-
Campsite Play
-
Frio Canyon Trail | Garner State Park
After our hike up Old Baldy, Chris wanted something more mellow and less terrain oriented. The Frio Canyon Trail takes a loop around the prairie portion of the north end of the park. We hiked it after dinner one evening and it was not busy at all, which made for a pleasant walk. There was a section on the west side of the park, near the road, that felt a little bit like being in south-central Texas, near Brenham, reminding me of the Somerville Trailway; it had a slight bottomland/scrubby marsh feel to it though it certainly was not wet at the time we hiked. The hike was peaceful, exactly…
-
Around the Yard in Early October
Cassia/Senna corymbosa A small sweet potato harvest from volunteers in the vegetable garden. Formosa lily seed pods. Rudbeckia lacinata seed heads. The wild and tangled garden. Visiting trees—he likes to visit the trees along the driveway. Picking okra with me. “Mom, let’s go NOW!” My new mail and harvest catch-all for the way back to the house. The Turk’s cap hibiscus grouping has established well and is now abundant with butterflies, particularly sulphurs, this time of year.
-
More Monarchs
Every time I think the monarchs have moved on and the milkweed has recuperated from being devoured, I find a new round of caterpillars! I’m making plans to be sure to get more milkweed seeds to start for next year because of this very abundant flow these last few months. Next year I think we’re also going to try to bring the caterpillars into a tent so that they can be protected from predators and be ensured to turn into butterflies. We went for a hike over the weekend at Huntsville State Park and they have a really neat wooden structure with mesh sides that Chris liked and mentioned he…
-
Movie Night Cocoon Cardi | Finished Crochet Project
I was in the mood to make something wearable and relatively easy recently, something to stash-bust my yarn. I came across the Movie Night Cocoon Cardi via Ravelry (this link is Craftsy for those not on Ravelry) and it seemed perfect for the vat of acrylic yarn I have on hand. Plus, it was basically a giant granny square and there’s not much easier than that! The project was incredibly easy and I’m already planning on making at least two more for other people and think I could make a second for myself plus a third for myself using thinner yarn or crochet thread for something with more drape or…
-
Old Baldy Hike at Garner State Park
Our hike up to Old Baldy last weekend did not start well. We hadn’t been hiking all summer and so it was an adjustment for Forest to get back into the backpack and for Chris to carry him. The trouble started when we left the very busy Pecan Grove camping area to head up the trail when Forest began wailing and throwing himself all over the backpack. Not only is this uncomfortable for Chris, Forest was also trying to sneak his arms out from under the straps and trying to escape. It took us a few minutes to realize he wanted to people watch at the campground instead of going…
-
Jackson and Perkins Plant Order Unboxing
See the original blog post giveaway from Mr. Brown Thumb here
-
Famous Trees of Texas | The Rio Frio Landmark (Tree 149)
It isn’t often that we’re out in the area SW of San Antonio so when we were there this time around I made sure to grab our tree book to see what might be in the area. We were in luck, just up the road from Garner State Park was the Rio Frio Landmark tree located in the very tiny ‘town’ of Rio Frio located on the east side of the Frio River. Forest was not interested in taking a nap on Saturday afternoon despite all of my attempts to get him to lay down in the tent so we did what all parents do when they know their kid…
-
The Frio Bat Cave
Finally we’ve returned to camping and hiking season around these parts! Just as a lot of people are storing their gear for colder months, we southerners are digging it out and are ready to get outside. Gone (mostly) are the days of standing outside for two minutes before dripping in sweat so now is the time to relish the cool weather and start exploring once again. We kicked off the season with a trip to the Texas Hill Country for Chris’ birthday weekend. We hit up Garner State Park, one of the most popular parks in Texas. While researching the area I found out about the Frio Bat Flight at…
-
Famous Trees of Texas | The Goose Island Oak (Tree 171)
Our first stop on our vacation trip was to the ‘Big Tree’ at Goose Island State Park to get one of the Famous Trees of Texas. You may recall last year we stopped in Rockport to nab one but didn’t stop and grab this one. I had sights on getting another tree in Corpus Christi while we were on this trip but we never made it up to get it. We’d just missed a rainstorm when we arrived at the tree and thankfully it was overcast so it wasn’t too hot but the mosquitoes were out. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve hung out with that many mosquitoes—it was pretty…