Beginning of winter in Austin

Thanks to two bridges, on the first official day of winter (December 21) we walked a two-mile circuit around a portion of downtown Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. At Vic Mathias Shores on the south side of the lake I pulled out my iPhone and recorded this view of bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum, turning their end-of-year colors. The tall, bare plants in the foreground are giant ragweed, Ambrosia trifida. How could I pass up a sky like this as a contrasting background?

Written by Steve Schwartzman

January 16, 2017 at 5:02 AM

Posted in nature photography

Tagged with Austin, brown, landscape, nature, Texas, trees, winter

8 Responses

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what a beautiful shot, steve –

ksbeth

January 16, 2017 at 5:14 AM

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- I went walking for the sake of walking, so I didn’t have my camera gear with me. The phone did a commendable job of recording a scene that I would have regretted passing up.
  
  Steve Schwartzman
  
  January 16, 2017 at 6:35 AM
  
  Reply
I agree, that sky would be impossible to pass up. It sounds like a nice walk.

melissabluefineart

January 16, 2017 at 7:41 AM

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- From where we live it’s about 10 miles to Lady Bird Lake. Given the increasingly heavy traffic to get downtown, we don’t go there that often, and when we do it’s usually on a weekend. This time was a Wednesday, but well clear of morning or afternoon rush hour. The clouds and the bald cypress were the highlight of our walk.
  
  Steve Schwartzman
  
  January 16, 2017 at 8:31 AM
  
  Reply
nice sky! i don”t remember seeing clouds like that here in ecuador…

Playamart - Zeebra Designs

January 16, 2017 at 9:01 AM

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- You’ve got the ocean and the Andes, so you can afford to forgo the clouds. To tell the truth, clouds like these aren’t common here, either, and we don’t have the ocean and the Andes to console us.
  
  Steve Schwartzman
  
  January 16, 2017 at 9:08 AM
  
  Reply
Simply beautiful. Not only is the sky beautiful, I like the way the blue and the rust of the trees complement one another. The giant ragweeds seem to be pointing up, saying, “Look at that!”

shoreacres

January 17, 2017 at 1:58 PM

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- I know you’re fond of the rusty colors of bald cypresses, so you understand why I was compelled to stop and take pictures of this. The sky was so good I was eager to find something native to play off against it, and the cypresses and ragweeds did the trick.
  
  Steve Schwartzman
  
  January 17, 2017 at 3:32 PM
  
  Reply