Author: townadmin (Page 44 of 45)

Rain and floods don’t keep TOWN women away.  Our Brushy Creek outing was flooded out, but not June’s house.  Eleven of us enjoyed lots and lots of snacks as always.  There was one four legged creature, but no snacks were allowed.  TOWN women are so generous and gracious to bring snacks and help clean up afterwards.

New Game:  Four women were taught Hand and Foot by our gamester, SusanW.   Apparently it was a fun game, but they were asking questions for a long time and had cards all over the table.  I think it is one of those games that once you learn it, your hooked and it’s easy.  The rest of us enjoyed Mexican Train.

The Mexican Train people decided to go for a walk/hike to Mills Pond.  It was a beautiful day to get outside after all the rain.  The pond/lake was beautiful and overflowing.  We’ll have to hike the entire seven mile trail another time.

Cheers, June

The Classical Mandolin Society of America held its convention Oct. 15 – 18 at the Holiday inn Midtown.  The first night of music featured the Austin Mandolin Orchestra and the Paul Glasse Quartet.  And being the versatile, always ready to experience new adventures TOWNies we are, we had an indoor outing!

Indeed it was an certainly enjoyable:  listening to the Austin Mandolin Orchestra and the Paul Glasse Quartet.   JudieT, NancyP, PennyM (with her friend Margo), and SheliaMcC joined Steve and me for some pretty unusual pieces of music.  As well we had two friends join us there:  Gary and Victor.

The Austin Mandolin Orchestra played 15 – one minute songs most of which were named for Texas native flowers.  I have to admit not all 15 had the most ear appealing notes.  Margo and I jumped several times when keys changed unexpectedly.  Following those 15 songs, we heard five world premieres and their composers were in the audience.  My favorite was Carousel by Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni – quite pleasing to the ear.  Instruments included:  mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and a double bass.  In the orchestra are Nancy Lynch, a TOWN-Austin member, who played the mandolin, and Thomas Chapmond, the husband of Gail Penny-Chapmond our kayaking leader, playing the mandocello.

The second feature was the Paul Glasse Quartet which was outstanding, but then I’ve been listening to Paul’s music for likely 20+ years and do love his tunes.  The foursome played selection of Texas swing, jazz, and big band music.  Joining Paul were Mitch Watson (guitar), Gene Elders (violin), and Pat Harris (bass).

Paul is blessed with incredible talents and is a good-natured soul who creates great music.  I truly believe (and I’m not alone) that Paul is the best jazz mandolinist you could ever hope to hear.  Mitch, Gene, Pat, and Paul have performed and recorded together for decades and it’s obvious they enjoy the companionship and performing.

Jacque

On Sunday, Oct. 11, thirteen of us (11 members & 2 guests) gathered at the Violet Crown Trailhead on hwy. 290 at Brodie. Due to the Austin City Limit event in Zilker Park, we hiked in and out from the hwy. 290 trailhead instead of our originally plan to hike from Zilker Park to hwy. 290. The trail is nicely marked with the possible exception of where the bridge has washed out. We had to take a little detour there.   Not much to report in the way of wildlife, but had lots of company with other hikers, bikers and fury friends. Actually, there was a someone walking with their turtle wrapped in a towel along the trail. After all, this is Austin.

The weather was tolerable and insect free. All in all a good hike for a Sunday morning in October in Austin.

Hopefully, we can reschedule the entire trail from Zilker to hwy. 290 in the not to distant future.

Happy Hiking, Jenny

Last Wednesday morning at 8 am it was cool and green at Govalle Park.  Sandy and DonB, DianeN and I were among the few people on the paved bike path.  Sandy and Don had not ridden for awhile and I was post op cataract surgery, so we rode 5 miles and then returned to the park.  Diane went to the Decker Lake end of the trail.

We saw several bunnies, lots of squirrels and I spotted a bobcat with my newly improved eyesight. Sandy and Don could recognize some birds by their songs.   This is a great ride for folks who are reluctant to bicycle through auto traffic.  KatyK

Welcome to new TOWNie Jill E.  She and guest DebbieW joined JudyA and myself heading eastward this week.

All routes (both of them) are scenic, this trip included the amazing downtown skyline toward the hurdles of the bridges, and the green clear outflow from Barton Creek.  The backdrop was a dramatic sky and the possibility of rain.  It was cool on the water, much less muggy, and the drops only started to fall as we headed to our cars.

We didn’t intend to make the trips separate, thanks to JudyA for waiting for the slower paddlers.

It’s not just about the paddling, but the chat and / or silence as we glide by the cypresses along the banks, the other paddlers on the Lake and their different boats, levels of festivity and / or skill. Just this one time, we decided on gong home and an early evening.  LindaF

Last Wednesday morning at 8 am it was cool and green at Govalle Park.  Sandy and DonB, DianeN and I were among the few people on the paved bike path.  Sandy and Don had not ridden for awhile and I was post op cataract surgery, so we rode 5 miles and then returned to the park.  Diane went to the Decker Lake end of the trail.

We saw several bunnies, lots of squirrels and I spotted a bobcat with my newly improved eyesight. Sandy and Don could recognize some birds by their songs.   This is a great ride for folks who are reluctant to bicycle through auto traffic.

Come cycle with us, Katie

It was a lovely night on Lady Bird Lake. The water was calm and there was little traffic on the water. We had a nice, easy paddle around Red Bud Island.

Five TownAustin women (NancyL drove up from San Antonio, LorettaD, LindaF, DebbieW and I) kayaked. We enjoyed visiting and catching up.

The only wild life we saw was a crane fly over head and a few turtles stick their heads out of the water. It was really quiet on the water! We had a nice breeze and were able to be in the shade so the temp was comfortable.

Afterwards we went to Shady Grove for dinner and sat outside.
Gail P-C

Seven TOWN-Austin women (JudyA, CarolC, DianeN, SusanW, LindaF, JillE, me and two friends, PatD and HelenM [from England]) kayaked on Wednesday, 9/23/15 at Lady Bird Lake. What a beautiful night it was! The temp was pleasant and we were in the shade.

We leisurely kayaked around Red Bud Island, often stopping to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. It was really perfect kayak weather! The traffic on the lake was minimal. LindaF altered us to the rowing boats to avoid us getting run over!  DianeN and I did a double kayak with our two guests, who had an absolutely “brilliant” (British term often used by Helen) time!  We found out that Stratford Street off Barton Springs Road is closed due to ACL set up.

Afterwards some of us met at Shady Grove for a bite to eat and visit about trips taken, places lived and possible future trips.

There are only a few more chances for TownAustin women and friends to kayak with a discount at the Rowing Dock before our season ends. Hope to see you the second Wed, Oct 14 and fourth Wed, Oct 28 to kayak Lady Bird Lake.

Hope to see you then!  Gail P-C

Nine amazing women joined me for a challenging / rewarding experience kayaking down river on the Brazos, semi-boondocking and lots of cordial conversation around the campground this past weekend. GloriaB, SandyO, SusanW, BarbaraW, JudyL, NancyL, NancyL (the other one), and CarrieL all braved the steep embankments to launch and recover the kayaks after an invigorating trip down Hidalgo Falls and beyond on the Brazos River.

DianeB stayed overnight Friday and got some running in before leaving on Saturday.  These amazing women made the difficult look easy!

Carrie was the only one with enough energy left over to visit Washington on the Brazos, so we’ll have to do another trip soon just for that purpose. In true TOWNie fashion, some of us made the Southern Flyer Diner stop en-route to home on Sunday.

I love the falls area and loved sharing it with them all!  Check out pictures on our meetup pages.  Linda BW

Note:  this trip report is a combination of contributions by Penny Mudgett and Jacque Austin.

Ten of us ventured to west Texas to attend the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Festival (BarbaraD, ClaireJ, DianaS, JacqueA, JudieT, MarthaC, NancyP, PennyM, SharonB – Taos NM, and VickiG).  We all stayed at Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains State Park which is a beautiful place and the bird blinds in the park were a great places to see hummers and many other birds.     http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/davis-mountains      The Hummingbird Festival was sponsored by the Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce.  The festival organizers set up ten stations throughout the Ft. Davis area to view hummers and other birds. There were also informative lectures we attended on setting up feeding stations for hummingbirds, the many species of hummingbirds and their history, etc.  There were also bird banding demonstrations at several locations.  Early registration was $79 which included the presentations, two meals, banding displays, and a t-shirt.  The Fort Davis CoC has already committed to holding the festival in 2016.

Thursday morning we visited the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (CDRI) located four miles out of Fort Davis.  We walked the Botanical Gardens which features well labeled examples of:  cacti, yuccas, agave, ocotillo, and trees.  The succulent trails had inspiring views and included a bird & butterfly garden with a spring.  We identified the following birds:  canyon towhee, western kingbird, road runner, and rock wren.  Following our tour of the garden, we were! amazed by the contents of the cacti greenhouse – such a variety of needles, colors, hairy growths, and shapes.  (Plants there will be for sale in March.)  Then we enjoyed our lunch sitting in rocking chairs on CDRI center porch while watching hummers:  black-chinned, rufous, buff bellied, and Anna’s.  It was definitely fun!  Two members of our group donated bags of sugar which pleased the staff immensely.     http://www.cdri.org/

Thursday afternoon we completed registration for the festival and attended the opening reception which was at CDRI.  So we enjoyed the rocking chairs again that looked out over the hummingbird feeding stations while sipping wine and tasting hors d’oeuvres.   Life is such a struggle!

Friday morning we were up early (4:30 am!) for the trip to Christmas Mountains Oasis.  We met other birders in Fort Davis and caravanned for 1.5 hours to the Oasis, located between Alpine and Big Bend.  After the bathroom stop (!) we made the trek to the Oasis site over unpaved roads.  Passage is possible in high clearance vehicles and the road is rough, rutted, and quite rugged.  The Oasis has manmade ponds to collect rainwater, plantings and various feeders to attract all kinds of birds.  Penny viewed her first Lucifer Hummingbirds at this site!  Carolyn Ohl-Johnson (she has a great blog at www.cmoasis.blogspot.com) built and has maintained this site for 30 years so many species pass through on migration.  She has added covered seating and chairs to make the viewing more enjoyable and out of the sun.  She also maintains her home, a guest house and “potty shed”.   We identified the following:  hummingbird (Lucifer, black-! chinned, rufous), house finch, Scott’s oriole, blue grosbeak, varied bunting, and dickcessel.  After birding and burning calories and returning in the ruts, we were naturally hungry.  Several of us enjoyed lunch at the soda shop on Main Street.

Friday afternoon NancyP, JudieT, and SharonB toured Fort Davis and enjoyed seeing the sights of the fort.  Others of us attended lectures on Fort Davis Sky Islands and Hummingbird Feeder  – Care and Feeding.  Later in the afternoon we actually saw rain and hail.  We also visited the Caboose, which sells Henry’s ice cream.  Not Blue Bell, but pretty smooth with 15% butter fat.  Folks in Fort Davis are just as eager for Blue Bell to return as we are.  At the soda shop they are actually making sodas with Blue Bunny – so very sad.

Friday night, PennyM, ClaireJ, NancyP, VickiG, and DianaS attended a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory.  There had been thunderstorms each afternoon in the area, but they got lucky that night as the sky cleared up and we were able to see the Moon, Saturn and various star clusters through their high powered telescopes.  They also visited Marfa (we were too early to view the lights) and Alpine where we went to the Museum of the Big Bend which was very well done.

Saturday morning we were off to the Nature Conservancy site, Davis Mountains Preserve to view hummingbird banding.                http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/texas/placesweprotect/davis-mountains-preserve.xml .   It was amazing and impressive to study all the feeders, cages, and equipment there to accomplish the banding.  Three clusters of feeders (3-4/cluster) were established to attract the hummers.  Then one feeder in each cluster had a cage dropped on it.  One to two feeders in a cluster than had a cover over the holes which would direct the hummers to the caged feeder.  Experienced banders would then capture a hummer, place it in a mesh bag and another bander would process the bird.  The bander would measure the wing length, weigh the bird, check for fat levels on the chest, and apply a metal band (5.4, 5.6, 5.8 or 6.0 mm); then the bird was transferred to the release team.  We all enjoyed the experience of having the bird placed in our hands and then the bird lifting off and flying immediately.

Saturday afternoon we ate again as TOWNies are prone to do and had ice cream.  We visited both bird blinds in DMSP where we identified:  lesser  goldfinches, house finches, white wing doves, ladderback woodpecker, black headed grosbeak, acorn woodpecker, Cassin’s kingbird, rufous hummingbird, and canyon towhee.  After a short break, we attended a presentation on the Hummingbirds of TX.

Saturday evening we attended the closing dinner which was followed by a presentation on Hummingbirds of the US.

Sunday morning we headed east to Austin via Balmorhea State Park.  The scaled quail could not escape us.  We checked out the spring fed pool which already had quite a crowd.  We did learn that summer weekends attract about 3500 visitors.

We all had a wonderful trip and did a great job of supporting the West Texas economy.  It was fun meeting Penny’s comrades (Claire, Diana, and Vicki), Barbara’s sister Martha, as well as Sharon from NM.  If you enjoy seeing and learning about birds (especially hummingbirds) and viewing beautiful vistas, we recommend you try this festival next year.   Penny and Jacque