A Cactus at Enchanted Rock

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of 1643.5 acres on Big Sandy Creek, north of Fredericksburg. It was acquired by warranty deed in 1978 by the Nature Conservancy of Texas, Inc., from the Moss family. Enchanted Rock was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1970 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Drayce

Goose (aka Drayce) spent the night with us last night. He did so well. The kids played & all went down very fast. Drayce slept in our master bathroom with the exhaust fan going. I stayed in the bed very near. He made a couple sounds at one point & I had to bring him into bed with me. He probably didn't need that. He fell asleep quickly, but, naturally, I stayed awake all night. I finally put him back in the crib when I knew he was fast asleep. He woke again about 6am. I brought him to bed again, gave him a bottle, & we slept for few more minutes. About 7am the whole house started waking & having fun. We were blessed by this night.

Creatures From My Teacher

Verdin

Florida Shells on a Beach

House Finch

Harris' Antelope Squirrel

Green Tree Frog

Green Tree Frog

Gambel's Quail

Gambel's Quail

Gambel's Quail

Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontail

Costa's Hummingbird

Costa's Hummingbird

Costa's Hummingbird

My amazing teacher is my uncle, Greg. Since we met a few months ago we have communicated almost daily. He's on a trip in Arizona & simply passes me these wonderful photographs. I, and our children, are learning a great deal about wildlife thanks to him. What a blessing he is and so willing to share his gift with us all. God is amazing.

Creatures

Staples

I've always thought the staples of life were milk, bread, toilet paper ... you know, items you purchase when a tornado or ice storm (in Texas) is about to hit. Well, I now have two industrial staples in my head. Be warned the first image is the most tame. I'll tell the story & give you the close-up version at the end (looks like I have big ears).

Our Blue house attracts people. We love it. I even encourage it. Tuesday night the house was fluttering with parents & kids. Everyone was eating homemade pizza & pasta. There was dancing & laughing ... then bed for the little ones. Jessica stayed behind at my request to visit.

We sat on the couch talking. I went to do something in the kitchen & shattered my favorite salt shaker. It fell from the cabinet & smashed into pieces. Being me, I went straight for the broom. Next I stand up & SLAM my head into the open cabinet door corner --yes, the corner you never want to meet. Poor Jessica had no idea what happened. She called Danny & he came home from work immediately. We spent the next 6 hours in the ER waiting room.

The doctor said I definitely went unconscious. Not sure how he could figure that out after waiting close to 6 hours. They performed a CAT-scan & found nothing but a small, but very deep gash. They 'numbed' the area. It didn't bother me one bit. Danny, however, was squeezing my hand so tight. Then came the stable GUN. Ouch. Super ouch. Stop here if you don't want to see it up close and personal. The wet part is anit-bacterial ointment.