Tag: fall foliage

Seeking Autumn.

One of the things I’ve wanted to do since moving here is visit Lost Maples State Natural Area to see the fall foliage. Garner State Park is 30 miles away from Lost Maples. It doesn’t have the maples, but has a fair number of sycamore and cypress trees, which present beautiful fall color.

So, we took a road trip. Along the way, we discovered a nice BBQ place in Johnson City that we’ve probably driven by 20 times before without noticing: Pig Pen BBQ. We also found an adorable French patisserie on the town square in Kerrville called Pookie’s. I recommend both.

We did a double take when we drove by a roadside point of interest in Ingram, Texas. We just had to turnaround, stop and see. It was a close-to-actual-size model of Stonehenge, and, a bonus, a model of an Easter Island head monolith. Oh, the things you’ll find in Texas.

Stonehenge II and an Easter Island Moai head model in Ingram, Texas.

Near Hunt, we also drove along the Guadalupe River, and right by Camp Mystic, silently witnessing signs of the destruction from the July 4th 2025 devastating flood that raged right through there.

At Garner State Park, we stayed in one of their cabins for two nights. This allowed us to stargaze during the peak of the Leonid meteor shower, and we could make a visit to Lost Maples from there for a nice day trip.

Cabin #2, Garner State Park

Garner State Park is an amazing destination in its own right. It sits on the Frio River, has over 300 campsites, 20+ screened enclosures to camp in, and 20+ cabins like the one we stayed in, which were built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Being November, it was off-season during our visit, but still pretty busy. They have miles and miles of hiking and biking trails. During the season, their concessions are open, including kayak and tube rentals, a grill and ice cream shop, visitor center, a putt-putt golf course, sand volleyball courts, basketball courts, several park stores, and a jukebox dance every night at the pavilion. I can only imagine how busy they get in the summer.

We saw some meteors. And, we found the Fall foliage!

Cypress trees along the Frio River, Garner State Park ❤
Monte skipping a rock on the Frio River.
Old Baldy peak at Garner State Park
More Fall foliage along the Frio River at Garner State Park
Big-Tooth Maple leaves at Lost Maples State Natural Area
More maples found at Lost Maples 🙂

I do love a drive through the Texas Hill Country.

Tree of fire.

This view of my neighbor’s tree in full autumn color causes me to pause every time I walk into the kitchen. So beautiful.

Roadtrip!

Since we are (mostly) unencumbered by commitments, we took a road trip over the weekend to Louisville, to attend our niece’s wedding.  We extended it a day or two to squeeze in a couple of additional visits in Indiana and Kentucky before heading back home.   It was a beautiful and heartfelt wedding.  The fall foliage was beautiful.  We were able to play tourist a little bit.  And we are now back home safe and sound.

Mary Anne and Chris did it up right.  We enjoyed the ceremony, the reception and, most importantly, the time spent with family visiting and telling stories and laughing.  Not everyone could be there, and Gene & Jo were sorely missed.

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We visited some wonderful places in Louisville.

The Louisville Stoneware factory got my potter juices flowing:

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The FlameRun glass-works gallery and working studio:

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The Louisville Slugger factory & museum:

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The Big Four pedestrian (former railroad) bridge over the Ohio River:

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And then we popped over to Indiana to visit Charlie & Kathy, and enjoyed the night life and autumn beauty of Madison.

Will Carter and Trisha Gene Brady performed at Red Bicycle Hall.

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This is the amazing view of the Ohio River valley from their living room!

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Then we stopped in the hills outside Bowling Green for a day with Lanny, and I scoped out all the birds I could find.  The bird on the left is a lifer for me – a white-breasted nuthatch; a carolina chickadee on the right.   I do love the birdies!

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Another trip in the books.  It’s also nice to be home  🙂

 

 

Red foliage.

Westchester county in the fall is pretty. This tree is in the courtyard outside my room. Gorgeous.

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It’s going to be a lean winter.

Quercus shumardii (Shumard Red Oak).

One of the things I enjoy about our little homestead are the many large trees that surround it.  It’s a blessing, but also a challenge with the extended droughts we’ve experienced over the last few years.  We just couldn’t seem to put enough water on the trees this summer, given the water restrictions we had, and the fact that our sprinkler system is currently out of service.  Though quite stressed by the drought, most of them weathered through the summer.   We lost a redbud out back (*sniffle*), and I’m not sure about the ornamental pear out front — we’ll just have to see how it looks in the spring.

The Shumard Red Oak that graces the front yard is ginormous, and is a sight to behold when the leaves start to change.   Even though it lost many of its leaves this summer, there are still plently left to fall (and to rake up in about a month).

The strange thing is that i cannot find an acorn on the entire tree this year.   I guess that’s a result of the drought stress as well.   Last year, by comparison, was a bumper crop for acorns, and the squirrels went nuts (pardon the pun).   This year the little critters are going to have a hard time finding food — which means they’ll be trying to eat anything attached to, or around the house, that looks like food.  (So, be warned!)