Category: Fun

Hiking Bull Creek.

Last weekend, I went for a 3-hour group hike with one of the biologists that does research for the City-of-Austin-managed Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.  It was really interesting.   We hiked a short loop along the preserve at Bull Creek.  Along the way, I learned much about the native Ashe junipers throughout the hill country that I had previously come to detest, due to my annual cedar fever allergy symptoms.   But I came away with a new appreciation for the tree and the role it plays in the ecosystem of the Balcones Canyonlands.   I also learned about the other native grasses and shrubs that make up the understory of the woodland.  And about the endangered golden-cheeked warbler that will soon make its annual trek from Central America in early March to nest in the woodlands of the preserve until returning south in July.   I’m looking forward to more hikes out there.  Stay tuned.

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Bull Creek  is flowing nicely since the drought has broken.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And, I caught a tiger swallowtail butterfly taking a break along the creek.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Very nice!

A busy two weeks.

I have been away for a bit.  Since I last posted…

On Valentine’s Day we stopped by Cypress Creek Park while on a winding drive through the hill country.  As we walked down to the water, I spied a male belted kingfisher – the first I had ever seen in person.  I’m kinda getting into this birding thing, so I was very excited.  But, I didn’t have my camera with me.  So, being the budding-but-persistent-bird-photographer, I drove out there again the next day with my camera and spotted him again; holding court in a tree on the bank of the creek.  I couldn’t get very close, but I did come away with a photo of him.  Success!  A tad fuzzy, but my first, for the archive.  🙂

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The next day, I flew to Seattle to meet my sisters.   We went together to eastern Washington to visit our aunt; one of the last living siblings of my parents’ generation.  It was a nice weekend.  We shared laughs and memories and a few tears.   I enjoyed it.  I also snapped way too many pictures.   This one was of the ice crystals on the plane window next to my seat.

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Spokane has gotten much snow this year.  The nearby rivers are flooding and raging.  This is a picture of upper the Spokane River falls on our last night there.

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I’m back in Austin, now, and will try to keep the posts a tad more frequent.  Have a good week!

 

Scootin’ boots. 

We joined up with friends last night at the Broken Spoke.  An added treat was having Dale Watson on the stage all night. 

Enchanted hike.

Several girlfriends and I made a roadtrip last week to Enchanted Rock state park, about an hour and 45 minute drive southwest of Austin.  I have been there several times, and have hiked to the summit, but love to go back anytime.   This was the first visit for my friends.  We hiked to the summit and enjoyed the views.  Then we hiked a couple of the other trails, which I had never done before.  I recommend taking the time to do it, if you can.   Remember to bring along drinking water for your hike.  You’ll want it.  🙂

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A survey marker atop the 1823′ summit

Make sure you check out their website before heading out for trail / park closure information and rules about pets, camping, parking, etc.

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Looking SW at neighboring Little Peak from the S side of Enchanted Rock
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Looking NE from the N side of Enchanted Rock
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A little oasis along Turkey Pass Trail

Mayfield Park posers.

While my family was visiting, one of our stops was Mayfield Park.  We went to see the peacocks, and they didn’t disappoint.

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Patio s’mores.

I spent the chilly afternoon yesterday visiting with friends on Laura’s patio.   We were snuggled in blankets around the table, and had wine and s’mores on hand to warm us up.  A fun afternoon.

 

 

A walk in the woods.

Well, our guests have gone back home.  I had a really wonderful time with them.   I took many photos during our visit, but have not yet sorted through them.

Today, I went to the woods for some photos of birds.  Doray and I headed out at about 7:45am.  It was chilly, for a change.

We stalked them.  Or they stalked us.  Not sure who won.  But we did get a few good bird shots.   I have been playing with longer exposure shots of moving water.  I like this one.  You can see water bending around the leaves and the rocks in the stream, and the flow of the water.

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Sunday funday.

Today we tried out a “puzzle room” a.k.a. “escape room” with our visitors; a first for all of us.   We went to Puzzle Room Austin.  The general idea is… you are locked in a room for 60 minutes.  The room has a bunch of clues and physical puzzles in it, and the goal is to work out all the puzzles to find the key to get out of the room.   We almost made it, but ran out of time.  The good news is they will let you out either way.  🙂  It was lots of fun, though.

No photos of the puzzle room, but here is a bowl of Seahawk M&Ms, which we finished off even though our team is out of the playoffs.  GO HAWKS!

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Mistletoe, strung.

We have an invasion of mistletoe in a number of trees out back.  I decided to make use of a sprig of it.  🙂

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Stockings, hung (with care).

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One birdie, two birdie, three birdie, four…

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Today took me to Westcave Preserve with my friend, Doray, to participate in the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count.   I’m still learning how to identify the many bird species beyond those that frequent my own backyard.   There’s much to learn, but I am enjoying the time spent out in the beautiful hill country of central Texas immensely.

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We counted birds that we saw or heard.   The counts get rolled up for each locality and are used to monitor bird populations from year to year.   A very nice day spent in a place that I love.

 

Cookies, baked & decorated.

I had a marathon baking session yesterday.   🙂

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I used a recipe from Southern Living‘s “Christmas at Home” 2009 special issue that I’ve had for years.

Sparkling Sugar Cookies  (made 4-5 dozen medium sized cookies when I made them)

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Coarse sparkling sugar sprinkles of your choice

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.

Combine flour and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Divide dough in half. Cover; chill 1 hour.

Roll each portion of dough to 1⁄8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with desired cookie cutters.  Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 12-14 minutes ( 14 worked perfect in my oven)  or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Add glaze (recipe below) and sprinkles (while glaze is still wet).  Leave flat until completely dry (this took quite a while for me).

Enjoy!

Simple Glaze  (makes about 1 cup)

1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
4-6 tablespoons hot water
Liquid food coloring (optional)

Stir together powdered sugar and hot water until smooth. If desired, divide mixture, and tint with food coloring.  Spread on cookies with spatula or dip, whatever works best for you.

 

 

Free Thursday at the Blanton.

The Blanton Museum downtown currently has an Andy Warhol exhibit, running through January 29th.   It is called “Warhol by the Book.”   It contains his artwork associated with bookcovers, album covers, playbills, books that he published, and other of his works associated with authors.  I enjoy Andy Warhol’s art, and saw things in this exhibit I’d not seen before.

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Hands-on album cover exhibit.  You can handle the albums and even play the LPs.

There was another visiting exhibit by Xu Bing called “Book from the Sky,” which runs through January 22nd.  I knew nothing about this artist nor the work, but thought it was interesting.  Over 4 years, Xu Bing hand carved thousands of wood blocks with non-sensical chinese characters/words of his own design, and then crafted traditional-format chinese books and scrolls made up with his hand-crafted characters.  So, if you know Chinese, it looks like gibberish.  If you don’t know Chinese, it looks like, well, Chinese.  🙂  I guess it’s supposed to get you thinking about the power of words, and also the beauty of Chinese calligraphy.  It was a beautiful exhibit, nonetheless.

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Their permanent exhibits are currently not open, as the museum is doing construction on the 2nd floor.  But those will reopen mid-February.

I enjoyed learning something new.  After we fed our minds, we had lunch downtown.   A nice day.

Yum, paella!!

We went to a party at Julie’s house last weekend.  Her roommate’s parents were in town and made one awesome pan of paella.  Very pretty to look at, and delicious as well.  Lucky us!

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