Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Bull Creek Hike

August, 2017

While Kyle was in San Antonio helping with Harvey relief, I thought it would be a nice chance to do a short hike at Bull Creek.

There was so much water after the storm!

Spring Garden 2017

I love being able to plant a garden in the spring AND the fall in Austin!

We were able to get a few green beans and cow peas this spring (recovering from a C-section makes digging in the garden more difficult).


I love cow pea flowers!

It's nice to have a little helper!

Mayfield Preserve Garden

Mayfield Preserve Garden

January 2, 2016

With the holidays over, we thought we would ease back into weekly-ish hikes by trying out this park just west of Mopac. From the description in our guide book, we thought the park would be small and didn't give ourselves enough time to really explore this cool place. The trails are well groomed and fairly flat, although there is a steep incline to get down to the river. It looks like many Austin hikes with dense brush, a lot of juniper (or cedar) trees, limestone outcrops, and more water than you would think exists in Texas.



Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Garden of the Gods for the Holidays

Garden of the Gods for the Holidays

December 23, 2015

Over the holidays we were lucky enough to go to Colorado to visit some family. We made a stop at the Garden of the Gods. If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend their visitor's center.


We tried to get a pretty picture of the Rockies at sunset, but it was the wrong kind of sunset for a spectacular photo. 



Friday, December 18, 2015

December Gardening in Texas

December Gardening in Texas
December 18th 2015

Trading snow during the holidays for 60 degree sunny days has its perks. One perk is the second growing season down here in Austin. This is what I pulled from the garden today, mid-december. That's right, these photos were taken a few minutes ago, not a few months ago.


From left to right: dino kale, purple kale, green kale, MY FIRST BROCCOLI, and Kaleidoscope, a kale and brussels sprouts hybrid.

I have some herbs growing out there:


(and some lettuce sprouting in a pot, which the squirrels can't seem to leave alone, so I had to cover with chicken wire).

Here is a shot of the whole garden, in its protective cage:


From left to right: broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, and lettuce seedlings. Yum!



Monday, December 14, 2015

Inks Lake State Park

Inks Lake State Park
May 30, 2015

An hour outside Austin, we visited this a beautiful park just after it had rained for a number of days, so the wildflowers were out in force. The lake was beautiful, although wide open to motorized sports. I forgot to get pictures of the water.



If you look closely, you'll see a bright green lizard!


Our fearless navigator (directions for hiking could have been clearer).


Taking a break for a snack. What you can't see is that I was sitting at the top of a hill overlooking a carpet of blooming cactus and, further away, Inks Lake.



And the blooming cactus. I think it is a Lace Cactus.



Comanche Bluff Trail, Taylor, TX                                                              
Sunday, September 6, 2015


This trail has a pretty drive past pecan orchards, cotton fields, and other farmland with lots of trees. The drive crisscrosses the San Gabriel River, so there was a surprising amount of green for this time of year.



The trail begins in the Army Corps of Engineer Park, which only costs $4 per car to enter. The trailhead has a restroom, or really more of a glorified outhouse, but it was very clean. About half way through the trail there is another trailhead that also has restrooms.

Most of the trail ran parallel to Grainger Lake, so a nice breeze would waft over occasionally. This also created some dense vegetation! The water did not look swimmable. People were fishing, so that may be something fun to do in the future.




A highlight of this trail are the cool bridges.






Unfortunately there are no special rock formations or vistas, but you can walk down to the lake by the campground.


There was an RV campground by the trailhead. We passed a number of people out hiking that may have been from the campground. It didn’t create a lot of noise and it is mostly blocked from sight on the trail. The campground also has a bathroom for those who forgot at the trailhead.