ocean quilt patterns
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Ooops. Oh those engineers. When they reconstructed the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas in 1980, they inadvertently created a unique ECO-TOURISM DESTINATION, and an experience not available many places in the world. The bridge was evidently the perfect roosting place for bats and now houses the largest urban bat colony in North America. Yes, not only does Texas have the Alamo, it’s very batty! The largest bat colony in the world is also near San Antonio (about 60 miles from Austin).
Who knew?
A huge colony roosts under this bridge in downtown Austin, and when they egress of a summer night to go out and hunt for food, it is a sight to behold. I have taken visitors of all ages to see the spectacle and even the teenagers (you know how hard they are to impress, or admit it) sat spellbound. It’s just creepy enough. For driving directions and map, go here: http://www.batcon.org/discover/congress_map_outoftowners.html .
Popular? It’s estimated that over 100,000 people come to see the bats fly out every year, generating a healthy hunk of change for the city of Austin.
The spectacle has all the elements of a good watch – mystery, a bit of the creeps, expec-TA-shun, and results that don’t disappoint. Tension builds as dusk falls and all eyes turn to the bridge, waiting. Then you see one bat and the crowd cheers, then another, then a million. Silently they head out into the night and to think of where all those bats are heading – well, I often saw them dive-bombing my swimming pool at night.
Of course the City had to do some educating when the public became, um, upset about all the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that migrate from Mexico to call the bridge their home from mid-March to early November. I’d call that “wintering in Texas,” but, okay, it’s a migration.
Do we love bats? Well, we don’t like to touch them – no joke, don’t ever mess with a bat. But we must appreciate the fact that those bats heading out across Austin can each eat 600 mosquitoes in an hour and won’t poison the environment. They also pollinate plants. (Other favorites include many crop pests such as cutworms, cucumber beetles, and corn borer moths.) 600 mosquitoes x 1.5 million bats x 8 night hours? You do the math! For a quickie on bat lore, go here: http://www.nps.gov/wica/bats.htm .
Might you get rabies? According to the National Park Service, only 10 humans have contracted rabies from bats in more than 30 years. Most people who do die of rabies contract it from our much better friend, the dog. In the Austin-area, bat rich as it is, there have been no recorded human cases of bat-transmitted rabies.
It sort of adds to the excitement of the adventure, but when you’re sitting there looking up, how would you catch one? If one falls to the ground, it is probably injured or sick, and your animal-lore in general will tell you to leave any wild animal alone. In this case, just get away. And if you like to grub around under the bridge, assuming you could, well, haven’t you heard about guano? Ick!
According to experts, bats are rarely aggressive, even when injured, and do we appreciate them ecologically? I haven’t checked, but I doubt if you’re swatting a lot of mosquitoes as you sit there watching.
And, hey, it could happen anywhere. The BCI warns, “Persons who wake up with a bat in the same room [now where might that be?] where they have been sleeping are advised to submit it for testing, especially if the bat is unable to fly or seems weak.”
Now wouldn’t you rather have the bats out in the open heading for insects than in a room with you!
Yes, you would.
I’ll throw my personal experience in here. Incredibly my son and I were draped around a statue across from the Alamo trying to get a good view of some president who was arriving, when a bat torpedoed into the statue and fell, stunned, at our feet. While mothers and kids screamed, the former in fear, and the latter in delight, the poor bat just flailed around. You could’ve picked it up with gloves, but we just walked away. It was unable to fly, and uninterested in humans.
But let me stress again, there’s no heroism involved; the bats coming from the bridge are far away and they’re on a mission. You might suggest to thrill the older children, if you’re that type, that they are going to turn your way, but they have a plan and I guess they’re herd animals. What would you do anyway? Whistle?
One way you can view them is from a cruise on Capital Cruise Boats (http://www.capitalcruises.com/html/bat.htm ) or Lone Star River Boats.
Another way is sitting on the outside bat-viewing decks of TGI Friday’s in the Radisson Hotel on Town Lake, and the Shoreline Bar & Grill restaurant in the Hyatt-Regency Austin hotel. If I bring adults, we usually enjoy a gourmet meal at the latter. If I bring kids or teens, TGI Fridays is the place.
When do they leave? Depends on time of yea ...
Author: Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach
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Timely help for ocean quilt patterns
About Quilting Make 15" square basket quilt blocks in traditional Amish style, or vary your fabrics for a slightly Amish look. The quilt block pattern includes instructions for single quilt blocks (perfect for scrap quilts), but on page 3 you'll find directions to help you make the 63" x 63" quilt illustrated here. Amish Style Miniature Quilt Pattern New: Slightly Amish Basket Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 12:21:57. Permalink | Comment | Email this New Gallery & Lots of Gallery Updates The Memory Quilts Gallery is brand new this weekend, and the first quilts displayed there represent a range of purposes and techniques. I've spent most of the past two days going through my backlog of photo submissions and I'm happy to say... whew! I'm nearly finished (only a few pics remain). You'll find new photos in every gallery linked below. Baby Quilts Regatta Quilt by Patti Dubreuil New Gallery & Lots of Gallery Updates originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 20:57:23. Permalink | Comment | Email this Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt Pattern This little quilt measures about 19-inches square. It's made from four 3-1/2-inch Bear's Paw quilt blocks that are surrounded by cornerstones and pieced sashing. A dark inner border and a floral outer border complete the little quilt. Everything is quick and strip-pieced. Half square triangle units used in blocks finish at 1/2", but you can make them perfectly every time but assembling the units slightly larger than necessary and then cutting each one back to the exact size before sewing. Photo © Janet Wickell Miniature Bear's Paw Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 09:10:54. Permalink | Comment | Email this Summertime Baskets Block in Two Sizes: 20" and 10" I love it when the native plants are blooming like crazy and blossoms and fruit are in motion. And it's an incredible sight to gaze out across the Blue Ridge Mountains in the spring to watch the progression of green as it moves higher in elevation. I call that progress greening up the mountain, and have thought forever that the theme would make a good landscape quilt. I even started a miniature version years ago in a class with Jo Diggs, and rediscovered the project awhile back when we unpacked some boxes. Now I just have to find the time to work on it. Spring and summer always brings out the basket blocks, too. This version is in the deeper colors of summer, but would work well with any theme. I think it would be lovely sewn with solid fabrics in the Amish tradition, even if you decide to add some reds and other zesty colors we don't typically see in traditional Amish quilts. I've included instructions for two blocks sizes, a 20" and a 10". Choose whichever works for you. On the About.com Network Since we're talking about baskets and flowers, take a look at the decoupaged garden seed container on our Family Crafts site. Sherri's come up with a cute and useful project for your gardening friends. © Janet Wickell Summertime Baskets Block in Two Sizes: 20" and 10" originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 12:07:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this A Joyous Celebration Mini Quilt Pattern Speed piecing techniques make stitching this little quilt a breeze. The light fabric that surrounds the stars blends with the pictorial angel fabric used in the center of the snowball blocks, giving the snowballs an on-point appearance even though all blocks are sewn together side by side. The quilt measures 29-1/2" square. photo © Janet Wickell A Joyous Celebration Mini Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 06:10:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this Catching the View Quilt Pattern The three kitty cats in this quilt are peering through windows at all the summer flowers outside, and you can bet they're keeping an eye on the butterflies flying around the garden. This has been a popular pattern with readers, and although it does have set-in seams at the mitered frames, it is not difficult to assemble. Photo © Janet Wickell Catching the View Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 at 16:35:04. Permalink | Comment | Email this Star Quilt Patterns Patchwork star quilt designs are an all-time favorite, so you'll find star patterns scattered throughout the About.com Quilting Web site. I've linked to several choices below, but there are more. The list includes blocks and quilts in a range of sizes, starting at 6" square (you'll find a few options for smaller blocks) and moving upwards. Star blocks are the perfect starting point for holiday quilts -- just change the fabrics to make any pattern to suit your needs. Star quilts are often made up of half square triangle units, a popular quilting component that you'll encounter often. Use my triangle squares tutorial to learn an easy (and accurate) construction method. Framed Friendship Stars Quilt Pattern Star Quilt Patterns originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, July 10th, 2010 at 15:09:05. Permalink | Comment | Email this Domino Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern The Domino quilt block finishes at 9" square, with small units that are a nice size for baby and toddler quilts, but perfectly fine for a bed-sized quilts, too. The Domino quilt block pattern includes instructions for making a single quilt block, for those of you who like to go scrappy, plus directions for 20-strip pieced Dominos. The 20 blocks can be used in the Domino baby quilt shown on page 4 of the pattern, or in another quilt of your own design. Before beginning, new quilters should make sure they're okay with sewing a quarter inch seam and with rotary cutting long strips of fabric. Domino Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 09:44:00. Permalink | Comment | Email this Attic Ribbons Quilt Pattern Attic Ribbons is a 70" x 94" quilt made from 12" Attic Windows quilt blocks. Some of the blocks feature applique motifs, but you can eliminate the applique if you wish, or use one of my easy suggestions to simplify construction while still adding a bit of variety to the windows. Use different colors to create your own unique theme, and sew fewer or more blocks to alter its finished size. Setting-in is not a difficult method -- do give it a try. Attic Ribbons Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, July 5th, 2010 at 14:55:34. Permalink | Comment | Email this Greek Cross Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern Greek Cross quilt blocks are all about color value, and you can dramatically alter their appearance by shifting value positions within the block. I've included a quilt layout suggestion (along with yardages and extra instructions, of course) and drawings that illustrate value variations. Greek Cross is such a simple block, but it can be either traditional or dramatic, depending on your fabric choices. Janet Wickell Greek Cross Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, July 4th, 2010 at 08:31:07. Permalink | Comment | Email this Newsfeed display by CaRP |
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