Swurfer!

Our three grand-kids Braden (on swurfer), Kara and Blaze enjoying Wimberley and each other on this rare weekend visit together.  A 60th birthday gift from my sister Cindy, this swing/surfer thingy was a big hit, and seems to be safer than the slippery plastic swing it replaced.  The ladder at left leads to another close-by kiddo attraction, the tree house I built about four years ago. 

Grandkid's Parkway

This sign marks a wide path that grand-kids Braden and Kara helped me build last year.  I ordered the "BraKa" plasma-cut black steel sign and mounted it onto a cut & bent section of leftover metal roof material.  Anything to coerce them to come and visit again soon!

Father-Daughter Yoga

This giant boulder was washed onto our community property during the deadly 2016 Blanco River flood.  It sits where an ancient cypress tree was washed away like it was a sapling.  Stacey and I put it to good use practicing a few yoga poses, fortunately without falling off the thing.

Namaste, ya'll!

Tree Rescue

Three generations undertaking a questionable quest to save this white oak tree after Hurricane Harvey toppled it.  We used a combination of prybars, cedar blocks, two winches, and a hydraulic racing jack to finally raise it, but only after this failed effort to solve the problem with brute strength. 

Path light adventure

For years our stone sidewalk from the street to the front door has been a bit scary at night.  Think of the kiddo book "The Ghost Eye Tree" and you'll get the picture. I finally started a project to bring wired path lights to the entry walk experience.  I encountered this tarantula within minutes of starting work, a relatively little one as tarantulas go.   It scurried away and left me to focus on my project, and here is the
 result:

Double Take

Llamas at our neighbor's place as viewed from our front yard this weekend.  We've noticed a variety of "sort of" exotic critters there over the years. Their donkeys were interesting while they lasted but not all that unusual.  And although the Llamas were certainly a double-take-generating event at first, they seem sort of slow and unresponsive, perhaps confused, or maybe just not so bright. Perhaps it is time to turn the excitement knob up a bit and get some... albino rhinos?  

Just Breathe

Hammock time happens less often than I'd like it to.  But maybe the rarity makes it all the more special.  Looking up in the sky through the tree branches while the birds are singing makes our lives stand still in appreciation.  It takes us away from job hassles, traffic, to-do lists, and even internet connectivity obsession.  And hammock time with the love of my life?  It just can't get any better than that. 

Pain(t) in the Butt

Both the guest (Birdhouse) and main house now have a complete fresh coat of paint, and for the Birdhouse it is the first time that the entry door has had any paint at all on it.  It is one of those things I kept putting off as things slowly got more dingy and faded, and some trim started rotting.  So every time we see the place the difference is amazing, and I vow not to wait so long for another refresh.  

Now that I think about it, ditto for cleaning the shower, washing a car, polishing shoes, etc.  Each time I do one of those things I tell myself I will do it more often, but I never do.  Which is probably best so that my do-list doesn't completely overshadow the stuff that is so much more important in the long run.

Namaste
   

I intentionally snuggled the guest house under a Live Oak tree when we built it.  So every year or two I need to do some serious trimming to keep it from hitting the metal roof.  That is me up there with a bow saw and loppers.  Branches scratching on metal could negatively impact the five-star lodging experience for our guests!

It's been more than ten years since we first started construction in Wimberley, and the task of maintaining what I built can be overwhelming at times.  I probably have a backlog of a dozen troubleshooting and major maintenance projects.  So it is time to start actually hiring firms to do some of the bigger projects, and I think the first project will be repainting all of the exterior wall and trim on the main house and garage.  Maybe I'll limit my involvement to sipping on some iced tea while inspecting their work...

Not-So-Wild Flowers

It's been dry so far this year in Wimberley, so the crop of truly wild wildflowers has been a bust. But here in our new fenced garden, with more than a foot of great imported topsoil, the wildflower seeds we planted during the winter are looking good.  This mix is aimed at creating butterfly nirvana, and includes black-foot daisy, bee-balm, fire wheel,

As for my nearly year-long absence from blog posts, I've been tied up with creating a LLC and designing/building a prototype affordable housing project in Houston, so my trips to Wimberley have been few and short. www.CleverBuild.org has the details.