No cards today

I did get some sets finished that have been setting on my desk for weeks. Teacher appreciation is coming up. But alas, my batteries are dead in the camera. So I'll have to pass on the photos of cards today. Instead I'll load a few of our weekend walk about pictures we took at Mineral Wells State Park. We spyed this canadian goose on the lake near the swimming area. It was the only goose we saw, but we did see alot of ducks. This guy kept swimming around in circles as if he was waiting for his friends to show up. Even the children splashing nearby didn't seem to shake him from his pacing.

Here's a view of the lake from the fishing area. The boat docks are just around a bend and to the left there is a pier with about ten people fishing that day. The water was a little choppy as we where under cloud cover and a little windy that day. In fact the water level was above the spillway on Saturday. It was an adventure driving across the spillway with the wall a foot on your right flowing about three inch of water down and across the road to a waterfall and then down to the river's mouth. It was a pretty site, but hubby didn't want to stay still long enough onthe spillway to get a non-blurred photo. I think he was a little nervous being there. We will definently be back for another walkabout soon. There where lots of great examples of local wildflowers in bloom on saturday. We passed a cluster of cactus that where in full bloom so I just had to get some shots of these beautiful cactus roses. Cactus only bloom for a short period of time and only in certain conditions. Since it was cloudy we where able to get them while they where open. Any other warm sunny May day and the blooms would have been already closed to conserve water. I thought we where very fortunate to find them on such a great day.

We also spyed this lovely early Monarch butterfly in a patch of Texas Thisles. We actually passed alot of native wildflowers and saw quite a few in the park. Here's a list of what we saw: Antelope horn, prairie fleabane, prickly poppy, prairie larkspur, coreopsis, two-tone flax, purple coneflowers, gaillardia, blanketflowers, crimson clover (and the white variaty), wine-cups, Foxglove (these are poisonious), spiderwort, widow's tears, silver leaf nightshade (another very poisonious flower), verbena, and of course Texas Bluebonnets. We didn't go trampsing through the fields as there have been many reports of snakes in them recently. But we did get some really great photos I'll be adding to my wildflower notebook. And yes I did use up my batteries taking pictures of flowers. David and Katy where giving me a hard time about the stops saying I needed a bumper sticker that reads "Warning I brake for wildflowers and cotton seeds". They got a good laugh out of that one. Teh funny thing is I do!! We have some old friends that still give me a hard time about the cotton seeds. I'm a science teacher, what can I say. At least they didn't have to go with me when I was bug hunting. lol Yes, I took entomology and ecology and botany in college at the upper levels. I thought they where very interesting and quite fun actually. The only thing I didn't like was climbing the cliffs at Palo Duro. I opted for the D that day. I wasn't about to take my big booty down the side of the canyon and kill myself and anyone brave enough to be beneath me. We where not using any gear, just good shoes and gloves. My Mama didn't raise no fool!! There where three people injured (minor - cuts and bruises, and a sprained ankle) on that endeaver.

Anyway, On our drive back we went through this interesting little township called COOL. We where so tired from out walk and adventures at the park that we laughed about this one almost the whole way home. And I just had to take a picture. We passed through Cool, Texas. And it actually was cool that day. lol It's really one of those blink and you miss it places. The only businesses there was a custom carpentry shop and a church that we saw from the road along with some residences. The drive along Hwy 180 is really very nice and scenic. Another hour west and we'd almost be to Possum Kingdom. Now that's a nice rollercoaster drive. David was a little dissapointed that the drive wasn't more up and down. That's always his favorite part. We may have to visit Fossil Rim again. He really enjoyed the driving through there.

This was our last stop before heading home without any more stops and it was well worth it. I spotted some wild foxglove clusters along the side of old 180. I got David to stop and look what I found. Aren't they beautiful, you would never know that these plants are very poisonous. That's probably why noone has picked them. For your science lesson today, this plant is toxic to animals and humans as it will cause the heart muscles to Contract forcefully because they contain Cardiac glycosides. Since they are poisonous, mother nature has provided this plant with a very unpalletalbe taste. Hense most animals stay away from it. Every part of this plant is toxic, so when these flowers are in a vase the water they are in can have resistual chemicals from the plant and be dangerous to children. They have medicinal benefits for cardiac congested patients and for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and flutter. But there is a fine line between beneficial and fatal with this type of natural chemical. On a lighter note, these are truely wild, but look like they should be in someone's garden. I just found them gorgous and intreging. Now you've had your science lesson for the evening. Don't go out and eat these okay!!

Tootles for the evening. I'll try to get some batteries soon and upload some card pictures. Have a wonderful evening and tuesday!!