2nd August, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
This Thursday starting at 8PM is the Moonlight Margarita Run and Gala which benefits the Lady Bird Lake trial. The run is a 5K that starts near where the trail crosses Mopac, and the gala is held afterward at American Legion Hall. Entry for the run is $35 , for the gala it’s $65, and for both it’s $95. Proceeds from the night’s event go to The Trail Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the trail around the lake. You can register here or check out more details. The Statesman notes that the events “help fund the upcoming $475,000 renovation of the very trailhead where the race starts — the busiest access point on the 10-mile crushed granite pathway” and that “work should start this fall and take about six months.”
28th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Starting at 6PM tomorrow, the Wildflower Center will be having its last Nature Night of the summer, “Birds of Prey”. Admission is $1. Here’s the description:
Thursday, July 29: Birds of Prey – soar with us to explore the habits of hawks, eagles, buzzards and more birds of prey. At 7 pm only, don’t miss a flying demonstration provided by Blackland Prairie Raptor Center with their feathered friends in our Courtyard! Stop by the Travis Audubon Society booth for more information on local birding programs. Check out great activities at the Capital Area Master Naturalist booth.
so cute!
photo credit
28th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 2 Comments
The Statesman had this article today about Bull Creek Park. Here’s an excerpt about the littering problem:
Statesman Watch spent several hours at the park last weekend… [t]he understaffed Parks and Recreation Department did make it out to empty trash cans, but the rest of the park was strewn with food wrappers, beer bottles and cans, cigarette butts, diapers and even spent charcoal.
On Saturday afternoon, a large family held a birthday party for a child. The next morning, beer cans, candy wrappers and an El Rancho Supermercado plastic bag of trash were left behind. Near the creek, three Budweiser bottles, an empty pack of Kool 100s and orange peelings were left where a trio of men with an ice chest had been the afternoon before.
On weekends, with little or no police presence, park users cart ice chests, grills and picnic tables and set up next to the water. Children swim by. Refuse litters the ground even though trash cans are a few feet away.
The park is located at at RM 2222 and Loop 360.
photo credit
8th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out “Nature Nights” at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - the center has 4 family friendly nights planned for July, and admission is only $1 per person. Visitors can learn about plants, animals, and ecology of Central Texas. Tonight is the first night, and the topic will be “reptiles.” Below is the full schedule from the Center’s webpage:
Thursday, July 8: Reptiles - Dr. Travis LaDuc, Assistant Curator of Herpetology at the Texas Natural Science Center, will be presenting at 7 and repeat at 8 pm about Central Texas reptiles. Meet a few of our slithery friends with Tim Cole of Austin Reptile Service in the Visitors Gallery. And celebrate these often misunderstood creatures at a discovery station with members of the Horned Lizard Conservation Society and with volunteers from Capital Area Master Naturalist program. Nathan Jensen, noted children’s illustrator, will be in the Gift Store signing copies of his children’s snake book.
Thursday, July 15: Bees – you heard the buzz about native bees? Take flight through our gardens and learn about the curious behavior of our winged friends. Native bee activities provided by Texas Bee Watchers. Check out an obersvation hive with live European honey bees, courtesy of Texas Beekeepers Association.
Thursday, July 22: Wildlife Tracking – take a guided prowl through our gardens and trails and look for signs of the kinds of wild animals that live in Central Texas. Join Koy Coffer, Education Specialist with Texas Wildlife Association, for family tracking activities, as well as staff from Texas Parks and Wildlife to explore the habits, habitats and culture of our native wildlife.
Thursday, July 29: Birds of Prey – soar with us to explore the habits of hawks, eagles, buzzards and more birds of prey. Don’t miss a flying demonstration provided by Blackland Prairie Raptor Center with their feathered friends in our Courtyard! Stop by the Travis Audubon Society booth for more information on local birding programs.
21st June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out this KUT article about Lady Bird Lake cleanups, which states:
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has a lot of people thinking about water pollution, but you don’t have to go to the Gulf to help clean America’s coasts.
Bill Morris is with the Surfrider Foundation. He helps organize clean ups of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. On Sunday he was out with volunteers filling trash bags with floating litter.
“All the rivers and streams in Texas drain ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico,” said Morris, “and since we’re trying to protect the coast here, this is a great place to start.”
The Surfrider Foundation is just one group that has joined the nonprofit Keep Austin Beautiful to organize the cleanup every two months.
The article notes that the next cleanup is August 14th
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/gttexas/
11th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Last weekend I went to McKinney Falls State Park and was pleasantly surprised with how much there was to do there. It’s technically in Austin, somewhat near the airport, so it’s a conviniently short trip, and it has 2 main trails, each about 3 miles long. We chose the homestead trail, which goes past Thomas F. McKinney’s home, which was built in the 1850′s.
The house is really pretty and cool to look at, but you can’t get very close to it and there’s no historical information about McKinney or his house at the site of the house, which I would have appreciated. The trail itself was flat and not challenging, and since it’s only about 3 miles it’s not a good choice if you want an intense hike, but it was still a nice walk. We saw some interesting insects on the trip:
After our walk we were very hot, so it was fun to be able to go swimming near the waterfall at the park. This isn’t a very good picture of the falls, but it really is very pretty – it’s a great place to go soon to enjoy before the water levels fall!
3rd June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman had this article about tubing on the San Marcos and recent problems with noise, litter and drunkenness. Here’s an excerpt:
Eighty-one people along the San Marcos River were cited for underage drinking, littering, disorderly conduct and other infractions during the Memorial Day weekend. Three were arrested for public intoxication, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden Joann Garza-Mayberry said. An estimated 1,000 people tubed the San Marcos River over the weekend. Between 70 and 80 people were ticketed last year, she said….
On the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, police boats are a common sight. Business owners there banded together in the late 1980s and formed the Water Oriented Recreation District of Comal County , a taxing district along the river that helps pay for police and cleanup efforts along the river and Canyon Lake.
New Braunfels residents also passed ordinances banning glass containers and plastic containers that hold 5 ounces or less, commonly used for Jell-O shots. Caldwell County does not have these regulations, Garza-Mayberry said
And further, a quote in that article from Dianne Wassenich , the San Marcos River Foundation program director:
“There was trash so deep that I despaired ever getting it cleaned up,” she said. Still, Wassenich said, it’s not tubing that has been a problem for the river, but the way tubers handle themselves.
I thought this article was pretty interesting because I attempted to go tubing down the Blanco River in San Marcos over Memorial Day weekend and noticed a lot of beer cans everywhere. I say “attempted” because by the time we got there, there was a 2 hour wait to get on the bus that would have taken us to the start of the tubing. Instead we went swimming near the bus pickup for about an hour and then went home.
Anyway, the whole experience was pretty disheartening because I would like to think that most people realize you shouldn’t litter, but there were beer cans everywhere, no recycling containers to be seen, and dog poop scattered sporadically. Not cool. And from the Statesman pictures tubing looks like so much fun and so pretty in that area, but based on what I saw over the weekend I’m not very excited to go back and try again for awhile.
28th May, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
The Clean Air Force of Central Texas issues warnings when the levels of ground-level ozone in the air reach unhealthy levels. This has been happening lately, so it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on the warnings each day. Unhealthy levels of ozone can be a lung irritant, which is especially bad for seniors, children, people with asthma, and people exercising outside. Check their website for updates on daily ozone warnings. You can even sign up to get emails about the ozone warnings. Although an ozone watch is in place, we haven’t yet reached unhealthy levels today. When the Orange Level is reached, it is recommended that “active children and adults as well as people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, limit prolonged outdoor exertion.”
Ozone is caused by human activities, and burning fossil fuels is the biggest contributor to ground-level ozone in Central Texas. The city has a website that gives all sorts of recommendations of things you can do to reduce ozone in our air, including green activities like driving less, carpooling, not letting your car idle, and taking the bus.
Also, on a related note, did you know that Austin Energy will give you a rebate if you purchase an all-electric vehicle? So awesome.
26th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Zilker Botanical Garden has a number in interesting summer events coming up, including a flower and vegetable show and sale, basic landscape design principles, and a seminar on rainwater harvesting.
This Saturday is a free seminar about becoming a garden detective. Here’s the description:
Saturday, May 29, 2010 10am-Noon. Just when you think you’ve done everything right by your plants, one of them starts to go downhill. One of the biggest challenges for gardeners is correctly diagnosing plant problems and finding effective, safe solutions. Is your plant dying because of an insect, environmental or disease problem? Join us to learn the causes of plant problems, the process for diagnosing plant problems, and preventive garden management techniques.
For the full schedule, check here.
6th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Last weekend I went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with my parents. If you’ve never been before, now is a great time to visit – there are tons of wildflowers in bloom and it’s not super hot outside yet. The Wildflower Center is off of Mopac, fairly far South, so it can be a bit of a drive if you live in North Austin, but it’s well worth the trip and a good group activity. Before last weekend, I had only been to the Wildflower Center in December, so it was very different to see it in April. Tickets are normally $8, ($7 for seniors, $5 for children 5-12, and free for children under 5) but when I went with my parents last Friday, it was free for some reason.
Here’s some pictures I took:
(a very informative display of common wildflowers in bloom now in Austin)
(A lot of the plants inside the courtyard area had descriptions, which was very helpful)
Some of the beautiful flowers growing naturally along the trails:
bluebonnets
more bluebonnets
Indian paintbrush (I think)
(not sure what this is)
winecup
some false foxglove
Before I took this trip I could only identify bluebonnets, so I think I learned a lot about native plants. And it was neat to see example of gardens that use native plants and therefore don’t need to be watered as much.
Also, the Wildflower Center has the following information about this event coming up, which might be fun for families:
Nature Night: Plant Conservation
Friday, May 21, 2010, 6-9PM
- Hit the trails of the Wildflower Center and learn about rare and endangered plant species in Texas. We will explore hard to find plants, what makes them rare and endangered, lead you on habitat hikes and share programs that help you make a difference! $1 admission for non-members.
So check out the Wildflower Center – it’s an Austin treasure!
26th April, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments
Photo Credit
The weather is creeping up into the high 80′s this week with lots of sunshine, and I think we’re finally done with the cold weather! I am a big fan of summertime in Austin, as I’m sure many of you are, and I am looking forward to the hot days ahead. Of course, the blistering heat is more enjoyable if a body of water is nearby, and lounging by a natural pool or a spring is much greener than sitting in an air-conditioned house. So, I thought it’d be a good idea to make a little list of my favorite cool-off spots.
- Barton Springs: Such a classic. For $3, you’ll get access to three acres of cold and refreshing water and some exceptional people-watching. This place is a local favorite, so everyone from toddlers in floaties to college kids to hippies with drums and hacky sacks come out to enjoy the cold water. I’ve seen the tattooed lizard man there once or twice, an occasional topless lady, and Leslie. A few of my friends have even spotted celebs.
- The Greenbelt: There are a couple of locations along the Greenbelt where you can sunbathe and swim for free with a lot of fellow Austinites. I’ve only been a few times and need to do some more exploring, but I can tell you that my experiences have been thoroughly enjoyable. Lounging by the water, petting people’s dogs, and laying down on the rocks while the water rushes past were all highlights of my most recent trip. The entrance was a little hard to find, and it takes a bit of a hike to get there, but it’s worth it. Make sure to get directions to a lesser known entrance from a friend, and be sure to check that the water is flowing because it tends to dry up in the summer months.
- Krause Springs: If you’re wanting to get away from the city, this privately owned watering hole is a beautiful place to go. It’s in Spicewood, so it’s a bit of a drive and there’s a $5 entrance fee, but the waterfall and lush scenery are so worth the trip. Some other attractions include a rope swing and a camping area which I have not tried out but they both seem awesome.
- Hamilton Pool: This is a very scenic natural pool with a waterfall, a grotto, and a pebbly beachy area for lounging. It’s also a half hour drive from Austin and is $8 per car. Make sure to get there early because once the parking lot fills up, they won’t let anyone in until someone leaves.
- Deep Eddy: Located off of Lake Austin Boulevard, this pool is more of a typical neighborhood swimming pool, with lap lanes and a kid’s area, but it is spring fed and ice cold. I like that there are lap lanes for the times when I want to get some exercise, and there are plenty of trees to provide shade. This pool is family-friendly with lots of kiddoes running around, so keep that in mind when choosing where to go.
Let me know in the comments if I didn’t mention your favorite!
