Climbing on the Live Oak

This tree just invites kids to climb.  You can get on it by practically stepping up a few inches. You can't easily go very high because the limb gets steep quickly.  The shot is from the lakefont in Mandeville on the northshore of Lake Pontchartain, across from New Orleans. You can see the 23-mile Causeway Bridge on the horizon.

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Early morning adventure in Lake Pontchartrain

Heading out from Mandeville's harbor on a cool morning with the steam rising from the lake-mixed bayou water as the sun's warm rays glance of the cool water.

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Gull catches wind

Catch wind.  

The gusts are brisk and swirling. Cold.  You have fine tuned your muscles to find stability in this.  Your feathers respond to every updraft, every downdraft.  You can catch wind and soar into the chilly sky.  It is the reason you were born, the reason you are here.  To tickle the sky's belly.

The photo is on the lakefront in Mandeville, LA.
--steve buser

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Aerial assaulters

I was getting read to delete this photo when I saw the sing. Manatee area? Mandeville? Times have surely changed. When I was a young man living in Mandeville, you could hardly get the courage up to swim in Lake Pontchartrain.
To me this shows what we can do when pay respect to our environment.

Now, what to do about those Manatee hunting gulls?
--steve buser

Gulls, Mandeville, Louisiana, Manatee

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That magic moment

One morning at the lakefront, a blue heron soared by adding magic to the moment.
--steve buser

Lake Pontchartrain, Blue Heron, birds, New Orleans

Time to sail ashore

A fun day testing your skills against the wind, the water, the sun and the competition on Lake Pontchartrain. Now it is time to take a break and relive it all on shore in Mandeville, LA , with your buddies.
--steve buser

Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, sailing

Getting ready for a cool, sunny dip

The sun going down. As they say "It's fixing to take a dip in Lake Pontchartrain."
--steve buser

Sunset, New Orleans, Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain

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Beeping birds

Move over. Quick. Get out of the way.

I saw that morsel first and I will fly through you if I have to.

I guess even birds don't see eye to eye all the time. These two New Orleans Lakefront wind surfers were out looking for anything tasty.

--steve buser

gulls, lakefront, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Louisiana
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City-lights-soaked clouds

Come in to the city across Lake Pontchartrain on a muggy cloudy night and you will catch a scene such as this. The clouds soak with city light leaking skyward and the buildings at the edge of the Causeway with their hundreds of eyes still gleaming.

--steve buser

Clouds, New Orleans, Night

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Kids caught in grass's grip.

Law of nature #3245 -- kids and grass have an attractive force that cannot be overcome -- they will get together.

Our niece Sarah demonstrates this natural law on a walk along the lakefront in Mandeville, Louisiana recently. We were watching birds, blowing bubbles, and just acting funny. Then that gravity like force took hold of her and she was frolicking in the grass.

-steve buser

Kids, children, tumbling. playing, Mandeville, Louisiana

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Wayside flyby

This pelican was flying by us as we crossed the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It was kind of a fly-by feathering

This is a SkyWatch Friday Post. Go and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!
--steve buser

Lake Pontchartrain, Causeway, brown pelican, sky

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Cardinal rule of fine dining

If you were a beautiful Cardinal would you feast on worms and insects?   I think not.   You'd probably do like this fellow and has tasty, succulent morsels of sun-baked baby elm buds.  The birds are apparently into fine-dining at the Mandeville Nature Center  (across the lake from New Orleans).

--steve buser

Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, eating, Mandeville, birds, nature center, Louisiana

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Strange shore-sounder slivers along Mandeville seawall

What is it which slivers through Mandeville's shallow waters?

Don't ask me. I'm totally in the dark.

I was taking pictures of a bunch of ducks which bobbed about 100 to 125 feet off the Mandeville lakeshore one Saturday morning recently. Suddenly, my eye was drawn to one duck that was scooting rapidly across the water. It was hard to make it out, but I realized it wasn't a duck when it lifted up and dived -- it's long tail curving up to follow it under.

The creature would stay under water for 2 to 3 minute before it would surface. It mostly followed a line, but it was hard to predict exactly where it would resurface.

When this mysterious amphibian (I am guessing) got close to the lakefront seawall, I shot these pictures. It appeared to about 6 to 8 feet in length -- a large part of that the tail. In the bottom picture you can barely see the little feet. It appeared to disappear under a bridge and up a drainage ditch.

Still I have no idea what it is. Maybe you do?

--steve buser

Amphibian, creature, mystery, Lake Pontchartrain, Mandeville, Louisiana

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This coot starts a scoot.

I've been offline most of the week because of another project I was spending a lot of time on. Hopefully, soon I will get back to my routine.

Meanwhile-- this picture from a couple weeks ago. I had risen early to get to the lakefront in Mandeville to see if I could get any shots. Unfortunately, it was overcast and dreary. The lighting made it hard to shoot. This was one of the few that came out. -- a bunch of American Coot sitting on one of the wave-breakers along the waterfront. This one Coot, decides it's time to get out of there in a hurry. A few second later ( I captured that shot, but it is not here.) the water erupts with coots, scooting across it.---steve buser

duck, feathers, Mandeville, Louisiana

Fishing for dollars

The cinema students from University of New Orleans were filming a short film out on the lakefront of Mandeville the other day as we were walking along. The title was (I think) "the money and the thief" This shot is the thief trying to grab the money out of the water. The film is being done entirely by UNO students and will be shown at various film festivals.

--steve buser

film, University of New Orleans

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Lakeset wings

Calm. Darkening. Enlightening. Peaceful. Sharing.
Two ladies enjoy the setting sun and the playful seagulls.

Soul searching.
Brooding.
Musing.
Reflection.

The sun does it too.
The New Orleans Lakefront.

--steve buser

This is a SkyWatch Friday Post. Go and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!

Sunset, birds, seagulls, reflection, Lake Pontchartrain

A watery walk

The lakefront at Mandeville.  The stairs lead down into the water.

--steve buser

Floating food finders

Mommy take her chicks out on Lake Pontchartrain for a little training in how to find food. The shot is on the lakefront of Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans.

--steve buser

ducks, chicks, mallards, birds, Kenner, Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain

Palette playing

Lake Pontchartrain by New Orleans is one of the best canvases the sun has. I think that it uses the 30 mile wide lake to test it's new palette ideas on. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway lets you get right out in the middle of the action to see the masterpieces as they are being painted.

--steve buser

Go and check out more skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!

Lake Pontchartrain, Causeway, sunset, clouds,

Zen there

Contemplate.
Meditate.
Think it over.
Deliberate.
Ruminate.
Speculate.
Kick it around.
Mull over
Ponder.
Reflect.

Your choice. The spot on the lakefront of Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville is ready when you are.

--steve buser

bench, lakefront, Mandeville, Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain