Austin Peacocks

I totally forgot one of the most unusual parts of my Austin trip - seeing the "urban peacocks" in the Mayfield Park Nature Preserve! J and I stopped by the park on Friday on our way to her studio and strolled around a bit to see the peacocks and follow a trail down to the lake. Most of the colorful males were perched on trees or the roof of the building, and we saw a couple of the more drab females strolling around the grounds under the trees. So odd to find peacocks in such an urban setting!

As I mentioned to J, it reminded me of my trip to the Chateau de Fontainebleau back in 1995 when I was living in France and working for EuroDisney. I visited both Versailles and Fontainebleau and definitely preferred the latter (less crowded). During my visit, I decided to enjoy my lunch outside in a small courtyard (I'm pretty sure it was the Jardin de Diane), and I was delighted to discover peacocks wandering about the area! I shared some of my lunch with a few of them, and that image has always stayed with me.