Fall Break, Day 2 & 3

Day 2

Fall breaks go quick and considering we had to take off to make this happen, then we really had to make the best use of time... Which means I forgot to post here.

As noted previously, day one was a day to relax and enjoy being back at Lilley's Landing.

Day 2 was fishing.  We all went together and rented a 24' Tri-toon boat and enjoyed fishing Taneycomo.  And the fish were biting, too!

Taneycomo is beautiful in the fall, and the views of changing leaves from the water were magical.  

After our time on the water, it was back to our cabin for Dad's stew, a bit of walking around the resort, and a relaxing evening.  

This is one of our favorite places.

Day 3

Today was my birthday, so we went to Branson and did some shopping at Dick's 5&10, and then had lunch at The White River Fish House.  It is a unique restaurant in that it floats on the waters of Taneycomo.  Steph and I had Trout Almondine and Sadie had shrimp (of course!).

Then some shopping at Bass Pro and Sadie got a new rod.  

Then back to Lilley's, and Sadie practiced with the new rod and fished for a few.  

Hot dogs for supper and birthday cake, and a bit of visiting with Phil and Marsha, the owners.  

We love this place!  It has been too long!  We will be back soon, no doubt!

Fall Break, Day 1

There was a time when we tried to take a fall break by going to one of our favorite places - Lilley's Landing!

But it has been awhile since we were able, but this year we planned it again.

So after work we struck out for Missouri

We arrived around 10:45, got unpacked, and settled in.  Not much to report.

Day 2.

It was cold this morning, but that made for an awesome sunrise and time for coffee on the porch.  The river was beautiful as always.

Then to town for lunch at Danna's and a few groceries at Walmart, including some tackle. Also, Kringles Christmas Store.

Then back to the cabin for a nap and a bit of resort time, and a relaxing evening.  So Nice!

Cold Mornings!

Today is the first truly cold morning of this fall season, and it is lovely!

Coffee on the porch and a few hours of work today, and then it is off for a short fall break.  

Brandon, Missouri - here we come!

Preview of October

Looking ng back over the last few posts, I got a bit excited over the break in the heat and rightly so.  

This morning it was downright cold!  No complaints here!

I love thos time of year!  October is just around the corner. Octobers are always busy!

Preview of Autumn

This is what I am talking about.

Too bad it is a workday and lingering on the porch isn't an option.

But the heat looks to have broken, and while 90 degree temps do remain in the forecast, the 100 degree days seem to be behind us and a preview of Autumn is upon us.  So nice!

Cold Front and Sunrises...

Today was a cool Sunday morning.  A "norther" blew through in the night, and this morning felt a lot cooler than the 70!degrees reported by the weather app.  

Hummingbirds frantically we're eating at the feeder, since the migration seems to have started.   Also since the rains, everything is blooming at once rather thant the usual floral chronology of normal years. 

It is a pretty morning, particularly with the stiff north breeze.  No shorts and t-shirt this morning.  Jeans and pull-over sweater for the first time this season.

It was a beautiful sunrise...  The promise of a good day and harbinger of the fall season.

Friday Night Lights

Tonight we partook in a Texas ritual - Friday night high school football.  And we cheered on my old high school: Blooming Grove.

It was a cool night with a gorgeous moon!  It was nice to see so many community members, many of which I knew from high school.  

It looked dubious for awhile, but BG pulled it off.  3-0 for the season!  All in all, a very good night!

Cool Mornings

The dew is heavy this morning, and we have one of the first cool starts to the day in quite some time.  It has been such a hot, dry summer.  When the rains started everything greened up; I cannot keep the grass mowed, but I will have to attempt getting to it this weekend.

It is a pretty morning, and my work schedule means I have a few minutes to enjoy it with coffee.  The hummingbirds are particularly active (and mean to each other, I might add).

Here's to the end of another work week and a coming weekend!

Labor Day at Stillwater RV Resort

This has been the summer of the lazy river.  Jellystone Burleson and Jamaica Beach both have lazy rivers that called out names.  Wanting to wrap up the summer with one last hurrah, we booked at a brand new park (only opened this spring) that had a lazy river and swim up bar in the adult pool.

This park is big, with approximately 160 sites.  We enjoyed our stay greatly, and the ability to float the pool in the evenings was nice, although some unsupervised kids made us wonder where their parents were.  Probably listening to the live Country band.

The clubhouse is nice with food and a small store.  An arcade and fitness room in the back, to me, meant that there was something for everyone. We didn't try the Wibbit course, but those that did seemed to have a lot of fun.

Winona is about half way between Tyler and Kilgore, and about 2 hours away from home.  Since is is a nice park and very convenient for a weekend outing, we will certainly be back again.

Morning Sunrises

Mornings, since the return of rains and an easing of the drought have been cooler and humid, but it has made for some pretty sunrises...

August 31

August 31

September 1

Fall around the corner?

It is a cool morning, and the crickets and frogs are noisy; the air is cool and there is thunder nearby.  A line of storms to the south has brought the welcoming scent of rain!

A few days ago we got the first real rain here since April, and the 100+ temps seem to have broken.   74 degrees this morning with a slight breeze isn't bad at all!

From our backyard the rising sun over the low clouds made it look like the sun had decided to rise in the south for a change.  Pretty cool!

Next week rain is predicted all week long.  Let it come!

Sailing

So I did something new today.

For years we have wanted to go to the British Virgin Islands, but time, money and knowledge have not been there.

(Still not there...)

But today we took Brandon's new sailing dinghy out to Navarro Mills lake.  

The lake was low and the wind just over 5 knots, but we had a good time for the hour or so we stayed out.  

Maybe this is the first step to knowledge acquisition that will eventually get us to the islands!

Rain at Last!

It wasn't a long rain, but it was rain.  About 30 minutes worth and a total of about 1/2 inch.  

It came with a wind that blew some collected boxes around that were waiting for trash collection, but at this time nothing to complain about.  It had not rain any appreciable amount since April.  

The tanks remain low and undoubtably it will take more to start the grass to growing out of dormancy.  But NOAA is predicting a wetter than normal two weeks.  The Dome of Doom, high pressure ridge that prevented rain and turned us into a 3 digit degree pressure cooker has broken.

This morning the moisture generated a fog and cool temps.  For the first time I have been hearing happy crickets in the years making their sounds.  Hopefully this is the first of more precip to come!

Summertime Blues.

With our summer vacation done we have settled into the last few weeks before the new school year begins.  And it is hot!

Our county is now under extreme drought conditions and fire warnings are high today.  It has been necessary to water trees.  There has been no appreciable rainfall since April.

Fortunately our stock tanks are , at this point, holding up.  

Pray for rain, y'all!