Views of the Neighborhood – Limestone

~ John W. Howell

You know how hard it is to find neighborhood subjects during a pandemic? Well, real hard. It is a good thing we have our party bus and plenty of bloody mary’s today, cause today we are going to go look at limestone. I know, I know. Not the most exciting thing for sure, but we all like each other, and I have booked Big and Rich to play for us.

Lakeway has an abundance of Gen Rose limestone, and some of it carries traces of fossilized plants and animals. Unfortunately, The Producer and I could not find any fossils. It is believed the limestone was formed in the Mesozoic Era. For those without a calendar, that was about 108 million years ago.

So hop on the bus, help yourself to a bloody mary, grab a breakfast sandwich, and let’s go.

Our first stop is to look at a house that has been finished in Cordoba Cream limestone.

Views of the Neighborhood

Here is the side of a Target store with two kinds of limestone. Cordoba Cream on the top and Walnut on the bottom

A closer look at the Target store.

A couple of big chunks of limestone.

Here is a small stratum of limestone.

Some bricks made of Cordoba Cream limestone.

 

 

Views of the Neighborhood

Here is a hillside of undisturbed limestone under the turf retained by limestone blocks

Another hill of limestone. You can see the stratum lines even though they are covered in dirt and vegetation.

A fence made of limestone blocks.

Another block of limestone.

A wall made of smaller bricks of limestone

An exposed stratum of limestone.

A huge stratum of exposed limestone.

Milled blocks of Limestone as a landscape feature.

Another feature.

A fountain made of limestone.

Finally, our tour ends with another home finished with Cordoba Cream limestone

79 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Limestone”

  1. Personally, I’m a fan of our limestone. The area of the hill country where I do my roaming is rich in fossils, too. In fact, I have a few in my living room: heart-shaped clams, snails, and such. There’s a little stream running through the property, and after every heavy rain there arrowheads, scrapers, and fossils are washed clean. I leave human artifacts undisturbed, and never dig out any fossils, but who could resist having a few as mementos?

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I totally lied. I decided to look up limestone in Quebec. We have brown or grey limestone that is extracted and used all over the place. And upon looking realised my grandmother’s original house was built with the stuff. You’ve taught me something new!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. It’s beautiful stone. Interesting to see the Target store done that way. Is that the result of a zoning requirement? Where I used to work, a nearby Home Depot was over-the-top with brick but that was required by the town.

    Thanks, too, for my word of the day – stratum.

    I hope you’re having a good weekend, John.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Thanks for letting me ride along, John — I loved it! (And personally, I think you’re doing a great job finding things to feature during this pandemic!). I’ve always liked limestone; in fact, the fireplace in our house is made from limestone, and it provides a beautiful focal point for the room. Several homes in my neighborhood are built from limestone, too.

    Liked by 2 people

  16. Lakeway seems to have made good use of its limestone, John. I learned a lot more about limestone today. Congratulations on finding so many things to write about. Maybe I need some Bloody Mary’s. I’ve always been afraid of drinking too much because of alcoholism in the family but I’m tempted to hoist a few during this pandemic. Just kidding. Take care, John. 😀 — Suzanne

    Liked by 2 people

  21. Actually, boring old me loved the limestone tour. Hubby is from Pennsylvania, and he has driven me to many a limestone site. Who knew Texas had limestone, too? Well, probably everyone but me. The hill where you can make out the limestone lines was especially interesting and new to me. Thanks for the Bloody Mary’s. They made the trip even more fun.

    Liked by 2 people

  25. Interesting tour! I love how so much limestone is used in the Hill Country in building new and old and seem to go with the natural landscape. Austin stone was a term I remember from way back to describe stone for a home. I think the name came from limestone quarried around Austin. Thanks for getting us out! Virtual tip for the tour guide!

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.