The Texas State Capitol in Austin

My friend, Cookie, and I decided to drive by the Texas State Capitol in Austin after we finished some chores in the area. It was almost dark when we got there, and each gate was guarded by a police officer. We asked if there was a place we could park to get a glimse of the building -- and not only were were invited to park inside the gate, we were told that the entire building was open! So in we went.

The building is laid out as most Capitols are -- a huge, central, open dome area with four wings housing the senate, house of representatives, and various offices. The wood is dark and ancient, the stairs curving and ornate, and the atmosphere a sweeping and elegant late-19th-Century chic.

The area under the dome is an open atrium extending down to the first floor, and railings on each floor provide a safe viewing area. Visitors are not allowed above the fourth floor, but easily visible from any floor is the word "T-E-X-A-S" engraved around a huge star in the middle of the dome (click to view a larger image). On each floor, the walls of the circular halls are filled with photographs and paintings. The walls on the first floor have images of the most recent governors, including George Bush. There is enough blank wall space for seven more.

The Texas State Capitol was originally built in 1839, but burned in 1881. The cornerstone for the current building was laid March 2, 1885 on Texas Independence Day. The building was dedicated in May 1888. While the top of the dome declares this to be "T-E-X-A-S," the bottom has inlays of the six seals representing the countries whose flags have flown over Texas. The countries are: The Kingdom of Spain, The Kingdom of France, The Republic of Mexico, The Confederate States of America, The United States of America, and The Republic of Texas. The Republic of Texas qualifies as a country -- after the Texas Revolution, Texas was a sovereign nation from 1836 to 1845. Its borders at that time included parts of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. These six countries are also the "Six Flags Over Texas" for which the original theme park in the chain was named.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Location: Dripping Springs, TX

Pedernales Falls lies in the Texas Hill Country, a few miles north of Dripping Springs, and east of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Ranch. Originally this State park was a private ranch called the Circle Bar Ranch, but it became a public park in the early 1970s. The water level in the park is now very low, as you can see from the photographs to the right and below (the person in the picture to the left is my friend Cookie). When the water flow is normal, it is still only a shallow flow that just covers the rocks. But the river can, within minutes, turn into a raging torrent in less than five minutes when upstream water, usually from storms, causes a flash flood. Swimming in this area is prohibited, and warnings advise anyone in the area leave immediately -- without taking anything -- if the water begins to rise.

Some additional photos from the park are below -- trees on the hillside, a closer view of the falls, a female damselfly (Argia sp. I think) that was fluttering on the trail, and me, at a downstream ford called Trammel Crossing (taken by Cookie):

A Housing Crisis

I came home yesterday to find a housing crisis had developed here at Rainbow's End in Livingston. A housing crisis that would result in eviction, tenants fighting to retain squatter's rights, rebuilding, and eventual destruction and relocation.

While it must have been brewing for a while, I first noticed something was wrong yesterday when I returned home after being gone most of the day. As I walked by the front of the RV, I saw what looked like hay in the part of the hitch that is connected to the RV. "What the...?" I thought. As I was standing there staring at it, the mockingbird that was attempting to be my new tenant emerged from his new cozy condo in the sky. I then saw a second one eyeing me from the picnic table. Much as I hated to disturb the new tenants, I obviously can't haul an RV around with a built-in aviary. So I removed the sticks and twigs... and then found that my hitch was actually a duplex.

A second nest was already in the hitch, way up high so it was not visible from the outside. There is no way to know how long it had been there. This nest was finished, but there was no evidence of shell fragments so I probably had moved the RV before eggs could be laid. I removed this nest, too, and thought this was the end of my landlord/tenant problems. I was wrong.

The two mockingbirds came back today, and meticulously collected all the twigs and sticks I had removed from the hitch and put them back. I got to sit back and watch them as they picked up a stick and then landed nearby, usually on my truck, to watch for predators before continuing. Then they would fly up to the hitch, go inside and deposit the stick, and then fly out. They did this over and over until the hitch was again brimming with sticks.

They will have to be evicted again, of course. Living in my hitch is not an option, even for the State Bird of Texas. But their situation is not really dire -- this is an RV campground after all. And a there are a lot of other Fifth Wheel Loft Apartments available for immediate occupancy.

One Year Ago

One year ago today, at 4:30 PM, I left my desk at Social Security Administration (SSA) for the last time. I was filled with the same questions (and fears) most new retirees have: is this the right decision? There's no turning back! Do I have enough money and savings? Will I be bored, spending my time watching soap operas, Oprah, and waiting anxiously each week to find out who got voted off the [insert island, talent show, or weight-loss camp] show?

Today I know the answers to all those questions (except who got voted off, of course -- the networks guard that pretty closely!) Was retirement the right decision? Absolutely. Retirement is wonderful, stressless, and fun. I have talked to a lot of retirees over this year, and not one has said they wish they hadn't retired.

Do I have enough money? Everyone who is considering going full time in an RV always questions what it will cost, and the typical response is "it depends," which is accurate but not very helpful. Recently, I heard a better answer -- "it costs whatever you have." What this means is that you can spend a little, or spend a lot -- you can make this lifestyle work regardless of your finances. So, yes, the money is enough.

Am I bored without the stimulus of work? Not in the least. Actually, my days are so full that I can't figure out how I had time to devote 40 hours a week to work!

At SSA, we worked hard but we also had fun. The photo below was taken during a charity fund-raiser 5 months before I retired. The two other people in the photo, Mark Blatchford and Rhoda Fassett, were executives in my component. I was the photographer, and we let staff members pose for a photo with Mark and Rhoda for a donation (we did this on Halloween, if you haven't guessed).

Do I miss working at SSA? No, although I do miss the fantastic people I worked with. You know who you are. New friends cannot replace old friends, but I have been able to swap that "work-fun" for real-fun. The only problem -- I haven't yet found an appropriate place to wear my pig-in-a-tutu costume! Maybe next Halloween...