Goodbye, Srping

Shot this about the first week of April when we wandered a bit in the neighborhood of North Loop and 53rd Street. Wildflowers are fading now so we are sending the month off with this shot of a vacant lot catering to birds and wild flowers.

Jackie's Souvenir Poster

I'm not sure Jackie (our intrepid Austin, Texas Daily Photo correspondent) has ever appeared in the blog. Here  she is holding her souvenir Willie poster from the installation of Willie's statue. Thanks, Jackie. (That's the downtown view from her place behind her.)

Hi, Kris

Kris Kristofferson was at Willie's statue dedication and Jackie got his picture.

Willie Looks On

At the statue dedication the statue Willie seems bemused by the fuss. The TV cameraman in front seems to be hunting for the celebrities he's supposed to be filming. (Thanks, Jackie for these pictures.)

Willie

Second Street has another 'honorary name' and that honoree is Willie Nelson. Here he is speaking on April 20th at the dedication of a statue of him near the Austin City Limits Theater. Thanks to Jackie for a series of pictures we'll be showing for a few days.

Arm Tattoos

Also from Easter Pet Parade.

Decorated Skin: Leg Division

We are back in town but I'm going to post a short 'skin' series to give us some time to get out and find some pictures for this space. Not too surprisingly there were lots of tats at the Easter Pet Parade.

Easter Pet Parade: Leader

Here is Liz Lambert: the leader of the Easter Pet Parade, the brains and brawn behind Jo's, San Jose Motel, Saint Cecilia and other projects. Austin treasure!

Easter Pet Parade: Hello There...you Dress Funny

This hound is decked out for the parade but that doesn't stop that little unclad pup from giving a sniff to check it out.

Lady Tattoo

Easter Pet Parade: Check Out My Frock

Another one from the Easter Pet Parade.

Easter Pet Parade: Bunny and the Band

The Best Best Best Friends band led the Easter Pet Parade on Soco and the bunny enjoyed it!

Easter Pet Parade: In The Pink

I promise you: no dogs were harmed. Well maybe their pride? As you might now expect we are going to have an orgy of pet parade and fest pix while FFP and I take a vacation to some place not Austin.

Easter Pet Parade: Rock Star

This dog's costume reminded me more of a rock star than Leslie the cross dresser.

Easter Pet Parade: Strutting

Here's a shot of the Easter Pet Parade with a little dog strutting her stuff. The theme for the dogs was to dress up like Leslie Cochran. (Yes, the late homeless cross dresser of Austin.) This dog's mom looks fashionable in shorts and boots which seems to be a popular thing this Spring.

Dogs Get Portraits

On the Saturday before Easter we went to the Easter Pet Parade on South Congress culminating in a pet fair at Jo's Coffee. The costumed dogs, band and bunny only walk a few blocks (from Annie) and it's a great event for the furry types. (Although some object to costumes.) Here some dogs are getting a portrait made in a booth at Jo's. The dog on the right seems to be posing.

Tree on Rainbow Bend

That's quite a nice house but I really admired the tree for some reason on Rainbow Bend.

Street Wear

On South Congress down past the usual shopping area a new little shop has shown up with a certain style of clothes and accessories. Mostly for the ladies but FFP found some nice buys for guys, too. Also...in case you need a thigh flask holder, well, they've got you covered.

Stone Walls and Steps

While the City Daily Photo portal was down there was a first of the month theme day. It was cobblestones. We don't have any genuine examples of that around but I did snap a picture of these stonework steps and walls leading to a house behind Pease Park. I think April's theme day round-up has been extended.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Collecting Art

Last week we went to the annual 5x7 show where small (5x7 usually) works donated by artists are sold for one price to benefit Arthouse at Jones Center (now merged with Austin Museum of Art). Great way to figure out what you like and begin a collection. Here a patron studies some of the over 1000 offerings.

Rainy Afternoon Glow

Last Tuesday a little quick rain storm went through. The same front spawned tornadoes in Dallas that were very violent but our storm pelted some rain and tiny hail, produced a few booms of thunder and flashes of lightning and then...the sun came out. FFP and I had walked through a bit of the rain to the Headliners Club. As the sun set we saw the reflection of it in this building on Congress and the Hilton Hotel.

Tile Art

We were on West Lynn the other day and I took a closer look at some of the tile work on some condos that have been there a long time. I told FFP this looked like the same work as some tile murals that used to grace Jeffrey's bar but had been removed in a remodeling. A little research on the Internet after finding a signature in this picture identified the artist as Malou Flato and the work shown on her WEB page further convinced me about those works that once appeared in the nearby Jeffrey's.

W. 7th Graffiti

Walking between Nueces and West Avenue the other day I noticed this. Whether the property owner commissioned this is a question I can't answer but it is elaborate.

Music Legends

The lounge with the Leslie mural we showed yesterday is Lipstick 24. This is their musical tribute mural. Janis, of course, on the left. BB King on the right. Middle? Bob Marley? I believe this is a gay dance club, but no one really stays committed to labels. We haven't visited this place so I can't compare to Rain (the Fourth Street gay dance club where we've attended shows and birthday parties).

Leslie

There is a dance club lounge on East Seventh that has some murals outside. I'll show you the music ones tomorrow. But today? This one is a memorial to a homeless guy who used to appear in outrageous costumes on the street (think heels and thong). When he died, there were proper services, a paid obituary. He'd struggled in medical care and rehab after an apparent assault a couple of years ago. Everyone latched onto his iconic status but it is still sad that he remained homeless through some time either by choice or circumstance. You may remember that Leslie also appeared on a mural that we shot for you while he was alive.

Bucolic Setting

On the same hike along Shoal Creek on the Pease Park trail we admired this tree. FFP posed. He has spent most of his life in close proximity to Shoal Creek. It still has secrets to tell, though. (And in another part, dredging and bank stabilization at the moment that isn't so picturesque.)

Urban Hiking

We hiked on the Pease Park trail the other day. Catching a glimpse of the Austonian and W Hotel through a gap in the trees was the only reminder that we weren't really out in the forest.

Greezy Wheels

Sunday we not only stopped in at the SlimFest a couple of times but also walked up to Jovita's to catch part of a benefit for the Rag Blog (which unbelievably is an Internet incarnation of an old local underground paper). The venerable Greezy Wheels were playing while we were there.

SlimFest for SlimCare

Slim Richey, eminent guitar player and leader of several bands including the Jitterbug Vipers seen here, was hit by a car not long ago while loading after a gig. Fortunately he got patched up but the way medical bills get paid in Austin for musicians has nothing to do with the President's plan at the moment. Yesterday at Threadgill's World Headquarters outdoor venue scores of musicians played; fans donated $10 and up; T-Shirts, posters, and CDs were sold; a silent auction peddled donations from fans and venues. I'm not sure it made a dent in the bills, but a good time was had by all.

That's singer Sarah Sharp on the left, drummer Masumi Jones in the middle and Slim on the right. If the sign hadn't said 2012 and if everyone wasn't shooting pictures with phones and digital cameras, you might have thought you'd gone back in time with lots of venerable music and venerable players. Back many decades even since a lot of the groups were playing music that reflects other eras like the Vipers (who describe their style as "danceable jazz music from the thirties and forties.")

Art at Idea City

If you go by GSD&M's Idea City right now you will see an installation of these reflective streamers. It is some sort of outdoor art initiative. Went by the second time and tried to scan QR code but didn't get info. It's part of 'Art in Place' or something. Anyway, even when you pound the same pavement things change.

By the way, it's the first of the month (and April Fool's Day) and usually we would participate in a theme day at City Daily Photo. However, the portal is down and has been for over a week. And the theme is cobblestones. We would have had to find some fake ones anyway since we are in Texas where settlers pushing west (and the natives here before them) didn't put down cobblestones. So this is just an ordinary post, no joke. Hope the portal is revived soon but, if not, we will soldier on and we'll collect some links for you to others we favor. Julie from Sydney has created a temporary roundup of those participating in theme day. One of our favorites, Menton Daily Photo, has a particularly nice photo today.