April 30, 2010 - Day 50

We call this "the hole at the end of the world." We think it feeds the creek, which ends just behind where I was standing and picks up again a bit further. We're not sure, though - it could actually open up on the other side of the earth. We've also wondered if a goose or duck ever miscaculates and falls in.

April 29, 2010 - Day 49

Jen and I went for dinner at Cosmic Cafe - a yummy vegetarian Indian restaurant and a chilled out funky atmosphere. The weather was really nice. The temperature was somewhere in the 60s - almost a non-temperature except it's been pretty windy the past few days. We'll sit on the porch any time it's nice out.

April 28, 2010 - Day 48

Beryl, doing something she's good at - being very cute!

April 27, 2010 - Day 47

Plants are tenacious! Whatever this is has come up repeatedly in the thin strip of dirt along edge of the patio. This one found a hole in the concrete about an inch across and rooted itself there - right in the middle of the patio.

April 26, 2010 - Day 46

This weekend's sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s gave us a preview of summer, but today the temperature dipped a little and the breeze has been cooler.

April 25, 2010 - Day 45

Michael and I both did a double-take on this sign before we realized that, yes, the letters are backwards! We figure this is to keep big trucks from plowing through the wires that stretch across the parking lot where this is posted. The detail I love (which I didn't notice until viewing this on the computer) is the small heart-shaped object above the letter "G."

April 24, 2010 - Day 44

What a perfectly ducky spring day. A Mallard in Turtle Creek, who swam quickly enough that we got a pretty good workout trying to keep up with him.

April 23, 2010 - Day 43

Our buddy Tom, who works for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, at Friday's watch party on the plaza outside the American Airlines Center. They show the game on big screens and you can pull up a seat wherever you can find one. A lot of fun. The San Antonio Spurs lead this first-round series 2 to 1 over the Mavs.

April 22, 1010 - Day 42

This is something I had hoped to be able to see today, but things were too crazy. There's an Earth Day celebration each year in downtown Dallas. When our office was there, a group of us from work would go and wander. We always enjoy this band, called Vocal Trash. They're very high energy and have a great sound, even though their instruments are empty water bottles and trash cans.

April 21, 2010 - Day 41

Intensely red flower bed.

April 20, 2010 - Day 40

We got together with Jen and Tom for some coffee and recharging at one of our favorite restaurants. I really love the effect of this lighting on the walls, which we noticed are not actually bricks, but some rather good faux finishing made to look like a cinder block wall.

April 19, 2010 - Day 39

Silly me - I thought things were green before it rained most of the weekend! This tunnel of trees encloses our street a couple blocks down from us.

April 18, 2010 - Day 38

Attended Game 1 of tonight's game between the Mavs and the Spurs. I have to say I'm always very conflicted when watching these teams play each other - I'm never quite sure who I'm supposed to be cheering for!

April 17, 2010 - Day 37

Burned-out letters on retail signage can be amusing.

April 16, 2010 - Day 36

Lee Park - just a few minutes from where we live (I pass on my way to work) - is so pretty this time of year.

April 15, 2010 - Day 35

Bummer. From far away this door looked gift-wrapped. Had to check.

April 14, 2010 - Day 34

So I guess I was just really happy when I woke up this morning, because when I saw these parts of Michael's sleep mask that he'd washed and laid out to dry what I saw was a smiley face. Cracks me up!

April 13, 2010 - Day 33

What a difference a few minutes makes! I was on my way to meet with some other people who are buying shares of a local farmer's harvest when I saw the last rays of sunlight through these tree leaves. By the time I took a couple of shots the light was no longer at the right angle. Buying shares of a farmer's harvest is called a CSA, or community supported agriculture. Farmer Jerry is about 30-40 minutes from Dallas, so we're organizing a group and a distribution place in town so we don't all have to drive out there every weekend.

April 12, 2010 - Day 32

No, I didn't take this photo. It's one of our favorite pictures of our wedding party - 13 years ago. Time really flies when you're having fun!

April 11, 2010 - Day 31

Several of these rose bushes grow next to our driveway. In the four years we've lived here no one paid much attention to them, so I trimmed them down in the fall. I'm glad to see them blooming again. They were beautiful before when they were tall and leggy, so should look even better now. So far, so good.

April 10, 2010 - Day 30

One of the more attractive methods of connecting a residence to the Katy Trail (which is to the right of this shot). Many entrances to the trail are wooden planks or a few stairs made of stone, and some are merely paths worn down by frequent traffic. 

April 9, 2010 - Day 29

The Magnolia, a small neighborhood theater that's frequently the site of film festivals, like this weekend's AFI Dallas international film festival, which makes for entertaining people watching as we wait for a table for dinner across the street. Tom pointed out that the light was at the perfect level to capture this shot.

April 8, 2010 - Day 28

When I got home this afternoon there was a lot of activity in the elm tree. I knew these birds weren't finches or sparrows because I could see their bellies, which are a pretty yellow. They're cedar waxwings and are likely flitting around, hanging upside down, nearly falling off branches because they're eating bugs. There were dozens of them. I saw this once in San Antonio and there were hundreds.

April 7, 2010 - Day 27

Variable skies today: cloudy, clear, cloudy, clear. A cold front began to come through during lunch. We had a couple of short spells of rain and small hail. By late afternoon this is what the sky looked like.

April 6, 2010 - Day 26

Run for your lives - the elm tree is throwing seeds! It's only a matter of time before there are seedlings everywhere.

April 5, 2010 - Day 25

Attended the Chant Super-Tour with Krishna Das and Deva Premal & Miten. I'm all chanted out. Om.

April 4, 2010 - Day 24

Jen and Tom invited us for a dinner of pizza margherita - an invitation I don't think we've ever turned down. Tonight's featured heirloom tomatoes in beautiful shades of red, green and yellow, and a salad with strawberries and goat cheese rolled in black pepper. Good food and conversation with friends is a great way to wrap up the weekend.

April 3, 2010 - Day 23

Pet crossing at the vet's place. Tread carefully.

April 2, 2010 - Day 22

It's really amazing how quickly trees go from bare branches to bright green!

April 1, 2010 - Day 21

Jen and I had dinner at a wine bar called Dali. We were joined by Salvador himself. We asked the staff to bring him out of his corner. Two of them told us (in different conversations) that they get asked all the time why there's a vampire doll behind the bar.