Saturday, February 21, 2015

Saturday, February 21, 2015: hiked to qualify for Bull Creek Preserve permits

I'm legal!  I can now hike in the Bull Creek Preserve from March through August, during the golden cheeked warbler and black capped vireo nesting season.  Both are endangered species.  Not likely to see one though; usually only one pair nest per 5-acre parcel.  The preserve covers 30,000 acres, surrounded by the City of Austin.
 

City biologist Darrell Hutchison met us at the beginning of the trail for our 3-hour class.  Lots of info!

OK, at least one good use for cedar trees, purveyors of the annoying cedar fever when they pollenate:  the golden cheeked warbler is partial to cedar bark when it comes to nest building.

The warblers feed on caterpillars that feed on live oak leaves.

Warblers also feed on caterpillars that feed on red oak leaves.




Old cedar stump.  The forest has gone through two or three cuttings.  Central Texas cedar trees were used for railroad ties across the nation decades ago.

Papa Tom, at a limestone escarpment estimated to be 70-80 million years old.  Endangered salamanders live in the holes in the limestone.

Bull Creek.  This is a rather special place for our family.  Ryder and Brandy had their first date at the Bull Creek dog park.  Marley was there too.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Oh Donna!

Donna modeled my Zulu costume fez

At Katie's: Monday, February 16, 2015

Waiting outside Katie's, great restaurant in Mid-City

Connie, Trish, and Tom with a couchon au lait po-boy, muffaletta sandwich, and our favorite pizza ever: shrimp, crab, and oysters in a Tobasco marinara sauce, topped with Provel cheese.

Cigar factory: Monday, February 16, 2015

At the Cigar Factory, in the Quarter

Tobacco leaf


Cigar rollers with dried tobacco leaves







Lundi Gras: Monday, February 16, 2015

We parked at Algiers Point and took the ferry across the Mississippi to the River Walk area, where the Lundi Gras festival was held.  Live music and great food!  The festival is put on by the Zulu krewe.

Mardi Gras purple, gold, and green at the pavillion where jazz bands peformed

Connie's first Hurricane, at Pat O'Brien's in the Quarter

Girls from nearby Chalmette, in costume.  One of the girls said her Dad provided the hard hats from the factory where he works.

Governor of Zulu with kids at the River Walk
View of the river side of the levee, Jackson Square, and St. Louis Cathedral from the Algiers Point ferry

Papa Tom and me on the ferry

Coast Guard gunboat, making sure all is safe for Lundi Gras

Zulu's Mr. Big Stuff welcomes the music stage crowd with a Zulu coconut in hand, ready to be tossed to a lucky recipient

The Natchez leaves the dock

Connie poured her Hurricane into a Zulu cup for us to walk around with after leaving Pat O'Brien's

Where's the fire?  Revelers ride down St. Peter's Street in the Quarter


The gator caught some beads!

Bacchus parade: Sunday, February 15, 2014

"Throw me something, mister!"  Papa Tom with the Viking ship float.  This year, John C. Riley was the King of Bacchus.

Donna was on duty on St. Charles, a few blocks from where we were standing.  Our car was parked about 2 miles away.  Donna's sergeant offered to let Donna drive us to our car when the parade was over, in exchange for a Zulu coconut.  Done!

Laser lights announce the arrival of another float


We were right out front, at the curb.  Turns out we were too close!  One of the bass drummers caught Papa Tom's camera with his drum stick.  Ouch!  The camera refused to take any more photos after that.  These are all taken with my phone.

Papa Tom poses with Cupid

This gator has a mouth full of beads thrown back at the float by the crowd


The crowd throws beads back at Mamma Kong.  The tractor driver wears a helmet cuz some people miss.

Sunday, February 16, 2015: Rum House for lunch and Bacchus parade

Caribbean fusion at Rum House: oyster tacos, shrimp tacos, incredible black beans . . . .

Bacchus royalty on horseback distributes doubloons to the unwashed masses

"Throw me something, mister!"


Riders hand off throws to the crowd


Reaching up for beads


The wild things were at Mardi Gras too


Trish and Connie with our fabulous black beans, shrimp tacos, oyster tacos, empanadas stuffed with curried beef . . . 

Gnarled oak roots

Saturday night in the Quarter: February 14, 2015

A passing Elvis gave Trish and Connie green scarves and gave Trish some Mardi Gras beads. Trish passed them on to Connie, for her very first pair of Mardi Gras beads




What Connie and Trish did for Mardi Gras beads on Bourbon Street.  People on the balconies toss beads to the crowd below.

Trish with some of her score.  Christians set up on Bourbon Street to offer revelers the opportunity to change their ways.

Busy, busy Bouron Street

Lots of fun costumes

These kids were on Bourbon Street when we were there, with their mobile sound machine.  We're blocks from the Quarter now, headed back to the car

Connie and Trish relax in a doorway on the way to the car
Our encounter with the "krewe" of Elvis

At the back of St. Louis Cathedral, the shadow of Christ blesses the Quarter

No trip to NOLA would be complete without café au lait and beignets at Café du Monde



Brass band on the corner of Frenchman Street