The wilderness Awaits!

The grand hike begins.

The trail was basically a well maintained line of mowed grass between the campsites and the lake.

After walking for a while, we suddenly turned a corner and found this lovely and BREEZY sight!

For some unretrievable reason we choose to leave all the swimming gear at home.

How we longed for that cool water.

The Dog was certainly very happy that we made it there!

The rest of us just watched while he enjoyed the luxury.

He was not remotely interested in leaving. He had cool water to drink and to put his feet in.

What more could an ugly dog want!

Then we meet these dudes. Actually it was the same dude. I guess he jumped out of his skin

Moving on down the beach

We really do love camping and we really do enjoy a good walk.

This trip was just so hot and there was no relief, besides the occasional shade.

When we walk, I usually end up in the back herding along the stragglers.

Look at my red sweaty face. Actually don't look, scroll down and look at Astrid examining another dead fish instead.

After finding several of these unfriendly looking fish dead on the beach Jed suddenly did not think the water looked nearly as inviting.

Check out the bedrock. Here in Texas we do not have basements because the bedrock is so close under the dirt that sometimes it actually sticks out of it.

Then Vick made a very hyper friend.

Blue skies!

Moving on around the bend

The two little ones

The two big ones.

My little boy. Why do I have this calm sense of panic in my chest when I look at this picture?

Some how it makes me feel like I'm an old grandma looking back at a picture of my grown son when he was still small. If I blink to many times it might really be the case.

A short while ago I realised that the twins are now older that Ian was when they were born. That was a hard pill to swallow.

He has always been the big kid and they have always been the babies. Knowing that he was smaller then they were when I thought he was so big, just makes me feel like life goes by much to fast.

Ivy is going to 1st grade, Jed is in his last year at UT. Life is changing.

Even the grocery bill is growing up!

I love my garden and all the great stuff we get from it. But if we had to live of it we would starve and eat an awful lot of grass.

Anna and the mushrooms.

The fact that I have zero clue as to the edibility of these fungi makes me sigh for the lost opportunities of long walks in the woods with my maternal grandmother and her telling me which mushrooms were edible and often picking some and taking them home for the next days dinner.

I remember one night when it was after bedtime (and we were still up) when suddenly Mormor and Morfar showed up with giant white mushrooms as big as soccer balls. Asking my mom how many she wanted. They had more in the car. I'm thinking that we had mushroom soup or something like it and that us picky kids rejected the very thought of it. I will never forget their excited faces while they stood there holding those ginormous mushrooms though.

The trail took us away from the lake and back into the shade of the trees.

At least for a little while. I do not think I have ever in my life been anywhere where there was so many different kinds of bugs and I have to tell you they are so noisy!

Butterflies, dragon flies, all kinds of flies, grasshoppers, crickets, etc etc etc etc (yes yes one etc is plenty I know.) Jed watched a dragon fly swoop down and snatch a spider right out of it's net right in front of him. So many different kids and sizes of every bug we came across.

I had a hard time really getting a good picture of any of them because they would always fly away.

We have almost finished the hike now.

Here is an action shot of a butterfly.

Here is a non action shot of a butterfly in a spider web.