Doggie Play Day

These dogs and their masters were having a lot of fun on the Great Lawn at Zilker Park not long ago.

The Oars of Texas

This rower took a rest on a recent sunny day while navigating the beautiful surface of Lady Bird Lake. Those Texas Flag oars caught my eye.

Eat Raw Fish

This cat on Johnson Creek Trail has a message: "Eat Raw Fish."

Transportation Graffiti

Saw this in a tunnel on the Johnson Creek Trail back in July. It is probably painted over now with the gray or mauve paint.

36th Infantry

This memorial on the Capitol Grounds honors the 36th Infantry Division (also known as the Texas Division) with their arrowhead T patch rendered large.

Albino Squirrel

This albino squirrel was prowling the Capitol Grounds in July.

Our Parents Drink Coffee

This fine looking array of dogs waited patiently on a hot day in July while their owners had coffee and snacks at Cafe Medici on West Lynn.

An Inviting Scene

Josephine House is a delightful addition to West Austin-- it offers a cool place to relax, have a glass of wine and some tasty snacks. It is already getting a lot of business.

Beware of Dino!

This fellow should keep interlopers at bay. We saw him in a West Austin yard the other day.

Pooch is Paddling

These folks were having a good time the other day letting their dog take a dip in the lake. It looks like he has a life preserver on!

Mexican Consulate

The Mexican Consulate occupies a building just off Fifth Street and Baylor where a big typesetting company used to be (back when type wasn't set on a Mac!).

Walked Out of Those Shoes

In the series of abandoned shoes we've encountered, these are surely the strangest. A nice-looking pair of sporty shoes sitting neatly in the middle of a street (although it's not a very busy one...the part of Third that crosses the Lamar overpass and dead ends quickly in both directions.

Italian Flutist

Kind of looks like Don Quixote if it quit jousting with windmills and played the flute, huh? But I think he's Italian because the flutist is a sculpture in the courtyard of Carmelo's. It's a venerable downtown Italian place we hadn't visited in a long while.

Crowd Psychology

When there's a line, people flock to extend it. For some reason, the line at this farmers market booth was attracting a huge amount of people the other day.  I'm sure the food was good!

Cooking Demo Looking Good

This chef was demonstrating how to grill pork and fix a delicious dish of the meat with peaches and baby lettuce at a recent Farmers Market. 

Urban Chickens

This hen and rooster were in an east side yard that had a "Beware of Dog" sign. After I paused to try to frame a picture of them the rooster crowed and, yes, two dogs bounded up.

Row, row, row!

Lots of boats on the lake on a recent morning. I wonder what the occasion for this mass excursion was.

Junction Box Decoration

Old West Austin and Clarksville have a fair share of those metal junction boxes above ground. Someone is intent on decorating them with cartoon characters.

Peaceful Row

These boats (click here to enlarge) were actually idling in the lake while an instructor in a motor boat out of frame shouted the rowing lesson. I am looking back at our building from Auditorium Shores. Makes a nice postcard or painterly picture, I think.

Need Some Boots

One of the places to buy boots in South Austin with a nice cow girl mural. On South First.

Coming Down

There is so much construction downtown that we could fill this blog with pictures with cranes and partially-finished buildings. But sometimes it's fun to see things come down. I shot this from our parking garage last month as the small building next door to our high rise (a print shop) was demolished. A small office building is going in there.

This sign is always good for a laugh

What more can I say?

Another Lovely Old Home on Judge's Hill

Preserving these beauties is a real labor of love.

This place has some fans!

Hopdoddy, the popular hamburger restaurant on S. Congress, had its outdoor fans spraying mist on tables that would soon be occupied the other day. On many days, they have lines stretching through their parking lot. People really enjoy eating the burgers they serve.

Beautiful Old Home

A walk in the Judge's Hill area made us stop and look at this beautiful old home.

Clouds in the Sky

One day the fluffy clouds provided such a nice backdrop that I just couldn't resist snapping this picture from the Drake (South First) pedestrian bridge.

Great Blue Heron

Walking east on the trail on the north shore of Lady Bird Lake we spied this Great Blue (I believe) surveying his domain.

That Was a Tough Match

This peacock seems to be dragging its tail feathers past a tennis court where some serious players are working out. Looks like he's beat. Mayfield Park is across the street from our club and sometimes the peacocks (and peahens and chicks) from there visit.

Can You Valet Park This for Me?

This was parked one day in July at the valet stand on Second for the Austonian.

A Woman and Her Dog

This lady and her cute canine friend had a chance to rest and contemplate the beauty of Lady Bird Lake a few days ago.

Street Lamp

It's the first of the month. And it's theme day at City Daily Photo. The theme is 'street lamps.' We've shown you Austin's historic moonlight towers before, but we couldn't let this theme day go by without going back to it. These towers were erected in 1895. Apparently many cities had them but only Austin preserved them. Or at least some of them. Seventeen are in use today. This one is at Monroe and South First. Here is a map showing locations of ones that exist today as well as those that are gone. Here's a FAQ from the Austin history center. And here is what we posted on the subject before and a picture of some grackles taking over one.

Click here and you will see a lot of street lamps from around the world.