I am new to Traditional Peking Opera, but I think I am hooked. I really liked Yu Ji’s sword dance from “Farewell My Concubine”. My favorite was the back and forth conversation between Yang Yanhui and Princess Iron Mirror as she tried to guess what was troubling him so much in “Mother-Son Renuion”. A super fun day!
Why should I visit the Asian American Resource Center, you might ask. Well, they have many cool events like the Peking Opera performance this afternoon. And if you get there before July 31st, you can see the photo exhibition by Ali Khataw called “Faces of Humanity”. These are some powerful portraits from around the world. If you are not near Austin, then at least check out his website to view his amazing photography.
The Mayfield Nature Preserve is home to the Mayfield-Gutsch Estate, and they take pride in their gardens. In 1971, Mary Mayfield-Gutsch left the Estate to the City of Austin for use as a park. There are several volunteer gardens to see, along with a few lily pad ponds and an old dinner bell that hangs from an archway in the stone wall.
This place is known for its peacocks. They can be found roaming the grounds, wandering out into the street, up in the trees, or on top of the house. They are not very shy and don’t mind posing for a photo or two.
This hike was much more beautiful than I had expected. Mayfield Nature Preserve had a lot to offer in a relatively small place. I found mushrooms, wildflowers, the lake, a creek, a cave, small waterfalls, and plenty of mud to hike around in due to all the recent rains. Too much fun! 🙂
The Mayfield Nature Preserve is a great spot for some short trail hiking. It had been raining most of the day, but let up after work so I could take a quick hike.
The highlight of my day so far was installing Meerkat on my phone. It is the App that gathered a ton of publicity at SXSW this year. It is similar to the App I am most addicted to (Periscope), but Meerkat is now available on Android platforms, whereas Periscope is still limited to iOS platforms. So now that the video sharing App is on my phone, I can share some of my adventures (like yesterday’s most awesome sunset) with anyone in real time as long as I have a phone connection. The App is free, so give it a try if you are interested.
Oh my!
My favorite part of this movie was learning about the natural phenomena of “Das Wolkenphänomen von Maloja” or the “Maloja Snake”. This is a cloud bank that moves its way along a valley in the Alps and has been compared to a giant dragon or the largest boa constrictor in the world. The scenery in the Alps is absolutely wonderful!
So, for one more day, Central Market is celebrating Greece with an event called “Passport Greece“. Many items in the store are there as a link to the Greek culture. I had the Chicken Souvlaki Gyros for dinner, and then went for a short walk around the park out back. There, I got to hang out with the trees, ducks, turtles, and clouds.
earthrobert 