Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Just Beauty

  • “The Best Laid Schemes…” (What happened to Monday and Tuesday?)

    According to my calendar, I'm in Galveston right now, visiting my friend Ann, finally getting to see the cute little Victorian house she's fixing up and browsing through some wonderful eclectic shops. Things don't always go according to plan, though, do they? Instead of strolling the tourist-free beaches and staying up late talking and laughing…

  • Morning Gifts (and So-So Photography)

    Belle's silhouette, a blacker black than the pre-dawn darkness, drew me through the French doors and out onto the deck this morning, but the golden orb resting on a nest of treetops just over the deck railing is what sent me scrambling back inside for my camera. I snapped before making the right adjustments, just…

  • Dancing, friendship, butterflies and the Jake Carr Band…

    Tom and I ventured into enemy territory Friday night: we went dancing in College Station. Considering we have one University of Texas graduate and one still in attendance, that's tantamount to treason around here. (College Station is the home of Texas A&M… UT's arch-rival.) But we had a good reason to go there! We went…

  • And with just a few inches of rain…

    Last week, I took these photos of the pond in the hills… As you can see, I use the word "pond" lightly… Instead of a pond, I think it had become a nightclub for raccoons! Looks like they have some pretty good dance moves down!   But then, something magical happened… It rained! All it took…

  • A Top Notch Day

    It started like this… Belle's face peered in from the pre-dawn darkness, much earlier than usual. I had just stumbled from the bedroom, still groggy with sleep. She seemed nervous about something. Stepping outside, I knew right away what had her up so early, wanting our company… …The frogs had a croaking chorus coming from…

  • Retreat to the Sea

     For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),  It's always our self we find in the sea. ~e.e. cummings   For the past few weeks, I've felt like a jumping bean, hopping from one project to the next, never quite finishing one before moving on to another, mentally filling to overflowing a shelf…

  • Answered Prayers

    It's a toss-up which I love the best, autumn's electric blue sky stretching cloudless from horizon to horizon or summer's sky of robin blue, dotted with cloud-dogs and cloud-dragons and cloud-ships.  But even I, lover of blue skies and sunshine, can appreciate the beauty of a stormy sky, of the grays and pinks…   …of…

  • September, Oktober(fest) and my Friday Favorite Photo

    "By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And autumn’s best of cheer." -   Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885   Wednesday night, alone on the Bistro patio after a special banquet, I bent over to un-velcro a small cushion from one of the metal chairs. Triple digit heat had given…

  • Changing Seasons (and my Friday Favorite Photo)

    In the soft gloom of an autumnal day, When summer gathers up her robes of glory, And, like a dream of beauty, glides away. ~Sarah Helen WhitmanAmerican poet, 19th century    Summer has slipped quietly away, packing her triple digit robes of glory and heading south, I guess. Autumn now greets me these mornings, wrapping…

  • It’s HOT! (and Friday’s Favorite Photo)

    Have I mentioned it's hot? I don't even know how many triple digit days we've had now. Heck, I can't even remember when the high was less than 105! But then, heat makes your brain fuzzy. Even at dusk, when the puppies and I venture out for another walk, it feels like we're roasting in…