Yet another set of Bewick’s wren hatchlings are in the Louisville Stoneware birdhouse. It seems late in the nesting season for another brood, but I guess Nature knows best.
The parents are bringing them food regularly. But it is SO hot outside, I hope they have a way to give them liquids as well. I’m keeping all the water containers full for all the critters.
I hope they make it. If so, they should be fledging in a week or two.
We enjoyed a long, fun Fourth of July weekend at the lake. We floated, paddled, fished, grilled, sailed, watched a couple movies, played some games, admired fireworks, and caught up with friends. Various sponsors on Lake Travis had fireworks on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights. And there were many small, but impressive, volleys all weekend long.
We watched fireworks on Saturday sitting at the end of our dock, on Sunday spitting in our cockpit in the slip, and on Monday we motored out to watch a big show. We enjoyed them all.
I hope you had a fun weekend as well.
It has been so hot this month. The backyard birds are really enjoying the treats and water features out back. Yesterday this big guy dropped in for a drink. The little birds were not pleased.
The seasonal Saharan dust clouds have arrived in Central Texas. It’s very hazy during the day, with colorful sunsets in the evening. Read more here.
So, not only is it hotter than Hell here, the air is also unsafe to breathe. Bring it on.
Every three months we take a drive through the Texas hill country to pick up our wine club package. The May pickup party was lovely. The weather was beautiful. The nibblies were delicious. We made a few other stops and enjoyed a really lovely day.
Monte and I braved the 100 degree temps the other day to mow, mulch, and bag the tons of live oak leaves that fell in our yard back in March and April so we could dump them on the compost pile. It’s hard work, but we got it done. I continue to practice my trailer backing-up skills. As you can see there is a 1″ wide yard art wind twirly thing in the foreground. The only thing, actually, that was in the vicinity of the trailer, which I managed to somehow back into and squarely hit the light on the trailer. Now I will have to learn how to replace a trailer light fixture.
Last weekend Monte and I sailed up river about 30 miles from our marina. We left on Saturday morning, minutes after a thunderstorm rolled through. The calm after the storm made for breezes on our nose, so we motor sailed most of the way.
Kurt and Kevin joined us on their boat. We anchored up together in a cove below John and Wendy’s lake house. We fished, paddled, floated, and enjoyed catching up with some friends we haven’t seen in a very long time. The sail back home on Sunday was sporting, to say the least. The winds had clocked around and were 5-10 gusting to 20. Good sailing, but lots of grinding on some legs. I was sound asleep about 15 minutes after we got home that night.
Monte’s newest zinnia bed is going gangbusters.
Every burger and hot dog on the water is the best one EVAH. Tonight is our first overnight on the boat this year. We enjoyed burgers, vino, and the company of old friends.
Cheers!
Wowza. I’m sad to acknowledge that I haven’t posted here on sheila365.com for THREE MONTHS. I’ve had this photoblog for over 12 years now, and this is by far my longest period of radio silence. I can only blame an extended creative funk that I’ve been in.
Ok. With that said, I won’t linger on a long-ish, nostalgic post, I’ll just leave a few views from my day that make me happy.
I’m baaaack. 🙂
I ventured down south this week to check out The Austin Winery’s tasting room. It is on St. Elmo off South Congress. It’s surrounded by lots of other spots to visit, a food truck, outdoor patio, and a big, open warehouse space inside. Pick a tasting trio of wines, a glass, or a bottle, and nice nibblies.
It’s a nice spot to enjoy happy hour. Check ‘em out!
A year ago, it was anyone’s guess how 2021 would roll out after the cluster that was the year 2020. Today I paused to reflect on a few of the memories I captured from the last twelve months.
January – I started to direct my energy towards making things and sewing. I asked Monte to make me a rack for my growing collection of spools of thread. It turned out perfect, as usual, and has been well used by me over the last 12 months.
February – The deep freeze descended upon Texas. We were incredibly lucky to not have lost power during the prolonged freeze. So many people were really hurting during the weeklong outages. I can’t deny that I loved the temporary snowscape around the house. But I was happy to see it go.
March – The power across the state eventually came back on. The weather warmed up. Things started to bloom. The leaves fell and were raked up. I think we set a record for leaf bags set out on the curb. The City of Austin yard waste collection crew even took a picture of our curbside menagerie.
April – Incredibly, a year after this shit-storm started, COVID vaccines were available to the masses, and we got in line. For both of us, the reactions were pretty mild. The worst thing I can report is a temperature of 100 degrees F.
May – I flew to Charleston to help Lori take Trident north to Annapolis. We had some great days and nights on the water, including several legs on the outside. Sadly, my precious little Keeto died while I was away. Nearly 10 years old, it was still too soon. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for my sweet baby bird. And I’m sorry Monte had to go through it alone. It still brings a tear to my eye. He was just the best bird ever.
June – Nirvana received lots of TLC. A prolonged bottom job. New batteries. Scheduled maintenance undertaken by me and Monte. Inverter replacement. Cushion repairs. Some new running rigging. And many hours with friends and family spent on her this year.
July – We had fun family visits this month; the first since the pandemic descended. And, as we do every year, we took a boatload out on Lake Travis to watch the July 4th fireworks.
August – Monte and I continued enjoying Nirvana and the lake throughout the summer. One week, we spent several days sailing 30 miles upstream, anchoring up around mile marker 44. Our goal was to watch the Perseids meteor shower. We did see some meteors. It was just nice to be out and about on the boat so much this summer.
September – We crewed for Kurt & Kevin for the Austin Yacht Club Fall Series Regatta on Camelot. We helped them nab 2nd place for their class in the end. Huzzah!!
October – I flew up to Baltimore to join Lori on Trident for the Annapolis Sailboat Show, my first. This was more of a for-fun trip than a move-the-boat trip, and I really enjoyed the two day trip we took sailing to St. Michaels and back across Chesapeake Bay. After the boat show, we drove back together to Austin, stopping at 4 US National Parks along the way. Amazing!
November – We enjoyed more time out and about this fall. Monte took me curling for my birthday. We both had loads of fun. And I think we’ll do it again!
December – Wow, the year flew by. Again. We took another boatload out for the Christmas boat parade. Unfortunately, COVID fears are starting to seep back into our lives. But I really hope that by this time next year there are many more fun outings and visits under my belt. I just can’t take another lockdown.
Time flies. We are immensely blessed. It’s easy to complain about the events swirling around us, but I’m focused on celebrating the small day-to-day good times that we spend together and with friends and family.
I wish you all an amazing, healthy, and happy 2022.
This year was my fifth year participating in the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. Doray and I joined a bunch of other birders to count birdies in the Westcave area. Over 8 hours we logged 7+ miles and ~40 species over 3 different properties. I haven’t birded much this year. Other things have crammed their way in to fill my free hours. But I do enjoy walking around with my eyes on the treetops.
The temperatures started out in the mid-60s this year, instead of the 30s, for a change. No rain. Just a perfect day to tramp around the hill country trying to tell one Sparrow species from another.
Nice. Very nice.
Last night we took a boatload out to watch the Christmas boat parade. B-dock was well represented. The weather was great. Afterwards there was caroling around the slips.
Sheila365 