mike-jacque-c-the-world

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06/07/25 - Cedar Park, TX - FIRST TIME AT THE HAUTE SPOT - Went to see John Michael Montgomery tonight with our good friends Steve and Linda. A few things come to mind about our experience. First, John Michael Montgomery stills got it: his singing voice is completely intact, his many hit songs brought back memories, and he is a born entertainer but still comes across as humble and likable. Second, it was great to share the good vibes with friends. And finally, why pay the big bucks to watch a concert in a large venue when you can go to a much more intimate venue under the trees like the Haute Spot? We’ll definitely be back.

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05/18/25 - Lago Vista, TX - HORSEWEED - It’s a new year pulling weeds in the yard and in some cases, new types of weeds that we haven’t seen before like the one seen pictured. We think it’s called horseweed. They are lush and green and grow straight up to a height of 3 or 4 feet and so far, seem to be totally drought tolerant which we like. Right now, much of our yard is yet to be landscaped so for the most part, we just let the weeds grow unless they are highly undesirable, e.g. sticker grass and crabgrass which we are on a mission to eradicate. Some of the weeds that we leave in place make a very nice drought tolerant ground cover that doesn’t need watering. We like those and let them be: especially if they can survive and stay green during the heat in August and September. For now, we’ll give this horseweed a chance and see how it does as the long hot summer progresses.

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05/25/25 - Washington D.C. - EASING INTO THE DAY AT MAE’S - It’s a beautiful morning in Washington D.C. and we are on a relaxed schedule today which means we have plenty of time to ease into the day at Mae’s with great coffee and great food to help us along. It’s always nice when our far flung family has a chance to get together and catch up. Can you tell?

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05/15/25 - Washington D.C. - BACK TOGETHER AGAIN - It’s pretty cool that the U.S. Military allows spouses to be buried alongside service members in their National Cemeteries. We’re gathered today to bring my mom’s ashes to my dad’s gravesite. Here are the members of our family that flew in from California, Georgia, Texas and as far away as Kenya to help celebrate my mom’s life by sharing their favorite memories of her. Thank you Arlington National Cemetery for your professionalism and flexibility. It’s comforting to know that those who lie at rest here are well taken care of and that mom and dad are back together again.

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05/14/25 - Washington D.C. - MEET OLLIE - Enjoying time with my brothers and some of their families in Washington D.C. We are gathered here to bring my mom’s cremated remains to Arlington National Cemetery where they will be placed alongside my dad’s at his gravesite. For us, it’s a time to celebrate her life and her rejoining my dad. Well done Mom! Then there’s the cycle of life to celebrate as well: meet Ollie who was the youngest great grandchild at the time of my mom’s passing. Hoping she has a great life too!

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05/10/25 - Lago Vista, TX - BABY GRASSHOPPERS - What’s all that strange looking green stuff on the yellow handle of the garden shovel? Zoom into the pic and maybe you’ll see something you’re not expecting.

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04/26/25 - Lago Vista, TX - DROWNING IN SAP - Prickly Pear grows everywhere around here because it thrives in full sun and is drought tolerant. It is a flowering cactus that can get very lush and green. For me, it’s the bright yellow cup-shaped blooms that make them special. When you look at these blooms closely, you see that they’re filled with sap and when you zoom in on this pic, you’ll see that this sap has attracted a bunch of spotted cactus beetles that appear to be drowning in it? Does this mean that Prickly Pear is carnivorous? Or, should we be asking the beetles if the sweet sap juice was worth it?

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04/16/25 - Lago Vista, TX - WAITING FOR DINNER - If you live in Lago, you know that the deer rule around here. A lot of people, especially newer residents, like to feed them. The deer get used to this and oftentimes, can be seen hanging out in the neighborhood where they expect to be fed. That’s what you see happening across the street at our new neighbors house. Getting a little shade on a hot day while waiting for dinner is an added bonus for this deer. Smart.

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04/08/25 - Lago Vista, TX - BACKYARD VINEYARD - There’s a little bit of everything here in Lago Vista: we’re not suburbia, we’re not rural; we’re something in between with a small town feel even though we are just a one hour drive from all the big city amenities that Austin has to offer. A great example is this residential area where it’s not unusual to see a backyard vineyard on an estate lot with gorgeous views of the lake. Pretty cool and one of the things that makes Lago special.

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04/01/25 - Lago Vista, TX - WILDFLOWER SEASON IS HERE - It’s been a slow wildflower season so far due to lack of rain. Planted seeds (Oklahoma Mix) for a wildflower garden last fall. Right now, it mostly looks like a bunch of weeds: that would be all the green you see in the pic. This gorgeous pink flower is one of our very first blooms and hopefully, a harbinger of things to come.

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03/20/25 - Lago Vista, TX - CARDINAL COUPLE - We like to think that this is Jim & Norma enjoying the afterlife: stopping by to see us and getting a bite to eat at our backyard birdhouse. If it is, they look like they’re happy, healthy and well. Hope they didn’t notice my lack of progress with the backyard landscaping which is coming along very slowly.

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03/14/20 - Lago Vista, TX - BLOOD MOON - Got up around 1:30 A.M. planning to watch the Lunar Eclipse unfold over the next hour. After craning by neck for about 30 seconds to watch the moon in the sky above our house, I decided it was too uncomfortable. Plus, I was pretty sleepy so I took this pic of the Blood Moon and skedaddled back to bed without staying up to watch the Lunar Eclipse play out. No problem: I was back to sleep so fast that there was no time for regrets.

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03/02/25 - Corpus Christi, TX - WHAT A POSE - We’re babysitting our youngest granddaughter Lorelei in Corpus Christi this week. Here she is getting breakfast with us at the hotel. Don’t remember how we got to this particular pose but it definitely works for Picture of the Day. Hopefully, ten years from now, when we’re all sitting around reminiscing and she sees this pic, she’ll be laughing with us and just as hard as we are.

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02/20/25 - Cedar Park, TX - WHOOPS! - Our 2007 Tundra pickup truck has about 422,000 miles on it. During its long life, it’s been involved in quite a few parking lot accidents. Here’s a pic of the aftermath of another one. Note the tire tracks crossing the yellow parking spot separator line. That is evidence of me just missing my right turn and catching my rear right wheel on the edge of the little blue car’s front fender. When I felt the slight resistance to my forward progress, I thought it was just the emergency brake and kept going. Then, when the truck seemingly got stuck, my tire started spinning and I heard loud cracking noises, I finally realized something was terribly wrong. Too late! I had already ripped off the entire front fender of the little blue car. Felt pretty dumb and stupid right about then. Luckily, we were able to find the car’s owner in a nearby store and give him our insurance information. He was just thankful we didn’t drive off leaving him to foot the bill.

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02/20/25 - IS THIS REAL? - My wife shared this pic with me last week on Valentine’s Day. Have no idea where or when it was taken or if it is even real. In my opinion, the two heart shaped rock formations are a little too perfect to be found in nature so it is either a real pic that has been altered or a piece of art generated with the help of an AI tool. Still, it spoke to me in a powerful way: so powerfully that for the very first time since 2013, when we started this blog, a picture not taken by a family member’s camera has been posted. Hope that making this exception isn’t a big deal and if it is, rest assured that we won’t be doing this again anytime soon. Thoughts?

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02/16/25 - Nanyuki, Kenya - FIRST TIME WINNER - Time to brag on a fellow cyclist, our granddaughter Liana. Today she competed in the 10to4 Mountain Bike Challenge, a 3-day racing competition for all different age groups and racing abilities on the slopes of Mount Kenya. More specifically, she competed in the 6-8 year old girls division and won her 4.5 km race. There were seven girls in her race and she was 2 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. If she would have raced against the 6-8 year old boys, her time would have gotten her a third place out of 15 riders in that field. That is an impressive result for a seven year old riding in her very first race. If you know Liana, you know she has a competitive spirit: the kind of spirit that you are born with, the kind of spirit that you either have or you don’t, and most importantly, the kind of spirit that has the potential to separate her trajectory from the rest. Well done Liana!

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02/13/25 - San Antonio, TX - WHERE WE HAD OUR FIRST DATE - We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day a day early with a lunch date at the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio where we had our very first date. Still remember that date as being my very best birthday present ever. Today is a cold and dreary day but it’s still quite the experience to be dining on ‘surf and turf’ at the Chart House restaurant high above San Antonio. What makes it really special is that the restaurant makes a complete rotation every hour which means the view is always changing. If you haven’t been, you can’t go wrong sharing a meal here with your most special someone. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!