Low Water Use Landscaping – AGAVE
Agaves are beautiful and formidable plants, typically sporting sharp spikes at the tips. They are nearly always VERY low water use plants that need almost no water to survive.
Indeed I think I water mine too much, just to watch them grow!
Nigel Stewart Austin, Personal, Texas agave, gardening, summer, Texas
A warm welcome to our friend “Austin Girl”, and their first story The Jump.
I stand stock still, the fear in the dark recesses, A great animal of prey. I dare not look down but am transfixed by the clear, blue sky so vast and beautiful. …
Nigel Stewart Austin, Personal Austin, Austin Girl, blog, fiction, writing
For the first time, Austin-based, Grammy nominated Conspirare and esteemed Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson bring their exquisite sound to national television in A COMPANY OF VOICES: CONSPIRARE IN CONCERT, a one-hour choral concert produced for PBS.
Nigel Stewart Austin Austin, choral, concert, klru
Yay for Sunflower Farmers Market – a new store in South Austin!
Their Liquorice Allsorts are the best I’ve had, anywhere – no more need to airmail them in from Australia.
Nigel Stewart Austin, Personal Liquorice, liquorice allsorts, yum
The Money Box Cap 2K Swim in Lady Bird Lake, Austin.
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
From Red Bud Isle to the Texas Rowing Center.
Nigel Stewart Austin, Personal Austin, may 2009, swimming
TreeFolks are offering us a free tree, in return for taking good care of it, as part of the NeighborWoods program.
Mexican White Oak
40 ft high, full sun, no bloom, drought tolerant, evergreen, fast growth, oak wilt resistant.
- Plantfiles
There is a beautiful specimen of this tree near my home in south Austin (Texas). It is about 45 feet tall and very healthy. That particular tree is about 17 years old I am told. Based on this, I planted two in my yard in January, 2007. 13 months later they are doing just fine.
- Shademaker trees
An underutilized, highly adaptable shade tree that will tolerate urban planting conditions.
- wildflower.org
This species is widespread in Mexico and found in a few west Texas canyons. It is a relatively fast growing oak, and practically evergreen in Austin. It is more resistant to oak wilt and other diseases and pests than other oaks.
- Texas Forest Service
Leathery leaves come in many different shapes and remain on twigs into winter.
Bur Oak
80ft high, acorns, deciduous, slow growing, drought resistant, state tree of Iowa.
- wikipedia.org
Large deciduous tree growing up to 30 m (100 ft), rarely 37 m (120 ft), in height, and is one the most massive oaks with a trunk diameter of up to 3 m (10 ft). It is one of slowest-growing oaks, with growth rate of 30 cm (1 ft) per year when young. A 20-year-old tree will be about 6 m (20 ft) tall. It commonly lives to be 200 to 300 years old, and may become significantly older. The bark is a medium gray and somewhat rugged.
- grownative.org
A slow-growing, long-lived impressive tree with the largest leaves and acorns of all the oaks. Leaves turn brown or light yellow in the fall and remain on the plant through winter. Trees are weakly pyramidal when young then develop a massive trunk and broad crown with strong branches.
- USDA Forest Service
Bur oaks bear seed up to an age of 400 years, older than reported for any other American oak. The minimum seed-bearing age is about 35 years, and the optimum is 75 to 150 years (5,16). Good seed crops occur every 2 to 3 years, with no crops or light crops in intervening years. The acorns are disseminated by gravity, by squirrels, and to a limited extent by water.
Chinquapin Oak
90ft tall, deciduous, full sun, drought tolerant, good shade, acorns, disease and pest resistant.
- wikipedia.org
A deciduous tree reaching 30 m tall (exceptionally up to 50 m), with a rounded crown and thin, scaly or flaky bark on the trunk. The name comes from the resemblance of the leaves to those of a chestnut or chinkapin, although they also greatly resemble the chestnut oak or swamp chestnut oak; coarsely toothed, 5-15 cm long and 4-8 cm broad.
- Texas A&M
A good-looking medium to large shade tree suitable for use in much of Texas. Its unique saw-tooth leaves, which resemble those of the chinquapin tree found in the eastern United States, are rich green, turning yellow to bronze in the fall. It grows in the wild on well-drained bottomland soils and on limestone hills near water. It’s adaptable to a range of soils and exposures. It’s moderate to fast-growing and develops an open rounded crown as it ages.
- Texas Superstar
Although this member of the beech family (Fagaceae) can obtain a larger size in the eastern U.S., it usually grows to be a handsome medium size shade tree in the 30′ to 50′ tall range in many of our urban or suburban Texas landscapes. Thus, chinkapin oak remains more in scale with residential plantings than some larger shade trees.
Elm
100 ft tall, deciduous, susceptible to Dutch elm disease, disease-resistant cultivars available.
- wikipedia.org
There are approximately 30 to 40 species of elm; the ambiguity in number is a result of difficult species delimitations in elms, owing to the ease of hybridization between them and the development of local seed-sterile vegetatively-propagated microspecies in some areas, mainly in the field elm group. Rackham describes Ulmus as the most difficult critical genus in the entire British flora. Eight species are endemic to North America, and a smaller number to Europe; the greatest diversity is found in China.
Nigel Stewart Austin, Commentary, Personal, Texas Austin, Bur Oak, Chinaquapin Oak, elm, mexican white oak, Texas, trees
Holiday Sing-Along, Capitol Tree Lighting and Holiday Stroll
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Capitol South Steps, Congres Avenue and 2nd Street District
Join the Downtown Austin Alliance and KUT Radio 90.5 for for the Holiday Sing-Along, Capitol Tree Lighting and Congress Avenue Stroll!
The festivities, which are free to the public, begin at 6 p.m. on the Capitol’s south steps. KUT’s John Aielli will host the Holiday Sing-Along, leading the crowd in a chorus of favorite seasonal songs to set the mood for the tree lighting.
As the clock chimes 7 p.m., the countdown begins to the lighting of the Capitol tree and the brand new Congress Avenue Holiday Lights, brought to you by Austin Energy!
Revelers can view the tree and new lights from every vantage point during the Congress Avenue Stroll from 7-9 p.m. Congress Avenue shops, restaurants, galleries and museums will be open late, offering special activities, offers and refreshments to visitors. A diverse array of Austin musicians, including Golden Arm Trio, The Invincible Czars, McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra and the Super Sonic Soul Squad will entertain shoppers.
The Austin Farmers’ Market will also join in the festivities, temporarily setting up shop across from the Capitol grounds from 5:30-9 p.m. And 2nd Street District merchants and restaurants will be open late for shopping, strolling, food and fun!
In keeping with the season’s spirit of giving, KUT 90.5 and the Downtown Austin Alliance are coordinating a special food drive with Caritas of Austin. You can help Caritas help others by bringing non-perishable food items or monetary donations to the base of the Christmas Tree on the Capitol Grounds.
Parking is easy and available for just $3 all day at the AMLI on 2nd parking garage (entrance on San Antonio between 2nd and 3rd Streets). Park your car, then take the ‘Dillo to the Capitol!
Nigel Stewart Austin Austin, capitol tree lighting, christmas
On Saturday I swam one mile at Lake Marble Falls, about 90 minutes north west of Austin TX. The swim started at 9am on a cool and crisp morning with clear skies. The temperature of the water was just perfect, and I was tempted to swim even slower just to enjoy the scenery.
See also: Highland Lakes Challenge – Day Four, 2008 Race Results
The swim at Lake Marble Falls is amazing. We swim under the bridge, follow the winding river through the 150-or-so-million-year-old canyon, past an incredible boulder that leans off the shore over the lake, and take quick glimpses of interestingly designed docks and houses as we swim to the dam. Then, we round a buoy and make our way back, swimming under the bridge again as we swim to the finish. It’s one of everyone’s favorite swims.
Splashing Around in my Brain
Perhaps next year – the three mile course…
Nigel Stewart Austin, Personal swim
Young Australian Skeptics
