Salado in July - a summer trip

Some more pictures from our trip to Salado - and we barely 'scratched the surface'. There seems a lot more to see - but after the Glassworks, former college, the spring, a store or two and a good walk to a good hambuger in 'the shed' (don't try the coleslaw - I warned you), we were done.

Salted - Salado: a trip to the Salado Glassworks - glass blower in action

Salado is a little settling some miles north of Round Rock, Texas, a bit further north than Georgetown with its nice 'downtown' area.

So, we went to explore Salado, and stopped right away at the 'Salado glassworks'. A truly inspiring experience. It was the last day before they were going to close for a few months because they are moving to a larger facility. Gail Allard, artist and owner made a few beer kegs out of glass - blow, turn, mold, handle - while we and a few other folks were watching. WANT! to try. Some pictures below. Afterwards we checked the former college out ( with cowboys attending, at times) and some springs from the Edwards Aquifer - nice and fresh to cool our feet.

A few days off

We had a few nice days off - travelling to the Mexican Border, staying with family.

Including a nice visit to the Brownsville Zoo (just before it started to pour like crazy) and South Padre Island. The water actually was quite warm - so nice to get into the ocean again. And the clouds were very welcome. Still hot, but not too hot - just right.

At the beach - in and out of the water all the time

and Udo petting the stingray.

Went for a walk, came back with a nose full of Jasmine and Honey smell, and flower power pictures

Texas Sky

What would be a Texas blog without a picture of the incredible sky here in Texas? There are many beautiful things to see here in Texas, but the sky....is top.

Archery shots - just some random pictures from a nice day on the bowhunters range

Bowhunters range is the range that is along a long walk through the forest in Emma Long state park. Depending on the route I take, I can shoot at 20 to 30 targets, but the main thing for me is to hike slowly through the quiet forest, watch for animals, breathe the hot air.

Texas Garden from last year

What grew best last year in my little garden? Chile piquin, or cayenne pepper as it is called when ground to powder. Little hot peppers - loved by the birds, and oh so delicious on a sandwich. A slice of selfmade sourdough wheat bread with butternut squash and olive oil and a few chile piquin. ..... Getting hungry, need to stop writing about food...

Archery - a tail end

Robin Hood would be jealous... of this one shot, only, but got to start somewhere, right?

A lucky shot, I think it was 15 yards:

Texas BBQ

Texas barbeque can be so delicious! It has very little fat, and very much taste. And the good ones - like the one on the picture - don't have a lot of salt, and are juicy!

I hardly eat beef, but when, this is one of my very preferred choices. Very little ketchup, lots of spicy sauce, some cole slaw. Hmmmmmm.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with Snake

Had a wonderful time at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, walking the outside trails, looking for butterflies in the gardens and checking out plants. We saw a small snake in the - still hot - shade along one way. I showed it to a group of about 10 kids, just imagine the excitement. When they were gone, we stayed and watched and took some pictures. We looked it up in a Texas snake book and I am sure it was a Texas Garter Snake, likely a black nose east Texan variety (cannot find it online).

I have seen several snakes there over time, and as much as we like to pet the pond turtles in the front, seeing a snake is always exciting.

Summer Days in West Texas

Some really nice days in Alpine, Fort Davis, Davis Mountains, McDonnald Observatory (including stargaze). And it was actually cooler than in many other places, in the lower 90s.

Southwest History

Just finished the first chapter from 'A.D. 1250 - Ancient Peoples of the Southwest' by Lawrence W. Cheek. Great book on the Southwest cultures from around 200 B.C. to 1500 A.D..
I actually started digging into this history reading some months ago, when I had Anasazi beans the first time. Love to cook and they are just delicious, better then any other beans I had so far. Tender, sweet and a little nutty, just wonderful. So I wondered and researched a bit and learned they had been cultivated, bred, by the ancient people of the Anasazi. They lived in today's East Texas, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico and were artful in using the dry areas scarce resources to make a living.

The book not only has texts which are rich in information but easy to read and understand, a real pleasure when being a little tired in the evening. And the pictures, AH, the pictures and the sites. Stunning. Got to see some of these places.

Book of Longing

after Leonard Cohen, composed by Philip Glass, Austin, TX, February 22, 2009

Nice. Really liked it, especially it is one of the ‘easy listening’ pieces Philip Glass has done. It was very comforting to hear and recognize several of his very typical fortissimos in some songs and poems. And a nice story to follow with the little handout.

The performance started somewhat slow, and people kept to themselves. Then, at some point a better know, faster passage ignited some frenetic (frantic?) applause. From that on, everything was too late, or better, too early. After every song, the last tone not subsided, clapping started.

For me, Glass pieces need some silence before and after, be it only a few seconds, to ground them, to base them, to value them. What a pity that everyone seems in a rush, seemed to either barely control their enthusiasm or ignorance.

I liked the poems, the spoken text and the drawings, even though they were clearly made by a generation not living on the net but rather grown up in an analog world. The pictures held a big charm and were authentic to the time the poems recall.

A very nice evening, the tickets a wonderful gift to my birthday. Glass is wonderful.


Book of Longing with support from Cohen (at least the site states this. A webring, who knew they are still around!)
Book of Longing, Wikipedia.com
Book of Longing, Glass website
Book of Longing, Google Books

Christmas Lights in Hidalgo

That was nice. And Chino was chatting the whole time. A lot of people obviously went to Hidalgo tonight, to see the lights. Incredible how many lights there are, how many different decorations, palm trees, light lions from China, gleaming palm trees, houses covered with bulbs in all colors.
See for yourself!

(Video is kind of noisy, but that is just from my picture camera, sorry)