Snap!

Last night as I prepared for bed, I sent out a tweet saying, “I need the AC to go to sleep tonight and the heater to wake up in the morning. #Texasweather.” The weather proved me correct. I struggled early in the morning to bring myself to climb from under the warm blanket with my even warmer dog cuddled against my back into the cool air of the house and switch the unit from cool to heat in time for some of the chill to come out of the air before I had to get up for the more serious business of brushing my teeth, shaving, and showering.

The rapid change in temperature commonly happens this time of year. Yesterday had a high of 82 degrees and a low of 68 degrees. Today’s high temperature was about 70 degrees at midnight and began a steady drop through the entire day as the front blew in with its frigid chilly air.

The arrival of cooler temperatures is one of my favorite times of the the year. I am a life-long Texan, but I have never adapted to the heat. I prefer sweater-weather. The highs and lows of the weekend all remaining in the mid-thirties to mid-forties range have me excited about the prospect of an active weekend cooking and wearing my cozy sweatpants.

While at work today, I sat almost giddy at the prospects for the weekend. While others were bemoaning the fact that they restricted to in-house activities, I could not wait for the time I could spend doing things in the house. This is also the time I start planning my garden for the coming year and begin to prepare the beds. As I have made some major changes in my landscaping this year I may also take the time to plant some winter vegetables.

The end of the work day could not come fast enough. My bags were packed and I was pushing people out the door so I could get my normal Friday night fare (chips and queso) and then home to enjoy the temperatures. Others may be unhappy, but I am thrilled about the cold snap.

Baths in the Time of Drought

Since damaging the connective tissues between two ribs a month ago, I have found the healing process goes much more slowly as a mature man than it did when I was much younger. I followed the doctor’s directions and most of them worked well except for the high doses of ibuprofen.  The best thing I have done consistently, though is taking hot baths with Epsom salts.

Each time I take one of the hot baths, I feel guilty about it. We are currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in recorded history and a bath is not the most efficient use of water.

If this was Little House on the Prairie, a couple people could bathe in the tub after me, but alas I live alone and none of my friends have expressed any interest in using my Epsom salt lukewarm leftovers.

Maybe I should place an ad on Craigslist – Free in Austin: “Low guilt cleaning. Lukewarm bathwater. Only used once. Pre-soaped. Email for directions.”

Despite my best ecological intentions, I am afraid this may draw the wrong crowd, but it certainly sounds fun just to see what responses I get.

In the meantime, I am trying to carefully conserve water in everything else that I do while I do everything I can to recover and not need the baths anymore.

Sprimmer Is Here

We went from late cold snaps directly to summer this year with temperatures in the 90s well before Easter. I am happy in that my garden is growing well, but not so happy in that I do not like to sweat.


Today while watering the herb garden, I noticed the first ladybug on the sage plant.

My other garden plants are also growing quickly. The squash in particular are really taking shape. Both the zucchini and the yellow squash are growing. I particularly am looking forward to them being ready to cook with some of the herbs from the garden.

I plant almost everything in pots with the bottom cut out (thanks dad), and cover the rest of the bed with mulch to keep the weeds out and moisture in. I can also water the plants directly by watering in the pots. Unfortunately this year I ran out of pots for the peppers, but they seem to be doing ok surrounded by mulch.

Scoot

Now that the heart of winter has settled upon us here in Austin, I have found it is the perfect time to dodge about town on my scooter. The weather has been shorts and tee-shirt perfect, so I’ve grabbed the camera, filled my backpack with a pad and pens, a bottle of water, hopped on my scooter and have started making my way to parks in Austin I never would have explored had I been driving my truck. In fact, I have driven by many of them and never noticed them as I passed.

So many (semi)quiet retreats are just around the corner. Just today I discovered a side trail to the Lady Bird (Town) Lake running trail with benches and tables and what appears to be ample shade when the trees are fully leaved in the summer. The little park offers view of Longhorn Dam and the decommissioned power plant that I never imagined. With the benches and tables I have room to work, write, and just sit as others pass by.

These are the first pictures I have kept of the old power plant that will soon be demolished.

Longhorn Dam at the end of Lady Bird Lake. This is the first time I have ever seen it from the lake side. For three years, I drove across it almost daily on my way to work.

As we move into spring and Austin comes alive, I am looking forward to enjoying this new passion as I explore more parts of a city I have loved for ten years.

Greenbelt in Winter

Sunday afternoon was such a beautiful time in Austin, that I could not stay at home no matter how much work I had to do. At one of my stops I discovered a friend had just taken a shortcut down to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, so I grabbed my camera and went down there to catch him. While the entire area contains some stunning sights, the one area with the cliffs - which can be accessed at several different levels is particularly stunning without the water flowing in the stream bed.

When the water is flowing, people jump from the cliffs into the water. At times when no water is flowing, the landscape transforms into a much more harsh and stark landscape.

Despite the differences in the landscape in winter, there are some areas of simple beauty with the contrasts in light and shadow.

I absolutely love the way the large stones in the center of the stream bed are surrounded by the more regular "river rock"

After each rain, different debris gets hung up at different points along the stream bed. My fascination with stumps is matched by such random droppings of sticks and other material along the path of the water.

Austin Scenes

Yesterday was such an amazingly beautiful day in Austin, I couldn't stay inside, so after making a quick dash home to change clothes, I hopped on my scooter and started driving around Austin. I went down to Lady Bird Lake and took some shots of the updated Austin skyline. Currently there is only one crane visible at the site of the new Federal courthouse (where the Intel building was imploded) when only a year ago the skyline was dominated by construction cranes.

I'm very excited about all the work being done around the old Seaholm Power Plant (above). It is being used for parties and events at this time, but is becoming a social hub for downtown Austin.

After scootering around S. Austin and meeting a couple friends down in the Barton Creek Greenbelt for a hike, I was riding home when I came over a hill and saw this view of downtown Austin. No, this is not Photoshop - it is one shot as the sun is setting to the west. I need to find out how to use this shot in my header.

Spring Growth

The weather has been so beautiful lately, it's hard to keep from busting out in lyrics to the song from Carousel "June is Bustin' Out All Over" which celebrates the arrival of spring. Unfortunately, buy June, Austin's spring is long gone and has been replaced by the stifling summer heat during the day.

I am growing potato vines on a tomato cage trellis to create green towers in my back yard and the first one is making it's way up the wire cage nicely and the vine wrapping around the wire created a nice arrangement, so did what I've been doing alot of lately - grabbed the camera and took a picture of it against the perfect blue skies.

Ahhh Spring 2010

Spring in Austin really is hard to beat. Today was one of the perfect examples with a comfortably cool morning with clear bright skies. The day morphed into a warm clear day, perfect for being outside. Coupled with all of this, the rain over the winter has all the local streams flowing nicely, so the trails along them are filled with the sounds of the stream rushing over rock.

I went with my friend, C., to walk the Greenbelt which has several popular gathering places at different rapids. With well marked trails and many people, it made for a relaxing afternoon sightseeing as we traversed the trails.

After our adventures along the trail ended, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up ingredients to make incredibly decadent burgers back at my place and continue to enjoy a perfect day outside. We made guacamole burgers with with sauteed bacon, mushroom, onion, and garlic. The burgers themselves were two patties with bleu cheese in between.

We tried to balance it out somewhat with grilled romaine lettuce topped with citrus salt and balsamic vinegar, but the decadence of cheese and bacon grease pretty much negated those valiant efforts.

Following dinner, we sat around the chiminea as we had small fire to take away the falling chill of the evening.

If only April could stay in Austin all year long.

Ahhh Spring

For most of the past week, the weather here in Austin has been about as perfect at weather can get. I actually described it as "San Diego weather" today at lunch with some friends as we sat on the outdoor patio.

Immediately after lunch, I came home and took my computer out to the back yard to test the network strength - and it works, so I was able to work outside for a while with some issues - namely, the computer's metal case is so shiny, there was a great glare on it that made it almost impossible to use. After moving around to a few places, I found one shady enough that the glare was no longer a problem.

It was so nice to be able to get the work done while I am out in the peacefulness of my yard makes means I get the best of both worlds - I can be productive and relax at the same time. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, but I'll take it for now.

Too Darn Hot

According to the Kinsey report
ev'ry average man you know
much prefers to play his favorite sport
when the temperature is low
but when the thermometer goes way up
and the weather is sizzling hot
Mister Adam for his madam is not
cause it's too too
it's too darn hot, it's too darn hot
It's too too too too darn hot

Cole Porter certainly knew what he was talking about when writing the lyrics for his song from Kiss Me Kate! This summer we have passed 40 days with over 100 degree temperatures. It may not set a record this summer because I think the record number of 100+ day was 89 for a year, but we are going to make a run at it. August until early September is generally the hottest part of our year and nothing in the weather pattern seems likely to break to give us relief anytime soon.

Yesterday I went to the river with some friends to go tubing. For those dear readers not from the south, tubing involves taking a big inner tube (from a truck or tractor tire), putting it in a river, climbing on, and floating for a few hours. At the end of the few hours, hopefully a good friend with a truck, or someone (tubing company) you paid, will be there to pick you up and take you back to your car. One usually brings along an extra tube – for the beer, which is the most important part of the trip.

The cypress and pecan lined sections of the Guadalupe we floated were nearly idyllic as the stream flowed gently and the temperature felt quite comfortable. The gentle flow under the baking sun was completely different. The cool water flowing below did little to keep any parts out of the water from quickly baking. Even with SPF 50, the sun won and left me with some bright spots on my face and a nearly perfect farmer's tan on my arms. Fortunately, the SPF 50 put up a good fight and I did not badly burn anywhere on my exposed body.

The purpose of such a trip is just for pure relaxation because one cannot do much work while navigating the river. The river gives us a few good lessons too. The gentle float down our nearby river sometimes gets broken up by a brief stint of rapids, but then shortly returns to its placid pace through cypress-lined banks or under the baking sun. The river has carved its path for centuries so that most of it is gentle, slow, and steady. The pace picks up and the rapids race, but briefly, from time to time. If we could get our lives to work like the river, we may find ourselves happier and more fulfilled in what we do. After all, the river has been doing the same thing for centuries.

I have not been tubing in a while and maybe I need to make it a regular habit. It is kind of like the lake in that I get away from work, but I can still read or do some writing at the lake. I have not found the book with plastic pages that will let me read it at the river – nor do I want to. The rapids can come unexpectedly, so it pays to be on guard at all times, but not so much that a few rocks along the bottom don't bump you in the butt.

Winter Wonderland - Not!

Annually I make a trek to Kansas for the gathering of my cousins who live in Wichita – and their prodigal brother who moved off to Kansas City. We always have a tremendous amount of fun as we gather to visit, exchange gifts, and eat.

This year I made it up to Kansas in near record time by getting a jump on the holiday traffic – and before the predicted blizzard blew in. I don’t know if anyone who gets real winter would call the weather I experienced in Kansas a real blizzard since there were only about eight inches of snow, but the news stations all talked of “blizzard conditions” and for this South Texan, it most certainly counts.

As I watched the snow fall and blow, I kept thinking that I should write about how beautiful it was, creating a winter wonderland on the first official day of winter and just a few days before Christmas. Because I’m a southerner and the snow is such an unusual sight for me, I should be in awe at the transformation from the barren brown ground visible at dawn to the bright white dune-like topography visible at mid-afternoon. Instead, I am not moved in the sense of the romantic authors so inspired by the beauty of such pristine newness. While watching the snow swirl and blow, I only saw it in the view of the realists.

The ferocity of the gusting winds shifting the snow around the ground reminded me more of the wind and rain of a tropical storm. The rain, like this snow falls sideways so much that one wonders how any of it ever makes it to the ground, yet somehow, it does and flooding ensues. The snow is somehow making it to the ground.

Mother Nature did not create this show for my interest or amusement; she did this because it is what she does when warm moist air meets frigid air. These conditions would kill me just as quickly as amuse me – not out of any malice, just because they are beyond any conditions my body can handle without help.

All that said, the disaster freak in me wonders at the quiet violence of the snowstorm. Unlike rain that pounds the walls and roof, the snow dodges and swirls with the wind. The flakes that do collide with the house do so with a sigh rather than a scream. Tropical storms announce their own arrival. The snowstorm settles in on you and envelopes you in its grasp.

I keep waiting for some disastrous occurrence in the snow outside the window. Much like NASCAR is really only fun when there are crashes, I keep waiting for limbs to give way or roofs to go flying – something to break the quiet.

Even if nothing extraordinary happens, I’ll never look at another Rockwell winter scene quite the same again. The perfection of the final product hides the stories of its creation. It is one thing to wonder at that final beauty, but isn’t the story of its creation so much more fun? That story can be retold and remembered and the exhilaration of the moment comes back fully. That final perfection only lasts until the first step breaks the smooth surface. From that moment on, only the story remains.

Fallelujah - briefly.

The weathermen got it completely wrong today. In fact, this may even be a record for the annals of meteorology, but I’m really not complaining.

The forecast for today was partly cloudy in the morning with sunshine and a high of eighty-eight in the afternoon. We stayed cloudy with a misty haze and a high of seventy-three degrees.

It’s FALL!

Well, for a day. The forecast is for temperatures back into the nineties in the coming days.

Fall around here is that brief period in which the leaves and grass are still green but the afternoon high temperature stays below the mid-eighties. It is perfect for being outside so you can breathe in all the allergen laden air.

Yes. Good times indeed. And I’m going to enjoy the few hours of it I have left.

Growing, growing, growing....

We did not get snow/ice coverage that was predicted, but my icicles keep on growing off the eve...

...and the plants...

...and the grill.

And we have another day off work. I love having five television stations in town - they each have a slightly different forecast for tomorrow too, so you can pick which one you want to happen based on whether you want to go to work or not.

More Ice...

One of the fun things about ice storms in the south is that flowers are still blooming.
This daisy is in my front yard, and though the ice weighs it over, it still provides color amidst the browns of winter.

One does not usually consider ice hanging off a grill, but that's the case today.

We Have Ice!

Ice from my eves.

Ice on the shrubs.

We are not supposed to have this in central Texas. The city is closed. The state is closed.

But Governor Goodhair is still going to be inaugurated today. I heard on the news that they are expecting 1500 invited guests to attend the inauguration which has been moved indoors. The way our last election worked out - turns out he can invite almost everyone who actually voted for him.

More ice and snow is on the way. I may end up having a very short week at work - which will be nuts because I still have to get everything done.

Keep posted to the news - this is just going to get wilder and wilder.