Rain, rain, rain's a coming!

One thing about being this high up -- you can see the rain a long way off.

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.

Cool Off!

With highs frequently stretching over 100 and a low of 75 a victory, one has to stay cool. If you are at an outside festival, a sno cone might be the right choice!

Snow!

Actually yesterday was cloudy with temps near 70 Fahrenheit. But the historic Driskill Hotel is celebrating its 125th Anniversary with a variety of activities and last night for the tree lighting they blew in a bunch of snow on Brazos. It was melting quite fast when I shot this picture of FFP. Today it is raining and close to 60. We need the real precipitation so we aren't complaining.

What Passes for Winter

There was a bit of ice and a bit of snow. It is a week day and downtown looks a little deserted. Apologies for not stepping outside the apartment for a better picture. Our heater is very efficient and doesn't have to run constantly to keep it at 70 degrees. But opening the door to the low twenties temps doesn't help matters. It is supposed to get above freezing later today. Hopefully it will because I'm sure Austin's supply of sand for flyovers and overpasses is quickly running out! If predictions are correct it may get warmer before the next front but I don't know if it will be tank tops and flip flops again soon.

Storm Clouds

Took this when Hurricane Hermine was sending threatening clouds our way.

Snow!

This is just a dull picture of the AMLI on Second and the W Hotel and Condos (under construction) except...yes the white stuff is snow. The wonderful thing about snow and Austin is that we get very little of it and so we get very excited about it. None of it caused street problems downtown and while many weathermen and residents intent on a late start to school or a day off work were hyperventilating, not much harm came from this little storm especially down here near our home. But actual snow flurries reached the heart of Texas. And I'm thankful that's newsworthy. Today dawns sunny and just above freezing and promises to be lovely. So forgive me for presenting what looks like a dull photo today!

Some Lanes Closed Due to Cold

We've been having unusually cold weather for Austin. It was around twenty degrees Fahrenheit when I started playing tennis yesterday. Lanes of the (heated) pool had been opened for some stalwart swimmers, though, when I finished. It was probably above freezing then. Just. The rest of the pool was still covered to preserve heat...the other blue on the left.

This is an iPhone photo.

It's Cold Outside!

Well, it's not really cold enough for winter sports, but Whole Foods Planet (my personal name for the world headquarters of same) has a roof and puts a tiny ice rink up there each winter. These folks were enjoying it Sunday when I climbed the steps to go up there. They have some cacti gardens, a tiny playscape, tables, etc. up there. I knew they had events 'on the roof' but had never been to one or just wandered up there. Now I know. On a pleasant day it might be a good place to go and eat your WF take out. It did struggle into the thirties today here so, if I went outside it would feel wintery, but I think I'll stay inside as it heads toward seventy.

Parched Park

We haven't had much rain since I shot this last month so I suspect Wooldridge Park is still arid. The little park near the court house and jail dips down to a gazebo/band stand thing that looks of another era and is probably part of the century-old design of this park. The lawn around it is sure tinder-dry. We were walking to the court house to vote early when I took this. The park is used by a fair number of transients compared to some other parks. I don't know if the proximity of the public library, another favorite hangout, is a factor. Surely being in the shadow of the jail dosen't influence this as you would think some of these guys might want to put some distance between themselves and law enforcement. The gazebo is used for chess games with a giant board some weekends, I think.

Eve of Ike

So far we have received no rain from Ike. There's a cool breeze coming from the east. Last night the Frost Bank Tower glowed with sunset. Texas is such a big state that it swallowed a giant hurricane. This guy was 'only' a fierce Cat 2 (almost Cat 3) but it was a big-shouldered monster. While 110 mph winds crashed all the way into downtown Houston apparently, Austin has yet to see rain. In fact the latest chances for rain are less than fifty percent. If you saw pictures of the size of this thing, you can appreciate this anomaly. I am glad a number of people sheltered here and, apparently, also escaped concomitant bad weather. Having said this, and this being Texas, I'm probably calling down unexpected weather events on our Capital City.

Hotter than a Pepper Sprout

Temperatures have been flirting with (and embracing) three Fahrenheit digits every day. Sometimes food can be hot around here, too, but the weather and walking around downtown looking for shade can make one long for chilled soup and salad. I took this picture of peppers on offer at Boggy Creek Farm in July four years ago. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere I hope you are finding the weather tolerable or a way to keep cool.

Before the Stormy Weather

We've had some scary weather in the last week. A friend shot this picture of us at a garden party on Saturday night. A while later it started to sprinkle and we moved to the covered porch and the party moved inside as it rained harder. Then there was a round of pea-sized hail. Then there was a pause. I was standing on the back porch talking to someone when a substantial hail stone fell on the patio like a shot. Maybe the size of a golf ball. We foolishly thought it a 'stray' from the hail we just had but then a bunch of them fell. They were apparently mushy because they didn't break the guy' greenhouse windows or reflecting balls or dent the cars. (Ours was in the gargage as this house is near our current abode and we'd walked.) Last night we had hail again. Pea-size or small marble I'd say. Again no substantial damage so we were lucky. Lots of tornado alerts, too. Who knew that they could take over your TV and amp the volume even if you were playing something off your DVR???

Cold Front Stalled

There were dire predictions for the weather yesterday as a cold front penetrated into the Panhandle of Texas and Saturday was cold and gray and miserable. Marathon and half Marathon runners were probably planning layers and steeling themselves for a miserable time. But by the time the sun got up Sunday was glorious and these runners, who have almost reached the halfway point of the race (about a block from our house) were down to basics.