Austin’s Heritage and Transformation
Austin began with Shoal Creek sitting on the sidelines. Edwin Waller adopted Shoal Creek as the western edge of the new city, and his to-be namesake as the eastern boundary. Congress Avenue became the centerline. No longer. The city sprawls past these edges into the white-rocked and cedar-treed hinterlands. Like most cities, it has both heritage and been transformed.
Read MoreGreat Cities, Great Spaces
Austin’s lakeshore consciousness is still evolving. We are only now raising the public’s awareness of Shoal Creek as a public space. Waller Creek and Lady Bird Lake are two additional examples of public spaces that are only now attracting a level of interest and support that is necessary for them, too, to become great public spaces.
Read MoreThe Polar Vortex, or A Reminder Why We Love Austin
This morning I wandered down to Lady Bird Lake to see the polar vortex in person. The temperature at lakeside hovered around 25 degrees. Only a few die hards were jogging the trails. Once you become acclimated to Austin, your taste for cold weather mysteriously fades away.
Read MoreThe Hummer in Winter
Austin doesn’t do winter well. A blue norther whipped through Austin this weekend; we are faced with our first serious freeze of the winter. My tender plants are protected in a little plastic tent that I fashioned. But, the rufous hummingbird that frequents my yard has no such protection. He is at the mercy of the weather. But, there are a few things we can do with our feeders to help.
Read MoreRufous Returns
The bird weighs less than a grape, has a brain smaller than a pea, and flies thousands of miles each year between the place it nests and where it chooses to winter. The bird has returned to winter in my yard on Shoal Creek, precisely where it stayed last year. I know about bird migration, and I am aware of the staggering distances they are capable of traveling. But how do we explain one of the smallest birds flying such long distances?
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