Views of the Neighborhood – Potpourri

~ John W. Howell

Today we are going to see several things that are more or less random. We will need to get on the bus and make sure we have enough to eat and drink for this little excursion.

We will be having a choice of crispy chicken parm egg rolls or baked brie and sourdough crostini for the appetizer course. The main course today is either Rosemary Braised Lamb Shanks or Coquilles Saint-Jacques. The lamb is served on a bed of garlic mashed Yukon gold potatoes and the Coquilles Saint-Jacques with jasmine rice. Both have a side of fresh steamed asparagus. There is brown betty with freshly churned ice cream or New York Style cheesecake drizzled with homemade dark chocolate sauce for dessert. In addition to top-shelf drinks, we have a 1981 Reata Chardonnay Sonoma Coast for the white wine and for red a 2017 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.

Today’s entertainment is The Eagles.

Jump on the bus.

Our first stop in the park, and we have a shot of the shuffleboard. I know, I know pretty tame stuff.

Next is a view of a wren house ready for the next lodgers.

Check this out. A birdhouse that looks like a bunch of lights at the football stadium.

Another group of birdhouses imitating light fixtures.

I couldn’t help putting this one on the route. I hope he is happy to have that in his front yard for the weekend.

Another park and a giant chessboard. Anyone want to play?

Here is an outside photo of a bird blind.

An interior photo of the blind

This is the view from the blind.  Notice all the feeders around. I’ll bet there are some good pictures taken from here.

Another birdhouse on a pole with Lake Travis as a backdrop.

A rough birdhouse in the woods.

Well, that’s it for this tour. I hope you have a great week and will stay and have some more food and listen to the Eagles.

88 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Potpourri”

  2. What a lovely walk. I loved all the birdhouses, they brought back memories of my dad’s creations. Then to end with the Eagles — Perfect! Enjoy the day, John. In our area, we just might have sunshine! 😊

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  3. How great to see people feeding the birds. If I were a bird, I’d head your way, John. Those are some massive houses on the hill behind the stadium birdhouse. As for today’s cuisine, can I skip the main course and have both desserts instead? 🙂 I was always a big Eagles fan, but I don’t remember this some. I like it! Wishing you a peaceful Sunday.

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  5. Some cool birdhouses and ending with the best birds of all, The Eagles. Love love those guys. We saw them perform a few years ago in Vancouver. I believe they started with this tune. They were awesome and seem to improve with age. This was before we sadly lost Glenn Frey. I believe his son tours with them now. Thanks. Hubby and I will be right over to board the bus.

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  6. Great tour as always, John. My imagination took flight with that avian adventure! 😉 And If you get tired of writing, I am quite certain you could open a restaurant…you set an enticing table!

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  7. First – I’ll put in my order: baked brie and sourdough crostini
    Lamb Shanks, potatoes and asparagus, hold the rice
    cheesecake
    vodka, splash of water and slice of lime

    A very pleasant tour – boy it’s been a lot of years since I played shuffleboard!!

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  9. I’m sure the birds appreciate the housing stock. I like that there’s a good place to watch from.

    I’ll have a few of those crispy chicken parm egg rolls, if you don’t mind.

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  12. Sorry I missed the bus. After the rice krispy alamode with sprinkles of course I sat down to enjoy the last of the raspberries from the raspberry bounce. What a delightful way to preserve raspberries. I hear if one enjoys enough of them the bird blind becomes totally irrelevant. It sets the stage for arrival at the zen Godzilla un-blind observing station.

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  13. Thank you for the wonderful eats, drink and tour, John. Those are some interesting bird feeders! And that blind. I love the chalk board… wonder if it pulls double duty as a teaching shed 😉

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  14. Compliments to the chef, John. I especially loved the appetizer course. This time–for the tour–I even brought a tablet to take notes. Now I plan to go home and construct a bird blind 🙂

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  15. I suppose the Birthday Boy’s friends know he’s 50, but I think if it were me, I’d have taken down that announcement and pretended I was 30!! Thanks for another fine tour, John.

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  16. I dig the menu . . those egg rolls, please hook me up.

    As for the bird blind, I love it. And the birdhouses remind me of when I used to sell all manner of funky birdhouse design merchandise- from mailboxes to lamps.

    Cool tour, as per.

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  17. I’ve been following you for such a short time that I didn’t realize you have a love for birds, or possibly you’re just interested in bird feeders. My dad worked for the federal government (Fish and Wildlife Service). We moved to California from the Dakotas as he was on the recovery team for the Aleutian Canada Goose, a subspecies of the Canada Goose. They were threatened at one time, but they have made a comeback. They migrate from the Aleutian Islands, stopping off in our area (northern California) for part of the year before continuing south to the Central Valley and Mexico.

    I’d put The Eagles into the top three of my all-time favorite bands. Thanks for the tour and the music, John.

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  21. I like the birdhouses in your neighbourhood, John. We had more birdhouses in Karnes City than we have here now, but here we have more bird feeders than in Karnes City. The birds are enjoying those – as are the squirrels and the deer! 😀
    Take care, and have a ood Sunday afternoon,
    Pit

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  30. Thanks for the wonderful tour, John. That birdhouse at the football stadium is unique, and oh, to be fifty again! 🙂 I enjoyed the delicious sustenance and what a perfect musical ending with The Eagles!

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  34. I love all these bird houses. I had to laugh at the 50-year-old’s birthday sign. That used to be a thing in our neighborhood – people would rent 50 pig cut-outs or 50 cow cut-outs (holy cow, you’re 50!). I warned my family to never do that to me and and they listened! 😉

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