During the month of this past September, I enjoyed in several occasions the last moments of the hot summer days here in Austin. Lake Austin is located just down the street in South Congress with beautiful views to the buildings downtown. However, the beauty of this lake is the nature and everything surrounding it. The first occassion was in the beginning of the month September 6, the day was quite sunny with temperatures averaging in the high 90 degrees. I went paddle boarding, which was a fun experience as I was able to see several species of animals and plants. There was a lot of plants in the edge of the lake, which in there were many insects on top of the leaves. I was able to see some species jump in and out of the water, which I would imagine that they would be fish, however, it was quite fast that I was not able to distinguish specifically what it was or what type of fish they were. I was also able to hear some noises down below the bridge of South Congress where you are able to see the bats during the afternoon go out. As I was paddle boarding with Valeria and her parents; we concluded that the noises that were being made were probably from the bats. It was quite scary knowing that the bats were in there, however I think it is fascinating that species like bats are here in Austin, due to the fact that I had never seen any of them until I moved into here. As I mentioned earlier, it was quite hot that day, so I decided to refresh myself by jumping in the water. Even though the water is somewhat green and you are not able to see what is below, it was nice jumping into the water as the temperature was not warm as I would have expected.
Through the sides of the lake there is located a running trail, which you can go walk your pets or just for yourself to do some exercise and enjoy nature. The first time I went there I decided to take my boyfriend’s dog. It was a fun experience, as there were many other dogs and I had not expected that it was so close to the lake. It was my first time there, so I did not know that the trail was next to it, which was nice because you are able to run through the trees that are next to the lake. The weather was still quite hot even though I went between 6 and 7 in the afternoon, it was a little below the 90’s. After that time I went again the following week however, these past weeks have been quite rainy here in Austin. I was not able to go for a long time since it started to rain a little; even though the weather felt really humid it was not the same temperature as it had been before, it had lower a little. This past week, I went again to walk Calvin (the dog), I was able to start feeling how it is slowly transitioning into fall, not only the weather has not been as hot as it was at the beginning of the month, but you can start seeing how with the rain and wind may leaves from the trees have fallen. I really enjoy the fall weather, especially here in Lake Austin Trail, as it is more enjoyable to walk without getting really hot, however still having all of the green trees and plants surrounding you.
