u/vivalakellye

I saw one drive up Tahitian this weekend, but I haven’t seen any others. I know manned robotaxis are testing in Austin.

Per the Facebook post:

Boil Water Notice for Community Public Water Systems

August 5, 2026

Due to a water main break causing a reduced system pressure in UNITS 1, 2 & 4, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the Bastrop County WCID2 (PWS 0110020) public water system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption (e.g., washing hands/face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors, and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions).

To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.

In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.

Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customers that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.

******

Aviso de Hervir Agua para Sistemas Públicos Comunitarios de Agua
August 5, 2026

Debido a rotura de tubería principal de agua, la Comisión de Calidad Ambiental de Texas ha requerido que el sistema público de agua Condado de Bastrop WCID2 (PWS 0110020) notifique a todos los clientes que hiervan el agua antes del consumo (p. ej., lavarse la cara y las manos, cepillarse los dientes, beber, etc.). Los niños, las personas mayores y las personas con un sistema inmunológico debilitado son particularmente vulnerables a bacterias dañinas y todos los clientes deberían seguir estas instrucciones.

Para asegurar la destrucción de todas las bacterias y otros microbios dañinos, el agua para beber, cocinar y hacer hielo debe ser hervida (y enfriada) antes de su uso como agua potable o para otros fines de consumo humano. El agua debe llevarse a una ebullición vigorosa y luego hervirse por dos minutos.

En lugar de hervir, las personas pueden comprar agua embotellada u obtener agua de alguna otra fuente adecuada para beber u otros fines de consumo humano.

Cuando ya no sea necesario hervir el agua, los funcionarios del sistema público de agua notificarán a los clientes que el agua es segura para beber u otros fines de consumo humano.

Una vez que el aviso de hervir el agua ya no esté en vigencia, el sistema público de agua emitirá un aviso a sus clientes rescindiendo el aviso de hervir el agua en una manera parecida al presente aviso.

Sírvase compartir esta información con todas las otras personas que beben esta agua, especialmente aquellas que quizás no hayan recibido este aviso directamente (por ejemplo, personas en departamentos, hogares de ancianos, escuelas y negocios). Puede hacerlo colgando este aviso en un lugar público o repartiendo copias a mano o por correo.

Si usted tiene preguntas sobre este asunto, puede contactar a Patricia Lujan a 512-321-1688, patricia@bcwcid2.org or 112 Corporate Drive, Bastorp TX 78602.

Stay safe if you’re on the water, y’all. 🦆

https://www.austintexas.gov/emergency-management/news/city-issues-waterways-ban-until-tuesday

"Due to floodgate operations initiated by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Austin Water, the City of Austin has issued a waterway ban effective immediately Friday, July 17.

The ban is an effort to keep Austinites and visitors safe as water conditions are anticipated to have faster flows and increased debris in the water make recreational, commercial, and navigational use of area waterways unsafe. The ban is in effect until 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 21.

Personal and commercial watercraft, wet bikes, motorized surfboards, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and other similar devices are not allowed on the following waterways in Austin:

Lake Austin from Mansfield Dam to Tom Miller Dam

Lady Bird Lake

Colorado River downstream of Longhorn Dam

Residents and visitors also are urged to avoid riverfront trails which may be unsafe to navigate and are susceptible to flash flooding at this time due to raised water levels. "

I’m in town caring for a family member this week and wanna do some local orchid tourism while I’m here. The closer to Dallas proper, the better. (I actually love Fort Worth, but it’s inefficient for me to head out that way during this trip.)

For context, I’m mostly into the cattleya and Dendrobium alliances, so big box/chain/grocery stores (besides Lowe’s, IYKYK) are out.

I’ve already checked with Dr. Delphinium, but they don’t have a decent stock ATM. (I’m still gonna visit.) I’m also finding in my research that Google Maps reports that visitors have seen orchids when shops don’t actually carry orchids consistently.

I’m driving in from elsewhere in TX, so no issues w/packaging or transport.

Thank you in advance 😊

Edit: The show is Saturday, July 25.

Edit 2 (~12 hours after posting): I’m giving this a day or so to sit so that the algo has time to reach people and because my FT job is demanding. I’ll likely do a random wheel picker based on username with backup choices just in case.

Posting this in advance so people can pay for parking before it sells out. Venue parking is currently available for ~$28 per the Whitewater Ampitheater website.

I’m giving away two GA tickets* to The Black Keys at Whitewater Ampitheater in New Braunfels. (They aren’t stopping in Austin proper, AFAIK.) This is not a first-come, first-served offer.

Please leave a top level comment if interested.

Because there’s no official resale site/no way to officially transfer tickets besides me emailing them to you, I don’t feel comfortable charging for the tickets. I will not receive tickets until 3 days before the event per venue policy, but I will email them ASAP with a valid email.

If everything works out, you have a great time, and you want to throw some $$ my way, I’ll include my Venmo, etc. handles with my ticket email.

$1 OBO to comply w/sub rules.

*Partner and I were planning on going, but now have to travel out of town the day after the show. We are officially too tired to function on the limited amount of sleep we’ll get between the show and travel.

The fun part of being an AuDHD woman is having to scientific method your myriad health problems because your body doesn’t behave like science says it should. 🙄

Anyway, thanks to the stress of wondering if my neighbors would light the fucking forest we live in on fire while setting off fireworks last night, I have a migraine today.

Hey y’all. My partner and I visited Pollinatives yesterday and were impressed with the variety of native plants especially given it’s late in the season. They had a variety of plants more suited to areas farther south in Texas.

If you’re on this sub and living closer to San Antonio or south of San Antonio, I’d recommend checking them out for plants native to your area.

Also…they had paw paw seedlings for $16 (from seed in the wild, not a branded cultivar). So it looks like I might have a paw paw harvest a few years earlier than anticipated.

How do y’all temper a tendency to acquire when you get a new “collecting”-type hobby? How do you keep stuff from getting out of hand?

Due to a pest infestation (got that handled, no advice sought for this point), I wrote down a keep/toss list of all my orchids…and I still have ~25 despite already tossing my first round of “toss” plants.

This is way too much for me to handle on top of my typical gardening “chores” (fun for me) and managing my less finicky houseplants (

Here’s what I already do:

* Only buy orchids that can survive outdoors in Texas (pretty much limits me to Cattleya types, Gramms, and Catasetinae)

* Allow myself to attend plant sales by well-regarded vendors, but limit buying to specific qualities/quantities (like, I *only* bought a single division from a renowned grower’s quarterly sale this past weekend)

* Don’t buy orchids from chain stores (new rule)

* *Sometimes* ask myself, “Would I rather spend $15 on this orchid, or use that $15 toward a display for this orchid” (Saving money for X, Y, or Z instead doesn’t always work on me)

* Don’t buy multiples of the same color family (I obviously failed on this one…but I tried!)

* Regularly reflect on my capacity to care for certain plants

* Give away plants I like, but don’t love

* Give away plants that don’t thrive in my specific light/heat/humidity conditions

* All of my orchids are in groups/stations with nearby tools/water so it’s easier to care for them (unfortunately, that increases the chances of pest infestation)

* Actively talk myself out of buying certain plants for logical reasons (like, “Why do you want this?”)

* I keep orchids in my “favorites” on Etsy/Ebay or bookmark their product pages in my mobile web browser for a couple days/weeks before buying

* I don’t purchase accessories that would allow me to expand my collection, ie more grow lights, shelving, greenhouse setups, etc.

* Redirect my interests from learning about new orchid varieties to learning about orchid pests/pest deterrents and signs of plant health

I welcome any additional ideas you have. I’ve got therapy, meds, and friends as resources as well. 😊

I’m aware they’re hardy to zone 8, but I have some almost-full-shade areas that I could move the tree to during the summer.

Worst-case scenario, I can pass it along to friends/family in zone 8.

NB: I plant to keep its container in full-to-partial shade once temps are back down to consistent-ish highs of 80.