Funky Friday - Magnolia Cafe

Yesterday the G-man and I were in Austin for appointments and we stopped by my favorite little neighborhood cafe, the Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin Blvd. This is where all the locals come for eats and is open 24/7. It's a place to talk politics, read the paper, chat with friends and people watch. People from all walks of life come here... everyone from lawyers & stockbrokers to artists & actors. You may see a person in a suit & styled hair sitting next to someone with jeans & dreadlocks. Oh yeah, my old neighborhood... that's Austin!

Blue Monday

Bright blue sky above and clear, cool blue waters of the Pedernales River.

Elusive Birds

The elusive immature cardinals are difficult to photograph. When I go outside to get a shot of them they fly away pronto! They are the funniest looking little guys. When younger than this they are grayish in color. Now that they are getting older they are molting and their new and beautiful red feathers are growing. The funny thing is how bald they look and how skinned their heads are when this transformation is taking place. It's like the story of the ugly duckling, but instead it's the ugly cardinal. Of course the cardinal is a cardinal whereas the duckling was a beautiful swan. Oh well.

This photograph is of a pileated woodpecker pecking away in one of our dying pine trees. It is so sad to see these trees die. Just this week we have four more that are losing the battle. Soon we will need to have these removed as we did the other 10 or so. At least the woodpeckers (both pileated and red-bellied) will have beetles to sustain them. Sad indeed for the pines.

Funky Friday -The Bungled Jungle

Although these little guys are out in the sunshine now, they most always reside on my bedside table. They are meant to keep the woolies away. These little guys take on all the problems of the day so I can sleep well at night (it mostly works).

These little guys are made by Suzanne Montano & Pat Landreth of The Bungled Jungle in Salida, Colorado. Check out their website to see more of their "varmints/creatures/monsters/whatevers". Every year they show their wares at The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar in Austin, TX, the last true holdout for the hippie generation.

Up until last year I had attended The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar since 1980. The bazaar runs for about 2 weeks prior to Christmas and closes at 11 PM on Christmas Eve. The hours are 11 AM to 11 PM and every night there are 2 groups of musicians. One group usually begins around 6 PM and the next around 9 PM. On the weekend there is also an afternoon show at 3. The entertainment is first rate. Check out the links provided to see some of the performers and artists who come for the event.

After the rain

After a bit of rain last evening we have a beautiful morning at 68 degrees. The sun is shining through the pines and emphasizing the moisture in the woods. How thankful we are for the one and three/fourths inch we received. It was wonderful to have rain, brief though it was.

Blue Monday~

The theme is blue...

More on the Turquoise T-Bird!

Several folks had such nice comments about yesterdays post "Beautiful Turquoise T-Bird
Brings Back Memories" so I decided to show the entire photo of the car. I just happened upon it when I drove into a gardening shop and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to "shoot" it. I hope you'll enjoy seeing the whole photo of it.

Yesterday's post was for Six Word Saturday and Steven left me a wonderful note which I am using for this blog, it's his take on the six word theme. He said:

six words (X2) comments:

1. retired educator buys expensive blue t-bird!!
2. family thrilled. bank not so much!

Absolutely PERFECT. I had to use them in today's blog... yes, I steal from my friends!
Enjoy!

Six Word Saturday

Beautiful Turquoise T-Bird
Brings Back Memories

Six Word Saturday hosted by Cate

Funky Friday - Funky Critters

Happy Friday! Just a fun little bunch of critters I found in Austin. It will be a couple of days before I'm back as I have some things to get done. Happy Friday & good weekend to all.

Found at the home of the pink flamingoes!

Morning Walk in the Neighborhood

The sun is just about to top the pine trees across from our house.

Gertie & my shadow are starting out on our little trek with my sun hat atop my head,
Gertie's leash in my left hand, and a small camera in my right.

Down the street & around the corner we begin our uphill climb.
You can see to the top of the first rise in this photo.

The road is cut into the hillside and you can see the trees growing at the edge of the cliff.

Just at the top of the hill someone has parked their old International Scout beside the road.
The little truck has Texas plates indicating it is an antique automobile.
I wonder if it in in working order?

Now we are on the second leg of our upward walk. The hard part is behind us.
Yesterday Gertie & I walked at 1 PM which put this road in bright sunshine.
It was too hot to walk then & we were both panting when we finished.
Later I found that the heat index was 106 for the day. Whew! I won't do that again!

The red clay is pretty to look at, but I wonder how the trees find any nourishment to grow.

I walked up the little hill & found a path down into the woods.
It is probably private property so we won't go down that road.

Here is a bit of Texas Blue Stem grass growing beside the road.
When we have rain it is very pretty.

Above and below are houses that I pass along the way.
They have pretty yards even in this dry weather.

Someone is watering and Gertie would like to run through the sprinkles.

Pretty little setting among the trees.

Here is a little area where the wild grasses are growing.
I suspect it caught a little shower last week otherwise it would be totally brown.

The last hill to climb and then downward to home.

This pine tree is growing out of the hillside.
Look at the way the trunk is curved at the bottom.
The roots can also be seen spreading outward.
It looks like a cross section of the hillside was done for an experiment.

Another pine tree struggling to support itself on the hillside.

Now we are on the way down the last hill.
We are about to pass the homes of some of our neighbors.

If you look closely our house can be seen through the trees.
We are almost home.
I hope we didn't tire you too much. It is good exercise.