Trash in Parks!

Parks in America, like in most places I have been to are trashed up by insensitive and careless visitors. I recently visited the Ervin Park, in McKinney, TX and was apalled to see such a serene green space full of nature trashed up with beer cans, glass bottles, paper, cigarette packages, plastic covers, etc. Not many people seem to visit the park but the few who do are definitely not sensitive to keep it clean.

Ervin Park, McKinney, TX

Here are some more pictures of Ervin Park landscapes. This is a large and sprawling park with great hiking/ walking trails. I will definitely complete this trail soon... it must be a few miles long.

Ervin Park, McKinney TX

This evening I decided to take a short break and visit one of the local parks. McKinney, Texas has a number of large parks with great outdoor activity options, Ervin Park is one such location. There are miles and miles of walking, hiking, bicycling, mountain biking trails in this park, some tree cover and mostly vast open spaces. Of course there are fire pits, gazebos and picnic tables for people to enjoy the outdoors. Surprisingly there are camping areas also, I wonder who would come and camp here, so close to the city.

Here are some pictures:

Urban Wildlife Sighting

Image via Wikipedia

Today I had the opportunity to sight a Opossum or Possum one of the most commonly found house critters in Texas. The animal was sitting on the entrance arch of our apartment's maintenance and leasing office. It scared the heck out of the staff members and of course it was my first time sighting and I was quite excited. The picture in this post is not of the animal I saw but one I found online on google. I was not carrying my camera so I couldn't capture the animal. I wonder what the apartment guys will do about the animal. If it were India it would have been promptly killed, but here there are laws against harming wildlife and hence killing this marsupial is out of question.

Wlson Creek Park and Trail, McKinney, Texas

McKinney, TX is the city where I live. It is a small town sited around the highways US-75, which is by far the busiest road in the area. Like the city claims this place is definitely full of parks, natural landmarks and other open spaces for the residents entertainment and recreation. I went for a walk to Wilson Creek Trail earlier this evening and here are some pictures of the park and trail. I am impressed by the fact that less than half a mile from the highway there exists such a uniquely beautiful green space for the enjoyment of all. When I lived in India I would rue the fact that there are no green spaces in the city and those that are there outside are fast being encroached by land mafia and greedy farmers. I wish Indian establishment and people thought more about preserving green spaces.

McKinney, Texas - Nature Friendly City

Image by gurdonark via FlickrMcKinney, Texas is a small city both in terms of geographic area and population. I moved here to be closer to classes and since then I have begun to discover small joys of this city. I have noticed that this is one of the most eco-friendly cities I have been in. There are a number of outdoor spaces such as wooded parks, trails, playing fields, lakes and creeks for the benefit of visitors.

I simply enjoy going for evening walks on the 1.2 mile trail that circumambulates the McKinney Town Lake. Of course there is the small wooded area with its own nature trail besides the lake. The meditation garden sited amidst the woods where the Wilson creek and Comegys creek meet is one calm place right next to the I-75. I'd say this is one of my favorite places in this city.

 The McKinney Town Lake is full of birds and every evening it is quite a sight to watch them come out of water on the trails waiting for people to come by and feed them. On days when not many visitors come and feed the birds stop anyone and everyone walking the trail with the hungry expression in their eyes and demand in their beaks.

Varied Professionals of America

When it comes to doing business, selling stuff, and making money, nobody in the world can beat Americans. Here is a great example of creativity in business.

July 4th Celebrations in McKinney, Texas

The city officials got together with the citizens of McKinney, TX to celebrate America's independence day this morning. Festivities included a colorful parade and walk around downtown in the morning and a fireworks display and music concert in the evening. Here are some pictures of the event.

Spring transforms.... but when....

It is officially spring in America but for this tree in the McKinney Town Lake Recreation area it is still fall. New leaves have not yet sprouted, leaving the tree at the mercy of the sun which is heating up by the day. Hopefully the heat of the sun will wake up the slumbering innards of the tree and make it green and beautiful again... soon.

Wilson Creek Trail, McKinney

Here are some pictures of the Wilson Creek Trail and the McKinney Town Lake recreation area. Having this in close proximity from our apartment is a real advantage, I hope the trees here will provide enough shade during the hot summer months and let us enjoy the nature until the freeze sets in.

Fascinating Nature!

Nature is always intriguing and continues to be an enduring mystery, even to the most brilliant scientists... These trees along side the Wilson Creek Trail in McKinney, Texas which were grey and dreary a few weeks ago will be a rich green color now and continue to be so through summer. Isn't that fascinating how they appear almost dead when it gets cold and conserve their internal warmth by shedding leaves and sprout to life when conditions become better again.

Even though the Japanese had built their Nuclear Power Plant to withstand a 8.0 richter scale earthquake, they are suffering from a 9.0 earth quake. Now that is what I call the supremacy of nature, one never knows what to expect. As we humans continue to mindlessly exploit nature more to satisfy our greed than to meet our needs we don't know how much damage we have done. One day the retaliation from nature in the form of earthquakes, tsunamis and other disasters will take its toll on our civilization. It is only a matter of time.

Depiction of Life...

Until recently Texas had been a primarily plantation/ agriculture state. Hence blacksmithy was a very thriving business in the past. This sculptural depiction celebrates the recent history of McKinney, Texas. Installed at the McKinney Town Lake Recreation Area, the sculpture is an attraction in itself.

Soothing Green Acres...

Mckinney, Texas was ranked among the top-5 places to live in the US. I don't know when this ranking was done or who voted for it. But one thing I know for certain is that McKinney is a small city with large open spaces and parks and recreation areas. The McKinney Town Lake recreation area is a classic example. There is a lake, nature trail, community center, bicycling trail, sports and recreation area with facilities to play several sports. I am particularly fond of the people-friendly birds in the lake, these ducks, and geese walk around fearlessly around humans and even give way when bicyclists whiz past in frenzy.

McKinney Town Lake

A nice quite lake just besides the busiest freeway in the DFW area... an enjoyable paradox. A phenomenon I'd love to see increase and get replicated everywhere in the world.

Snow in Texas

Texas is more famous for its 100 degree summers than for its freezing winters. Since the past three years that I have been here there have been a few days in winter when it freezes over and sometimes it snows also. This year too there was some snow couple of days ago. I took some pictures of the snow after three days and here they are for you to see.

The majestic clock tower at school

This is one of the new landmarks of our new campus. Provides a hangout spot for students and adds to the beauty of the McKinney campus.

Road Views From Google Maps

I was browsing the internet to get directions to reach a particular location and I found this interesting feature. I had come across this feature over a year ago but hadn't used it to the fullest extent. Today I just thought I'd try out and see how this feature works and decided to do some copy and pasting of images on my blog. Google has really come to the doorsteps of our homes. Cameras are everywhere it is a matter of time before corporations or government will invade the privacy of our homes and rooms. Right now through this feature one can zoom in to the doorsteps of houses. Here are two pictures I just captured from Google maps just the quality is good and it seems like shot from a high resolution camera.

Carrollton and McKinney

Recently I had gone to McKinney a small city in the Dallas area about 20 miles from our home. Here are some pictures I shot during that outing. Like the rest of the US I have seen the roads and great but somethings I see along the road is surprising and even downright shocking. Look at the pictures and you will know.

I saw this sight very close to our home. A train loaded with war machines; i.e. military equipment including tanks, huge trucks, ambulances, armoured vehicles etc. Wonder where they are being transported to, Iraq, Afghanistan? or to the testing location near San Antonio in southern Texas?

Large water tanks such as the one in the picture supply water to the teeming cities in the US. Every city has a trademark shape and style of watertanks.

An old barn/ work shed located in what once used to be a farm/ ranch. Today the land has been put up for sale and the building will be demolished when the new owners take over.

This is the court of the city of McKinney. But like most government offices elsewhere in the world, nobody seems to be bothered about maintenance. The T of Courthouse has fallen off and judicial proceedings go on inside. Will the concerned authorities do justice to the building first?