A piece of Katy Prairie on the Edge of H-Town in September

Nature's resilience: A tree burnt in last year's wildfire has a green core again
George Bush Park - September 9, 2012

An abundance of butterflies still enlivens the meadows
 with their colors and  movement

Grasses on the prairie slowly swaying in the late afternoon sunlight

A visual taste of the beauty of the Katy Prairie near the Equestrian Trail in George Bush Park

Butterflies in George Bush Park

Gulf Fritillary sitting down on the gravel road, with wings folded up and revealing pattern on the
bottom side that differ from the appearance of the top side of the wings.

Tiny yellow butterfly with specs on wings on green leaf in the shade

Swallowtail on the edge of a wooded area deep inside George Bush Park

Gulf fritillary on a bloom

Monarch in search of some nectar with a less bountiful supply of wildflower in late Summer

Butterfly food

Monarch in profile

Monarch on the meadow navigating through the tall prairie grasses 

Very small one blending into the surroundings (Oct 2012)

Silhouette of a butterfly resting on the twig of a dead tree against the sky

Bugs, Beetles, and Butterflies in George Bush Park

Wetlands meadow in dry conditions in September 2012 - Butterfly habitat

Monarch Butterfly on green leaves

Monarch amidst foliage

Sign and Map at Noble Road Trail Head in George Bush Park

Buckeye on a grassy spot on the shore of one of the lakes in George Bush Park

Purple--colored dragon fly

Ladybug in the grass

Beetle on the 1-mile scale

Moth on a grass stalk with  prairie landscape near the Equestrian Trail

White-tailed darner in the dirt - these kinds of dragonflies have a habit of sitting on the ground

Spiders in Bush Park - Barker Reservoir wilderness

Spiny Orb Weaver Spider aka Crab Spider - This one with white body and black spikes.
They also come in other colors October 2012 in George Bush Park in tree branches above a dry ditch

Spider aloft in a tree on the Katy Prairie

Dragonflies in the George Bush Park - Roseate Skimmers and Whitetails

Roseate Skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis ferruginea) perching on a twig

Skimmer Dragonfly with translucent wings with only a small band of color on the anterior side of the wing edges
Probably a Roseate Skimmer, but you can't tell the color of the tail here because this is back-lit dragonfly shot against the sky to reveal the wing structure against blue background

Perching skimmer on green defocussed background in woody area

Butterfly and dragonfly habitat in George Bush Park / restored Katy Prairie grassland

Roseate Skimmer Dragonfly

Dragonfly seen from underneath against the sky
All wings extended and illuminated by the sun, one has a small piece missing

Mature male Common Whitetail dragonfly with pruinescence covering the abdomen
sitting upright on a grass stalk in a meadow

This one only has one brownish-black mark on each wing
I suspect it is an immature male Common Whitetail

Common Whitetails (aka Longtail Skimmer) on the wall of a water hole in George Bush Park;
one has a white tail (adult male), the other one does not (adult female).
This is my best guess. The dragonfly on the right could alternatively be a female Twelve-spotted Skimmer.

Male Twelve-spotted Skimmer perching, though its seem more like 24-spots,
counting the white spots in addition to the brown ones.

The Beauty of Katy Prairie on a late-summer afternoon

Ce what? From Cafe Chatters to Ceviche y Alma Peruviana - and back to the chattering concept

4/1/2013 UPDATE: The Chatter's signage is back up on the building. Apparently, Cebiche was just  a brief Latin interlude.

New Latin restaurant opening in the Energy Corridor, offering South American soul ("alma") and "cebiche" ... Really? Is that a new Tex-Peru version of ceviche, or the appellation original for the truly authentic Andean variant? -- Intriguing. The press release upon grand opening might have served as an opportunity to educate the less-Latin-savvy public. Perhaps it's just clever marketing: something new and different to pique the interests of exotic-cuisine-friendly local palates and linguists alike, not to mention would-be polyglots and spelling-bee aspirants.  

And as to the branding ... Is that how soul is spelled in Peruvian?
You better know the name of the place you are headed to, for deciphering the signage is something of a challenge
Perhaps the Latin America expats at CITGO on the next block have an advantage here

Chatter's Cafe & Bistro shortly before it closed
(ironically with NOW OPEN sign)

1275 Eldridge Parkway, Houston, TX 77077  

Various local foodie news outlets report that the new Alma & Cebiche restaurant is the creation of the former chef at Samba Grille, who moved West to greener pastures (and better business prospects) when the Latin American venue at Bayou Place in the Downtown Theater District closed earlier this year. 

  

Eldridge Parkway is indeed aflutter with excitement and adorned with "coming soon" and "now open" signs (Cafe Express, Sharky's American Grill, and The King's Head are recent arrivals on the dining and waterhole front; not to mention the massive Top Golf project North of I-10 at Highway 6, which is rapidly taking recognizable shape), while the Central Business District is struggling and jugging along -- plastered with "For Lease" signs, if not lock-out notices from the landlord for non-payment of rent.   

Notable recent exception: Pepper Jack just opened a restaurant y cantina in what used to be Cabo, a margarita venue with the second-floor equivalent of a patio on the edge of the Theater District and not far from Old Downtown Houston Market Square. To their credit, they even kept the original swordfish sign, changing only the name.  

  
For pure nostalgia value, a last look at Samba Grille: 

The last samba at Bayou Place in Downtown Houston's Theatre District
Summer 2012

And for good measure: Cabo, in all its original colorful glory:

Signage at Cabo, now Pepper Jack's Mexican Grill and Cantina
419 Travis Street Houston, TX 77002

And its reincarnation as Pepper Jack's: "Yes, We Are Open Now".

The light will switch to Green any minute now