Five of us started September off with a relaxing evening cruise; Judy A and guest Nancy G, Anna E, and Gloria W. It’s cooler on the water, have I never mentioned that before? There is a refreshing green and watery smell. It’s quiet, the birds chirp, and gradually as we glide along, our worries and concerns are re-prioritized. We turned toward Redbud Island, the shadier part of the route. There is less vegetation on the surface of the water, each bend in the river is a new view, and swathes of a type of white clematis with tiny flowers can be seen in the greenery of the glens. Anna, Gloria and I headed to the terrace at Jason’s Deli in Rollingwood. This time the topic of discussion wasn’t European monetary policy, it was hair. With three completely different heads of it, a very lively conversation. LindaF
Author: townadmin (Page 16 of 45)
We had such a fun hike today! Seems like we walked longer than usual, but maybe that’s my old Fitbit. By 10 am, we encountered more hikers and dogs than usual. Five of us met to hike with three canines: FionaC with Pepper and Saffy, Jacque with Sheba, KarenK, KerrieQ, and PegG. Our talking topics included: current dogs and ones we used to have, Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, traveling, birding, hiking sticks, Marsha’s Sunday hike, water proof walking shoes, ancient ruins, retirement and returning to work, archeology, kayaking, husbands, boats, the Board, camping, REI, dogs in trees, … . Are we tired yet? And we met a Cycologist, yes a woman with a cute bicycle t-shirt. And she’s ready to join TOWN!
Turkey Creek Trail creek is holding up well this year. Usually it’s dry by July or August, but it continues to run this year. And the water looked good. Come join the hike! Jacque
Hi all, There was a nice crowd today: Kim, Jacque, Carolyn, Jody, LisaS, Debbie, Jenny, and Marsha who were protected from the wilds by Sheba, Patchy, who was visiting Carolyn at Camp Grandma, and Junko. Patchy had a case of the zoomies today as he was racing in circles, chasing imaginary game and celebrating the joy of the day. We started with 8 women and 3 dogs and finished with 8 women and 3 dogs, but there is concern that it is not the same women and dogs. As we kept a fast pace for 3.8 miles, it is possible that we lost some and gained some members over the miles. The day was considered successful though since the start and end numbers were the same for the hikers.
Until next time…. Happy Trails, Marsha
Six of us pushed off from the Rowing Dock Wednesday evening. The weather was not blistering at all, but lovely, not too hot or humid, and with a nice breeze. Lots of people in different boats were doing many different things on the water; it was a festive atmosphere.
AnnD said she was a new member, and that she had been alternating between Austin and Alaska for some years. We were honored that this was her first outing with TOWN. My first outing was with CarolC, a walking historical tour of downtown Austin. StephanieN brought her own boat, fresh from last week’s paddle with Gail, and showed me her transport arrangement that puts the boat in the van right up into the passenger seat. JaniceB and AnnaE made last-minute time in their day, and Gloria’s arrival made the group complete.
We headed toward Barton Springs, Anna in lead as usual. Janice had brought her camera and wanted a picture of the skyline with our boats on the river. We fell victim to a member of the free-spirited encampment in the middle of the river, who helped us organize the boats side by side and end-on, waving, etc., but declined to lie across them for the photo. Alas, they turned out to be unfixably blurry and very low resolution. We’ll have to try again for that photo for Janice.
As we turned into the Barton Springs outflow, there was a young musician with amplifier singing to the boaters. Stephanie was checking to see if there was any merch, he was quite good. She has been busy since returning from the Peace Corps in Gabon, volunteering wholeheartedly for several organizations, but she shared with us that she was about to get her first real job in a long time.
Janice has sent us the picture of a great blue heron; the resolution is such that when you expand the picture, it is like being with us on the water. And imagine yourself kayaking under the bridge, too, a great picture to send your cousins! We saw few turtles, and Gloria said that on a recent paddle, her granddaughter had commented there didn’t seem to be as many as before, and wondered maybe the February ice storm had killed the smaller ones. We watched a man really working to bring in a good-sized fish, just like the movies, and when he got it aboard, possibly a largemouth bass, he took a picture and put the fish back. According to the internet, it is not uncommon for anglers to catch and release 20-30 bass per day in the 2-3 pound size. Not much fun for the bass.
Although Ann and Janice couldn’t join us for supper, the rest of us headed to Jason’s Deli in Rollingwood. We put tables together outside and had a chance to chat without shouting across the water, but keeping a respectful distance and working on our ice cream sculptures.
Our next outing will be again in the evening, September 1st. Two daytime outings are planned for later in the month. If you haven’t yet tried kayaking, this would be a good time, our season ends in in October. Nice people put us in the boats and take us out, and never laugh or take mean photos, and the rest is smooth sailing. . . or, paddling.
Hi, We had a small group of five this week, Kim, Lee, Debbie, Janice and Marsha. No canines today to protect us from the wilds of Greenbelt. Unlike last week, we did not lose anyone, that I am aware of today. But, lost hikers may explain the small group. We saw a few toads, ragweed and some suspected haunted trees, possibly from last week’s missing hikers.
Until next time…. Happy Trails, Marsha
What a beautiful morning we had for kayaking on Lady Bird Lake! We had 12 TOWN Austin women kayak, JacqueA, JudyA, KarenK, LindaBW , Effie , Gloria , Debbie , Nancy , Leigh , Stephanie , JennileeH, and me. Because Austin is at Stage 5 with COVID, we all wore masks during sign in and until we got in the water. And then again when we got out of the water. Everyone were encouraged to keep their distance while in the water. We had a constant breeze as we kayaked around Red Bud Island. Lots of visiting occurred during our leisurely paddling. The lake was calm and not crowded. Everyone had such a good time and were glad to have some time on the water.
Our next date to kayak Lady Bird Lake is Wednesday, 8/18 and Linda Foss will lead. Hope you can be there! Thanks so much! Gail P-C
Hi all, The group of 10 TOWNies who completed the 4.1 hike this morning included Marsha, Jacque, Kim, Leigh, Nancy, LisaS, LisaF, Debbie, Carolyn, and Effie. We were accompanied by our 2 faithful and beloved canine companions, Sheba and Junko. Marsha maintained a particularly fast pace today which partly explains how we managed to lose a couple of TOWNies along the way. At one point those of us in the front turned around and noticed we were no longer all together. When our calls remained unanswered, we began the search carefully backtracking our steps. Turns out the missing TOWNies had taken a wrong turn, but with the help of our phones and orienteering skills we were soon reunited. What an adventure!
Until next time…. Happy Trails! Effie
Dear TOWNies, The Frio River was so very refreshing this year! Maria and myself with three grand kids (Troy, Lex and Harley) arrived on Sunday, Aug 1st. Maria grilled us some yummy ribs after we were set up. Then, the rain joined the party. It was a stormy night that first night. After that, we had beautiful weather. We found a spot at the end of a trail that had plenty of water after all the recent rain and we really enjoyed it. It was not crowded at all. It was like having our own private pool. So beautiful. On Monday KimF and CindyS joined us. We enjoyed the river and had hot dogs & S’mores that evening. Tuesday, we floated the Happy Hollow part of the river. So amazingly beautiful! We love this float‼️ Then we went into Leakey and had some Mexican food for lunch. Then, back to our little private pool. Seemed to go by really fast and so thankful we were able to make it this year. Sandy, third time is the charm. We will do this again next year. Probably in July as I have to be back to school in August.
Until then, stay well, stay cool and happy trails to all of our TOWN friends. LisaMcM
Good morning TOWNies! I was joined on the bike ride this morning by Jennilee one of our newer members. We rode the 45 SW Trail out and back covering about 10 miles. It turned out to be a beautiful breezy morning not at all typical for August! There were very few other walkers and riders so we were able to chat the whole time while enjoying the park like surroundings and getting to know each other.
Until next time, Effie
Hey Ladies! Well, we certainly had a fun walk and visit today on Turkey Creek. We agreed the water is higher than we have ever seen it in August. Four of us: Dawn (back from vacation), Fiona (with Pepper and Saffy), Julieanne (with Sunny and getting ready for vacation), and Sheba with me (who is not vacationing) walked and talked for just over 3 miles. It was Big Dog Day on the trail in both size and numbers.
Dawn kept us entertained with her story of hiking in Colorado and sitting down to rest a minute. Then happened to turn and spot a deer haunch/buttock with leg attached. And that was all. It was sufficiently fresh to spot some blood. Then Dawn looked casually(!) around her to see if there might be a live animal looking at her. Then she turned and walked casually downhill and away from the haunch. We failed to ask if she started running. Jacque