At Home With The Armadillo

“I want to go home with the Armadillo.” ​And you will, too, once you’ve picked up Gary P. Nunn’s new memoir of the life and times of this true Texas original. As one of the founding fathers of the progressive country music scene in Austin, Texas, Nunn helped change the face of popular music. His anthem “London Homesick Blues” was the theme song of the wildly popular Austin City Limits—the longest-running music series in American television history—for over two decades. His hit songs, such as “The Last Thing I Needed First Thing this Morning” and “What I Like about Texas,” have been recorded by artists from Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Martin Murphey to Rosanne Cash, Willie Nelson, and most recently, Chris Stapleton. At Home with the Armadillo is a unique and revealing debut work that showcases Nunn’s exceptional abilities as a storyteller. His obvious songwriting talents have translated naturally into honest, captivating prose as he recounts the story of his life from a humble childhood in rural Oklahoma to playing with members of the famous Crickets to his move to Texas and into the burgeoning Austin music scene of the early 1970s. The story of this extraordinarily talented musician will captivate a broad audience. It’s a book for lovers of country and rock-and-roll music, students of the history of those genres, people who grew up in Austin or Texas in the sixties and seventies, and those who wish they had! This is a heartfelt narrative that doesn’t hold back as Nunn reflects about the good times and the bad of a young musician on his way to a future that wasn’t always clear. As much as this is the story of Nunn’s life, At Home with the Armadillo is also an homage to Texas, to the rich and star-studded history of Austin music, and to all the musicians and other personalities Nunn met on their respective ways through the music world of the last five decades. Personal stories of musicians like Murphey, Walker, and Nelson are integrated with tales of the festivals, clubs, and venues from Los Angeles to Nashville where their careers and Nunn’s were made. Nunn shares wild adventures in Mexico, his personal encounter with the Viet Nam War, and the glory days of Austin when the “Live Music Capital of the World” was coming into its own. Whether you’re a country music fan of any age, a cosmic cowboy, an aging hippie, or anyone who wants to know how it all happened, this book will take you back to the days. To the days of the Armadillo World Headquarters—where, as Nunn states, “It’s been said that our music was the catalyst that brought the s***kickers and the hippies together at the Armadillo.” Nunn notes, “I have been blessed with good health, and I have driven over two million miles alone without an accident—knock on wood! ‘Success is survival,’ as Leonard Cohen told me many years ago.” To readers of At Home with the Armadillo: We’re lucky to be along for the ride!

When Bo spots what he thinks is a "rip-roarin', rootin'-tootin', shiny red armadillo," he knows what he has to do. Follow that armadillo! Bo leaves his mother and three brothers behind and takes off for a two-stepping, bronco-bucking adventure. Jan Brett turns her considerable talents toward the Texas countryside in this amusing story of an armadillo on his own.

When an armadillo named Sasparillo wants to know where on earth he is, he leaves his home in San Antonio and travels north through the canyons and prairies of Texas. In Amarillo he meets an eagle and, with her help, finds the answer to his question--as well as lots of adventures.

“Chatty, humorous, and sometimes almost hysterically funny . . . Everything, perhaps even more, that you might have wanted to know about armadillos.” —The Quarterly Review of Biology Perhaps no creature has so fired the imagination of a populace as the armadillo, that most ungainly, awkward, and timid little animal. What is it that sets this quizzical little creature apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? Larry L. Smith and Robin W. Doughty ably answer this question in The Amazing Armadillo: Geography of a Folk Critter. This informative book traces the spread of the nine-banded armadillo from its first notice in South Texas late in the 1840s to its current range east to Florida and north to Missouri. The authors look at the armadillo’s natural history and habitat as well as the role of humans in promoting its spread, projecting that the animal is increasing in both range and number, continuing its ecological success in areas where habitat and climate are favorable. The book also contributes to a long-standing research theme in geography: the relationship between humans and wildlife. It explores the armadillo’s value to the medical community in current research in Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) as well as commercial uses, and abuses, of the armadillo in recent times. Of particular note is the author’s engaging look at the armadillo as a symbol of popular culture, the efforts now underway to make it a “totem animal” symbolizing the easy-going lifestyles of some Sunbelt cities, and the spread of the craze for armadilliana to other urban centers.

The word armadillo is Spanish for “little armored one.” This midsize mammal that looks like a walking tank is a source of fascination for many people but a mystery to almost all. Dating back at least eleven million years, the nocturnal, burrowing insectivore was for centuries mistaken for a cross between a hedgehog and a turtle, but it actually belongs to the mammalian superorder Xenarthra that includes sloths and anteaters. Biologists W. J. Loughry and Colleen M. McDonough have studied the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) for more than twenty years. Their richly illustrated book offers the first comprehensive review of everything scientists know about this unique animal. Engaging both scientists and a broader public, Loughry and McDonough describe the armadillo’s anatomy and physiology and all aspects of its ecology, behavior, and evolution. They also compare the nine-banded armadillo with twenty or so other, related species. The authors pay special attention to three key features of armadillo biology—reproduction, disease, and habitat expansion—and why they matter. Armadillos reproduce in a unique and puzzling manner: females always give birth to litters of genetically identical quadruplets, a strategy not found in any other vertebrates. Nine-banded armadillos are also the only vertebrates except for humans known to contract leprosy naturally. And what about habitat expansion? The authors suggest that the armadillo’s remarkable spread across the southeastern United States may be the consequence of its most notable feature: a tough, protective carapace. Biologists, evolutionists, students, and all those interested in this curious creature will find The Nine-Banded Armadillo rich in information and insight. This comprehensive analysis will stand as the definitive scientific reference for years to come and a source of pleasure for the general public.

Many a famous tale began with Once upon a Time. While yet others led off with It was a dark and dreary night. Each author, using these openings, was attempting to set the tone for his or her story and poem that followed. None of the stories or poetry that follow in this book set their tone with such epic or historic and yes sometimes hackneyed openings. Instead they all begin with what the individual author considered a fresh perspective on a subject of either his or her choosing or one chosen for him/her. In order to better understand this last statement, an explanation of how these authors came together to write such stories is required. In 2005, Milli Thornton, the author of the book Fear of Writing, for writers & closet writers, established a writing group in a back room of Chickis Coffee Shop in the small Texas Hill Country community of Bulverde. Each Tuesday morning this eclectic group of would-be authors gathered, and over coffee and a variety of pastries would write for two hours. The two retired school teachers, a nurse and federal agent along with, an Irish lass, and an interior designer/artist would write their stories and poems from prompts offered by Thornton in her book or from other sources such as Texas Public Radio or WritersDigest.com. Making liberal use of their literary licenses, these writers crafted their pieces from these prompts by either embodying the entire prompt or selecting key words and or phrases from these prompts. On a number of occasions the single word the was chosen from the prompt and woven into a tale. Or the writers would choose a subject that was of importance to them at that moment. A tale from ones past; a rail against some minor injustice or poking fun at one of lifes inane situation became fodder for these authors. Just as important as the prompt or fertile material as Thornton refers to them as, was the understanding that the stories and poems, when read at the conclusion of each weekly meeting, would not be negatively critiqued unless requested by the author. Instead, each participant would receive positive feed-back and encouragement on his or her works in hopes that it would inspire him/her to continue writing. The theory behind this kind of writing support can best be articulated in the words of Thornton when she discussed unleashing your imagination. She advised, The more you flex it the more limber it becomes. Positive reinforcement was intended to aid in the limbering effort, to encouraging them to continue to write and therefore become better writers. That the theory proffered by Thorntons was effective one merely has to look at the limited success of several of the authors who have contributed to this book. Two authors submitted and had their short stories selected to be read on Texas Public Radio. One author received honorable mention in another short story competition. Another of this group of authors finished and published a novel and has completed another book that is being readied for publication. These accomplishments might have not been achieved had it not been for this writing group. Moreover, this book would have not been written had it not been for the desire and dedication of these authors who week in and week out continued to pour out their souls in their short stories. Over the succeeding years, numerous writers passed through this group. Some moved on as their life situations changed; others needed something other than what was offered by the group. And still others, decided for personal reasons that the group did not satisfy their writing needs. What remained, was a constant core of writers who continued to meet and toil each Tuesday or whenever possible. The stories and poems contained in this book are the works of that core of writers. This group of writers hope that you, the reader, get as much joy from reading this collection of short stories as their authors did in creating them. The book has been divided

Looks at armadillo burrows and how armadillos use them to stay safe and raise their young.