Exploring new waters

Saturday morning we got up early to explore Lytle Lake.  This is a small private lake in Abilene.  You can only get to the lake if you live there or know someone who does.  Lucky for us, our friends Todd and Andrea live there and they have a great spot for us to put our canoe in the water.
We stared out exploring the lake.  It was fun to see all the fancy houses with their outdoor living spaces.  It was a beautiful morning and we were the only people out to enjoy it.  The lake is home to several great blue heron.  They make their huge nests in the very top of pine trees.  At one point, we saw one land in it's nest and several babies popped up.
After we finished a lap around the lake, we decided to check out the creek that feeds into the lake.  It was wonderful!  We could have paddled around that creek all day if a fallen tree hadn't blocked our path.  For a little while, the creek runs through a golf course.  Large trees lined the creek, but every once in a while we could see the fairway.  We saw lots of stray golf balls stuck along the shoreline, and there were several small bridges crossing the creek for golf carts.  Most people that crossed over us didn't even know we where there.  It was so peaceful- I think we will definitely go back again.
After we explored the creek, we joined our friends for lunch.  It was great to catch up and see their kids again.  Our dogs also got to meet.  Their golden retriever, Magnum, is about a year old.  Magnum and Titus swam and played until they were completely exhausted.  What a fun day!  Here are some pics:

The boys

My view

Tired pup

Josh's view

Titus gives Josh "the look"

Calm water and one of the small bridges

More golf cart bridges

Titus climbed to the back of the canoe to see Josh.  Titus' look says, "I'm looking for wildlife, but I'm way too tired to really care."  Josh's look says, "Hurry up and take the picture because there's a tree branch that's about to smack you in the back of the head."

Fun with friends

Last weekend we took off 2 extra days from work and headed down to the Houston area.  We had not been out of town together since Thanksgiving, so this trip was long overdue.  We stayed with our friends Derek and Charriss that we've known since we lived in Stillwater, OK.  Charriss and Josh were grad students in the same department at OSU, Derek introduced Josh to the world of fishing (thanks a lot), and Charriss and I quickly became friends.  They moved to TX, we moved to WA, now we're back in the same state again- yippee!
Over the weekend we enjoyed fireworks, great food, shopping (IKEA, Garden Ridge, etc.), more great food, Galveston, more food, the beach, and more food.  It was wonderful.
Since their dog Sasha is a little territorial, we left Titus with his new buddy Navi (short for Navidad- he was adopted at xmas).  While we were gone Titus encountered his first rattlesnake.  Titus sniffed it while it was coiled up on the front porch, but luckily it did not strike.  Navi also checked it out without injury- although it was probably the same snake that bit his nose 2 weeks ago.  Thank goodness for the rattlesnake vaccine!
Anyway, here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Derek, Charriss and me on the beach

The beach

Windy, humid, hot day

Seagulls

Tiny shrimp

Seriously, more Titus videos?!?

Yes, I'm sorry, I think my dog is silly and I took more videos of him.  These aren't as funny as some of the others, but they still show off his quirky personality.
So Josh was at a conference in Florida last week and I got to water all the trees while he was gone.  The toads have learned that it's great to live under the trees and get watered everyday.  Titus has learned that when the trees get watered, toads start hopping.  Most of the toads are still very small, but we have at least 5 large toads which Titus thinks are really fun.  Instead of barking at them (he learned that did not get him anywhere), Titus now tries to stomp them.  Each time a toad hops, Titus pounces.  Sometimes I think he's just trying to hop like a toad.  I haven't seen him actually squish a toad yet- I think he misses intentionally.
Frog or Dog?
When the toad stops jumping, Titus just stares at it and waits for it to jump again.  He can be very patient.
The stare down
Josh got all kinds of fun free stuff at his FL conference: beach towel, sunscreen, flip flops, sand bucket and shovel, reusable grocery bags, and... a stuffed monkey!  Titus got to have the monkey, and he absolutely loves it.  Well he didn't really love the nose, so it had to go.  Now he really loves it.
Titus and Monkey