Pic(k) of the Week: Open road, in town

Popping the top,

Into the center of town

Rode the Galaxie 500.^*

In the United States, this weekend, Memorial Day weekend —although astronomically a few weeks short of summer— signals, for many, the calendrical start of the summer season.

Coincident with it is a wave of vacation travel. The lure of the 'open' road —and its traverser, the automobile— has long been a quintessential American motif. A popped 'ragtop' —hair, free in the breeze— can only add to that.

Image taken in the town of Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA (in 2018), where, even if nowhere near Route 66, the urge remains as impelling.

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Pic of the Week: Rothaus Tannenzäpfle Pils, on draught

The Rothaus Tannenzäpfle ¹ is the absolute classic among our beers - and has been since 1956. That is why it is also the namesake and figurehead of the Gäpfle family. The best aromatic hops from Tettnang and the Hallertau as well as local malt made from summer barley and the purest spring water from the Black Forest give Rothaus Tannenzäpfle its uniquely spicy and fresh taste.

— Badische Staatsbrauerei Rothaus ² (Baden State Brewery Rothaus)

Rothaus Tannenzäpfle Pils — served out-of-doors on a spring afternoon, on draught in a brewery serving glass, on the pub patio at My Parents Basement ³, in Avondale Estates, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2023.

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Yes, but how does the beer taste?

For having traveled so far, the beer was in good form. Brilliant clarity under a long-lasting white collar of foam. Slightly grassy nose; subtle cracker-wafer malt; hints of honey and green apple; subdued tree-sap and mowed-grass hops; dry, slightly sulfury finish. A glorious German pilsner. Delightful.

A series of occasional reviews of beer (and wine and spirits).
No scores; only descriptions.

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Pic(k) of the Week: How green was my valley

Idyll beyond pavement,

How green was my valley

In vernal raiment.

Beyond its paved southern terminus, the East Decatur Greenway (DeKalb County, Georgia, USA) extends, unpaved, about one-third mile northeastward. Continuing through a wildflower garden, it crosses Cecilia Creek via a small pedestrian bridge (pictured here), and concludes alongside the eastern bank of the creek.

15 April 2023.

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Pic(k) of the Week: Mood (white) indigo

Tall, upright white wild indigo wildflowers are among the first native plants of the spring season to bloom in the Trailhead Community Park.

East Decatur Greenway: Decatur, Georgia, USA. 15 April 2023.

Baptisia alba —commonly called white wild indigo or white false indigo— is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing in grasslands, favoring moist soils, and typically 2 to 4 feet tall (0.61 to 1.2 m).

White, pea-like flowers occur from a long spike inflorescence [cluster of flowers arranged on a stem], and bloom from April to July, earlier in the southern part of the range. Leaves have an alternate arrangement, and are trifoliate [three-parted], narrow, and oblong. Clusters of large, black seedpods often remain attached to the naked winter stems. Bumblebees pollinate the flowers.

— Wikipedia
— Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center

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Pic(k) of the Week: Yellow-crowned Night Heron

North for mating season (from its winter habitat in southern Florida, Mexico, and Central America), a yellow-crowned night heron perches in swampy marshland in DeKalb County, Georgia, USA, on 21 April 2023.

Unfortunately, I 'blew out' some of the highlights (such as the heron's yellow crown) and 'cut off' one of its feet. Nonetheless, I was excited to have photographed this fine fellow in the wild.

Thank you to a passing birder who identified this yellow-crowned night heron for me (and congratulated me on my new "lifer": birdwatching lingo for spotting a bird you’ve never seen before).

Fortunately, I did not forget to thank her (or, silently, the heron).

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