Flurries Over Sandy Creek

Cold Mornings Over Sandy Creek

The mornings are getting cold cause the lake to fog up at first light. Very pretty but signalling the end of the growing season.

Found this old picture of the Mexican Plum in bloom. Hoping for a good showing this spring. The rains have come and should aid the spring flowers. Keeping my fingers crossed that we will have a good wild flower season. The forecast is for the rain keep up through winter, if it does then we will see a good show.

Final Collection of the Pictures from Australia

Last Day in Sydney

Pictures from Sydney and Brisbane

Here are some pictures from Sydney, Brisbane and the meet. Today is our last day in Sydney. We are off to Darling Harbour for more sightseeing. We've had a great time but are ready too come home. Our flight is 9pm tonight. I'm looking forward to a good sleep.

We Made it to Sydney

Collection of Pictures from the Whitsundays

Pics from the Great Barrier Reef

Here are a few pictures we took while diving the GBR. A truly amazing place!!!

G'Day from the Whitsundays

We've returned from the boat. We had a great time.

I don't have a way to hook my computer to the Internet just yet. Hoping to resolve my issues in Sydney. So here's a link to Kiana (the boat we were on) that has some pictures and outlines what we've been up to ...

Boat trip - http://www.mskiana.com/trip.php

Looking forward to getting on the boards ....

Mexican Sage in Bloom

New Lens to Play With

The Rains Arrive!

After a summer of record breaking temperatures, we've finally received some much needed rain. Since last Thursday we've received 6+ inches of rain here at North Lake Travis. This is great but the water rose fast and furious, closing area bridges and streets.

Near by Brushy Creek was a mere trickle on Thursday. By Saturday, it looked like a roaring rapids.

The deluge caused problems for motorists in the area, where a number of county roads were shut down. One driver was rescued after trying to drive through a low crossing area.
We are in the middle of what is known as “Flash Flood Alley.” Many roads have low-water crossings that regularly flood during storms. As little as six inches of moving water can be dangerous. We are urged to take extra caution when crossing over low lying, flood-prone areas and reminding them it’s never safe to go around a barricade. The local saying is "turn around don't drown".

I think we are finally seeing the impact of El Niño. Early July scientists announced the arrival of El Niño, a climate phenomenon with a significant influence on global weather, ocean conditions and marine fisheries. El Niño, the periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, occurs on average every two to five years and typically lasts about 12 months.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects this El Niño to continue developing during the next several months, with further strengthening possible. The event is expected to last through winter 2009-10.

El Niño's impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as intensity and extent of ocean warming, and the time of year. Contrary to popular belief, not all effects are negative. On the positive side, El Niño can help to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. In the United States, it typically brings beneficial winter precipitation to the arid Southwest, less wintry weather across the North, and a reduced risk of Florida wildfires.

El Niño includes weaker trade winds, increased rainfall over the central tropical Pacific, and decreased rainfall in Indonesia. These vast rainfall patterns in the tropics are responsible for many of El Niño’s global effects on weather patterns.

This all translates to more rain at the Big Build :)

Driveway Almost Done!

Finally Rain Over Lake Travis!

Long Hollow Cove Is Starting To Dry Up :(

The cove is starting to show the effects of the drought. We haven't had any significant rain in a couple of months. Per the drought classifications Central Texas is D4-Exceptional (the highest classification). Exceptional - Not exactly how I'd describe our current condition. It's more like unbelievably extreme, far from exceptional. Travis is down 31 feet. Apparently the far end of the cove's depth is less then 31 ft. It will take several more weeks of this brutal weather to dry up the entire cove. The lake is falling at a rate of about 1 ft per week. So that gives us about 25 more weeks before the cove is completely dry. They are forecasting an El Nino year so that means rain for central TX! Hopefully the rains arrive by October. Keeping our fingers crossed .....

750K - I Don't Think So?

The Carrots Are Still Coming In ......

Rain Clouds Over Austin!

Finally some rain clouds come our way. It hasn't rained in Jonestown just yet but we haven't given up hope. There is still a 40% chance through the night. Above is a thunderhead that looked like it was bringing rain to Round Rock/Austin and possibly points south. It did rain a bit south of Austin yesterday. But nothing in the Highlands. That's key to help fill Lake Travis.

Some Bloom Despite the Drought

The Bougainvillea and the Pride of Barbados are loving the heat. And their blooms show it! But today they did ask for a bit more water. The fern like leaves on the Pride of Barbados are yellowing. So I gave them a drink. Hope it helps. The Bougainvillea do need some water. I've been watering them twice a day for a couple of weeks and they've been starting to bloom again. Love the bright fuchsia!

The Front Progresses

The driveway apron went in this week :) Hope everyone is happy.

A couple more plants and the front is finis! Of course they will be Pride of Barbados. They are doing great in the 100+ degree weather.

The Shed is a Go!

We finally got the green light to proceed with the shed project from Mr. Bob :)

The is the state it's been in for several weeks following the Stop Work Order

The Cardinal Chronicles Continue

The babies are getting bigger......

They've been hanging out in the lime tree for the past couple of days.....

But just now one of them wandered from the protection of the lime tree into the pool area. Mom and dad are pissed!!!!