100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash, hailing from THE pumpkin capital of Texas, Floydada, and 150,000 beautiful fall blooming plants throughout the garden. This year, the Pumpkin Village will feature the theme “Texas Town,” taking visitors on a journey through Texas pioneer life. 

Where We’ll Meet

Meet at the fountains outside of the main ticket entrance. Have patience and anticipate lots of visitors!!

Dallas Arboretum Members – Free Admission & Parking (Advance reservation not required)

 Non-members – advance reservations & parking fee are required.

Note that some of our club members have an Arboretum membership and are willing to share, please let Jackie know.

If you would like to take advantage of a member’s generosity, please let Jackie know.

Tickets: https://tickets.dallasarboretum.org/events/419e73b3-3ebc-eafb-62f6-3f3a6c08d4da

Parking: https://tickets.dallasarboretum.org/events/8fb986fc-1268-5390-eeac-eaf4ba48b425

For those who wish to carpool, please meet in the parking lot at the WalMart on Coit, just north of the George Bush Tollway. We will depart promptly at 8:00 a.m. It would be helpful to know ahead of time if you wish to participate!

Please register on our club website to attend this field trip. That’s it! If you have questions, as always just call me!

The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center has offered members of the Heard Nature Photographers Club an exceptional opportunity at the Center….. not only will we be able to photograph their education ambassadors but to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the rehabilitation area.

The normal cost for doing both is $125.00. ($75 for the photography time and $50 for the tour). Our cost for both is $50 per person!!!

Schedule:

• 6:00 a.m. Arrive at the Center and check in at the Visitor Center. You will have a little time to photograph the pond and the lake at sunrise.

• 6:45am - 7:45am Photo Time & 8:00am - 8:45am Tour**
  **Space is limited

Brunch

For those who choose to participate, we will determine a location for after-the-event conversation and camaraderie.

How Do I Pay for My Entrance Fee

Use this link to pay your fee (not the normal link showing on their website).

https://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_19f59686-0d7d-11ef-b2a8-0a3287177f03&WidgetId=65536

Note: you must also register on the club website.

Important Notice

Per the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, if you take photographs inside the rehabilitation areas, they are not to be sold, not to be published in any type of social media and not to be entered into any contest at any point in time. They may be shown in the Club’s slideshow. Photographs taken during “photo time” are not covered by this limitation.

Note: Mosquitoes/chiggers may be an issue this time of year. Please prepare for these possibilities.

Trout Lilies usually start blooming at the Heard in the middle of February. After our February meeting, we will head down the Hoot Owl trail to check them out. Remember, admission to the Heard is free for photo club members on meeting day.

After photographing the trout lilies, we will head to the Great Outdoor Sub shop at 1751 Eldorado Parkway in McKinney, just a few minutes from the Heard.

The trout lilies or weather may not cooperate with our plans. The theme for our March video will be trout lilies. Get out to the Heard and photograph them when it is convenient for you. Images will be due to Ron Marabito at rmarabito@gmail.com on March 1.

You can register for the event at heardnaturephotographers.com.

Questions? Contact Steven Earles.

Mid America Flight Museum

POSTPONED:
New Date October 22

The Museum opens at 8:00 a.m.  Should you wish to arrive that early, please feel free to do so (just identify yourself as being from the Heard Nature Photographers).

COST: There is no charge for admission or parking.

LUNCH: Laura’s Cheesecake & Café in Mount Pleasant.  Time t/b/d.

TIDBITS: There are over 60 aircraft at the Museum and the majority of them are flight-worthy About 40-45 aircraft are on display at this point in time.

• They have two of the four known flyable planes that are Pearl Harbor survivors.

• Warbirds and vintage aircraft….bombers, fighters, helicopters, observation and transports.

• The collection is easily accessible.  There are no ropes, chains or fences around the aircraft.

• Check out the website’s many stories about the aircraft and their crews…fascinating!  www.midamericaflightmuseum.com

• There is plenty of seating in the Museum’s many buildings.

SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT:

Tripod/monopod; a selection of lens, comfortable walking shoes, bottled water.  The aircraft are in multiple buildings.

Questions? Call Jackie Ranney 214/478-2107. Final details will be sent to registrants a few days before the event.

Chandor Gardens captures both the ornate design of ancient Chinese architecture and the elegance of a formal English garden. The 3.5-acre estate leads its visitors on a meandering path of beauty and wonderment. A recent visitor emphasizes how much care the Gardens staff has taken to keep the vegetation lush and thriving throughout the extreme weather conditions recently experienced.

 What to bring: 

• Comfortable walking shoes 

• Your favorite walk-around lens and possibly others! 

• Bottled water 

Important: . 

• Tripods are not allowed due to the narrow pathways.

• The 30’ waterfall mentioned on their website is still being reworked.

• Photography inside the on-site house is not permitted.

We will be leaving by 11:30 a.m. at the very latest since they have a wedding scheduled in the evening (the wedding party is scheduled to begin arriving at 11:00 a.m.) 

Additional gardens in Weatherford that members may choose to visit on their own after our lunch: 

Clark Gardens www.clarkgardens.org 

**Photography by Wy Roberge. Used with permission.

Reservations

THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 20 PEOPLE. Please familiarize yourself with the information on their website before signing up for this field trip.

Cost

For our private two-hour photographic opportunity, the cost is $10/pp. If you wish to also visit TrainTopia (the indoor model train exhibit) after our photographic time, the cost is an additional $5 ($15 total). TrainTopia opens at 10:00 a.m.

Payment will be made upon arrival. Cash is preferred to facilitate a quicker entry; credit card payments will also be accepted.

While We Are There

• Our tour will be “guided” during our visit with appropriate stops for photographing. Wandering is not part of the policy of the Museum.

• Tours are outdoors over uneven surfaces with no cover from the sun. There are no paved sidewalks at this point in time.

• When close to the trains, the surface is ballast (a loose granite) which is used to keep the train rails in place.

• Steps will be provided for the two train cars we will be allowed to go inside to photograph.

• Please dress for the terrain, heat, and bring plenty of fluids. (There are no restrooms or water fountains available at the site at this time.)

• Some of the trains have been restored, some have not.

Suggested Equipment

Tripod/monopod; a selection of lens, comfortable walking shoes, bottled water, sun protection.

Copyright

If publishing or selling your photographs of the trains showing their logos, it is not up to the Museum to grant copyright permission. All photographs in this announcement have been used with permission.

Sugges

Cost

Either your Texas Parks & Wildlife annual pass or $7/per person (not “per vehicle”).

Tidbits

Multiple trails – some are paved! Opportunities to shoot in the woods and at the shoreline.

• Restrooms are available in different locations throughout the park.

• When I went to the park on the scouting trip this past December, there were deer in the parking lot!

• One of our members has been to the Greenbelt Trailway across the highway and reports seeing deer, heron, and egrets. She says there were some pretty wildflowers in the spring between the parking lot and the bridge.

• There are two areas of the park available within a short distance – the Isle du Bois Unit and the Greenbelt Trailway across the highway. Your park entrance fee covers both.

Lunch

Bring a picnic-type lunch for you/yours or pick up lunch on the way to the park! The exact location in the Isle du Bois Unit will be provided to registrants as the time gets closer. The weather should be nice and “lunching picnic-style” will be a different way for us to enjoy lunch together. The picnic area where we will be is adjacent to the restrooms, too. Note that this park does not have food/cold drinks available so “be prepared”!