Well, it’s officially summer in Austin. The calendar begs to differ, I know, but I have my own criteria. One, I’ve already been attacked by chiggers as I lounged in my front yard, watching a lizard sun himself on the enormous arms of the agave I’ve dubbed Big Momma. Also, I just enjoyed the season’s first michelada, a frosty mix of beer, lime juice, Worcester sauce, and Tabasco, a thirst-quenching libation I discovered several years ago at El Chile on Manor Road, Austin’s burgeoning eastside restaurant row. And finally, last night, I took the season’s first dip in Austin’s Barton Springs pool as the descending sun sent glittery shimmers across the water’s surface. In a quintessentially weird and wonderful moment, I witnessed both a group baptism and a topless woman bounding down the hill as people tried not to stare.I adore Barton Springs in winter (when I bring a big robe and a thermos of hot tea), but I especially adore it in summer, when I could spend all day swimming and lolling about on a broad blanket on the hillside, partially shaded by pecan trees, entertained by chattering squirrels, and watching the comings and goings of a broad sample of humanity. There are hand-holding high-schoolers in skimpy bikinis and floppy summer hats; sinewy, gray-haired men with broad shoulders and tiny Speedos; children with doughy knees in ruffled suits and heart-shaped sunglasses; Mystic-tanned college kids dangling from plastic floats on the deep end, squeezing the last bit of sunshine from their days. And on that note, I’m going to the pool.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Rambles and Gambles with Lori. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.