Chiang Mai Shows Its Colors At 49th Annual Flower Festival

The beauty of Chiang Mai’s annual Flower Festival in Buak Hard Park each February is beyond spectacular. The beauty starts with a million blooms on display, but it extends to the crowd which seemed to be universally filled with wonder and joy, and then also to the city around it. It made me fall in love with Chiang Mai all over again.

Grackles Casually Winning Over Austin

A long-time Austin, TX, resident once noted that humans and grackles are at war in Central Texas, and that the grackles are winning. Personally, I’m happy to be on the losing side in this conflict, because Austin’s grackles rank high among the city’s treasures. Nobody can observe these handsome birds for long without becoming aware the intelligence, sociability, and often a remarkably dry wit.