Katy Weekend Roundup and Fall Festivals

The kids get a little bananas if they're inside too long, even on those 90 degrees and above scorchers. Here's a quick list of things to do this weekend in Katy and surrounding areas, and a listing of this weekend's fall festivals:

In the Katy area:

Saturday September 8, 2012:

Spartan Band March-a-Thon
2 – 8 p.m.

Enjoy performances by the Seven Lakes High School band and color guard as they march through Westheimer Lakes, Cinco Ranch, and Seven Meadows, ending with a concert at Central Park at 7:30 p.m. The event will help the SLHS Band Booster Association raise funds to buy student instruments and equipment, fund learning sessions by guest artists and clinicians, develop special shows, and provide for various programs and scholarships. They will be accepting cash donations along the route, and students will be accepting pledges in advance. You can also reserve a private concert in front of your home by visiting slhsband.org.

School of Rock Katy Grand Opening
3750 S. Mason Rd.
1 – 4 p.m.

Join School of Rock Katy for its grand opening celebration. The event will feature food, hourly prizes and giveaways, discounts on their Performance Programs, and more. The School of Rock Austin House Band will also perform live under the big tent outside. The school will be open for tours and trail lessons or just to hang out.

Free Concert Featuring Shaun Groves
22765 Westheimer Pkwy.
7 p.m.

Enjoy a performance by Nashville recording artist Shaun Groves.  The concert is free. Open seating is first come, first serve. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Visit www.thefellowship.org or contact info@thefellowship.org for more information.
Corner of Ave. B and Third St.
Downtown Historic Katy
7 p.m.

Sunday September 9, 2012:


Remembering Sept. 11, 2001
Katy Harvest Square

Join Katy VFW Post 9182 in remembering the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The one-hour ceremony will include the presentation of colors by the Marine Corp Junior ROTC Color Guard and a keynote address by LTC (Ret.) Chuck Bagnato. In the event of inclement weather, the service will take place at the VFW Hall at 6206 George Bush Dr. To learn more, call post commander Dave Brasell at 281-391-8387.

Fall Festivals This Weekend:


HummerBird Celebration in Rockport, Texas

The HummerBird Celebration is an annual event held each September in Rockport and Fulton to celebrate the fall migration of the ruby-throated hummingbird through the area. Visit rockporthummingbird.com for details!

Meet the Neighborhood Welcoming Committee

Katy isn't exactly the wide open prairie. We live next to one of the biggest outlet malls in the state. There's a donut shop around the corner. A brake shop right next to it. If my stomach were lined with lead and I were so inclined, I could find the Jack in the Box less than a mile away, across the street from the Wal-mart.

And yet...

One field over from our place is a collection of three fields.

And in those three fields lives the most extraordinary herd of urban cows I've ever met. They rotate fields constantly and Boo has named each of these fields. There's the breakfast field, the lunch field, and the dinner field.

We drive by our herd to say hello every couple of days and to check on our favorite members. You can meet them, too.

This is Snow White. I'm not even sure if it's a female or if we're going to need to pay for therapy when this baby grows into a teenaged cow...but here "she" is. She's cute and loves the greenery just outside her gate in the breakfast field.

Big Red. She's not all that big, really, but she's a gorgeous shade of red. I also call her "Reba" when the country music station is on. She's usually by herself or with her boyfriend in one of the fields by themselves. Perhaps the rancher has plans for Reba/Big Red to be a mama cow soon. Or maybe she just doesn't play well with the others.

Boo calls this guy "Banana the Donkey" for some reason. I can't even begin to explain the name or how one single donkey peacefully coexists in a herd of longhorn cows. It's great, though.

The black and white guy standing is Boo's favorite. He calls him the "Fat Guy" even though he's got mad ribs sticking out and looks like he could use an extra serving of grass. He's the tallest cow and I think that's why Boo can spot him in whatever field he happens to be munching.

These two cranky cows are always together in a small sub-field. We've seen them grumpy a time or two and they probably hang out by themselves so they don't hurt the herd's many calves that are wondering around, leaving their legos out or asking for a million snacks. As you can see, they live in a field with a bunch of tractor trailers so we appropriately dubbed these two the "Trucker Twins."

Have a fantastic week!