Over the Hedge


If you read the comic strip Over the Hedge, you know how they like to have the shot of the animals peering at downtown transportation madness. I took a few photos looking towards downtown from near the French Legation (right next to the massive condo thing they're building). The neighborhood on the hill is green and leafy, but when you pop out on the edge, it's I-35 insanity. I kept the freeway in above, but left it out below for a nicer skyline shot.

Hey... I've got an idea... maybe we should excavate a huge underground tunnel to put I-35 in through downtown. Has anyone ever tried something like that before?

Hottest?

The local paper proclaims that this was the hottest August ever in Austin. Sure, it was bad, but I would have thought 2003 was worse. Seems like that year there were more days significantly above 100, rather than just 101 or 102. My wife thought the same thing. I guess maybe we've just gotten tougher every year? Anyway, this may be our last full hot summer in Austin. So it would only be appropriate for it to be a scorcher, I guess.
For the record, per the paper the second hottest summer was 1999, not 2003.

Friday Rock Blogging


This guy hails from the woods on the monster-inhabited section of Downs Road in Bethany, Connecticut. I believe this is best classified as a granite gneiss rather than just granite, but I guess you'd have to ask the Downs Road Monster to know for sure.
Close up enlargement below.

I never can get these closeups focused exactly as I'd like because the lens I use with my Nikon D50 for the rock shots doesn't have a manual focus. I have a lens for the Pentax K1000 that would be perfect, but that's not exactly conducive to the internet, is it? Sorry you're so neglected old buddy. Would you settle for a quick snapshot of your lovely heavy metal self?:

Rocks

Now here's some serious rock blogging

Scars


I've been meaning to take and post a photo of this guy for quite a while. Presumably he's a survivor of the big forest fire in the 1980's. Despite the big scar and a fungal infection, the pine tree is about 60 feet tall.

Sports Rant

Please skip if you don't like orneriness.
First off, I'd like to congratulate the Braves for somewhat putting themselves back together after the big slump. The middle-innings bullpen still has problems, but I think overall the team has a lot going for it in the future. I'm enjoying games much more this month, even if a few of them would have been a lot better if the 7th inning was skipped. Now could we please get some divine intervention to sell the team to Arthur Blank instead of Liberty Media? Thanks.

OK, now the main event:
Dear NCAA: Football games were not running long because either because we wait until kickoff reception to start the clock or because we stop the clock upon change of posession. They take too long because of all the blankety-blank TV timeouts plus the idiotic "instant" replay reviews.
And speaking of the replay reviews:
Let me tell you a story (I apologize if I get any details wrong, but they aren't relevant to the main point). Last year during the Tech-Georgia game: Tech gets ball on downs from Georgia, UGA's attempt on 4th down falling short in part due to having a penalty called on them (but they wouldn't have made a 1st anyway). Tech is now partway through their first down play, a RB has gained at least eight yards and is still running when the play is blown dead. A review is announced now for Georgia's 4th down play. Ultimately the penalty from that play is overruled. Tech 1st down play is sent down the memory hole, the UGA offense comes back, gets their 4th down over and makes a first down.

It was The Moment College Fooball Died, and I WAS THERE.

In summary: We should restore the set of football rules to what they were just after the forward pass was legalized and start all over from there.

P.S. Tech, please beat Notre Dame. But no matter what, don't quit!

Water


Last weekend the toad pond was down to maybe 1% of total volume. But some water still remains. You can also see here that the top of a long dead post oak finally snapped off and into the pond. Speaking of dead trees: during dry years by the end of August you can usually count on seeing some poor tree that isn't going to make it. Alas, this year is no exception as you may be able to see with the yellowing pine below. There's still a chance it might pull through, though.


The good news is that in Austin we finally got some rain Tuesday morning! Barely more than half an inch, but I'll take it. Other than irrigation, it's been bone dry at the house for over a month. Below is a poorly done close-up through the window of the water coming out of the couryard gutters into the plant bed.

Into the Forest


View from a small hillside, looking at some adolescent pines rising above a stand of mainly post oak. In case you were wondering, the photo is not at all crooked - those crooked pines just make it seem so.

Hills Prarie


Hills Prarie again, looking north towards the Red Bluffs which mark part of the southern edge of the Lost Pines as they meet the Colorado River. The red color being due to the river cutting into the sandstone on which the pines lie. Tomorrow into the forest.

Below, a cropped, blown-up view of the sandstone bluffs. That's what I get for neglecting to bring along a longer lens. Maybe I need to just shell out for that omnipotent new Nikkor 18-200mm lens - when you shell out for a new lens, you tend not to forget to use it...

Back To Nature


Hills Prarie, Bastrop County

(On Saturday I finally had the time to get out of the hot stagnant city to the breezier greener countryside. Readers can expect some fresh prarie & forest photos this week)