Outdoors
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Eagles & Snakes
Last weekend we were working on our penny porch (more on that soon!) when a bird flew by the edge of the pond and made a distinct call. Without looking up Chris said it was an eagle. The bird landed within view in a tree on our neighbor’s property and I went inside to get my camera. My photos aren’t good, they are more like ‘proof’ photos. The eagle is real! We hopped in the canoe to see about paddling closer to the tree they were on, however I couldn’t find them despite Chris continuing to tell me ‘There they are!’ This meant that my photos turned out pretty crappy,…
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Early January at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Over the weekend we wanted to get out and do something away, something that didn’t involve working on our house. I mentioned to Chris I had wanted to visit Balcones Canyonlands NWR after having seen it on the map over the last few years. It was northwest of town and not on our typical route when we visit Austin, so exploring this part of town was a nice diversion from our usual routine. We opted for the Doeskin Ranch area of the refuge as it has the most hiking trails. I’m a little disappointed there aren’tmore trails than the five-ish miles, but I bet there is opportunity for cross country…
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Reconsidering The Florida Trail As A Valuable Long Trail
This post I’ve been ruminating on for oh, probably eight months now a year now (can you tell this has been sitting in my drafts folder for awhile?). It first started out with me a little upset that a hiking blog I followed was lamenting that their hike through a section of remote wilderness ended up being on a converted rails-to-trails section of trail rather than up and over mountains as they had initially thought, therefore the trail had been flat which had equated it to being boring. And then yesterday six months ago or so, the Facebook group ‘Thru-Hiking’ reshared a photo from the Florida Trail Association and asked…
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Backyard Birds | December Edition
Top two: Bluebirds, an active group in our backyard. Third: Great White Egret Four: Mockingbird, looking fat and happy. Five and Six: Turkey vulture across the street. Love watching them fly the thermals, swooping through the air. Not pictured: the loud crows, despite my best efforts to locate them…the osprey that has been hanging around the ponds lately. Oh, and the never-there-at-the-right-moment belted kingfisher that flew by as we were picking up my neighbor’s leaves to use in our compost bin.
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Room for Rent | Owlets Wanted
Chris built a barred owl box out of old fence wood that came from his mom and step-dad. He built it on a whim over the last few days and we finally put it up in a tree this morning. I happened to be out on our balcony on the second floor this morning and spotted the perfect tree to put it in, an elm, so that it would face the balcony and we could easily see it from our bedroom window as well. The perch came from a branch Chris found down by the pond. It worked out perfectly I think. Now all we need is an owl to…
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9 Miles at Nails Creek State Park
Lots of photos, details at the end… Last weekend, still wanting to stretch my legs after our failed attempt on the Northeast Texas Trail, Chris and I decided to hike the Somerville Trailway starting at Nails Creek State Park out west of Brenham. Our AT friend RedHat lives that direction and we invited her to join along. I had only seen her two other times since the AT, meeting her once for dinner and then hiking with her on the Lone Star Trail for a dayhike, but that had been almost two years ago! She’s always heading back to the AT to visit her boyfriend who is a ridgerunner in…
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(More) Canoe Explorations
We took the canoe out for another spin over the weekend. It was actually my first time on the pond. Yes, after living here for a year and a half, I still had not been on the pond. Of course now I think a spin in the pond needs to be a weekly ‘thing’. I think the only thing that ruins it for me is just how much Chinese tallow is on the pond and the little islands along the creek, upstream. It is really depressing and downright ugly. ” The stream narrows up the way and while Chris was able to get further upstream a few weekends ago, the…
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Final Thoughts + Photos & Video from the Northeast Texas Trail (NETT)
Final Thoughts: This trail is a great concept, just not ready to be fully executed yet. To be ready for hikers and bikers alike, there needs to be some organization in regards to trail maintenance. I’d venture to say that even the width of the railbed doesn’t need to be cleared, and really hikers only need a nice singletrack. Of course the bicyclists will desire more room to ride so more clearing will be needed. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem that the trail alliance is as organized as other long distance trails, yet, and either the local cities or highly motiviated locals and trail users are the only ones who keep…
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Thru Hike FAIL: Part II | The Northeast Texas Trail (NETT)
On Sunday morning, though we had spent plenty of time in the tent already over 12 hours, we struggled to want to get out of the warmth of the sleeping bags. We hopped out, packed everything up, emptied bladders, and threw down a bar or two into our stomachs. We were around 2 miles from Avery which boasted a gas station that had a cafe and we hoped to stop there for a quick breakfast. The sun was out, which was an optimism booster, and though I was feeling sore from the day before I was ready to go. At this point in time I was still feeling that we…
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Thru-Hike FAIL: Part I | The Northeast Texas Trail (NETT)
Well, I debated writing this or not. I mean, it is a fail, and after all, who wants to write about their failures? Earlier this fall Chris and I decided we were going to thru-hike the Lone Star Trail. I did some research and it seemed some sections were closed because the Forest Service is being asinine and calling these sections ‘dangerous’ due to dead trees along the length of the trail. Nevermind that the rest of the forest immediately adjacent to the trail, in the forest, was open. Silly, silly, silly. We were going to hike it anyway. That us until we received our Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine…