Austin's Finest

Forrest crosses the pedestrian bridge over Shoal Creek next to our building. These two mounted policemen were coming from the other direction. The guy in back tipped his hat to Forrest and to me as he passed. The mounted police are great for patrolling our trails. The construction you see is the Seaholm Condominiums and just beyond the new Trader Joe's in our neighborhood.

Chic Shoes

We walked to a party the other day. It was about a mile over there I guess. Unfortunately, we tried to go down the trail at one point and it was closed so we ended up just going out of our way. We had on dressy but comfortable shoes. The people at the party which was a mostly stand-up affair outdoors were dressed in very chic outfits. But I'm guessing the gal in these shoes (and maybe even the guy in the great spectators) drove to the party.

Ferryboat Propeller

In downtown Austin near state buildings you never know what you will find memorialized. We happened to notice this at a tiny pocket park near a building on 11th Street. A plaque nearby identifies it as the "Thornton Ferry Boat Propeller." This came from a propeller-driver ferry boat that ran between Galveston and Port Bolivar between 1959 and 2000. The propeller weighs 3000 pounds! The ferry boat was named for a state official (Eli Thornton) so this is, I guess, a memorial to him. Today the ferry boats use some other sort of propulsion system.called Voith Schneider which has a much less nostalgic propeller system.

What is That? Donut!

There is a new resident on Fifth Street. Originally only available from a trailer Gourdough's Donuts is now has a brick and mortar location downtown (although I notice there is a trailer inside the courtyard). I've yet to try one of their big, fat donut (sweet or savory) concoctions. Soon!

Evacuation drill

We were at a concert on the U of Texas campus the other night when they made us get up and evacuate the hall. We finally got frustrated and got a car home.

Through this arch passes . . .

We like to walk in Old West Austin. Someone has thoughtfully created this archway along a sidewalk on our route.

Dancing Round and Round

I took a walk to the Capitol Grounds the other day. An insistent drum beat was ringing out in the annex area in back (which is underground to preserve the area). I peeked over the edge of the round atrium to see native Americans dancing round and round and back and forth using the Lone Star in the middle as a kind of focus. It made me see this area in a whole new light. Tourists were drawn to the ground level and workers and lawmakers (our bienniel legislature is in session) were drawn out of offices on several levels below.

It is the first of the month and, as always at City Daily Photo, it is theme day. The theme is revolution. Participants were invited to display anything which evoked that word. I was tempted by statues of our Texas Revolutionists who brought about the Republic of Texas in 1836 or even a statue to the soldiers of our failed revolution called the Civil War (Texas became a state in 1845 and then seceded in 1861 with the Confederacy). But these colorfully attired citizens dancing in the round won the day with actual the wheel-like spokes and the idea of this Indian Nation performing just there. There was no sign to indicate which American Indian tribe was performing but their dress and dancing were wonderful. My Google searches also failed to identify.

Click here to see other sites interpretation of theme day.