Nose in a Book

The mural on the side of Domy Books reflects a perhaps doomed style of reading. The painting reminds me of my parents saying a kid had his 'nose stuck in a book.' This store is just east of IH35 on Cesar Chavez and they sell have lots of little art shows and sell unusual creative books.

Boys Will Be Boys

Linda and I were walking across the pedestrian bridge over Lady Bird Lake recently and saw these kids perched under the Lamar Boulevard bridge to the west. You wonder how they managed to get there; but if you are young and acrobatic enough, I guess anything is possible.

Ancient Carving?

Due to a trail detour I walked along Waller Creek the other day east of the Four Seasons residences and some old stone steps down to the creek had this interesting carving. I'd never been that way before. You never know when you will see something new.

Sun's Reflection

Last night the sunset was beautiful reflected in the Frost Bank tower. For long time readers I apologize for photographing this once again. Moments later, as the sun sank, the dark pink layer became blue.

LB and her shadow

As we were waiting for the valet to bring us our car after that fantastic party last Friday, one of the Spandex-clad actors sneaked up behind Linda and I snapped this quick shot of them with my iPhone. The composition worked out well since they were both in black and there were a lot of lighter surfaces behind them. In the background, you can see the front entrance to the incredible home where the party was held. Guests enter by using stepping stones in a shallow pond.

Art Takes Over

Cesar Chavez, the downtown street closest to the river on the north, and the 1st Street bridge have been invaded for the weekend by a huge art show and fest called Art City Austin. Magda Sayeg, a graffiti artist who uses yarn 'attacked' these concrete posts and our friend Jackie caught a photographer doing a close-up of them. You can see a giant admonition to EAT (there are food booths as well as artist offerings) and in the background the AMLI apartments and our home, the 360. Unfortunately the street and bridge closures for this event have played havoc with traffic downtown traffic all weekend as huge events were happening at the Austin Music Hall and Long Center. This time of year there are dozens of things going on every weekend. The good news is that we don't have to drive to them.

Living Art

FFP and I attended a party last night in support of Women and Their Work gallery. A new house for an art collector with a fascinating collection. With the addition of some super food and living sculpture and the best of Austin's arty set it was a really great gathering. There were models posing in full Lycra suits and they moved about to surprise you with their lines.

Tree Climbing

There's more than one way to get your tree climbing done. Over near Rainey Street someone just attached some stairs. A form of high rise different from the nearby Shore Condos or Malaga Apartments.

Batty

This giant bat that appears to be emerging from a garage near Rainey Street is actually a bat bike (I know that makes you feel better) which is part of the Austin Bike Zoo. The vehicles seem to reside all over the neighborhood since the G'Raj Mahal food trailer took over part of the space where they used to be when not out in the wild. We've shown you the grasshopper over there and we've shown the bat, too, but it didn't look this scary.

Up Close and Personal

This dog was really friendly -- as were all of the pups in the parade. He wanted to compare notes about which camera to buy next time, I think.

A Nice Morning Ride

This doggie was getting a smooth trip through the Mighty Texas Dog Walk. He even has a newspaper to read! Pretty good treatment!

Pampered Dog

This dog is giving the camera a regal look as he's being ferried along during the Mighty Texas Dog Walk. As you see, he is a rolling advertisement for a Dog Spa

"I'm quite special! I'll be needing a manicure today, please! I hope my room has a lake view this time!"

Mighty Texas Dog Walk

Well, if there was ever a pet photo-taking opportunity, this is it. This morning, the Mighty Texas Dog Walk took place on the Drake Bridge (South First/Guadalupe) over Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. This shot is of the start as a mass of people headed out north across the bridge. I took over 100 shots. But I'll only use a few, promise. (Note the Texas flag. Often a prominent visual symbol in our state's parades.)

Built into a Quarry Downtown

It's pretty rocky around here and the city has grown around old quarries. Nowhere is this more fascinating than downtown where the building I showed you yesterday crawls down two stories and hugs the old quarry wall on Seventh Street.

Hard Times, Old Days

Just a few blocks from our high rise, where lots of us live together on a city block are historic homes built over a century ago in about the space of a block. The Bremond Block has stately homes (like this) but possibly the most interesting is this house...built against an old quarry wall at the end of the block...and intended to raise money by stacking tenants in four stories per the historic marker. Notice that the structure looks to be only two stories. Tomorrow I'll show you the view from Seventh Street.

Here Comes Santa Claus

I loved the way this dog looked in his Santa outfit. He seemed to be having a good time at the pet parade a couple of Saturdays ago. I don't doubt that some of the others were telling him that they wanted extra treats for Christmas.

You Gotta Eat

On our walk to Rainey Street on Saturday we ended up eating G'Raj Mahal trailer Indian food in the bar Clive. This fellow was having his supper at a nearby spot where carriages are serviced for downtown rides. We've shown you an artistic blur of such a carriage and the car parking admonition before but this is the first time I saw horses there. (Another one was equally engaged in dinner.) Have to get a really good pic of one of the horse-drawn carriages with its lights soon.

Another Minor Mishaps Player

I wanted to show one more photo from the pet parade a couple of Saturdays ago. The tuba player for the Minor Mishaps Band went to so much trouble to trick out her horn, I thought she deserved a post.

Attention Please

Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and Joe Ely are paying close attention to Ray Benson singing a song at Turk and Christy Pipkin's tribute to Willie Nelson to raise money for their work in Kenya. The young lady in the foreground, though, is paying close attention to someone else which makes this picture FFP took show how distracting the evening was. FFP and I enjoyed visiting with the author Sarah Bird at our table and with many other friends (celebrities in their own right) in attendance. Star-studded night. Some kids in Kenya will get to go to school beyond the eighth grade thanks to the Pipkins efforts (and their friends in high places).

Far From the Sea

Several little local businesses closed and some land was cleared by the property owners for a hotel project that has yet to come to fruition. Some food trailers have popped up including this one, serving Surf 'N Turf PoBoys. The building that remained on this block revealed an old mural, shown here, and it is still there.

Wild With Color

Linda and I treated ourselves to a day like many retirees enjoy yesterday by going out to Fredericksburg, having lunch and then taking a leisurely drive through the Hill Country to see the wildflowers. There is a sweet oval of country road called "Willow Loop" northeast of the town that takes you in a fantasyland of flowers. We got out several times to use our cameras. This is my favorite photo of the ones I took. The loop was packed with other people doing the same thing we were. Quite a fun time -- and what a beautiful day.

What Season Again?

Yes, there is baseball on your TV (if you are in the U.S.) but Texas is football crazy. Our friend Jackie took this while attending the University of Texas Orange and White game. A little spring scrimmage for the players and a tidbit of excitement for the fans.

Jolly Rover!

I couldn't resist posting one of my photos of the pet parade. Here we see a pooch dressed as a pirate, complete with a sailing vessel. "Avast, mateys! Hand over the treats!"

A New Breed

Someone bred a plush toy caterpillar with a dog and this is the result! This dog seemed most at home in his costume as he strutted along at the Lyndon Lambert Memorial Pet Parade and Fair last Saturday. A very low key affair, the parade included the Minor Mishaps Marching band (some members featured yesterday in Forrest's picture), tents for pet causes and products and a short parade from Annie Street to Jo's Coffee Shop on South Congress. (Good thing...some pets had to stop for a drink along the way as it was turning into a warmish day.) There were prizes but we didn't wait to see if this sweetheart got one.

Minor Mishaps, Major Fun

The pet parade on South Congress Avenue last Saturday was led by a brightly-costumed bunch of Austin musicians called the Minor Mishaps Band. Here you see the washboard and euphonium players. They were having a lot of fun-- as was the crowd.

Room with a View

We stayed in a Hotel St. Cecilia, a beautiful bed and breakfast hotel all of 1.7 miles from our condo tower Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning, I went out onto our balcony and saw this nicely-composed scene of some of our fellow guests having brunch on the patio. Luckily, I had my camera in my pocket. We bought the two nights here at a charity auction last year. Well worth it!

Canoe Race

Thanks to our friend Jackie for providing a picture of a canoe race. These guys look serious. Taken on Lady Bird Lake last Sunday.

Crane removal

The W Hotel is topped out and so, over the last weekend, they removed one of the cranes. That's the cab on the ground to be loaded on the flatbed. It's amazing to watch these things be put together and then taken apart. Thanks to our friend Jackie for this shot from her AMLI apartment.

Red Bud's Progress

Anyone who lives in Austin is familiar with the pink-blossomed trees that, along with various fruit trees, announce spring (even before the wildflowers go, well, wild). They are called Red Bud trees but in this picture we see that after pink blossoms they go to red leaf. Now they will quickly turn green and the trees will look ordinary until another spring.

Buzzing about the Bluebonnets

There are carpets of bluebonnets along the highways now. It is the state flower after all. Although it's a 'wild' flower, the ones here were cultivated near the heart of downtown. The bees seem to appreciate them.