Kingsland and Lake LBJ

Today is our first wedding anniversary! To celebrate, we spent the weekend in Kingsland on Lake LBJ at a little cabin at the Antlers Inn.

It looks rustic, but the inside was very sophisticated and clean. It looked like a perfectly restored Hyde Park house from the 1920s, with beautiful wood floors and high ceilings. We also looked inside one of the cabooses, and they are also well restored inside, with lots of wood and a small efficient kitchen. So cute!

They have a peach and pear orchard, and a nature trail.

I saw a fox and a screech owl right by our cabin. The lake was just a few steps away from our cabin. Unfortunately it was not as peaceful as I had hoped– the constant flow of motorboats and jetskis created a constant buzz of engines and a strong wake that made swimming or just sitting by the lake kind of unappealing. We went to Inks Lake State Park to try for a peaceful swim, but it was crowded too. So we enjoyed reading on our porch.

Brian was thrilled that the restaurant next door to the Antlers, the Junction House, was the setting for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was moved down from Williamson County in the 90s.

Garden update: bordered patch butterflies have all but excluded the queen butterflies from the mistflower patch. Bindweed was taking over my Anacacho orchid tree and weeping cypress. That stuff is nasty!

Flippin Retire

I saw this on Adaptive Reuse and had to repost.

Flippin Retire makes tire planters that are super-cute and modern. I haven’t gotten my hands on one yet, but it looks like they are selling planters at their garage sale tomorrow, and they look really reasonably priced! Click on the News link at the top of their page.

Update:
I went to the garage sale and the tire planters are awesome. Lee Anne has them scattered throughout her yard, and they look great. I made it home with a really cute one; I’ll post photos when I have it set up. It’s so great to find these– I’ve always loved tire planters but I’ve never been brave enough to try making one myself. And these are so beautiful. I love the bold graphic designs and colors, they are perfect for Austin gardens.

So colorful!

I love the way they look in the landscape.

West Texas adventure, Part 3

Tuesday morning I couldn’t even find my parents.  I thought they might have found a ride home, or possibly I had killed them with the long hike.  It turns out my parents have learned how to sleep late. Interesting.

Tuesday we took a driving tour of the park, to see the things that are on my must-see list for BBNP: Hot Springs, Boquillas, and Santa Elena Canyon. We also did some lazing around at Rio Grande Village campground, which is one of the best places to look at pretty birds without much effort. Painted buntings and vermilion flycatchers were everywhere.

Mis padres at Santa Elena Canyon.

Roadside cholla.

We took a shortcut up Old Maverick Road from Santa Elena to the main road, for dinner at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua. We had great food and listened to (I think!) Doug Scharnberg play guitar and sing.

The next morning we had to drive back to Austin, but there were a couple of great sightings on the road as we were leaving. In the basin, just before the Lost Mine Trailhead, this guy was ambling along. It might be hard to see because I was a little over-excited and trying to keep people from running into our car at the same time, but in case you can’t tell it is a bear.

And this Texas horned lizard was on the road, I had to shoo him off of it.

And that is the end of Chihuahuan Desert Adventure 2010.

West Texas adventure, Part 2

On the 17th, we woke up a bit late and dawdled, and since it was getting warmer we decided to stay up at higher elevation and do the Lost Mine Trail. This was a first for me, and something that I probably would have not done except for the recommendations of friends. The trail has an interpretive guide that is based on numbered stops along the trail. We had fun reading them out loud, and it gave us a lot of good resting time. The views along the trail were amazing, I would definitely do it again. There weren’t very many people on the trail, which was nice.

Watch out for mountain lions!

This Mexican jay posed for me.

Claret cup cactus were blooming along the trail.

Also ocotillo.

The view from the top.

Tired but happy at the top.

We rested in the afternoon, then ate at the lodge. The food there has vastly improved, and they even have a salad bar!

West Texas adventure, Part 1

BT, my parents, and I went on an adventure to West Texas this past week. We spent two nights in Marfa and three nights in Big Bend National Park.

Friday, we drove out I-10 through Fort Stockton and stopped in Marathon to check out the Gage Hotel. There was a big wedding, so we went to the White Buffalo Bar to enjoy drinks on their lovely patio.

Yes, there really is a white buffalo in the bar.

We ate dinner at the Famous Burro, then continued to Marfa, where we were staying in a little vacation house. Saturday we did some strolling and shopping in Marfa, which was very quiet.  We loved browsing at JM Dry Goods.  There are a lot of cool buildings in Marfa.

In the afternoon we drove up to Fort Davis. We spotted a lone pronghorn antelope along the way.

We went to Davis Mountains State Park where my family was kind enough to sit still for hours waiting for a bird that never showed up (darn you, Montezuma quail!). We did get good looks at blue grosbeaks, black-headed grosbeaks, acorn woodpeckers, summer tanagers, and lesser goldfinches. We ate at Murphy’s Pizza, then headed up to the McDonald Observatory for the twilight program and star party. I’m not much for astronomy, but I loved the star party. We were lucky that the clouds cleared, and we got good looks at Saturn with four of its moons, and star clusters M3 (awesome) and M104 (not very memorable). My mom picked up a star map that came in handy at Big Bend, where we could see tons of stars.

Sunday morning, we ate at Austin Street Cafe which is only open on Sundays or by appointment. It was lovely.

We drove down 118 from Alpine to Terlingua, then on into Big Bend National Park. We checked out the Panther Junction visitor center, then drove up to the lodge where we were staying in Building C (great views, electricity is sketchy). We enjoyed dinner at the lodge, which has improved by leaps and bounds in the last decade, and sunset from the Window View Trail.

The new fountain and a mystery

When we got married last year, my aunt wanted to get us a gift and I suggested a birdbath. She lives in NYC and we live here, so that was logistically probably not the best choice. But I took advantage when my parents came to town and they helped me pick something out. I love it!

We might need to elevate it a bit more, but so far the dogs have shown no interest in it.

Remember the mystery plant that I mentioned? Here it is. Please let me know if you can identify it! It has a bulb that is visible, and the flower. The leaves have brown spots. The lady who sold it said it spreads out and she uses it as a groundcover under her trees. Ideas? Mystery solved, thanks to Katina who saw it at Philip’s blog, East Side Patch.  It is African hosta.  Hurray!

Deborah Madison at Boggy Creek Farm

I was thumbing through the Chronicle on Friday and saw that Deborah Madison was going to be in Austin to sign her new book, Seasonal Fruit Desserts. I was over the moon! I have been cooking from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone forever, and it is my FAVORITE cookbook. Unparalleled. Also, it was at Boggy Creek Farm, which is always a treat. I picked up some sorrel and, at Ms. Madison’s suggestion, some chervil.

She signed her new book for me and was kind enough to pose for a photo with me before she signed my book. I am really looking forward to trying recipes from the new book! It looks just as amazing as her other cookbooks. She has a talent for capturing seasonal, fresh flavors in unfussy recipes.

We also poked around at the farm, which is full of flowers right now.

And, of course, chickens.

And other things waiting to happen.

McKinney Falls State Park

We took a day trip to McKinney Falls State Park today. We hiked the 3-mile Homestead Trail, which I had never done before. It required wading across the creek just by the lower falls, which felt pretty good today.

There were loads of butterflies and flowers in bloom. Brian loved this cactus.

It was awesome. I was happy we managed to get out on such a beautiful day!

In other news, a friend shot the photos for an article in the May 2010 issue of Texas Monthly, including the cover! It is a feature on rivers in Texas, and where to get in them. Handy! I am really dying to get the kayaks out this year, so this is perfect!

Spring rains

Bring lots of these

But, hopefully, also lots of these

Our peach tree’s branches are almost touching the ground because they are so heavy with fruit. I hope I get them before the bugs and the squirrels and birds do! Yum yum.

I happened by a garage sale and plant sale this morning and got some sansiveria and a mysterious spotty plant that is really adorable. I’ll post photos soon and hope for an ID.

South Padre Island

Oops. It’s Bloom Day and I don’t have any pictures.

But I did just get back from a work trip to South Padre Island.  Yes, lucky me!  I had time to visit Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, do some good migrant birding, and walk on the beach.

There were thousands of Portuguese man-o-wars washed up with the sargassum.

Some of them had these purple sea snails (Janthina sp.) attached. They excrete a rich purple ink when you poke them.

No turtles yet!

There were lots of warblers and orioles at the convention center, as well as some insect migrants. It was amazing diversity for such a small stand of habitat.