Tag: ATX

Cleaning up After the Ice Storm

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO250
 “Broken Tree” Cedar Park, 2021

The ice storm in Texas is over, and fortunately the only damage we sustained was to one of the trees in our backyard. Two of it’s large branches broke under the weight of the ice so today I cleaned up the debris.

It took a few hours to cut the branches into small pieces using the hand saw and small pruners, then tie them into bundles and the work went smoothly. I ended up with 14 bundles, and now they are by the curb ready to be picked up with the trash. We’re allowed to normally put 7 pieces of trash out in addition to our large bin, but I am curious to see if they will take everything.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/100 sec, ISO1600
 “Big Logs” Cedar Park, 2021

I saved the larger branches and logs to use as firewood when we go camping. The firewood for sale at the park or even the supermarket can be expensive!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO320
 “Firewood for Camping” Cedar Park, 2021

The damaged tree will probably have to be removed because the limbs that came down make the tree unbalanced, and I am worried that it will fall into the deck. So, when we get our trees trimmed in a couple of months, I’ll have them take that tree away.

The last picture in today’s post is of one of the last pieces of ice I found today. It’s shaped like the United States, don’t you think?

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2000
 “America-Shaped Ice” Cedar Park, 2021

I hope you had a nice Sunday! またね～

Thursday Snapshot

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/1100 sec, ISO200
 “Chilly Sunset” Cedar Park, 2021

It appears that the terrible mess we have in Texas has an ending in sight, but many people still do not have electricity to keep warm, nor clean water to drink. I’m hoping tomorrow brings good news, but this evening, I will just take a photo of the hazy sunset to remember the day.

The Great Outdoors Garden Center

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/160 sec, ISO200
 “Sunny Flower” Austin, 2020

Mariko and I made a trip down to South Austin to visit The Great Outdoors Garden Center. It is an excellent nursery! First, their COVID-19 precautions are good, all the employees are masked up, there’s sanitizer available, and they limit the number of people on-site at one time. That being said, the selection of plants is wonderful, with plenty of native species, and they even have a greenhouse full of houseplants. It’s probably the best selection of houseplants I’ve ever seen, although I admit to not going to many nurseries. They also have a large selection of wind chimes, which sounded so soothing and beautiful that we ended up buying a small one.

We don’t get out much because of the pandemic, but The Great Outdoors Garden Center was a relatively safe place to visit and shop. Besides the wind chime, we bought several small plants and succulents. Exciting!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/160 sec, ISO200
 “Nursery Cat” Austin, 2020

Hiking Indiangrass Trail at Doeskin Ranch

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, ISO200
 “Indiangrass Trail” Marble Falls, 2020

Today I loaded up my backpack with 30 pounds (14 KG) of gear and went for another hike at Doeskin Ranch. This time, I added the one section of trail that I missed last time: Indiangrass Trail.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO200
 “Cairn” Marble Falls, 2020

The 1.5-mile trail splits off from the Shinoak section and heads down into a nice little valley and even through a little forest tunnel. It was really cool! In fact, I’d say that Indiangrass trail is my favorite section of the Doeskin Ranch trails.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO200
 “Cactus” Marble Falls, 2020

I mentioned that I had a heavily-loaded pack, and that is I will be carrying this amount of weight on our Big Bend trip. The only things I didn’t put in the pack were my external battery and cables, and extra underwear/socks/base layers.

When I first got on the trail, my hip started hurting a bit and I was thinking that maybe I should turn around and not stress it. After all, I did run 4 miles the day before. But I continued on a bit, and adjusted my shoulder straps to take more of the weight off of my hips. This was the trick, and my hip pain went away and I would go on to complete the hike without any discomfort. I felt great!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO250
 “Trail Light” Marble Falls, 2020

So now I know that 30+ pounds of gear on my back is do-able, and so my confidence is high. Knowing that we won’t be rushed during our Big Bend hike is good too – we can take plenty of rest breaks. As long as the weather is nice, we should have an excellent trip!