Bettering Our Bayou Trails

Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail 

I have an affair with Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) in Austin. Don't worry, my husband Chad knows! We both love Austin, but it's the lake and its hike and bike trail that get me every time. I love watching the kayaking, rowing and stand-up paddlers, the dogs, the strollers and exercisers, the soccer players at adjacent Zilker Park, the bats at Congress Avenue and the Austin skyline, ever-changing. While we both wouldn't mind living in that great city again one day (We both lived there for college.), for now we will just be visiting. While Houston has no Colorado River running through it, we do have a very prominent bayou: Buffalo Bayou. Sadly, we have not given it the attention it deserves.

So, what is a bayou? According to dictionary.com, a bayou is:

 –noun, plural -ous. Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.
1. a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
2. any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.

I strongly believe that our marshy arm and the hike and bike trail around it could be so much better than it is today. Maybe it will never be the caliber of Lady Bird Lake, but it can most certainly be better than it is today. After all, we have the skyline, the bats, the exercisers, the dogs and the occasional strollers.

While Houston gets a bad rap for its hot, humid weather, just this week we have had some bluebird days. Perfect days for a bike ride, wouldn't you say? There aren't many cities where you can go on a pleasant bike ride this time of year. New York City, for instance, received 19 inches of snow yesterday, God bless it.

Last month we had some similar beautiful days, so Chad and I decided to go on a bike ride around Buffalo Bayou along Allen Parkway and down Memorial Drive. I brought my camera to document the ride. I felt a bit like Aron Ralston in 127 Hours. (Great movie, by the way!) Look at these photos--the sad trails and happy improvements--and imagine the possibilities.

Sad trail

Happy! A new pedestrian bridge at Montrose 

Sad trail along Memorial Drive, great skyline

Sad trail under Memorial Drive nearing Downtown

Happy! Improvements underway, connecting to the Heights

Happy! Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade

Sad trails headed west toward Waugh

Oh-so-sad trail at Montrose and Allen Parkway

Sad trail along Allen Parkway and by the Wortham Fountain

Close-up of the Wortham Fountain and a happy, hopefully inspiring, image to leave with you

While the Buffalo Bayou Partnership has made tremendous strides the last several years in improvements, there is still a long, long way to go. Think about Austin's Town Lake. I know we can get there. While this blog's namesake harks back to an old Houston nickname unbeknownst to many today, the "Bayou City" is not. Let's own up to it!

Plant a Tree!

Budding lemon, May 30, 2010

It is often suggested that one should plant a tree before they die. I remember helping my sister and mom plant one on the Briargrove Elementary grounds. When I drive by, I always wonder if that little tree is still there, what with all the changes that have been made to that campus since the early 80s.

My husband Chad and I would like to plant a tree of our own. While we haven't scratched it off our list yet, a previous owner of our home did. Fruit trees! And we are lucky to be enjoying the fruits of their labor. 

They are both still young--one Lisbon Lemon and the other a small orange variety called Dwarf Calamondin. When we first moved in, the calamondin orange tree had much fruit on it. We plucked them all off, and sadly it did not bear any fruit last year. However, this year the fruit is back, but still teeny tiny.

Teeny tiny calamondin oranges

On the other hand, the lemon tree was bare when we moved in and has remained so until this past May. One day I walked outside and was amazed by the little bitty bud on it. (See the opening photo above.) 

Lemon tree before we bought the house, November 2008

Lemon tree this week, January 2011

Is that amazing growth or what?! We have no idea how big and fruitful these trees will get, but are excited to watch them grow and enjoy their fruit.

Close up of growing lemon, September 11, 2010

Close up of ripe lemon, January 11, 2011

While I did use a lemon a month or two ago to freshen up our garbage disposal, we had not tasted one until the other night. It was delish in our peppermint tea! A fresh batch of lemonade would be in order...if only it were summer.

Peppermint tea with fresh lemon juice

So, hopefully now I have you wishing you were growing your own fruit in your backyard. If so, lucky for you, tomorrow is Urban Harvest's annual Fruit Tree Sale! It will take place at the University of Houston Robertson Football Stadium from 9AM-1PM or until sold out. They will have a host of fruit trees, from Darlene sweet domestic muscadines to Bloomsweet Asian grapefruits. I cannot advise you on what to grow in our climate, but the good people of Urban Harvest should be of help.

Personally, I would not mind adding an avocado (mmmmm!) or fig tree to our yard, but I am just not sure where they would go...unless we unearthed our Cycas revoluta, which would be fine by me since they are toxic to pets. But, even if we don't make room this weekend, there are several organizations in Houston that provide opportunities to plant trees, like Trees for Houston and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

So in closing I will leave you, my beloved reader, with a Chinese Proverb: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.