A Rosedale Vignette

 Our new house is in the Rosedale neighbourhood of Austin, about five miles of the downtown.  

Rosedale

 In the 1860's, the neighbourhood was primarily farm and dairy land. The majority of the homes in Rosedale were built during the 1930s and 1940s and many of these have now been renovated and enlarged. It’s an eclectic neighbourhood and I have observed how remarkably friendly everybody seems to be while outside walking, gardening or just hanging-out. This is a typical renovated Rosedale house:

 

From Rosedale

 Some take gardening really seriously: 

From Rosedale

 Quirky yard art appears to be popular: 

From Rosedale

 

From Rosedale

 The politics seem sound: 

From Rosedale

 And activism is alive and well: 

From Rosedale

 

Shoal Creek 

Shoal Creek runs from north to south through Rosedale and eventually empties into Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake). How benign it looks here:

 

From Rosedale

 The "Memorial Day Flood" of May 1981 in which 13 people drowned hit Shoal Creek particularly hard. Some areas received over 10 inches of rain in four hours. The Creek normally flows at 90 gallons per minute, but peaked during this flood at 6 million gallons per minute. “At one point, witnesses report a 15-20 foot wall of water. Not just the creek coming out of its banks, actually a wall of water moving down Shoal Creek to Town Lake” The water receded in four hours but damages were subsequently estimated at $36 million. Since then the City has spent oodles of dollars in flood control engineering which is hopefully effective. In fact there is another, smaller creek (Hancock Creek) that joins Shoal Creek in Rosedale:

 

From Rosedale

 Our new home on Great Oaks Parkway is outside the flood zone and in fact, the natural bed of the creek is quite deep there so we have about eighty feet or so of critical elevation. I studied the USGS topo map very carefully!

 Moore-Hancock Farmstead 

These now-restored log structures represent a rare surviving example of local pioneer farmstead architecture, and right in the middle of Rosedale! Martin Moore and his wife, Elizabeth Ann, moved to a farm north of town in about 1850. Their 521-acre farm, which included this property, was inherited by Elizabeth in 1846 and the buildings date from about this time.

 

From Rosedale

 

In 1866 Elizabeth sold the homestead to John Hancock, a prominent local judicial and political figure. Although Hancock never lived on the farm, it is believed that his former slave, Orange, and his family lived here in the late 1860s.

 

From Rosedale

 Great Oaks Parkway

 Our new home is on Great Oaks Parkway which was zoned for development by Francis Conley in March 1953. I think our house was built in 1957. It’s a wide street with large oak trees so the street is aptly named.

 

From Rosedale

It is a rather homogenous street by Rosedale standards, for better or worse.  After we do all the cosmetic work that we plan, I shall post photos on the blog but it will be several months away. 

Cycling

 Austin is a relatively bike-friendly city and there are many opportunities for urban rides.

 

From Rosedale

 We will be living close to Shoal Creek Boulevard which has wide bike lanes although parking is sadly allowed in them which can cause a major hazard by forcing riders out into the traffic. The latest City ordnances usually either ban parking in bicycle lanes or, where possible, stripe the roads to allow both.

 

From Rosedale

 To the south, the Boulevard connects to the Shoal Creek bicycle trail that allows safe passage all the way into the city and to the Lake. 

Homage to Pooh

Some time ago, Sharon and I went to New York with two of our friends, Steve & Patti Hale. We did all the Manhattan stuff but on one day, it became apparent that we all wanted to “do our own thing” and so we split up for a morning, with plans to reunite for lunch. 

For me, the Mission was quite clear. This was one of the reasons I wanted to come to New York. I needed to pay homage. 

In 1921, a teddy bear from Harrod's in London was given to Christopher Robin Milne on his first birthday. He was known as Edward Bear.  Later to be known as Winnie the Pooh, the world’s most famous bear gave rise to some of the most magical children’s’ stories ever written even though Shepard’s drawings of Pooh were not inspired by Pooh but by Growler, the bear belonging to the artist's son. 

In the 1940s, Pooh’s author, A.A. Milne “donated” Pooh and his friends (Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga and Tigger) to the American publisher, E.P. Dutton. They were subsequently passed on to the New York Public Library in 1988. 

And there they were. Tucked away on the third floor, in an unassuming glass cage.  But surely  …. wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.  The Library was hardly the spiritual resting place that Pooh deserves.  They have recently moved from there to the History and Social Science Library and one can only hope that their new home is more appropriate. 

From Pooh

 Pooh was the witty one and clearly did have a brain.  I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me. It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?” 

From Pooh

 Piglet is always coming up with excuses for being a total wuss.  It is awfully hard to be b-b-brave, when you're only a Very Small Animal. 

From Pooh

 Eeyore was an intellectual snob as well as being a miserable so-and-so.  To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. 

From Pooh

Tigger just enjoyed himself.  Piglet was still a little anxious about Tigger, who was a very Bouncy Animal, with a way of saying How-do-you-do, which always left your ears full of sand, even after Kanga had said "Gently, Tigger dear," and had helped you up again. 

From Pooh

 Kanga was the stereotypical mother and interestingly, was the only female character in all the books that A.A. Milne ever wrote. 

From Pooh

 And so the trip to New York was complete. 

From Pooh

 Sharon’s homage was to a stringed instrument shop on Staten Island …. and, it might be added, I went with her. Perhaps to ensure that her credit card stayed firmly in her purse. But that’s another story.