Luna Light

Linda took this terrific shot of the moon over downtown Austin from our balcony a couple of nights ago. We love the ever-changing view of the sky from our condo.

Rockin Sidewalk Blues

These guys were pickin' and grinnin' at 6th and Congress today.  Hey, we're the "Live Music Capital of the World," y'all!

Gospel Marathon Morning

One more shot from the recent marathon -- this group, complete with a horn section, was rocking the gospel in front of City Hall near the start of the race.  Austin is called "The Live Music Capital of the World" for good reason.

Vintage Boots

Yesterday (Sunday) there was a market near Snack Bar with lots of vintage boots for sale.

Spring comes to the Capitol Grounds

This Redbud tree is in full bloom. It's one of our early harbingers of spring. I took this last Sunday. Well into spring in Central Texas! The statue in the background is featured here.

Heading for home.

One more shot from the marathon last Sunday, looking east down E. 11th St. and is the last before the short home stretch.  The runners were turning south onto Congress Avenue and sprinting towards the finish line at the 8th St. intersection.  This photo was taken towards the tail end of the race.  If we had walked over about an hour before this, there would have been an absolute wall of people in this shot. Thanks to some high technology gadgets, the announcer was able to boom out the names of some of the runners at the finish just by looking at the numbers on their shirts.

Cold front blowing thorugh

When I left for my morning walk yesterday, it was 70 degrees.  As I was crossing the Pfluger Bridge and heading for home, this front was billowing in from the west.  I'll guarantee the temperature had dropped by ten degrees by the time I got to our building.

Wrapping it up

Here you see runners who have finished the marathon last Sunday snagging goodies to jack up their blood sugar.  They also got these space capes which looked very high tech.

Carrying the Torch

The day before the big marathon in downtown Austin last Sunday, this runner was carrying some type of symbolic torch. He started his run across the street from our condo.  Linda walked out onto our balcony and snapped this shot.

I've never seen a purple cauliflower . . .

This booth had some especially pretty vegetables for sale on Saturday morning.  I wonder if purple cauliflower tastes different from the usual yellow variety that you see here?

Marathon Mariachis! Ole'!

Yep, in Austin, we don't do anything without a shot of music!  Here you see a mariachi band serenading runners gliding past.  The event was the Livestrong Marathon that happened on Sunday.

A monument with a message

This nice monument is on the Hike and Bike Trail east of IH 35. The names shown on it are of people who have died and are being mourned.  It was erected by For the Love of Christi, a group started by a couple whose daughter was run down by a drunken driver on Sixth Sweet.  Here is what their website says: "For 25 years, The Christi Center has offered free, ongoing grief support groups to children, teens and adults who are adjusting to life after the death of a loved one."

Booze and breakfast

This sign at a Rainey Street eatery suggests that you might want to mix some good food with your booze.  A worthy suggestion, indeed.

Curry-lovin' Cat

We were walking by G'Raj Mahal, a terrific Indian restaurant in an outdoor setting in the Rainey Street district one recent morning.  Here you see a patient feline who is hoping to beg some bites of chicken curry.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A shop window on S. Congress was setting the tone for Valentine's Day.  You see my reflection, too. Lots of good wishes to all our Daily Photo friends.

This is my territory!

This egret was looking with disdain at some ducks on Lady Bird Lake Sunday.  He has this space staked out, by golly!

The family that rows together. . .

This family of rowers had just pushed off into Lady Bird Lake when we were walking by yesterday.  I snapped a quick shot of them.

Row, row, row

We went for a walk along the north shore of Lady Bird Lake Sunday and saw these colorful canoes stacked across the way.  Lots of people enjoy rowing on the lake. 

Say "Treats"!

The Farmers' Market had a photo booth yesterday.  Here we see two doggies getting their portraits made. 

Watery Drive

This house on Lake Austin has a garage...and a boat garage.

And Now for a River Picture

Just in case we need a reminder of some of the beauty of Austin, here's a view of t Lake Austin from Mount Bonnell, looking down river toward Tom Miller dam (you can just see it).

Keep Calm

I have seen this stencil graffiti several places. It appears to be Queen Elizabeth II in a gas mask? It reminds me of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' message recently unearthed from World War II. This was on a pillar for a Mopac ramp at Fifth. Soon it will be covered by a random rectangle of neutral paint. I like the abstract paintings the paint overs make...maybe if they used more colors and shapes...oh, wait. What's art and what's vandalism?

Magical thinking

We were walking on the bridge that connects the lakeside trail to West Fifth a couple of days ago and saw this thought someone had painted in two colors.

Blowing Clouds

I took this last Thursday afternoon (the 31st of January) because I thought the clouds looked so strange as if they were so light they were being blown by the wind into streaks. I turned around to the TV where I was watching the weather report and the weatherman had taken the same picture and he confirmed my assertion that the wind was reshaping the clouds.

Just another sunrise

Last Friday as we got ready to leave Austin for the weekend this sunrise greeted us. Never gets old.

Eye on Trees

We were walking the Shoal Creek trail out of Pease Park when I noticed someone had decorated this tree. It's probably not good for the tree but it's cleverly anthropomorphic. 

Thinning the Trees

Jerry Levenson, shown here trimming a tree in Zilker Park on Jan. 27, is an all star volunteer with the Austin Parks Foundation. He has cut ligustrums and other invasive species in some park or greenbelt almost every day since he retired.

Shade!

We are in the midst of a too-long drought and sometimes we even lose track of our parapluies (as the French would call the portable rain protection we call umbrellas). But we also call the shades for tables at outdoor restaurants umbrellas. These are at a café near the University that sells frozen yogurt and smoothies.

It's Theme Day at City Daily Photo. Click here to see umbrella photos from around the world.