As most of you know Gracie is showing her age. She will be thirteen in October. So of course she is slowing down. It has become hard for her to even get in the car. Of course, we have a ramp for her and guide her up as well. And it takes two of us to get her up the ramp. So today with the cooler weather, it was an adventure day made just for Gracie!
She may have been a bit worried because we did not pack up hardly any gear. Were we taking her to the vet may have crossed her mind.
Then we were there! Now she smiles!! Where is there, Ft. Richardson State Park. The cool and slightly damp day was just perfect for her! It was pretty nice for the humans too LOL.
First plant (which did not interest Gracie or Jim I don’t think) was a Camphorweed (Heterotheca).
Anything blooming in this usually hot weather gets my attention LOL.
First lichen that got me to stop! It’s a beautiful gray with orange prothallus crustose lichen that were set off by the other yellowish and greenish crustose lichens.
The rocks that line the trail were absolutely gorgeous with the damp weather. The wet weather allows the algae to shine through the thin outer skin (thallus).
Makes me so happy to see a smile on Gracies face. And she sure had a smile n the second photo. Shes a beautiful precious dog. Thanks for making her smile.
Hooray for Gracie’s outing! What good doggie parents! And Fort Richardson is such a nice little park. We camped there several times in our old tent camping days.
I was so afraid of what you might have been doing, especially Gracie and the vet with her age. I did not want to hear that. So I was so happy to read on in the post! Love those rocks with the lichens. And I LOVE camphorweeds. I just want to touch and smell! We went down to our part o f the Pedernales yesterday and the water is barely trickling through. We walked across the rocks to check out plants on the other side. I was thrilled to find a Heterotheca species. One single plant. And about half a dozen clammyweed, another one that I just LOVE to touch and smell. I think about what it must be like to lose your vision and know that the plants would still give me scents and interesting feels and the birds would fill my ears with sounds.
So happy for Gracie to have a cooler day to get out and explore.
Yep, Kathy, she is fine doing most days. Just much slower, but hey who isn’t LOL. The cool day is just what was needed! I heard everyone may getting a lot rain. And cooler weather to go with the wet weather. Yahoo!
I have not seen my FOS clammyweed. It is such a pretty plant! I look forward to it.
Last night’s rain came down to the Hill Country them split with most going to Austin. Not a drop.
Early this morning we had a shower that came to .01. You couldn’t even see moisture anywhere. I still question my weather station on that one.
Then this afternoon we had a brief shower, enough to spot the window but not enough to even measure a hundredth. All through yesterday’s and today’s I watched lightning in the distance and dark skies all around. We have seen lightning shows as far away as New Braunfels (about 60 miles) and Beeville (120 miles, almost to Corpus) which is awe inspiring to think about.
Sounds like you are in a spot like our house. The rain often split north and south of us. I bet you rain gauge was spot on. Our .09″ dried up quickly. I bet all evidence of the rain was gone in a half hour. Hopefully this week we all get some good soaking rains. Fingers crossed.
What a great day for Gracie!! You’re good humans!
Makes me so happy to see a smile on Gracies face. And she sure had a smile n the second photo. Shes a beautiful precious dog. Thanks for making her smile.
So happy that Gracie had a special day. And link to mosquito article has given me a new appreciation.
It seems every “one” has a role to play in ecosystem. Even if we are not smart enough to figure it out, eh. 🙂
Hooray for Gracie’s outing! What good doggie parents! And Fort Richardson is such a nice little park. We camped there several times in our old tent camping days.
Besides the primitive campsites, now they have some AC cabins and even more hookups for RVs. It is a great park!
I was so afraid of what you might have been doing, especially Gracie and the vet with her age. I did not want to hear that. So I was so happy to read on in the post! Love those rocks with the lichens. And I LOVE camphorweeds. I just want to touch and smell! We went down to our part o f the Pedernales yesterday and the water is barely trickling through. We walked across the rocks to check out plants on the other side. I was thrilled to find a Heterotheca species. One single plant. And about half a dozen clammyweed, another one that I just LOVE to touch and smell. I think about what it must be like to lose your vision and know that the plants would still give me scents and interesting feels and the birds would fill my ears with sounds.
So happy for Gracie to have a cooler day to get out and explore.
Yep, Kathy, she is fine doing most days. Just much slower, but hey who isn’t LOL. The cool day is just what was needed! I heard everyone may getting a lot rain. And cooler weather to go with the wet weather. Yahoo!
I have not seen my FOS clammyweed. It is such a pretty plant! I look forward to it.
Last night’s rain came down to the Hill Country them split with most going to Austin. Not a drop.
Early this morning we had a shower that came to .01. You couldn’t even see moisture anywhere. I still question my weather station on that one.
Then this afternoon we had a brief shower, enough to spot the window but not enough to even measure a hundredth. All through yesterday’s and today’s I watched lightning in the distance and dark skies all around. We have seen lightning shows as far away as New Braunfels (about 60 miles) and Beeville (120 miles, almost to Corpus) which is awe inspiring to think about.
Sounds like you are in a spot like our house. The rain often split north and south of us. I bet you rain gauge was spot on. Our .09″ dried up quickly. I bet all evidence of the rain was gone in a half hour. Hopefully this week we all get some good soaking rains. Fingers crossed.