I planted an American Beautyberry about 4 or 5 years ago. She’s doing great! 💜
A beauty.
Tag: Austin
Late night.
I worked an evening show last night at the Bass Concert Hall – The Decemberists. When I saw them on the schedule I signed up. I’m glad I did. Good show. But oh lordie did it get loud. I made it home before turning into a pumpkin by midnight.
Splash of red.
Monte planted a couple of rose bushes this winter. We got them from Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, Texas. They have a booming mail order business but we drove to their gardens in January to pick them out.
This is a bloom from the Dame de Coeur rosebush. So pretty.
Sunday drive.
I am not one to complain about all the great rain we’ve gotten this week. God knows we need it. Yesterday was mostly overcast but dry. It was a good day for a drive in the hill country, and for a pickup party at Becker.
Rainy weekend.
I worked the Girl from the North Country traveling Broadway show this weekend. I was looking forward to it because it was based on songs from Bob Dylan. I didn’t know anything else about it.
It was more of a spoken play, set in the Depression in Duluth, Minnesota. The story is a tad dark, but well done. The singers were very good.
They performed over 20 Dylan songs, but only the lyrics were familiar, not the melodies, as they were arranged very differently than what I was familiar with.
Overall I enjoyed show. But, the highlight was getting to chat with Ann, Shelly, and Laura who were in the audience on Sunday. 🙂
Wildflowers.
During Noreen and David’s visit, we got out and about quite a bit to enjoy our beautiful Central Texas Spring weather.
I spied this interesting conjoined twin Texas Bluebonnet at the Wildflower Center. The stem was wide and flat.
Eccentric.
Today we drove a couple hours into the hill country to see the annular solar eclipse of October 2023. We originally thought we would drive to the center of the path, but decided to head for the eastern edge. This meant we wouldn’t see the complete “ring” of the sun around a concentric moon passing in front of it. Instead, we wanted to see the edge of the moon barely passing by the sun, hoping to see some Bailey’s Beads. That means the passing moon wouldn’t be centered inside the sun, but just barely touching the border. I wasn’t able to capture any Bailey’s beads his time – I think the sun’s light was still too bright. But it was a fun roadtrip. The next eclipse is less than 6 months away!
We drove to the west side of Canyon Lake. Eclipses are pretty cool. 🙂
Nevertheless, she persists.
It’s nice to be home. And, thankfully, the forecast for the next few days includes rain and lower temperatures.
We have been trying to keep our trees alive, but it is difficult with the extended, excruciating drought, and the water restrictions that come with it. We got a pretty good thunderstorm overnight. And in the morning, I was greeted with an amazing sight. The flowering plum tree that looked nearly dead, brown, and crispy the day before has pushed out some new green leaves and white blooms. A sign of the indomitable persistence of Mother Nature.
Fingers crossed we don’t lose this tree or any of our other struggling, stressed trees on the property.
Good rum.
My cousin, Devitt, visited us last weekend. He brought a woodworking project that he and Monte knocked out in the shop. We had a fun visit. He gifted us some very nice 14-year aged Barbados rum.
Birthday girl!
I headed down to the University of Texas campus today to meet up with a bunch of friends to celebrate Laura’s birthday. Not all the ladies could make it, but we had a great lunch at Gabriel’s Cafe in the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, just down the street from the UT Tower. We all enjoyed catching up with eachother. Afterwards, we walked the few blocks to the Blanton Museum. Tuesday’s are free!
I haven’t been down to the museum district since before COVID. And things sure have changed! There is a new pedestrian-only mall that goes all the way from the Capitol Building, up to the Blanton – and huge new office buildings where there used to be only a surface parking lot.
The Blanton has done much work on their grounds, and this pretty awesome feature consists of a dozen 3-story tall structures that they call Petals. They provide much needed shade.
I need to come down more often to enjoy the exhibits.
Happy Birthday, Laura!
One more show for the road.
The Texas Performing Arts 2022/2023 season is coming to a close. I worked as a volunteer usher for my eighth event yesterday, a production of the Broadway in Austin musical Hairspray – very colorful, talented singers, and great tunes. In a month or two I’ll decide whether to sign up for the next season. I very much enjoyed the shows I was able to work.
Happy Birthday, Paul!
How is it that we know so many old people?! :). Today we celebrated Paul’s big birthday with him and his crew. It’s getting hot out there!!!
John Boy live.
Today I ushered for the final two shows of the Broadway in Austin play, To Kill a Mockingbird. Richard Thomas, formerly John Boy on The Waltons, played the lead of Atticus Finch. He doesn’t have the physical presence of Gregory Peck, who played in the film version released in 1962. But he made a great Atticus. I really enjoyed the show.
Fun fact: the actress who played Scout in the 60’s movie version had a different role in this production. Pretty amazing that she’s still involved with the show and its message, 60 years on.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Heeling.
Monte and I crewed on Camelot for Kurt & Kevin this weekend during one of the Austin Yacht Club Summer Series races. It was a hot and steamy day on the water but we had a great time.
Sheila365 