January 29th, 2012 - Welcome Falls

We took a little trip down the road to a local water that's tucked away on private land (but still gets its share of visitors nonetheless.)

Welcome Falls

We walked for about a half mile down the creek and took pictures along the way. The water made for a great backdrop to a beautiful day to be outside.

A few other pictures, including some of initials carved into trees, can be seen here. 

Oh! Almost forgot. The strange flapping creature that I found in the woods yesterday followed us here!

January 28th. 2012 - Back in the Woods

Just another hike back to the cliffs again in our very own woods. Nothing too exciting. I did see some strange wildlife...

But that was about it. Took a few more shots of the stuff growing in the cliffs and a few of the creek. The rain has the creek up now and we hope to get over to a local waterfall tomorrow, so more on that when we get back.

A funny thing did happen with Jessie on our way back through the pasture. Jessie found a patch of dirt were a fire ant mound had once been and started digging. This must have been the best smelling patch of ground she's seen all week. Once she got a nice hole of sufficient depth she stuck her head in the ground and put her nose right against the dirt and just started breathing long and hard, snorting up the scents of the earth.

Much snuffling and snorting.

Dirt. So good.

She went on like this for a while, digging then inhaling the smell of the dirt. It looked to be part communion, part therapy, part pure animal joy.

TO CHINA!

Pics from the hike, including a video of Jessie, are here.

January 14th, 2012 - Hurricane Creek

I've already said much about Hurricane Creek Park, in my previous post so this will mostly be about the pictures. We did, however, manage to find a new corner to the park or, more accurately, just outside the park near the railroad tracks that run along the east edge. A massive tunnel allows the creek to flow under the tracks and with some careful maneuvering we were able to get a closer look.

Column for a long-gone railway bridge.

I made mention a few months back of a cable car system that you could ride up and out of the canyon to the park office. Here are a few shots of the platform and the tracks.

The climbing wall at the office has recently been expanded on and now nearly covers the deck.

Other pictures from this trip are viewable here.

January 11th, 2012 - New Schedule

The new year starts with me working a new 9/80 schedule; an alternating five and four day shift that gives me every other Friday off. This also means working eight nine-hour days and getting into work a little earlier. I'm sure this won't be quite so harsh in the Summer months, but right now I'm up before the sun and home after the sun. This moon-set was the last thing I saw in the sky outside our bedroom window before heading out this morning.