Blunn Creek Preserve

Today Toby and I headed to the downtown area to Blunn Creek Preserve. It's been several years since we've been there, and all I could remember about it was that it had an old, inactive volcano on it's premises.

Mexican blankets - or Firewheels, whichever you prefer to call them - were absolutely beautiful. They fully lined the edge of the first half of the trail. I know this is probably blasphemy, but I favor the Firewheels over the beloved Texas Bluebonnets. They look like little happy suns.

Happy Suns :-)

Most of the trail was shady with little sub trails that led to the creek.....

I loved this old, huge tree. It reminded me of the old trees back in Mobile....

 Blunn Creek, I presume...

We hiked up the hill towards the volcano and got a view of St. Edward's University....

Here is the site of the old volcano, not much to look at, so you have to use your imagination....

After our short hike, we headed to Baby A's for a Purple 'Rita, some chips and queso, and uninterrupted couple time.

Wednesday Walk

I complained yesterday that all the rain we've been having is interfering with my outdoor activities. Soon, it will be too hot to spend anytime outdoors unless it's near the creek.

So, even though today's forecast was calling for rain, Toby and I took our chances to hike an area of the Walnut Creek City Trail System that we have not ventured yet.

I'd really be able to tell you where exactly it was, but the most I can say is that it's off of Decker Lane and runs nearby Walter E. Long Lake.

It was a quiet, secluded trail of only a few miles....

Even though the trail didn't meander along the lake like I was hoping it would, you could still see a little of it in certain areas....

Good thing it was a seasonably comfortable day, otherwise the lack of shade could have made our walk uncomfortable...

As you can see by the skies, Mother Nature changed her mind about the rain....

A bullfrog was croaking in the water. We could hear him loud and clear, but couldn't locate him....

If you look closely, you can see an odd shaped butterfly on a flower...

Here's another closer pic of the butterfly....

This would have been a great trail for the bikes. I'm glad the weather cooperated for us.

Sip, Shop and Stroll

Last night Toby and I went to Elgin's Sip, Shop and Stroll. Elgin is a small self-sustaining city located about 15 miles east of Austin.

Elgin is no stranger to me. I've done my grocery shopping there many times before we got a local Walmart. That said, I don't frequent downtown Elgin, and can only recall driving through it a couple of times.

When I saw the Elgin Sip, Shop and Stroll advertised it piqued my interest. Austin is so overcrowded and 'popular' now that I find events in the city overwhelming and tiring. Traffic is a nightmare too.

I was surprisingly impressed with downtown Elgin. It was a lot classier than I expected it to be, especially considering  most people's attire in the grocery store there are pajama bottoms, slippers and curlers.

There was a thrift store, an interesting antique shop, and other little interesting shops. I loved browsing in the stores. Most of them were serving wine or snacks, while we browsed. We mostly sipped and strolled, rather than shop, but we did make a couple of purchases for good measure...

Enjoying some wine at the bar....

This is some very old and intricate crochet!!

We brought Skye home some sugar...

They also had some listening pleasure....

It was nice to get out for awhile. We always find pleasure in the small things life has to offer, since that's mostly what we can afford!