Heat Wave Continues ...

Palo Duro Canyon - Picture Postcard

Please click to see this photo in all its depth and color.


Since their are no storms with that death ridge parked on top of us, and i have a huge backlog of photographs to process and post, I'll think I'll start with some of my recent Palo Duro canyon pics.

If you haven't been down to PDC in awhile, take a break and make the trip. The canyon is the greenest I've ever seen and its breathtaking. I've also seen more wildlife than I ever have, deer, vultures, lizards, turkeys and lots of tarantulas.

I'll post photos of them later.

-Steve

Storm in the Palo Duro

-Steve Douglass

Tonight's lone storm.

One storm managed to bust its way through the hard as steel cap tonight northeast of Amarillo. The setting sun really lit it up and I thought Ii would share it with you.

Nothing severe - but it sure was "perty" as we say in these parts. It's dying now - but I captured it for posterity. Enjoy it because the forecast is for nothing but severe clear for the next long while.

-Steve Douglass

The Buzzard Air Show

Palo Duro Canyon is famous world-wide for the spectacular summertime musical TEXAS!, but did you know that there's another show in the canyon - an air show that has drawn the interest of a group of local photographers?

Every evening while tourists are marveling at the spectacle in the Pioneer Amphitheater another spectacle is taking place this summer at the far end of the canyon.




The air show surrounds a small group of trees near "Cow Camp Cabins" in the southern end of the park. On any given night you'll find some photographers, tourists,campers and locals, pulling out lawn chairs and binoculars, long lenses and cameras,and settling in for the show that takes place every night come rain or shine, whether there is an audience or not.

Some of them bring refreshments, and even I-Pods to supply their own personal soundtrack to the aerial ballet that seems to begin sharply at 7:00PM.

It is at that time that hundreds of Turkey Vultures descend from the thermals they ride on the high canyon rim to roost for the night in two trees located on the Palo Duro Creek bed.



By sunset two trees are filled with the huge squawking arguing beasts all vying to be on the top-most limbs (seems politics does exist in the buzzard world) but no matter how ugly these winged carrion eaters look like up close, in the sky (as they circle down from the heights to their night digs in the lowly draw,) their grace rivals any of the dancers in Paul Green's play underway just up the canyon.

Its quite a show and at sunset it can be spectacular as well. It takes over two hours for all the vultures to auger down unto their night tree and it seems they come from all over the Panhandle because you can see large groups of them heading into the canyon from over the far rims.

There also seems to be some kind of unspoken communication going on between the buzzards. One can't help but imagine some kind of vulture "air traffic control" channel because their approaches to land seem very coordinated.

First the older birds, the grand-old-buzzards land. No doubt from years of experience and knowing the sooner one roosts the more prime the roosting location. one gets

Late comers sometimes end up roosting on the ground or on flimsy branches that break in high wind, and no self-respecting buzzard wants to take wing in the pitch dark searching for another place to spend the night, especially during one of the infamous gully-washers that happen down in the canyon.

Worst case scenario is they have to land on the ground, where coyotes and raccoons lurk, drawn to them by their pungent (and rather far reaching) Eau-de-road-kill natural perfume that only a mother buzzard could love.



Next seem to be (what I call) the baby-boomer buzzards who fly precision approaches and waste no time arcing down out of the sky to land gracefully on their chosen tree limb and then= just before the last light of the setting sun is gone, come the "newbie buzzards" the teenagers and tweens who seem to cruise the thermals on the southwest rim of the canyon until the very last moment, like human kids playing kick-the-can until that inevitable holler from mom telling them to get their keesters home.

Can't say I blame the teen-buzzards. Cruising the canyon walls does remind me of my ill-spent youth cruising Polk Street, but I digress.

In any event the teenagers are the more curious. It's clear to the audience they are taking their own sweet time spiraling down - with some of them actually flying low over the ground-trodding humans and probably wondering how we can stand being mired to the earth.

So if you get the chance (and soon before the buzzards begin to migrate to warmer winter climates down in Southeast Texas) grab your lawn chair and a soda, load up your I-Pod (with your favorite songs to watch buzzards by) pay the $5.00 park entry fee (or better yet get a season pass) and enjoy the buzzard air show.

Like the play TEXAS! everyone should experience it at least once.

-Steve Douglass

PS: click to enlarge the photos.

No storms - time for other photography!

The following were taken in Palo Duro Canyon.
I hope you enjoy them.

-Steve

Special thanks to Dale & Shelley for letting me tag along on their PDC treks.

Palo Duro Canyon - strata

The sky is falling ..

Now I know why it rains ...

Partly Cloud

I guess New Yorkers never see mammatus clouds

Moon Glow-Storm Glow

(C) Steve Douglass

Video of tonight's duster!

Duster Lightning Strike

Video still frame of a nearby lightning strike in the midsts of the dust.

-Steve

Another duster

Some photos of the rain/dust storm that blew through Amarillo tonight. These were shot just south of town at Georgia & Loop 335.





I'll post some video soon.

-Steve Douglass

Panhandle Skies - a work in progress.

For the last decade or so I've been collecting sky images in the hope of someday getting a book published. I've finally have enough images (some featured on this blog) and have put together a prototype book which you can download and view HERE.

If anyone has any contacts in the publishing industry (and likes what they see here) please let me know.

Keep in mind, this is a work in progress. Some text is missing and this book is not nearly in its final form.

Let me know what you think - PLEASE!

All images are (C) Steve Douglass Any reproduction is prohibited without the written consent of the author.

Dirt Storm Video

(C) Steve Douglass



Audio has been removed because it was just annoying!

Why storm chasers shouldn't drive white cars.

Wash me!

Tonight's Wall of Dirt

I'l post video tomorrow - but first I have to clean my camera and cough up an acre of Deaf Smith County real estate.

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland

Tornadoes Tear Through the Heartland

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Lightning Video Anomaly?

I was shooting some video of lightning (last night) when we had a nearby strike. As i was watching the playback I noticed (as I have before when shooting video) a weird thing that happens. In slow motion one can see a bolt that seems to appear impossibly close to the camera and then you see the main strike. off in the distance. I can't explain it and wish I knew a video technician who could because I would really like to know what causes it.

First you'll see the video in slow motion, showing the strange arc and then the main event. After that is the video in real time.

Weird huh?

-Steve Douglass