Pond Makeover

Josh spent a lot of time in July and August working on our pond.  He changed the 15-foot drop off near our house into a gentle slope, and he dug out the far end of the pond to make it deeper.  It was a lot of work during the hottest time of year.

Josh started by breaking up the pond bottom and moving the dirt and rocks toward the house.

There were some really big rocks and chunks of concrete to move!

It was nice that our tractor could do most of the work.

We did rent a jackhammer to bust up the sidewalk around the pond.

We also rented a dump trailer to bring in dirt from other parts of the property.

Getting in position...

All empty!

Titus was not sure what to think about all the mess :)

It looks a bit different now!  The bridge to the island had to be torn down, but we'll replace it eventually.  We have a small pond at the far end on the right side of the island.

The turkeys have been enjoying the water.

We hope to get this all covered with grass eventually.

Looking back toward the house- no more drop off!

Nice gentle slope.  Maybe we'll do some sledding this winter :)

The island really stands out now.

Doggie Splash Day 2015!

I look forward to this day all summer long.  I love taking Titus to the pool for Doggie Splash Day!

Wrapping Up Summer

Since Fall begins tomorrow, I should probably get caught up on our summer activities.  I spent several days in the kitchen in August, and now our freezer is full of goodies.

Thirty pounds of garden tomatoes turned into spaghetti sauce.

16 quarts!

Sourdough pasta time!

Gotta have my green chiles!!

I also processed 14 1/2 pounds of pork ribs into italian sausage.  Whew!  That was all fun but exhausting!

Here's a little bonus video of Titus enjoying the sprinklers.

We had lots of frogs and toads this year too.

Leopard frog

We even had a few turtles in our pond.

Can you find both turtles?

We've also had 2 groups of turkeys hanging around our property for several weeks.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

We recently headed to Lake Mineral Wells State Park for our last camping trip before school started.  We had a great campsite with canoe access, so exploring the lake was quite easy.  The park was nearly empty during our stay!  This entire lake is surrounded by state park property, so we didn't have to worry about trespassing on private property when we stopped to rest and fishing was free with no license required.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Me and my big fish.

Josh and Titus hanging out near the island that turned out to be our best swimming spot.  It had good shoreline for Titus and the coolest water we found.

Beast in the bushes

Resting from a swim

Sleepy canoe dog

Jump!

We found a steep staircase on the shoreline, so I had to explore.  The boys stayed behind in the canoe.  I found a bathhouse and group dining facility at the top plus some great views of the lake.

Finally, a fish!  Too bad it's so small.  At least it's pretty.

Pretty sunfish

 

 

This is how we're able to camp during the summer in TX.  We have AC in the tent (plus 2 fans)!  We have also become wimpy and use an air mattress when we car camp.  Titus sleeps on the red pad next to me.  During the summer, we only camp at places with swimming so that we can stay cool during the day.

AC exhaust and drain pipe sticking out the back side of the tent.