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September and October 2016 Book Report
I was in the middle of a lot of books in September so I didn’t want to do a book report at that time. However, I’ve now finished a bunch of books and am in the middle of more! Before I launch into that I’m going to launch into a rave about how much I now enjoy listening to audiobooks because I figured out how to speed them up! I have always been super bored by audiobooks, finding only a few here and there that caught my attention well enough to listen through. Recently, though, I started seeing people talk about speeding audiobooks up because many readers are speed readers…
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Seedlings
It’s been awhile since I went out and took photos in the garden using the reverse macro technique. Since Chris got me a new 18-55 lens for my birthday, I’m using my old lens (which had some connection problems) for things like reverse macro and freelensing when I think to use it. Here’s a bit of what I shot last week; I mostly wanted to shoot the seedlings out in the vegetable garden. Blackberry Lily Monarch caterpillars Tomato flowers Red giant mustard Spinach seedlings Radish seedlings
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Piecing Together Trails | Garner State Park
Old CCC entrance to the park Before breaking down camp and heading home after our camping trip, we went for morning hike along the Wild Horse Creek, Highway, and Ashe Juniper trails. We saw no one along the trails until we were almost back to the car. The trail starts along Wild Horse Creek which is a pretty, spring-flowing creek that looked great for exploring when Forest gets a bit bigger. The trail gently undulates and climbs but levels out after awhile. It was quiet along the trail, not a lot of activity, though plenty of plant identifying to be had for the botany geeks like us. We didn’t complete…
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Campsite Play
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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…
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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.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Jackson and Perkins Plant Order Unboxing
See the original blog post giveaway from Mr. Brown Thumb here