Why Blog?

I've asked myself that, and you're probably wondering too.  Why blog, when my life is not very eventful?  It's not like I'm traveling around the world and having all kinds of adventures like my friend, Diana Winer.  Her Community Nomad travel blog is full of fascinating experiences and beautiful pictures.

I don't have anything insightful to say about Ethical Culture or current events, like my friend Carolyn Parker does in her Happy Human Hoedown.  Carolyn has a way of digging down into a subject and finding details that I wish I could have thought of myself.

And I certainly could never match the wisdom Dr. Angela Black imparts in her Vipassana Momma.  Angela's mom, Gaynell Gallo, and I have been friends for fifty years now.  Angela is a pediatrician and the mother of two daughters, one of whom is a special needs child.  Even with her busy life, she manages to post to her blog some beautiful and inspiring thoughts.

So why did I  start this blog?  The idea came to me when I was out walking with Davis.  I saw things that I wanted to share, but now I'm living apart from most of my friends.  Of course there's always Facebook, but there are lots of people I care about who are not Facebook junkies like me.  So this just seemed like a good way to stay connected.

I've been taking pictures of the flora and fauna here in the Piney Woods, which I'll be sharing soon. Meanwhile, here are some pictures I took the other day when I went with Mom to her dental appointment. These whimsical animals covered the walls of his kids' waiting room.   I didn't make note of the artist's name, but will do so when we go back.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Crawfish Enchiladas

When I took Davis to the vet last week, I took him to a clinic in Columbia, Louisiana.  Columbia is about 30 miles north of our house.  It's on the southwest bank of the Ouachita River and is the parish seat of Caldwell Parish.  It was founded in 1827, and became a docking place for the steamboats that traveled up and down the river.

While Davis was receiving his treatment, I went to look for a restaurant.  I was happy to find a Mexican restaurant there; I had been wondering what I would do for Mexican food in the piney woods of Louisiana. There was something on the menu that I'm sure you'd only find here....Crawfish enchiladas.  Of course I had to try them.  They were regular enchiladas, but with crawfish(!), served with the usual refried beans, rice, guacamole and sour cream.  I was happy to learn that the owners of the restaurant were about to open a second one in Olla, only 4 miles from us.  Mom and I are going to there for lunch tomorrow.

After lunch, I took a walk beside the river and around some of the streets.  Unlike many small towns, this one has an active downtown.  Here are some of the things I saw.

Ouachita River bridge 

The steamboat dock is visible right in front of the American flag.

Standing on the dock.

The Louisiana Artists Museum (green awning on the right) is in the historic Schepis Building
on Main Street.  The building  is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  

At this site the First United Methodist Church in Columbia dates to 1838.
The current building was constructed in 1911. (Photo by By Billy Hathorn )

New Old House

Here's a picture of the house I'm living in most of the time now.  My parents moved into it about 30 years ago.  I had already left home, so even though I've stayed here a lot over the years, this is the first time I have actually lived here.

It's not fancy, but comfortable, with three bedrooms, two baths, living room, kitchen, den, an enclosed back porch and a sun porch.  It has a "little house" in back with a bedroom, bath and large storage area.  There's also another storage building and my Dad's wood shop.  

Dad installed solar panels on the back roof and we also have a gas powered generator that will kick off if the electricity goes out.  

After the busy life I had in Austin, I'm enjoying a slower pace here.  Mom and I take it easy, puttering around the house most days, or spending time on our laptops.  We have been doing some gardening and we also put up a bird feeder and hummingbird feeders.  We just love to watch birds eat.  

When we arrived, Mom had fixed up the sun porch with litter pan, food bowls and cat beds.  So now, it's officially the cats' room. Here they are lounging on the first day as Davis inspects the premises. 

They had lived in the same place most of their 9 years of life, so I was a little concerned that they would freak out and try to go back there.  But I kept them shut up in their room for 3 days and then let them out a bit to explore.  Now they stay outside most of the time and seem content.

Koko and Pancake venture out into their new yard for the first time.

The downside to this house is that the back yard is like a bog.  It rains at least once a week, and there's nowhere for the water to run off, so it's extremely muddy.  I wear rubber boots when I go out, but Davis' feet stay muddy.  I've planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers, but had to plant them in containers because otherwise, they'd drown.  Mom says that in the summer we'll be wishing for rain.

Before we left Bastrop, I took Davis to the vet because I though he needed his anal glands expressed (sorry if that's TMI).  The young vet there told me that he had a malignant carcinoma "back there" and that it was untreatable.  

I'm happy to report, however, that a more experienced vet here in Louisiana removed two tumors last week, and thinks that Davis will be okay.  He said that there was some signs that the tumors would have become malignant, but he believes he was able to remove them completely.  Davis came through like a champ, and by the time we got home, you'd never guess that he had just had surgery.

Though it does rain here often, it doesn't all the time.  Here's a picture of Davis enjoying the sunshine on one of the lovely days.

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Trip to Urania

So finally the day I'd been preparing for (and dreading) arrived.  March 21, one whole month after I'd left my Mom's house to come back to Austin to start packing and move, I was finally ready.

I loaded Davis and the two cats, Pancake and Koko Taylor, into the car and we headed out.

As expected, the cats were not happy in the least.  I have a video that I hope to post soon of the pitiful meows issuing from the confines of their pet taxis, but am having technical difficulties with that.  Koko gave up after an hour of solid crying, but, as expected, Pancake continued on for half the trip, meaning over three and a half hours.  Even after that she would occasionally tune up again, I'm sure thinking, "Maybe she didn't hear me before.  I must attempt to draw her attention one more time."

We stopped at the state line for a little break, where Davis posed with the state line marker.

The rest of the trip was uneventful.   Due to the recent flooding, I did see water covering areas where I'd never seen water before.  In one place, between Clarence and Winnfield, the water was still over the highway, but not very deep, you could easily drive through it.

The only unusual thing I saw was this piece of machinery that I got behind in Clarence.  I've never seen anything else like it.  The tires were nearly as tall as my car.



So the trip I'd been dreading wasn't so bad after all.  Eight hours after leaving Austin, we knew we were home when we saw the Urania smokestack.

Last Day in Austin

Sunday, March 20, was my last official day in Austin, Texas.  Thanks to my friend Belinda Hare, I spent it with some of the great people that I've met there.

The occasion was a memorial service for Mr. Henry B.Gonzalez.  The location was the Zilker Club House, a beautiful setting with a spectacular view of the city.

 Henry's wife, Leea brought mementos to decorate the space.  Here she is holding a wooden figure that a student at the School for the Deaf carved for Henry. Henry gave so much to so many in Austin, including students at the school.  There were also pictures, candles, statues, and flowers of all kinds, all with special meaning to the family.



Eddie Wilson, owner of the old Armadillo World Headquarters, and now Threadgill's, welcomed the guests. Kerry Awn gave a eulogy that made everyone laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously.

Henry was with us.  I'm sure he loved the celebration of his life.

The Austin Chronicle ran a  nice piece about Henry.  From it I learned that he was part of the crew for most of the big music shows in the 70s. He was working for Stevie Ray Vaughn on that final tour and was tasked with driving the gear back to Austin. He's quoted as saying, "I was driving the van with Stevie's guitar across the country and on every radio station they were playing his music. I couldn't stop crying,"

Portrait of Henry by Kerry Awn.

Henry had a heart of gold, and played a huge part in making Austin the city we all love.  I'm honored that on my last day there I got to experience part of his legacy.

Colorado River Refuge

I left Urania on March 21, thinking I'd get everything together and be back in a couple of weeks.  But this move has been much harder, both physically and mentally, than I ever imagined.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's been necessary to break up the work with lots of R and R.

Davis pauses a moment to decide where to sniff first.

So yesterday Davis and I took a long walk at the Colorado River Refuge.  This wonderful place is only a mile from our house.  It's privately owned, but free and opened to the public.

A ladybug's heinie.

Davis checks his P-mail

Beautiful Rain Lillies

The Baby Blue Eyes are everywhere.

 As I was taking this picture, I could hear a Barred Owl calling "Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you all?"

Spiderwort cliffs

Now THAT'S a burl!

A nice spot to sit and listen to the birds and the river.

Davis takes a dip.

Wheelchair accessible picnic site.  There is a long concrete "trail" leading to this spot.  

Quesadilla Cliffs

These are the only other humans we saw on our walk.

A tired, dirty, happy dog.

Life After Austin

I moved to Austin August 12, 1998.  At that time, I thought I'd never leave there....that I was there for the duration.  But now, eighteen years later, I no longer have an Austin address.

I changed, and Austin changed.  And, sad to say, we didn't change in the same direction.  So now, on to the next chapter.

The worst thing about leaving Austin is leaving the many friends I have made there.  I've created this blog, so that if anyone wonders what I'm up to, you can find out by checking here.

Here's the little brown house in the woods where I'll be living part time.

Davis has a great place to run.  Here are a few pictures from our walk on Saturday, March 12.

Tahitian Village Mosquito Breeders Association site.

There really are fire hydrants in Tahitian Village, Toni Herbert.

Caution! Children!

Davis checks out the garden.

I am Iron Man.

Time to relax in the back yard.

Sunday, March 13, at Sherwood Forest Faire we saw a great fire show.

And Donna got up close and personal with a falcon.

St. Paddy's Day walk, March 17.  Not shamrocks, but Evening Primroses.

Davis on the hunt.

Baby grapes.

The Spiderworts are beautiful this year.

We're going to have lots of berries.  The blooms are the biggest I've ever seen.

Back at home, Kolton and Destructor are taking it easy.

Stay tuned for more great adventures.