Mark Simmons for the Statesman

Many yards look just as depressing as the lakes during this record breaking drought. Mark Simmons, ecologist and director of the Ecosystem Design Group at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, has shown that combination native grasses outperform Bermuda grass in surviving tough conditions. There may be a small silver lining to the current extreme conditions as more people make a jump to native species and invest in water catchment. We've got nothing to lose but dead yards.

Dog Kayaking for the Statesman

I love dogs and all things on the water, so this was an assignment made in heaven. Spent a few hours with a canine paddling class at the Texas Rowing Center. The class was impressed I jumped into a boat with my camera gear, but who can say no to kayaking with dogs?

Cash Robinson for the Statesman

Nine-year-old Cash Robinson has been to every Austin City Limits Festival. He attended his first when he was just 10-months old. Cash recently got an electric guitar and is already banging out AC/DC's 'Back in Black.'

Janell Smith for the Statesman

Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, teaches women and teens the techniques of self-defense. FitCity reporter Pam LeBlac and I sat in on a class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

Lucy Morrison, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith.

Aleta Neill, 13, center, raises her fists for a punching exercise.

(Left to right) Aleta Neill, 13, Cady Boyd, 15, Lucy Morrison, 13, and Katie Knight, 14, practice an escape technique during a self-defense class taught by Janell Smith, a black belt martial arts instructor, at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

Janell Smith, right, demonstrates an escape technique with Statesman Fit City reporter Pam LeBlanc, left, during a self-defense class at the School for Performing and Visual Arts in downtown Austin.

FitCity for the Statesman

Nothing like a few FitCity assignments to make me feel like a lazy slug! For a series on trainer/client duos I photographed Stephanie Flores and Erin Griffin at o'dark-thirty in the morning at J. Nettles Gym. Griffin has dropped 90 pounds, completed three half-marathons, and returned to competitive soccer in the three years she's worked with Flores. You can read more about Stephanie and Erin and other trainer/client teams here.

Drinking on the Comal for the Wall Street Journal

Playing a little posting catch up from the end of the summer.

The city of New Braunfels passed an ordinance that will ban disposable containers such as beer cans on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers within the city limits. More than 10,000 visitors a weekend come to float on the water or cookout in local parks. The costs of clean-up amount to $155,000 annually, but local business owners claim the influx of money from visitors to the area more than makes up for the litter problem.

The ordinance doesn't take effect until 2012, but this Labor Day Weekend saw a marked decrease in traffic on the rivers and with local businesses. Opponents are gathering signatures to put the issue on the ballot in November. Their motto, Can the Ban. You can read the story here.