J and N didn’t know where we were going at first and then they got pretty excited when I told them. They have good memories of their last cave trip so they were looking forward to this one.

I managed my claustrophobia very, very well. I even got over my phobia of high ISO settings on the camera. Even if I did have a flash, which I don’t, they probably wouldn’t have let me use it. No flash other than the “normal” kind, no tripods, no monopods. I think the camera managed pretty well.

Here are a few of the photos but most of them are on Flickr, along with any descriptions I can remember.

This is what you see as you are heading down into the cave:

In the 30s, the cave was turned over to the government. The state of TX brought in the Civilian Conservation Corps to clear out all of the mud in the caves and convert it to allow for the public’s visits. The CCC built the above building along with an administration building and an observation tower.

We were 2nd to the last to make it to the 11 am tour! We made it out of the bathroom with literally just a minute to spare!

From inside the cave entrance area:

Gratuitous “let mommy take your picture” pose and smile:

Yes, gratuitous. They really were worried about getting left behind. The tour guide would turn off the lights behind our group as we went along and kept an accurate head count continuously. He said that three years ago, on the last tour of the day, a guide managed to forget 17 people and locked them in the cave. They got to the entrance using their cell phones as flashlights and were able to call 911. Needless to say, the guide doesn’t work there anymore.

Layers of limestone:

Crystals:

This is a man-made wall that now covers the original cave entrance:

The “room” where we stood was the most used one in the caverns. It served as a meeting room for Apache Indians living in the area and they also hung out to build tools and weapons. During the Roaring 20s, a local who owned the property turned the caves into a speakeasy and the room was used as a dance hall. When the government took over, the CCC built the wall because this entrance allowed too much mud to enter the cave when it rained.

The ceiling, showing layers of limestone:

I did miss the chance to photograph a cave cricket. “Completely devoid of pigmentation because of its environment” as our guide stated, “I’m not preaching evolution folks, this is called adaptation.” He used that phrase “I’m not preaching evolution” a lot.

The lighting in the cave wasn’t bad.

It turns out a few years ago that someone got hurt and sued the state. So they swapped the 40 watt bulbs for ones with higher wattage. Unfortunately, that caused fungus to grow around a lot of the lightbulbs.

There were very few stalactites in the cave and no stalagmites at all. The reason was that the cave was built by rushing water running through relatively “soft” rock. The fast moving rock wouldn’t allow any stalactites to form or grow very long except for the highest parts of the cave.

The black markings on the ceilings were left by bats. Before the speakeasy and CCC days, a colony of Mexican Free-tailed bats lived in the caverns until the noise got to them. The markings were left by the oils on their feet. Dirty feet? Yeah, me too.

From the Rainbow Room, which looks that way because of the colored lights. When the CCC found the room, the guys thought they’d discovered a diamond mine and filled their pockets with crystals. That’s all they were, quartz crystals. This was the boys’ favorite room, by the way.

The “cowboy boot” on the ceiling of the hallway that lead to a chamber where the Confederates used to store gunpowder. They also used the bat guano to make gunpowder. But since the cave was so wet (way beyond damp), the gunpowder couldn’t have worked too well I think.

Back outside, having navigated the cave, the boys imagine themselves in a skateboard park:

In and around what was the administration building, now housing an exhibit that explains the CCC and what they did for Texas parks:

We were going to go hiking on the trail which was a little over a mile but J was tired and hot. “Didn’t we hike in the cave? Wasn’t that a hike?” Point taken.

Investigating the observation tower:

It doesn’t look like they used power tools to fell and mill the wood since it’s covered with hatchet marks:

Words about these stairs: the boys would say “cool”, mom would say “textured” and abba would likely say “rickety”:

Time for us to buy a toad house or two and build a bat box.

Since that didn’t work out, we headed over to Wild Basin Preserve. Yes it was hot but we wanted to be outdoors, so outdoors we went! Good thing we were armed with Clif bars and bottles of water.

The facility is open to anyone and all they ask is a suggested donation but I forget the amount. With the recent rains, the stream that runs through the preserve was pretty and the little water fall was flowing (note: it’s really a few feet high is all). Anyway, here’s some of what we saw.

Itty bitty meadows of tiny white flowers here and there:

J running ahead of me, way behind his brother, trail map in his hand:

It was my main view:

The water falls were small, like I said. But where do you draw the line between a stream running and water falls?

“MOM! Take our picture!”

“We have to go there now!”

Once, I did get ahead of him. Just once.

I have no idea why he’s grinning. I’m not sure it matters!

Funky.

See? It’s that view again.

J and I got a kick out of the rollie pollie.

I thought it was cute.

The sturdy hand holds to help ford the stream:

I don’t get it.

J saw this picture and said “that looks dangerous!”

Hehe

A few more photos here.

The stencil is made out of freezer paper. We printed the designs, cut out the parts where we wanted the paint to go, then ironed them on the tshirts (iron set to cotton, NO steam).

Paint on the design. We used Tulip “slick” paints, just red and blue. The shirts are cheapies from Target. For the stars, instead of painting them blue, I used cut outs and painted around them. NOTE: make sure you iron the shiny side down. They stick to the iron if you don’t get that part right. Don’t ask me how I know.

J working on his, very intent as you can see from his face:

NM can’t wait to peel off the stencil:

After it’s dry to the touch we peeled off the stencils (except for me, I pulled them off while they were still wet!). And here’s the result of their creative design and painting skills:

Hope you enjoyed it! Happy birthday, USA!

Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory: whodathunk it? When I asked some moms if they’ve heard of bird observatory/water treatment plant in Austin they’d never heard of it. I’m not sure I remember where I heard of such a thing either. Thanks to Google, we found it and got directions to boot.

We brought our binoculars, a bag of Pirate’s Booty, bottles of water and our quiet voices. You’re supposed to whisper to keep the birds from flying off, they say. I think someone yelled before we got there, though. But that’s ok, it was fun anyhow and for several reasons.

1) The drive.

How can one not be tempted to take a dirt-ish road? Especially when one is in a truck. This is what the whole drive was like: literally one lane, narrow and at times bordered on either side by water. “Mom, don’t turn too much to the right!” was something heard often from J in the back when we were driving. It didn’t take long for them to realize that mom was driving something like 5 mph and it was fun to stand up and feel the bumps and dips as we went along. Actually, I could end the list with that. That was too much fun!

Wait, what, no hike? No hike. You’ll see later.

2) The scenery.

It’s not every day you get to drive through a water treatment facility. Well, unless you worked there, I suppose.

The water was pretty and bordered by lots of trees and pretty plants which is probably what attracts the birds in the first place.

This plant looks almost like that wild plant that grows in the Philippines that people would cook and eat:

3) The birds.

Well, we didn’t get to see the endangered black-capped vireo. We did manage to see a few of these guys which are new to us:

Grackles, but female ones only (not sure why):

They seem to be yelling at each other (yes, shot through a window, I’ll explain later):

A few sparrows (didn’t catch on camera) and lots and lots and lots of swallows!

The swallows (I think that’s what they are) were all over the place, swooping across the little lane we were driving/bouncing around on.

They made sure there were lots of homes for birds…

…and bats!

It didn’t take long for us to get to a structure that was built for bird observation. My youngest noted right away that it was seldom used owing to the fact that there were spider webs all over the place.

There was no way that I was going to stick my finger near this orb weaver so you could get a good sense of scale. While I know they’re not aggressive, believe me when I say this thing was huge and so apparently well fed.

There was no shortage of predatory insects at all.

This guy wanted to hitch a ride. I think he knew the yellow jackets and giant spiders were waiting to get him.

Incidentally, this was Joshua’s door and I didn’t flick it away for him (he used his brother’s door instead). I used to be a lot less afraid of bugs but the bug-fearing people in my life have rubbed off on me. I mean, I know these spiders rarely get people but when you see them having a family reuinion it’s hard not to shake the camera as you snap. It’s a symptom of the heebie jeebies.

So. Why no hike?

1.) Snakes. Alright, admittedly just one snake. But this was a water treatment facility and as soon as I see a snake skitter into the water across our little driving path, my first thought was “water moccasin” and “aggressive” and “no more hike for me today.”

2.) Bugs, bugs, bugs.

No, these weren’t biting bugs at all. The shot above was taken just a couple of minutes after we got back in the car when we realized we didn’t feel like sitting in the bird observation structure with the nasty bugs (and possibly snake but I didn’t want to draw the boys’ attention to the big hole in the ground). We rather liked sitting in the truck and bouncing at 5 mph.

But we opened the window at some point and a whole bunch of these bugs flew in. It quickly became obvious why the insect-loving swallows, grackles, bats and dragon flies were hanging out in major population numbers. This place was a massive buffet! They just had to fly around with their mouths open and they were guaranteed a full belly. As soon as our windows opened, those bugs saw their ticket to living a full life expectancy (probably a matter of just days, though).

The boys didn’t enjoy that part much at all. I did obligingly open the windows once more to “let the bugs out” only to let in their extended family. What’s on our truck interior fabric is no fancy pattern, those are bug guts.

That being said, we did have a good time. The boys got a tiny thrill when they realized that we would have to back up a long way if we ever met oncoming traffic. We even ran into a group of homeschoolers we knew while we were there. I’m sure we’ll head back there just for kicks since it’s really close to the airport and it’s free.

Oh, here’s stuff we wanted to see but certainly didn’t get to:

Maybe next time

Taken while on a walk at Circle C park (pics later). The boys are calling for me to hurry; they see a way to cross the creek and I better hurry. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice movement and see the inside of this tree hollow just moving.

The soccer game: the boys lost again. However, the number of goals that they lose by has been shrinking noticeably. NM has been strongly commended at each game for doing a great job as goalie (wow I am proud) and even as striker. His confidence has been increasing so that he’s even been making a significant number of attempts at goals when he’s played striker. Other parents have commented on how well he’s doing and also his coach keeps making a point of telling him what a great job he’s doing (even emailed NM and made his day).

J has been doing a great job at learning to read. I think he stares at all the books he wants to read and doesn’t get frustrated, he just tries to sound them out. He doesn’t nap in the afternoons, just takes a chapter book to bed and reads it and tells me what each chapter he read was about. He’s been reading out of the NIV bible he has and I’m really surprised he doesn’t get frustrated when he can’t read something, he just tries or waits for help. He recently inherited a lot of his older brother’s Legos and has been making cars again. I guess I won’t be putting NM in a Lego robotics class in the fall, maybe beginning engineering instead. We still need to put J in some kind of sport but are waiting on Abba for the ok.

Speaking of Abba: we are also very proud because he got a promotion (literally waited years for that). It’s a one-word change in his title but it’s still a big deal. He was supposed to get one several years ago but perhaps our move delayed it; we’re not sure. God’s timing is good though and he finally got it! He has to travel down to Monterrey, MX in June so we need to keep that trip in prayer.

Me? A friend had recently blessed me by asking me to take photos of her girls. That was fun! I learned  what *not* to do about where to take the photos and how much fun the girls were! They were real troopers and had fun with me even though they had to walk through grass with prickly thistles and wait in a bunch of flowers before we went to see the ducks in the water. Actually, they were geese so we ended up not having as much fun seeing them as we thought. Geese are very territorial and they didn’t really want anyone around! When you’re 6 and 7 they also look a whole lot bigger than ducks! Hopefully I’ll have some of those photos up when I get her written permission to use them.

So here we are with an even more emotional book!

I did have to give in and get a more “modern” English version because translating “from whence did thou come and wither goest thou?” became too laborious. And I kept saying the opposite of what the text meant. Think Yoda but with ideas rather than English.

Anyway, while I really identified with the character of Mr. Fearing, it’s his antithesis in a loose sense, Mr. Valiant Fortruth was someone to aspire to be like. Very Paul-ish.

This is one of my favorite poems in the book so far (and the most approachable in terms of the language), about Valiant Fortruth:

Who would true Valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather:
There’s no Discouragement
Shall make him once relent,
His first avow’d intent
To be a Pilgrim.

Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound,
His Strength the more is.
No Lion can him fright;
He’ll with a Giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a Pilgrim.

Hobgoblin, nor foul Fiend
Can daunt his spirit;
He knows, he at the End
Shall Life inherit.
Then Fancies fly away,
He’ll fear not what men say,
He’ll labour Night and Day
To be a Pilgrim.

I think this was a good choice for a book for us. My NM isn’t a big poetry fan at all but he hasn’t complained about any of these verses. I absolutely love how engaged both the boys are with the story at a degree that I didn’t expect. It did really help that there were questions for each chapter in our edition but beyond those, we do have dialogues about the characters and their experiences. The boys have been touched by the book and I really don’t want it to end (it does tomorrow). Some of what we’ve experienced so far will be indelible for J at least, since he’s named two of his stuffed animals in the manner of Bunyan. His robin is named Peaceful and his okapi is Love.

Last thing about the book…I have to re-read some parts for my own benefit. There is a point where Christiana and Christian’s boys are questioned by Prudence during their stay. Prudence gives very direct and simple object lessons when the boys ask her questions. My favorite:

“Why does fire fasten upon the candle wick?” [Matthew] inquired.

“To show us that unless grace kindles upon the heart, there will be no true Light of Life in us, ” answered Prudence.

“Why are the wick and tallow and everything spent to maintain the light of the candle?” he asked.

“To show that body and sould and everything should be at the service of and spend themselves to maintain in good condition that grace of God that is in us,” she answered.

Am I completely spent? Or am I still asking “how much”?

And you know what? I’m tired of checking the “homeschool” category box for things that happen during the week only. The rest of our hikes and Lego creations and reading really fall under that heading. Just putting it out there since it just occurred to me and I am impulsive that way.

Where was I? Friday? Pioneer Farms? Yes. Goes without saying: fun, friends, and those are all the Fs I can think of. It was hardly frivolous and there was lots to learn about from lots of people.

Like how nails weren’t commercially available until several years after the Civil War. That’s what this gentleman shared.

Another docent told us that this chestnut horse (Indian “pony” or appaloosa) has what they call a “wild eye” because you can see the whites of his eyes. He looks very skittish because of it. It’s just a coincidence that is his, in fact, very skittish. The pony in the back (a palomino but not a champagne palomino) has what they call a “kind eye” because—you guessed it—no white can be seen.

Just for fun:

The blacksmith told us that, in Pioneer days, a good blacksmith could turn out 200 nails in an hour.

Our hostess at the Jacobsen homestead told us about how the 13 children lived in their tiny, tiny home. That is to say, not very comfortably, especially if you were a boy past infant stage. You got to sleep outside or in the barn loft.

Please don’t ask me why, but I just love looking at laundry drying on a line.

Is that just me? The clothes always had such a nice smell and it was fun to walk through them when they were very damp and just hung and you could see someone’s silhouette through them. I think we need to bring back clothes lines.

A friend’s discovery as we were walking through fields (and by the way, there were so many different kinds of flowers…I was trying not to get left behind so I didn’t take too many photos). These flowers smelled like garlic.

See the fishes? The family of 15 Jacobsens’ diet was supplemented with fish from this stream which was actually part of the Chisolm Trail. Google it, it’s good for you to know about this stuff.

This was the docent that gave us the information on different horse breeds and how the horses we were feeding were the sort that were very skittish and tended to bite. But not here. Here he’s telling us about how the Tonkawa Indians of Austin used to live and how, while they were a typical patriarchal society, the only “real” property that was owned—a tipi—belonged to women. Only women and their husbands got to live and sleep in a tipi. Kids? If you aren’t nursing, you’re booted out of the tipi. Husbands? You had better bring home a nice fish or rabbit for dinner or you’re sleeping outside with the kids.

Genuine replica tipi which only women set up and tore down and transported:

Camp:

In another house, we saw a demonstration of how to card wool so it could be spun into yarn:

And we met the baby longhorn in the area behind the home:

His mama was a little concerned about how close we were to her baby. After I took this, she did express her concerns so I made sure we moved out of the way. Those longhorns live up to their name. But if they changed the name to long-and-pointy-and-not-afraid-to-use-them-horns it would be much more accurate.

There’s lots more to see over on Flickr.

While I did get lots more trivia about pioneer life, my main thought is how much I take for granted in my own time and world. Right? I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed the chore of washing clothes (hanging, maybe) or fetching water from a well or having to sleep in a loft with no screens on the windows. Who knows what makes it in the house. No insulation either. Or indoor plumbing. Or gas and electric. Or indoor plumbing.

Wouldn’t you miss indoor plumbing?

Hubby took most of the photos that morning. He caught this little guy:

It’s very pretty, isn’t it? These make me want a field guide for North American plants, not just animals:

But while I had the camera, NM sighted this guy, which we identified as a Greater Roadrunner. I can’t believe how close he let me get. He did keep finding things to eat, so that could be why he braved our presence.

It’s almost like he’s smiling for me.

This guy we identified as a Turkey Vulture:

There were actually about four or five of them circling above us.

Some other creatures we haven’t found in any of our guides yet:

J spotted this and hubby took a photo for me:

I’ve learned these trees are called Mexican Plums. They’re all over Austin and are blooming right now. So beautiful!

J’s take on our hike:

I liked the bugs and the roadrunner we saw. We saw a roadrunner in our backyard the day after. I did exercising stuff on the sides of the trail. On that day my mom was taking pictures of all this stuff. And my dad was taking pictures of the beetles. My mom was taking pictures of stuff and the roadrunners. There were actually two roadrunners and I spotted one.

NM’s take on our hike:

We walked. I saw a roadrunner and other things. The most interesting thing I saw was a roadrunner. The roadrunner was walking around and eating while we were watching it. I don’t know what it was eating. I also saw dry, brown wood. I collected some to build a camp fire. I spotted a beetle because I was ahead of everyone else because I was running. I enjoyed the walk.

Gen 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

He built a solar-powered engine that made a little sprocket turn!

You have no idea how often it made him giggle to hear that that green thingie is a sprocket.

Today, the boys convinced me to let them build the solar-powered car. Yes, I am one for following the leader—in this case the curriculum—but I figured why not. This is just one reason to homeschool: you can jump around.

But they resisted following the manual. Considering the kit and how it was put together, it was a good thing they listened to my advice of follow the manual first, make your own changes after.

However, it didn’t take long to get to this point:

Besides the engine, the chain is pretty important and it was nice that both boys could do that.

It’s nice to have great fine motor skills, you get to share in the fun with your big brother:

And when it’s done, you turn it on…

And let it go…

Promised video: