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Austin Texas Fall Color 2022

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It has become something of a tradition of mine to capture and post some examples of fall color here in the Austin area – that is, when we get some.

The last time I posted was back in 2020 and having gone back to look, we had some darn good color that year! (One of the few good things in 2020.)

This year we have had a far cooler and wetter November than I recall in past years. I can only guess that plus a few days of sun and warmth as we end the month has conspired to produce just the right combination of conditions for the leaves to put on a show.

The oaks are definitely putting on a show, and what I think are Bradford Pears are as well. The shot on the far left in the gallery below is what I consider Bradford Pears. Feel free to tell me otherwise in a comment.

Even the Cedar Elms (2nd photo from the left below) are showing some nice yellow colors this year.

All of these were shot with an iPhone or a simple point-n-shoot as I was out for a nearby walk in far northwest Austin.

I hope the colors last for the next week or so but with Texas weather what it tends to be, I won’t be surprised if the show is gone sooner.

Austin Texas Fall Color 2020

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There’s something about autumn in central Texas that has me make a point of capturing photos of the fall color. Finding fall color here can sometimes be elusive. But I have great memories of fall color when I lived in the northern midwest and it’s a favorite season so I do take notice when I see any great displays of fall color around here.

The last time I posted about our Austin fall color was in 2018. I don’t remember if last year was just really busy or there just wasn’t much to take notice of. But this year, despite how much of a dumpster fire that 2020 has been, we’ve seen some really nice displays of color since early November.

Right now, the oaks are putting on an excellent display of color and I’ve made a point while out on my bike or while out walking to snag some photos. All of these photos were taken within biking distance of my front door.

And more:

  • Austin Fall Color 2020
  • Austin Fall Color 2020
  • Austin Fall Color 2020
  • Austin Fall Color 2020
  • Austin Fall Color 2020

Texas Fall Color 2018

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Fall Color

Since I have posted in past years about our Austin fall color I would be remiss if I didn’t jot some notes on this year’s display.

I’m actually writing this on New Year’s Day of 2019 and back dating this post but I’m trying to catch up on my notes here. Call it a new year’s resolution.

2018 fall colors came earlier than I remember in past years. In fact, if you click thru the link above I had noted last year that we usually see our best color around the solstice in late December. That was not the case in 2018. In fact, both the photos here were taken the weekend of Thanksgiving.

The red Oak leaves were shot in Hunt, Texas. And the shot below was just in my neighborhood here in Austin.

I wasn’t the only one that noticed the display of color this year. Here’s just one reference I recall running across late in the year.

Fall generally seemed to be wetter and cooler than I remember in past years and I gotta figure that was a factor. And maybe some perfectly timed sunny days.

Easy Like Sunday Afternoon – In a Hammock

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Sunday afternoon in the hammock

So you might think that in Texas, lots of days would be ideal for just hanging around in a hammock. I mean, we get some pretty good weather year round and plenty of sun, but the reality is that there’s really only a few times a year that I think, wow, I have to take time out and get out there and just kick back in the hammock. The temp, the breeze, the humidity … it has to be right for me to want to [ideally] snooze in the hammock.

Today was one of those days.

At mid afternoon we had temps in the low to mid 80s and a light and occasional breeze that was just about perfect.

As I lay there gazing up into the Live Oak above me I was treated to some visitors. First came the woodpecker. Hard for me to tell what kind. It was very animated and jumping from branch to branch and pecking away. It appeared to have plenty to feast upon.

Then came the hummingbird that swooped in out of nowhere. Without the motion of its arrival I would never even have noticed it. At best, it was only 2 to 3 inches tall and once it lighted, it hung out on a branch for quite some time. It was practically invisible without the movement of flight.

The other visitor I noticed was a lizard shooting up the same tree. Again, hard to tell exactly what kind but there are so many Texas Spiny Lizards around here that’s likely to be the case in this instance too.

This warm and restful moment was accompanied by the scent of Star Jasmine. (see pic) My neighbor has some planted and over the years this vining plant has taken over a rock wall nearby. There’s nothing more evocative of late April and early May for me than this scent. It blooms in places around the city and central Texas and when I catch a whiff I just have to stop for a moment. It’s imprinted on me and as memorable as Lilacs, Bluebonnets and Easter Lilies.

Texas: Time for Some Yellow Flowers

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yellow flower
Cactus

It’s that time of year in central Texas when things bloom and as it warms up in the spring in late April and into May, the yellows and reds seem to be more prevalent.

We’ve had a pretty good display of wildflowers this year. My last post here showed the bumper crop of Bluebonnets. Since then I’ve snagged a few shots of yellow flowers. My Instagram feed has, in fact, become a bit repetitious. Lots of flowers.

The two photos posted here though were a couple I didn’t post to Instagram. Both of these were taken on walks in my neighborhood.

I have no idea what the daisy-like flower is but we had a ton of them around here for a while.

As it’s warmed some more, the Prickly Pear cacti have really started to open up. This one here I caught shortly after a recent rain.

Click the photos for larger images.

It won’t be long now and it’ll start to feel a lot more like summer and only the hardiest plants will bloom around here. Even the birds seem to go somewhere else in the summer. But the cicadas … they always return. I have yet to hear them but they’ll begin to screech soon and that’ll be a sure sign that summer is upon us.

At the End of the Day – Bluebonnets – 2018

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I mentioned the Bluebonnets in the last post so I’d be remiss if I didn’t post an obligatory shot of the Bluebonnets this year. We’ve gotten rain at the right times throughout the fall and through the winter and early spring and this year we’re seeing a bumper crop of Bluebonnets and other wildflowers.

I took this one just in the last hour or so on a walk at the end of the day. As you can see by the bit of light hitting the trees in the background it was before sunset but not by much.

I liked how this shot turned out. I captured one main Bluebonnet up front and in focus while you still get some perspective of how prolific the flowers have been this spring. There wasn’t much light left but – enough.

A Little Bit More Spring

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Spring arrived here in Austin weeks ago. The Bluebonnets and enumerable other wildflowers are and have been in bloom for weeks. The Live Oak leaves are fresh and bright green again and their old leaves are being blown or have been raked into piles and carted off.

That means that hot weather will be upon us in short order. You can sense it like a freight train coming around the bend. It may not be “Summer” here yet but hot weather is just around the next corner.

It has been sultry through the weekend and into the early part of this week. The breeze has been from southeast and temps have been near 80 and while not ‘hot’, it’s just warm enough and different enough to feel uncomfortable at times – particularly when at this time of year we tend to shut off both heat and AC and just open the window(s).

So it was very pleasant today to have a front blow through with a little rain late in the afternoon. I got home in time to throw open windows and door and let the low 60s temps flow in. Wonderful!

I snapped the photo included here out the back soon after getting home. We may get some more rain overnight. The skies sure looked like it. In the mean time, you can’t beat the cool breeze coming out of the North right now. A breath of fresh air.

A Visit to Lucern | Lucerne | Luzern Switzerland

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After my recent bike tour I spent a few days in Lucern, Switzerland. Or, as my title would suggest: Lucerne or Luzern. The city names all seem to be interchangeable and it all depends on what you’re reading. The train station is ‘Luzern’ and that’s pretty official! Google maps will find them all.

The photo I put at the top is one among my favs of my short visit but I must have taken hundreds between the lake view and the mountain hikes and in between. This shot was taken from the back of one of the many tour boats that ply the lake all day long. The gulls like to follow them as the boats take off and churn up the water.

I have made a short visit to Lucern in the past but it was long ago. Almost 20 years ago. What I remembered was that it was a very beautiful spot and so I wanted to return for a short stay before heading home via Zurich, an hour away.

My hotel stay for the duration turned out to be just right for me. I snagged the photo of the hotel along the way. When I say ‘just right’ it turned out to have some things that I really liked: first among them was that I could drive up and park right next to it since I had a car, and they had parking. Then (as planned) I had booked a lake side room and even though the [single] room was ridiculously small it had all I needed AND the little balcony. I could sit for hours just having the door open to that balcony and watch the world below go by. The weather changed by the minute. The boats came and went. So despite the crackerbox room, the ability to enjoy the view from that perch was worth the 4-star price of admission.

On my first full day in Lucern I was up early and arranged to make my way to nearby Mt Rigi. The plan was to get to the top while the morning sun was still allowing great views and then hike.

I chose to take advantage of the well established tourist route to the top of Rigi: I booked a round trip via the Vierwaldstättersee to the top of Rigi. What that implied was the following itinerary: 1st, that you take a lovely boat ride down the lake to Vitznau and from there, a cogwheel train up to the very top of Mt Rigi at around 5900 ft above sea level.

One of the photos I have here is of the gondola ride back down later. It’s stunning to me the height at which you descend. I have no idea how high up it is but let’s just say I’m thrilled that it was in a glassed in gondola and not just open to the air. It’s frighteningly high.

Once at the top I chose to hike for a good chunk of the way back down. It’s not surprisingly very pretty. And based on the rains that seem to come a bit every day, very verdant. There were also lovely flowers clinging to the rocky mountain trail. I don’t know the names of these but I loved the blue ones I have posted here.

There were many flowers along the way. The ones above and the one I have below were just a couple of the many along the trail back down. These are just a couple of my favs.

Choosing to take the cogwheel trail all the way to the top and then hike down is, trust me, a winning strategy. It’s a long way up! (i.e. aroudn 5900 feet) and to walk up would be interesting for sure but also a big undertaking. Keep in mind I’d just finished a bike tour. The hiking I factored in could be classified as ‘easy’ hiking.

Toward the very top of Rigi I encountered these cows just off the trail. Most of the cows you saw along the trail were in distance so these so close were pretty cool.

Many of the cows wear a big bell around their neck. I’m not sure why it’s not all of the cows but it definitely seems to be only some of the cows. Anyway, it makes a lotta noise! For people like me that don’t hear this often it’s kinda charming. But between the cow bells and the church bells ringing through the day in this neck of the woods you’d hard pressed not to have bells ringing in your head day and night. As enjoyable as it is as a tourist I gotta figure the locals just tune it out – but I’m sure it does serve a purpose for finding these critters up in the mountains.

I took a similar day hike up a different mountain on another day after this one and may post some of those photos and notes too but the full day on Rigi is one not to be missed if the weather allows it!

Austin, Texas – Fall Color 2015 – part 3 – stalking color

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With temps hovering in the low 40’s and everything looking wet and gray it wasn’t exactly an inviting day for my usual weekend pursuit of cycling so it was time to hit the trail. And since I’m routinely in search of fall color around here at this time of year it was a good opportunity to look for some colorful foliage.

Rusty Yellow

Many of the leaves this year have a kind of rusty appearance. Like the color just couldn’t quite take hold. I wonder if it’s because it’s been very wet – for Austin – this fall?

We don’t seem to get those big hillsides full of colorful trees around here so you have to get close to take in the color. Real close!

I spotted this little group of leaves shortly after getting on the trail. When I see three leaves together like this my first thought is always poison ivy but I don’t think that’s what this is. But who knows?

Wet Leaves

A bit further down the trail, I happened upon a section that was mostly leaves underfoot. The tree above was practically bare already. I really liked the colors though. This spot just off the trail hadn’t been trampled.

Red Leaves

This pretty tree was next to where the trail was covered by leaves. Loved the color. Here again though some of that rusty kind of color.

Can’t Quite Decide

The reds and greens together on these oak leaves were beautiful. But it’s like the tree couldn’t quite decide it was time to get colorful or not. Both brilliant green and brilliant red at the same time.

I think I have gotten my fall color fix in at this point but I may yet spot some more this year.

Austin, Texas – Fall Color 2015 – part 2

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Just when I think our fall color for the year is gone I run across a bit more while out and about today. As my earlier note suggested, we can see spurts of color emerge from Oct to Christmas around here. It’s just rarely a whole lot at once. When I spot it, I admire it and if I’m lucky enough to have a camera handy I’ll snag a shot. Today was one of those days. I noticed this at the intersection of Hwy 2222 and Hwy 360 earlier this afternoon. I don’t know what kind of tree it is, but it’s one of the few species this year with brightly colored leaves. Can anyone tell me?