there to check out the Ramparts and wander around the town for an hour or so. I took lots of images of buildings and cobbled stone streets, but only one proper door. It’s a door on the second floor of a house. Back in the day they built the second floor jetting out over the first floor. They could increase their living space without increasing their tax burden doing this.
Eleanor’s images started me on a trek down memory lane as I hadn’t thought about this particular trip to France in a long time.
Thank you Eleanor for the doors, opening the door to my memories, and thank you all for stopping by to read the post and see the doors.
This post is part of the weekly challenge Thursday Doors hosted by Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/2026/05/28/iowa-doors-and-stories/ Head on over there to see more doors from around the world or join the craze and add a door or two of your own. 😊
This little Owl family was a treat to find and see this month.
Fun Facts:
Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions.
When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.
If you hear an agitated group of cawing American Crows, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl. Crows may gather from near and far and harass the owl for hours. The crows have good reason, because the Great Horned Owl is their most dangerous predator.
Even though the female Great Horned Owl is larger than her mate, the male has a larger voice box and a deeper voice. Pairs often call together, with audible differences in pitch.
Great Horned Owls are covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them against the cold winter weather and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey. Their short, wide wings allow them to maneuver among the trees of the forest.
Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark, and retinas containing many rod cells for excellent night vision. Their eyes don’t move in their sockets, but they can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. They also have sensitive hearing, thanks in part to facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to their ears.
The oldest Great Horned Owl on record was at least 28 years old when it was found in Ohio in 2005.
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Birdhouses!
Two years ago there was a wild fire in Washoe County, NV. It was pretty devasting destroying 14 residences, 22 outbuildings, two commercial buildings, and 5,800+ acres of private, state, and federal lands.
Davis Creek Regional Park has partially reopened. Not all trails are completely opened yet, and camping remains closed.
Birds, and wildlife are still thriving there. Last week I was birding there and to my delight saw someone or many talented people have used the felled, and cut trees to create birdhouses.
There was a pair of Western Bluebirds setting up house in one, or maybe two birdhouses.
They were seen trying out two different birdhouses while I was there.
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Continuing on with our Morro Bay trip I have for you today some doors, and portals from the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. We stopped by the museum while walking back to our car after dinner one evening. We went specifically to see the DSRV-2, Avalon. The museum itself was closed but, the outdoor exhibits are open and one is free to see them and walk around the grounds.
There’s a mural on the street facing side of the building that depicts the Tug Boat Alma. Alma is famous for rescuing the survivors after a Japanese submarine fired on and sank the Union Oil tanker Montebello on December 23, 1941. The attack occurred 6 miles off shore. The Alma rushed out to search for survivors and picked up 2 lifeboats of full.
DSRV-2 Avalon, DSRV is an acronym for Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle. The Avalon is one of only 2 DSRV’s. The door is really a hatch. I believe it’s located on top of the submersible inside that orange cover.
There was a partial bit of tall ship too. I didn’t get a photo of the signage and have forgotten what it said. Sorry! I’m not sure if this is the Poop Deck or the Forecastle, but it has a canon door! Yes, I think it’s listing a bit.
Just in front of the partial tall ship is a display case housing several Lego builds of seafaring craft by Alex Nelson, age 13 at the time he constructed these.
There are a few other boats there that I didn’t get photos of. With any luck I’ll get to go back to see more of this museum.
Fun Facts:
“Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
Launched in July 1972, the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSVR) Avalon was the second of two identical submersibles. Both DSRV’s were built as a result of the tragic USS Thresher accident in April 1063. The loss of the nuclear submarine Thresher and all crew highlighted the need for the Navy to develop a dependable, rapid deployment, rescue system for downed submarines.
The DSRV vehicles offered a quick response, all-weather capable system for rescuing the crew of a submarine immobilized on the sea floor. Mystic and Avalon are the first submersibles that were designed to be readily transported by land, air, on or beneath the sea. They could operate independently of surface conditions or under ice for rapid response to an accident anywhere in the world with a maximum operating depth of 5000 feet.
After arriving at a rescue site, the DSRV Avalon could dive, locate and attach itself to a disabled submarine (DISSUB). At that point, the DISSUB’s access hatches would open and crew from the DISSUB could enter directly into the DSRV. The DSRV could then detach itself from the submarine and transfer the rescued personnel to the support ship, a specially modified submarine or a surface ship.
The DSRV Avalon was deactivated in 2000 and her sister ship Mystic by 2008. The next generation system, Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS), has replaced the DSRV system. Like the DSRV’s, the newer SRDS is based at the Naval Air Station Coronado Island, California, ready to respond in a matter of hours to a submarine emergency in any of the world’s oceans.”
~ Morro Bay Maritime Museum
This post is part of the weekly challenge Thursday Doors hosted by Dan Antion over at https://nofacilities.com/
Head on over there to see more doors from around the world or join the craze and add a door or two of your own. 😊
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