Sundew Trail
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Sundew Trail
December 20, 2010
It was a nice, warm day to go traipsing around in the woods. We looked at the trails in the Big Thicket, and this one we had not been on and was still open during hunting season, so we said, “Why not?” My favorite trails are ones by the lakes, but this will have to do. It seems there is always more to see by the lake, I suppose, because animals go to the water.
On the way there, I tell them about something I read on a website that said because of the influx of hogs in the area, mountain lions are also making a comeback.
CONTINUE READING…
Sam Rayburn Dam
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Sam Rayburn Dam
December 15, 2010
After Stewart came home from work, we decided to go for a walk. I was sick of being inside and needed some nature therapy. Not having much time to go very far, we ended up going to the Sam Rayburn Dam, which was formerly McGee Bend Dam. My maiden name is McGee, so, of course, I thought that was neat to find out.
Now, the first thing I noticed when we arrived was the lovely little sign that told me the surface was hazardous for walking. Did that warning stop us? No! Warning signs are for sissies.
Of course, looking out over the water was not good enough for my bunch; they wanted to be next to the water. There were even signs that warned the water may rise suddenly, but onward we voyaged.
My kids eagerly awaited a sudden rise in water, constantly asking me, “When will the water rise, and if it rises, where will we go?” My answer was simply, “Up!” It took us some fancy footwork to get down to the water level. Austin, being a wonderful son as always, was right there to help steady Mom on the descent. So clinging to each other and a handy tree or two, we managed to get down the cliff without any casualties.
The banks were very rocky, and Adam loved chunking the rocks into the water to make a big splash. While he was climbing up and around the rocky ledges, he found a couple of feathers. With feathers in hand, he flapped his “wings” and said, “I believe I can fly!” I correct him, “I believe you will fall! Please be careful.”
A stage was imagined from the smooth ledge they scaled, and Adam did a little dance resembling “The Twist,” then Anna did her supermodel strut across it. Up, around, over, and through, the kids climbed all over GOD’s natural playground. Once again, asking if the dam will open so the water will rise. Adam goes into a dramatic “slow motion” run pretending to escape an impending flood. I tell them again, I do not think the dam will open up.
We find so much peace and joy when we hike, truly some of our happiest moments. I have to say that the scenery was so beautiful on the far side of the water. The orange and yellow leaves of fall hanging on to their color made a lovely setting for the picture.
A lone bird sat atop a fallen tree as the sun was getting low. It looked very surreal and majestic.
We carefully ascended the rocky banks and left that side of the dam to drive over to the other side, where the small park area was.
We walked through the pines that were standing on the point by the lakeside of the dam. It was quite windy. Anna and Adam found a bird nest that must have been blown out of a pine tree.
Adam loved the big pine cones that littered the ground.
Anna said, “This is like ‘Little House on the Prairie grass!” Apparently, the tall grass reminded her of the Little House on the Prairie books; she loves that time period. Adam liked to roll around in the grass, too; the wind whipped through his frazzled hair.
Stewart and I stayed on the hilltop while the kids walked down to the lakeshore. The hill was more than I felt like tackling after the rocks we climbed on the other side.
The hill was perfect for rolling down. I told Adam he might not want to try it in somersault form. I told them to lie on their sides and roll down it. I remember as a child rolling down the side of an old sawdust pile that was left from a saw mill that was behind our house. Rolling down this hill was not nearly as dirty. I found it funny that my kids had never rolled down a hill before, but they seemed to really enjoy it because they did it over and over. They would get going too fast and have to stop themselves.
They tried rolling down the hill. Anna had a head start, so Adam just rolled up the hill while she rolled all the way down. Adam got to the top before she got to the bottom and declared, “I win!” Anna disagrees with him. Adam says, ‘Yeah, I did, you didn’t say which way we were rolling.”
Anna used her overshirt as a “hang glider” and ran down the hill with it flapping behind her. She did not want to share her fun with her little brother, so they decided to have a foot race. She told him, “ If I get there first, I win, and if you lose, that’s ok too!” I laughed and laughed at that. I said, “Sweety, that is a little one-sided isn’t it?”
Wearing down, we sat on the bench at the top of the hill. The littler kids crawled around on the concrete beams and lounged in the “V”. Adam suspended himself between the two beams and declared, “I am a bridge!”
As carefree and active as my children are, I know GOD must have HIS hand on them, protecting them and keeping them safe. Thank you, LORD, for being our protector.
~Becky~
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Neither Wind Nor Cold…
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Neither Wind Nor Cold…
December 12, 2010
We woke up Sunday Morning to the wind blowing like crazy and the temperature’s high only reaching the 50-degree mark, but we still wanted to go on a hike. We knew it was too cold for a long walk, so we decided to go to Martin Dies Jr. State Park and walk the small Island Trail. This trail had a couple of bridges taking us across the water, which is always a highlight on a hike.
Stewart bought me a new camera because my old one was starting to show signs of unreliability. I had the new camera in tow, and he had the older one, so he could get some pictures of me with the family. The kids also brought their little cameras and apparently took up mom’s bad habit of trying to document everything in pictures. So we ended up with a bunch of pictures of us, taking pictures of each other, but we had a good time doing it.
Adam picked up a Sweet-Gum ball. I said, “A porcupine egg!!” He didn’t fall for it. It was much more fun when they were little to pick on them; now they are just too smart. Austin wore his compass ring, but we soon figured out it was not all that accurate. Good thing I carry the map of the park “religiously” since the Kirby hike.
Adam shot up the first tree that looked good to climb for his photo-op. Stewart took a picture of me taking a picture of Adam with his foot stuck in the tree. It was all fun and games climbing that tree until he got stuck, then the panic flashed on his face for a brief minute, but big brother saved him and helped him dismount the tree onto his shoulders.
Anna, not to be outdone by her little brother, tried swinging from a fallen tree, but her dismount was not as graceful. Thankfully, nothing was hurt but her pride.
Stewart and I joked with each other, taking each other’s pictures, but that got old fast.
It was very soothing standing on the shores of the lake, letting the wind blow against my face.
Austin lopped on me; he is a very loving young man, but I think at that point he was just trying to stay warm.
Anna hopped on the bench and danced down the “runway” for a little while. She is such a beautiful free spirit when it is just us if others are around, she is very shy.
Anna did this crazy little walk. I am not sure what she was playing, but I am certain it all made sense in her mind, and she thought she was quite funny, so did I. (No, Austin was not going to whack me with his walking stick; he was just propping it on his shoulder.)
Stewart hid behind a tree to sneak and take a picture of me. I told him, “OK, now you’re just being creepy! I feel like I am being stalked.”
We made it out to the point of the island, and we took advantage of the windbreak these two big oak trees were providing. Adam took some pictures of Anna hunkered down in the nook that the roots created. She was saying, “Brrrrr!”
Adam was doing his best to look innocent, but Mom knew the mischief that lay within that little boy.
Anna was disappointed that the vine was not good for swinging. I am sure she doesn’t want to fall again.
Adam saw that people had carved their names into the bench, so he bounded over and “sat” on all of them. All around the bench, he plopped his rear, “squashing” all of the people. Only in the mind of Adam did that make a good game, but it provided me with a good laugh. Once he was done “squashing” them with his rear, he got up on the bench and stomped on the names, until his sister thought that was boring and wanted to play “Queen of the bench” and gave Adam a hearty shove.
It was quite beautiful out there. The trees were brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows. Spanish moss blew wistfully through the tree tops. The sun’s rays broke through the branches and danced playfully on the lake. We just stood and took it all in. Thanking our creator for all the awesome things he gave us for our pleasure, things in nature that have not changed for thousands of years, simply because GOD is unchanging.
We found a tree that must have been blown down when Hurricane Rita came through the area. All the kids had to take a turn at walking up it. Adam made it the farthest and had to show off with his “surfer dude” stance, but on his way down, he slipped and fell. Like his sister, only his pride felt the pain.
Anna didn’t make it very far at all. I believe she was a little less ambitious than the boys.
Austin thought if little brother could do it, then surely so could he. But he did not make it too far when his hiking stick slipped out of his hand, and he froze and let out a little “Ahhh!” I am sure he was thinking, “Now what?” Sister took no time at all to steal his stick from where it landed on the ground, so Austin gave up and got down to go get it back.
My kids find some of the silliest ways to entertain themselves, but I would not have it any other way. They have vivid imaginations.
Adam finds a pit left by the roots of a blown-over tree, and immediately it turns into a foxhole, and he has his “rocket launcher” locked and loaded. (Maybe I should cut down on the History lessons about the wars.)
A “Bark” cell phone (wonder if that would sell) … and from the looks of it, he must have been bored with the conversation.
Anna rode her “horse”; I assume she was stopping the “horse” at this point.
I am not sure what to think about my silly kids sometimes.
Adam is always having himself a great time, whether he was wearing moss for hair, surfing fallen trees, rocking it out of tree stumps, or putting “ear covers” on to help stay warm, in his words, “I have to cover as much as I can, it’s COLD!” He is Adam, party of one!
Anna found a hollowed-out tree and announces,” I could make a boat out of this!” I believe she was remembering the Heritage Village trip because there was a boat that was carved out of a tree trunk there.
Austin was not nearly as animated as the little ones; he takes his hikes seriously. The scientist comes out in him when we are in the woods, not the comic.
We got to the end of the Island Trail, and I was cold and tired and ready to go, but the kids begged me to just walk up the big bridge before we go, so alas, I gave in. The wind was even more fierce out in the open.
Austin gazed out across the water, counting the cranes along the far shore.
Anna leaned way over the rail to look into the water below. I reminded her that if she fell in, there are alligators in this park. She stopped leaning so far.
One last picture of him taking a picture of me. The wind used my hair to disguise me well.
~Becky~
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Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
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Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem
December 11, 2010
A local church puts on an exhibit that takes you a step back in time to Bethlehem. I have studied a lot of Jewish traditions, and getting to visit a reenactment of the Bethlehem of 2000 years ago is a big treat for me. My mother and my Sis “BD” and her kids “B” and “L” came with us.
Kids at the Bethlehem Sign and posing with the kings.
Kids at the Bethlehem Sign and posing with the kings.
Having the kings wandering around the place is neat and all, but, in reality, it is one of those things that is just not accurately portrayed in the world. The kings didn’t visit baby Yeshua (Jesus) in the stable; they visited the “young child” in a house (Matthew 2:11).
The kids always love the animals. Anna says, “Come here, sweet pony, you should let me love you and pet you and …” The pony was totally occupied with eating its grain and did not pay attention to the kids whatsoever. Anna said she wanted to climb the fence and jump on its back. I reminded her that her legs were too long and the pony was too short. She said she didn’t care, but she resisted the urge.
The “townspeople” were holding a large Boer goat for people to pet. Of course, I couldn’t resist an animal to scratch on. Stewart said he thought, ” No…she won’t touch the stinky goat… she knows better…..”, then yep, I touched the goat. I honestly thought, “Surely they would not bring an ‘intact’ goat up for people to love on!” but alas, they did, and now my hand smells like a rutty ol’ billy goat. Thankfully, they posted the ladies with “healing oils” to be the next on the route. Stewart let them rub peppermint oil on his hand. As soon as I discovered the oil smelled good, I rubbed my stinky hand on Stewart’s peppermint hand to help with my goat smell. It helped greatly for me, but unfortunately, some of the goat smell rubbed off as the peppermint was transferred. Stewart was not happy about that at all.
I believe the synagogue was my favorite part. The “Rabbi” there was very informative, so much so that I forgot to take pictures of it, but I did snap one of Austin while we listened. The man talked about how different the meaning of words was from Hebrew to Greek. For example, the word “on” to us means like a cup sitting “on” a table, but to the Jewish people, “on” means fully committed. He said that unless we knew some of the history of the Bible times, we can not fully understand the meaning of the Bible. I was so pleased, that is exactly what I have been telling people. He spoke of the “Shema,” and I tried to talk Anna into saying the Shema in Hebrew, but she was too shy.
My sis asked me why the Jewish people write God like G-D. I explain to her that they reverence HIM so much that they do not write his name for fear of writing it wrong and having to destroy it or writing it in vain. It makes me think how far away we are compared to them. When people say “Oh My God” all the time about every little thing. We have no reverence for or fear of GOD.
We walked past the “Inn” that had “no room” and got to pet a donkey that didn’t bite, unlike mine, who does.
We stopped at the carpenter shop where he explained the tools used and gave Adam a shaving from a stool he was making. I am not sure if Adam was thinking it was silly to have a piece of wood or if the smell of the cedar was what caused the face he made in that picture.
We walked on around to the yarn-dying booth and Anna and Adam dyed a piece, being careful not to get the pomegranate juice on their clothes.
A couple of years ago, when we came to Bethlehem, we were intrigued by “finger-weaving” so much that when we returned home, I had to look it up, and we all learned to finger-weave. Adam took a keen interest in it, so we took a picture beside the booth.
Next, we visited the potter’s wheel. Adam and Anna take a turn at trying to mold it into something. Watching it makes me think of the scripture:
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
If only we would be more like the clay, to just accept the firm guidance of our master’s hand, who only wants to mold us into something beautiful, worthy of being the vessel to hold the Holy Ghost and the anointings HE bestows on us.
The music shop family played us a little tune that was actually quite good and gave each kid a flute to take home. Austin looks at me like, “Are you serious? Something noisy?” Adam takes the “rocker” pose as he blows on his flute. They were told real quick by me that they are not going to be blowing it while we were at Bethlehem.
We were getting close to the “pinkie dance” circle, and I jokingly asked Austin if he was going to pinkie dance. The look was the answer to my question.
Anna checked out the feel of the grains. The little girls in the booth were talking amongst themselves when one of them did the common ” Oh My God!” saying. Quickly, they tried to cover it up by saying, “God has blessed us with the baby Jesus…” I said, “Now you know, real Hebrew children would not have said that.” They looked at me like, “Uh oh.” I just smiled and moved on.
We peek through the window and look at the wedding party. My mom pointed out the Menorah in the middle of the table. Anna says, “They are supposed to set it in the window for all to see.”
“I know, but they don’t know that, sweetie,” was my reply.
Anna was too shy when we first arrived to do the pinkie dance. I asked her once again before we left if she wanted to. She said, “Yeah, I am in the mood now!” I asked “L” if she was going to, “If Anna will, I will.” So off they went, dragging Adam along.
I left Bethlehem feeling closer and connected this year than in years past. I know it is from all I have learned and studied, and the beliefs that make me feel a sense of community.
When we returned home, my two little kids pulled out their “Hebrew” costumes and played “Bethlehem”. It makes my heart smile to see that they, too, hold our beliefs dear. Anna repeated to Adam what she heard tonight, ” Shalom, have you traveled far to Bethlehem?”
~Becky~
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Mission Tejas
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Mission Tejas
November 28, 2010
Mission Tejas State Park is home to the Rice Family Log Home. It is over 150 years old. I can only imagine the stories that exist around this piece of history!
To walk through such a place and read the History of it is amazing. To think about the fact that they had to leave Texas because of Native American raids makes you realize the raids must have been at this house, and it just seems like you took a step back into History.
Stewart said seeing this house with the “dog-trot” (we call it a dog-run) makes him long for a dog-run log house of his own. I am not so crazy about that idea, I want my house joined altogether simply for safety reasons.
The old Mission Replica was my favorite. We walked in and sat on their “Lincoln log” style church pew, and I read the History of the place from the brochure. To imagine back to the days when these missionaries were risking their lives to bring the name of Jesus to the Native Americans, left me with a sense of longing, back to the days when Christianity was something that meant saving souls and bringing Jesus to the world. Now, when you go to a church, all you see is how they brought the world into the house of GOD, polluting the Holy with the profane. It breaks my heart to see how far the “church” has gotten from GOD. I started singing Amazing Grace, and I felt the presence of GOD in that little church. I long for pure worship of GOD, not the man-made stuff you find these days. I long for real unity and a oneness with others who believe that GOD is the absolute one and only thing that matters. I do not know if I will ever understand why people want to have the world for a short time rather than GOD for eternity. Getting off my soapbox now.
We load up in the car and drive around to where the hiking trail begins. Of course, there is a park right there, and all my kids had to take a turn at the cool little backhoe toy there. Yes, even my biggest “kid” had to give it a try. Stewart says we need one of these at our creek, then maybe he could get the kids to help him dig dirt.
Stewart and Anna play on the slide. Quickly, he realizes he has not lost THAT much weight yet. “Hunny, I …ammm….stucckkk,” he calls as he scoots himself down the slide. Anna naturally goes down with ease. Her hiking books slide just fine on the metal.
With fall leaves crunching under our feet, we head out on the hiking trail. One and a quarter miles is an easy little hike. The kids got a kick out of the sign that read “foot traffic only.” “Like what else kind of traffic are you going to have on a hiking trail?” I explain that they mean no bikes or horses on this one.
The first little bit of the trail was nice and simple, then we started heading up a hill. About halfway up, the kids start whining. I tell them to imagine how Jesus felt having to carry his cross up a hill. “While being beat,” Stewart adds. “I want us to think about that while we finish this, without complaint!” I instruct.
We made it to the top of that hill and decided that maybe this hike wasn’t as easy as we first thought. I suggest we slow down, take our time, and check out the area. We come across the CCC baths. A primitive dugout area that was lined with rock. I assumed this is where they bathed. Adam acts out, taking a bath in the “tub” labeled “bathe”. There was another “tub” labeled “rinse” and a hole labeled “spring”. On a cold day like this was I was thinking they needed a pit labeled “fire”, to warm that water.
We came to the “Steep Step Trail,” and that was exactly what it was. Now that we were on top of the hill, we had to get back down. Apparently, this was the way down. The steps were not nice on my knees, but with the help of my wonderful son, I made it down. Austin is always so good about staying close to me and lending me an arm to steady myself. I always worry I will fall, I am clumsy that way. Little Adam is picking up brothers good habits and helped me a couple of times, too.
I only thought the steep steps were taking us back to the level ground, but I was wrong. It took us through the valley, which of course meant that we had to climb up a hill again. Once we got to the top of the hill, I actually felt a sense of accomplishment. We sat on the bench overlooking the valley and soaked up the peacefulness and basked in the serenity of the place. Austin kicked back on his pack and was taking it all in, also.
We talked about how we would love to live here. We discuss the idea of taking a two-week vacation and traveling the eastern states one year, the central states the next, and the western ones last, going and seeing all the wonders of nature and history, avoiding big cities as much as possible. It is something I want to do before Austin is grown, so he can be a part of it too. We decided this has been our favorite hike so far because even though it was harder, it was also a greater accomplishment. I have a better understanding of why, spiritually, we have to go through the valleys to get to the mountain top. Once we are on the mountaintop, we appreciate the valley also, knowing that you can not have one without the other.
~Becky~
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