of birds and butteflies

 Little welcome frisbe.

Had to go check out a bit of the hiking in the green belt behind the apartments.

Really need to try to record all the sounds of nature--crickets and birds and a sprinkling of cicadas.   Also wish I could capture the wildlife on camera; my walks are so colorful!  From the shimmering blue of the dragonflies, the b/w variegated ones~the bright red birds (hidden in the foliage above), the neon yellow birds, the blue and yellow butterflies~so lovely.

 That certain slant of light...

What I've dubbed the Butterfly Bush in the twilight.

And Bogart, standing watch over those pesky dogs roaming about.

mov-ed

If you don't hear from me, it is because I've succumbed to the cardboard chaos that is currently my life.  That, or the first performance of our summer stock theatre program!  Picking up the keys in a few moments and trying to move one car load prior to the show and another this afternoon.

And here's one teensy shot of the model kitchen to tide you over until I take my own photos and get wi-fi set up in the new place.

Happiest of Fridays!

you say tomahto, I say delicious

My brother jokes about the $89 tomatoes grown on balconies; this one is nowhere that price and there are more ripening.

The thrill of picking one's own dinner is priceless.  My new balcony has western exposure, I think.  Will be interesting to see how it affects my eastern situated plants.

growth

happy blossoms along the Town Lake trail

 The Lemon Boys are ripening; hope to harvest this one prior to the move.

And the first pepper is forming.  Can't wait to make fresh salsa from my garden!

what you want

Not sure if this is comforting or a kick in the teeth~thought I'd be more confident as I aged.  In some ways, I am, but in other ways~knowing long-term consequences to choices makes me hesitate when staring at a decision.  But it's summertime and the temps are rising~a good time to simply be.

& all that jazz

After a long and warm morning of traipsing around apartment properties (trust me Texan property managers, a fireplace is NOT a selling point in this region), finally arrived at the Zach Scott Theatre~the place where I've been wanting to work/perform since I rolled into town.

Took a pause to breathe in the moment and snap a photo!!  Such a fun group of students to work with this week~we'll be doing showcases from Chicago on Friday (and no, I had nothing to do with choosing the repertoire.  In two weeks, I'll be doing Mulan, which I think is far more age appropriate.)

lavender's blue

After a dramatic morning thunderstorm, was happy to see the skies clearing as I wanted to explore the hill country and attend Blanco's Lavender Festival.

The drive was gorgeous~huge puffed clouds and rolling hills and gigantic oak trees~there are so many times when I feel as though I'm in the Willamette Valley.

 Although, blooming cacti are not a frequent sight around Portland!

Amusing sign at the lavender farm asking people to NOT complain about the bees; they suggested that if you're highly allergic to bee stings, perhaps you ought to stay in your car.

The air was perfect for this visit--damp from the storm and warm.  SUCH an amazing fragrance; now I really want to head to Provence. 

Stopped on the way home to get some sun-warm peaches.

Trying to encourage my drooping lavender to bloom so that I may dry it to hang in my new closet.  Meeting with a realtor tomorrow morning; finger's crossed.

all you need is love

Or, failing that, the summer flavor of 'John Lemon' at Hey Cupcake will do nicely!

summmmmmmmmerrtimmmmmmmmmME

And in the final gasp of idiotic happenings at work (we are all moving classrooms due to a new building and in addition to all the usual end-of-year nonsense, we also had to pack our entire room), they FORGOT to schedule my room to be moved.  

What.  Ever.  I packed.  I labelled all shelves, pianos, cabinets and filing drawers and they are on their own.  My keys were turned in and I am d.o.n.e.  

Did an entire loop around Zilker Park/Town Lake to celebrate.  Love how serene this trail can be; hard to believe that I'm just a couple blocks away from downtown.   Had just put my phone away when a huge heron went flapping past me. 

Saw one of these gorgeous butterflies, but it wouldn't hold still enough for me to snap it's portrait, so had to look it up when I got home.  Love Google Images!

Happy flowers in the warmth of the day.

And while it's true that I am working much of the summer--none of those days will require an alarm clock and that makes my heart very happy.

 After that long walk, treated myself to an unusual soda flavor to use up my ice cream.

Here's to a lovely summer with lazy afternoons, outdoors adventures of music and dining and hiking and swimming.  Ahhhhh,  the hideous florescent pallor is already beginning to fade.

lemons handed

As I dashed from the ending of the school year to the beginning of summer stock, I grabbed food along the way and was handed a free (freshly squeezed) lemonade!  What a lovely gesture on a warm spring day and a good reminder to keep squeezing all the lemons that are being lobbed my direction at present.

Still no apartment found, but a couple of hopeful leads.  Should I ever win the lottery, I am buying a house and never moving again.  Ever.

all I want is a room somewhere

although, in this case, far away from the hot daytime air.  Think I finally found a new lily pad; unfortunately, it's not available for another six weeks.

Ah well, school is out and only one more work day on this particular campus!

And just for giggles; this would be a fabulous thing to add to the break room~

penultimate

 .5 of a day left.  And while, yes, I will be teaching all summer~there won't be any 5 a.m. alarm clock involved and it's going to be with children who are choosing to be in my presence.

thrill

I am not sure who generated the phrase 'thrill of the hunt', but there is ZERO thrill in apartment hunting.