A Night Stroll in Hyde Park

Hyde Park is an eclectic little neighborhood in Austin, filled with charming cottages and unique restaurants.

Want to stroll along with me while I practice my night shots?

Just the right touch of Christmas decorations.

This vintage Mercedes fit right in with the rest of the neighborhood.

I just like neon signs.

While I snapped away, Tom and Daniel caught up on the neighborhood news.

Knitted pole scarves were everywhere!

Famous for their vegetarian and vegan food. 

Cheap transportation.

A restaurant on every corner.

I want to try them all!

Do you see the face? Well, at least the eyes? 

It's amazing the difference a scarf makes....

Another knitted pole scarf!

We ate here in celebration of Daniel's friend's graduation from UT. 

Yummy Italian food!

What's that you say? You want to see photos from the graduation?

Well, okay. Here are a couple of my favorites...

These messages caught my eye. 

I wish them good luck!

One of my favorite shots of the night. 

I don't know who they are, but I'm glad I captured it...

A universal image of proud parents.

Wild Things Part 4: Turtles!

So, whadda ya wanna to do?

Uh, I dunno. Whadda you wanna do?

I warned you there would be some turtles wandering up here. 

It just took them awhile to get here. 

You know... 

...they're turtles.

They're not in a hurry to get anywhere.

Especially these, it appears. 

They live in a pond on the University of Texas campus.

I got distracted by them during Daniel's photo shoot. 

I had developed a severe case of turtle-photo envy because Beth at Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken kept posting great turtle shots. 

(Of course, now I can't find any of her turtle shots to link to to show you.) 

(You just have to trust me they were great.)

I'm over it, now, anyway. 

Turtles are cute, but let's face it... they're not very exciting.

(These are all separate shots!)

Whoo-Hoo! Time to Celebrate!

Four years of frustration, late nights, tired eyes, chewed fingernails 

deserves at least two days of celebration, don't you agree?

Here are a few moments I captured in my camera this past weekend as my middle son officially said 

good-bye to college life...

It was a blur, those four years...

The Eyes of Texas are upon you...

He's in there somewhere...

My parents were determined to be there...

The celebration continued the next day... 

a reception in the second oldest building on campus, overlooking the huge UT ceremony.

First, cake...

Rich, antique woodwork and cherubs... I'm in heaven!

I just really like this photo...

It's cool in black and white, too...

Heading out to the final ceremony in graduation garb...

Tom watching the festivities in air-conditioned comfort...

And the grand finale... I took lots of these...

Whew! What a send-off! 

Congratulations, again, Daniel! 

Put a camera in my hands...

...and I'll never be bored. These are from Saturday, starting with our tailgating session in an old Austin duplex before the University of Texas Longhorns vs. Wyoming Cowboys game. I was left alone a few minutes to guard our "stuff"...

I was finally let in - and starting snapping again. I wouldn't mind living here - especially with this dream set of drums... (and yes, I played them.)

I know I'm weird to take photos in bathrooms, but I love little details like glass doorknobs... pure art to me.

We eventually made it to the game...

Remembering...

Dear Santa...

Did I mention we won?