A fall hike at Eldorado Canyon
November 15, 2024 I’d last hiked at Eldorado Canyon State Park, on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, 6 years ago during a mother-daughter trip up to Wyoming. My husband had never seen it. So late one afternoon, at the end of a day trip to Boulder from our Denver VRBO, ...
Waterloo Greenway light installations return for Austin’s 10th anniversary Creek Show
November 13, 2024 An art-loving Creek Monster lurks in the dark waters of Austin’s Waller Creek, according to Creek Show lore. I’m on the lookout for it each November when I attend Waterloo Greenway’s annual Creek Show, and every now and then I catch a glimpse. But really it’s an ...
Prairie wildflower oasis at Native Texas Park in Dallas
May 30, 2024 On a mid-May trip up to Dallas, I swung by the Laura W. Bush Native Texas Park just before sunset to see the big wildflower show I’d been hearing about this spring. I was not disappointed. Red-and-yellow firewheel, purple horsemint, rusty Mexican hat, and lilac American basketflower ...
Dambo troll enchants Austinites at Pease Park
March 21, 2024 A friendly troll has taken up residence in Pease Park, and Austin is going troll crazy. Built by Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo, who dreams up and installs whimsical, wooden trolls at sites all over the world, Malin is Dambo’s latest creation. Commissioned by Pease Park Conservancy ...
Early spring walk at Lady Bird Lake
March 01, 2024 The trail around Lady Bird Lake was pink, brown, and blue last weekend. Peach trees were flowering against a bluebird sky. Bald cypresses were biding their time, waiting to be sure all freezes are over. Eager redbuds proclaimed that spring is here. Their pink-and-fuchsia flowers clustered along ...
Creek Show art installations glow at Waterloo Greenway
November 16, 2023 Last night I headed downtown to Waller Creek to see this year’s Creek Show, an annual exhibition of light-art installations, put on by Waterloo Greenway. While the event is free, let me tell you, it’s worth it to pay $10 for a fast pass that allows you ...
Summer pleasures: Barton Springs Pool and Lockhart art
September 07, 2023 I had reservations for a dip at Blue Hole swimming hole in Wimberley, Texas, just before Labor Day. But the drought has left little untouched in Texas this summer, and I soon received a cancellation notice. Blue Hole has closed for the rest of the season due ...
Kinder Land Bridge restores coastal prairie and unites Houston’s Memorial Park
May 04, 2023 Kinder Land Bridge as seen from Memorial Drive Houston’s Memorial Park, a 1,500-acre urban green space, has for years been sliced and diced by busy roadways, keeping people and wildlife from safe access to all parts of the park. Compounding this design flaw, the heavily wooded park ...
Pond critters at Houston Arboretum
April 30, 2023 While in Houston a couple of weeks ago, with a few hours to kill, I heeded the call of nature. That is, I visited Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, an oasis for wildlife, native plants, and people who enjoy nature strolls and birding. This 155-acre refuge with ...
Chimney Rock thrills with a-Lure-ing views
December 04, 2022 I’ve always loved the thrillingly high and scenic views from the cracked tower of stone known as Chimney Rock, 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina. I came here many times as a kid and young adult when I lived in the Carolinas. Privately owned and managed ...
Exploring Portal Potty and more at Creek Show 2022
November 20, 2022 A chilly drizzle on Friday couldn’t keep me from seeing Waterloo Greenway’s Creek Show, an “annual display of illuminated art” along the banks of downtown Austin’s Waller Creek. I go every year with family or friends to explore the creative light sculptures. Last year’s Creek Show abandoned ...
Native plant landscaping at ACC Highland Campus, the new home of Central Texas Gardener
October 26, 2022 Teri Speight doing a Central Texas Gardener studio taping Last week, when author Teri Speight was in Austin to give a Garden Spark talk, I accompanied her to a taping at the new Central Texas Gardener studio at Austin PBS. Producer Linda Lehmusvirta had announced CTG’s move ...
Walking the rails at Santa Fe Railyard Park and Farmers’ Market
October 17, 2022 Back to Santa Fe! During our stay in late August, we hit the farmers’ market at The Railyard one morning. A tree-studded green space caught David’s eye on the way over, so we stopped to check it out. We found ourselves in Railyard Park, where train tracks ...
Peacocks and giants: Visiting Mayfield Park and Laguna Gloria
April 27, 2022 In early April I visited Mayfield Park for the Trowel & Error gardening talks. Of course if you visit Mayfield Park you’re going to see peacocks. Mayfield Park Two dozen of these beautiful birds — peacocks and peahens — roam the grounds. Unafraid if a little wary, ...
Blue trees in Austin’s Pease Park spotlight tree loss around the world
April 11, 2022 If you’ve visited Kingsbury Commons at Austin’s Pease Park lately, you may have encountered a startling and surprisingly beautiful sight: clusters of trees with Majorelle blue trunks and limbs. The Blue Trees is a temporary environmental art installation by New Zealand artist Konstantin Dimopoulos. It brings our ...
Neighbors save 11 acres from condo development, create a public nature park
January 27, 2022 As Texas’s population soars, many communities are feeling the growing pains of rapid development. Here in booming Austin that manifests as condos, condos, condos and traffic, traffic, traffic. But smaller towns also feel the pinch, not least in terms of lost green space. In Horseshoe Bay, a ...
