Pretty Pics: Things that Hang from Trees

This afternoon Patrick & I did some planning for new flower beds in our front yard. While we were out there we noticed how pretty the acorns looked on our deciduous Oak. They're pleasantly smooth & soft to the touch, too.

On the other side of the path leading to our front door is an amazing Magnolia grandiflora or Southern Magnolia. It looks lovely right now with all of its fruit.

Pretty, huh? It's all pink & fuzzy! Upon closer inspection, we noticed something else hanging on this tree in addition to the fruit...

If you're squeamish about bugs, you might want to stop here.

Still with me? Ready for a closer look? Okay, here goes...

Cicadas have left their shells all over this tree! Clinging to the branches...

and hanging from the undersides of leaves. They were positively all over the place. On every branch we saw more and more.

They reminded me of childhood summers at my grandparents' house in Ganado, in southeast Texas. My cousins & I would have contests to see who could collect the most cicada shells from the trees. Kinda like Easter egg hunting, except slightly disgusting. Their shells retain all of the little details of the insects that molted from them. I am simultaneously grossed out & fascinated by cicadas. How about you?

If you want to see lots more pics of cicadas, hear their song, & even watch time-lapse photography of a cicada molting (it's pretty darn cool!), check out the Wikipedia page on cicadas.

Pretty Pics: The Garden at Krause Springs

A couple of weeks ago, we went camping with friends at Krause Springs, which is about 30 miles west of Austin. It's a wonderful spot with a spring-fed swimming hole & a beautiful garden with humongous wind chimes in the towering oaks. These are some of my favorite pics I took. If you want to see more images from the amazing gardens, check out my Krause Springs Flickr set.

Scenes from a Bike Ride: GINORMOUS agave blossom!

Patrick & I have been toolin' around our neighborhood quite a bit lately on our fun new bikes! I snapped these pics on one of our rides over Memorial Day weekend. Look at the flower on that thing - it's sooo tall!

This is an Agave Americana, more commonly called a Century Plant. They're very common in these parts. We have several at our house, but none of them are anywhere near this big!

Fun fact: Agave is in the same family as asparagus, Asparagaceae. I can totally see the family resemblance!

Gorgeous sunflowers are blooming all over the place right now, too! They're so summery & cheerful.


So where were we heading on that particularly lovely morning?

To our neighborhood coffee shop, Corona Cafe! It's love at first sip.

P.s.
Our bikes are Raleigh Specials, if you're curious. They are great bikes if you want something simple with a retro flair - we love 'em! If you're an Austinite, check out The Peddler; that's where we bought them. It's a great bike shop where everyone is super-helpful & friendly.

Do you bike? Know of any great trails or destinations in Austin we should check out?

Pretty Pics: Ice Sculptures After a Storm

I'm soooooo not a winter person; I'm already longing for the warm days & bursting flowers of spring! and apparently, an "arctic blast" is supposed to hit Austin Thursday morning. So I decided to find some photos that might help me appreciate the beauty of winter (Flickr to the rescue).








Thanks, Vilseskogen, for sharing these beautiful photos from New Jersey - they really are lovely.

What's your favorite thing about winter? Maybe y'all can persuade me that it's a nice season after all. ; )