2012 Texas River Photo Contest

John Graves' Goodbye to a River

I sat down this morning to begin reading John Graves' "Goodbye to a River", an annual tradition with me as I prepare for our Mother's Day Brazos River Trip.  Graves' account of a his final canoe trip down a section of the Brazos River before a series of dams were to be built, changing it forever. Before I became too lost in his words, I was inspired to have a photo contest.  I've been wanting to have a contest since Having Fun in the Texas Sun reached 1000 likes on facebook.  (Hooray, and thanks to all of you!) The contest will be Texas Rivers, and the photos should all carry a similar theme.  The prize is a new copy of Goodbye to a River, which I will have sent to you from Amazon.  While it's not an expensive cash prize, the words inside his book are a treasure.  My hope is that many of you will participate, either by submitting photos, or by voting for your favorites, and that even those who don't win will take the time to read the book.  Our Texas rivers are disappearing under reservoirs, and being littered and polluted.
 

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” ~ Winnie the Pooh

Here's how to paddle;

Submit your Texas River photo(s) until May 20, 2012.  This date is to coincide with National River Clean Up Day on Saturday, May 19th, and give you time to email your photo to me havingfuninthetexassun@gmail.com .   

Trinity River

The photos will be added to this blog page, and on Monday, May 21, they will be posted to facebook for the contest to begin!  At that time, you, your friends, neighbors, relatives and postal carrier can all begin voting (liking) your photo.  The voting will continue until Tuesday, May 29th at 11:59pm.  At that time, I will tally all the votes and the winner will be announced (unless I fall asleep sitting at the computer waiting for 11:59pm, haha! - just kidding!) 
 
Tips: 

• Don't spend time mulling over your favorite photo to submit, you can submit as many as you like!
• Once the contest is started, share it with your friends on facebook, BUT explain that they must like the photo on my facebook page, if they like it on YOUR facebook page, it doesn't count! 
• I will post your comments about the photo along with the photo, so tell me where it was taken, who is in the photo, and maybe a great recollection about that day!
• Anyone can enter!  Professional photographers, children, the family pet if you can get them to hold the camera, it's ALL GOOD! 
• I will include every photo, as long as it is FAMILY FRIENDLY!  It doesn't have to be an entire river, any portion is okay!  So find your favorite memories of tubing, rope swings, fishing, your young child playing in the water.  The river doesn't have to be the star of the photo.   
• Finally, and this is out there, but if you are a business in Texas, and want to contribute to our contest, and help raise awareness of Texas Rivers, you can email me and donate a prize for the contest; t-shirts, gift certificates for your business, passes to your attraction, etc.  I can promise that I will SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE YOUR NAME AND BUSINESS INFORMATION, DURING THE CONTEST AND WELL, WELL BEYOND!  If HFinTS has promoted your business in the past, it's also a great way to say "Thank You"! 

I welcome your questions and comments!  Until I hear from you, I'm off to read my book!

Catherine Schuelke
"....the Frio River rippling over the rocks in Garner State Park."

Catherine Schuelke
"...the pristine Frio River- some winter leaves floating in the shallow water - water so clear it is almost invisible.  If you know where to look, there is a minnow near the middle of the picture.".

Catherine Schuelke
"I love the silliness of this picture.  The river calls, whether you have on a swimsuit or not.  Even though we were only conducting a preliminary exploration of the grounds at Pedernales State Park, the kids HAD to get their feet wet.  Of course, they weren't satisfied to take just one step. . . and I caught them all with their shorts hiked up!"

Catherine Schuelke
"This picture doesn't quite tell the whole story....but if you haven't experienced the dam and lock on the San Antonio River (on the north end of the river walk), you really should.  It was a fabulous field trip for us last year after study boats and watching a video on the Panama Canal.  If I remember right, it is gravity fed, making it a low energy operation.  For us, it was worth the price of the all-day river taxi pass. (Then you can go through the lock as many times as you want too!)"

butterfly lunch

Last weekend, I took my daughter to Girl Scout horse camp for a few hours to earn a badge.  It was an incredible Spring afternoon, wildflowers were everywhere, and with each step she and I took, hundreds of butterflies would take to wing around us.  They would light on our shoulders and dance about. It made for a magical day! 

I saw this on pinterest, and just had to surprise her, it reminded me of our special day together!  I made it with all her favorites, cheese and goldfish crackers, carrots and peanut butter, mini oreos and mini chips ahoy, and strawberries and blueberries.   I think I'm going to do something similar for our snack turn at her next soccer game!

For another fun lunch idea,  http://havingfuninthetexassun.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-themed-surprise-lunch.html

 

Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center, Cedar Hill

"Lizards don't bite", says my know it all four year old, to the herpetologist standing in front of him on the trail at Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center. 

"They don't?  Well, what do you think this lizard is doing?"  says the herpetologist to my know it all four year old son. 
"He's just trying not to fall!"  my four year old says, referring to the skink lizard hanging by his teeth to the herpman's finger.  He is one of three herpetologist we met from the North Texas Herpetology Society on the trail, recording and photographing the different species of reptiles they found. 

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
-- Raymond Inmon


 

The Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center in Cedar Hill is filled with a variety of wildlife.  The two hikes offer beautiful views of Joe Pool Lake and the cedar hills of North Texas.  The Canyon Floor trail is a 1/2 mile ADA accesible hike.  The West Rim Trail is 1 and 2/3 miles, and mostly canopied by the forest.  It has a rise of 150 ft, thanks to the limestone uplifts that provide the area's namesake.  The trail offers several scenic views of nearby Joe Pool Lake.  Both hikes were easily traversed by my four year old, although we had constant stops to observe the caterpillars, lizards, ladybugs and butterflies we encountered along the way.  Owned by Audubon, it features a nature center, gift shop and education classroom that was filled with third graders on a field trip on our visit.  They offer naturalist led hikes by appointment.   

My Mommy Tips: 

• Pack a lunch, there are tables in front of the center which offer a nice place for lunch.  They have nice restrooms for hand washing and potty breaks. 
• The Canyon Floor Trail is suitable for strollers, the West Rim Trail is not.
• Magic words for me are "group discounts".  Group discounts are available. 
• For younger children, take a pack of colorful toy lizards or butterflies for some unstructured fun in the nature play area, or make a game of hide and find with them. 

For more information;   http://tx.audubon.org/dogwood-canyon-audubon-center 

To learn more about the history of Cedar Hill, visit the Cedar Hill Museum.  http://cedarhillmuseum.com/history.php

Nearby places of interest; http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7473555083464157207#editor/target=post;postID=2081074619645386993

Thanks to Jean Bean photography for allowing me to use her photo of the skink she took that day, and for always being ready for a fun adventure.  To see more of her work, follow her facebook page; http://www.facebook.com/#!/JeanBeanPhotography

chuke the tomato plant

Meet Chuke.  He is my 4 year old son's tomato plant.  Each year, he gets a tomato plant of his own to care for and love.  My son, Leo, grew him from a seed, and planted him in a container.  It's his responsibility each day to water him, and when he starts producing tomatoes, he can eat them, or share them. 

When we replanted Chuke, we used a very old, faded green plastic planter.  It wasn't pretty, but it was functional.  Chuke has grown, he is ready for a to be caged, to support him as he gets bigger.  My son and I went to our local Home Depot to buy a new cage, and ..... oh my gosh!  They have colored tomato cages!  Blue, green, red, yellow.... I was giddy!  I began piling the assorted colors in our shopping cart, as I asked my son which one he wanted for Chuke.  I never would have been able to choose, but he quickly said "orange", his favorite color.  But my excitement waned quickly as I thought about the ugly, faded pot in which poor Chuke resides.  It wasn't possible that this amazing tomato cage, which shines like the Texas sunset, could be paired up with such an unsightly container!  Replanting wasn't an option, Chuke was too large now to happily adjust without some stunting his growth or production.  I was deep in thought, aimlessly walking through out the store, when I pushed our cart past the paint department.  COULD WE?  SHOULD WE?   I asked my son as we quickly turned down the spray paint section.  I found the brands marked for plastic, and searched for the closest color to the tomato cage.  As I lifted it to show to Leo, he shook his head, "I don't want that color, I want purple!"  Well, it is his tomato.  Once home, he happily showed the cage to Chuke, even modeling it on himself!  It was his first time to use spray paint, and the grass and a few of Chuke's leaves were sprayed, but aside from a few drips, he did great.  He's now so proud of the plant he grew himself, and the house he made for him.

chocolate ice cubes

About 2 days after Ash Wednesday, while my body was still reeling from my lent induced abstinence of chocolate, I saw at the grocery store food network magazine's CHOCOLATE Issue!  Without allowing myself any time to drool on the cover, I purchased it.  Once home I left it in the plastic bag (I know, I always plan to take it all my recyclable shopping bags) and stowed it away in a drawer until after Easter!  At about 3:30am Easter morning, as I am unwrapping approximately my 300th Cadbury chocolate egg, I remembered the magazine.  Well, you can imagine the rest... let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight for the Easter Bunny to find me laying in an almost sugar coma, chocolate running down my chin and my tongue stuck to one of the pages of the magazine!   

One of the most unique recipes in the book is for chocolate ice cubes!  Being self proclaimed chocolate milk afficionados, my kids couldn't wait to try this recipe!  It's a simple enough to make, and produces squeals of delight when friends are over after school! 

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ice cube tray

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a slow simmer, whisking until all lumps are disolved. 

Remove from heat and add semisweet chocolate chips, stir until disolved.  (We got creative and added a tsp. vanilla extract at this point, but you can leave it out.)  Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze.

To serve, add to milk and swish a few times! Yum!!

The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

E.B. White does such an amazing job in his books of bringing the animals to life!  Who hasn't cried for Wilbur when his BFF  passes away in Charlotte's Web, or cheered for the mini but mighty Stuart LIttle!  We read The Trumpet Of The Swan, and found ourselves thrilled with the adventures of Louis, a trumpeter swan who plays a trumpet since he has no voice, and travels the country in pursuit of money to pay off his debts.  Along the way, the responsible swan falls in love and learns that the happiest place for him is home.  White does an excellent job of detailing the beauty of nature, and of a young boy who respects the wonders around him, including the young swan he befriends. 

One of Louis' adventures takes him to Boston's Public Gardens, where he gets a job playing the trumpet while leading the Swan Boat around the lake.  I knew my kids would love a ride in a swan boat, even if we weren't serenaded by a trumpet playing swan.  We headed out to one of my favorite locations, Fair Park in Dallas!  We spent a fun day at the Museum of Nature and Science, and the Children's Aquarium.  The Swan Boat Rides are on the Leonhardt Lagoon, with the Texas Star Ferris Wheel as a backdrop.  My children and I long ago made up a story about the lagoon being the home of a rarely seen Lagoon Monster, whose size dwarfs the enormous carp and alligator snapping turtles which do inhabit the lagoon, and can be seen from the sculptures at either end of the lagoon.  As we paddled the boats, my 4 year old and I in one, my 12 and 10 year old in another, we laughed and joked about the monster stalking us, paddling quickly to escape him and probably causing a little fear in the waiting children!  The paddling is hard work, but we enjoyed it.  Afterwards, we ate our sack lunch under a shady tree near the lagoon and imagined what it would be like to have riden in a boat with Louis at the lead, playing "Beautiful Dreamer, Wake Unto Me". 

For more information on the Swan Boats at Fair Park;   http://www.fairpark.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=372
The Museum of Nature and Science http://www.natureandscience.org/
Children's Aquarium at Fair Park http://childrensaquariumfairpark.com/

Other places in Texas with Swan Boats include;
Captial Cruises on Lady Bird Lake http://www.capitalcruises.com/rentals/swan-pedal-boats/
Towne Lake in McKinney http://www.visitmckinney.com/adminnm/templates/nature.asp?articleid=14&zoneid=13

melting crayons

I love any art project involving melted crayons!  We have made the melted crayon bottles, and melted crayons in muffin tins, but this was something completely new!  I heard about it yesterday from a friend, melting crayons with a hair dryer!  My daughter made this picture, she said it reminds her of a Spring meadow filled with wildflowers! The splatter is my favorite, I imagine it is how Jackson Pollock used crayons in preschool. 

As we got into playing with it, we tried other techniques. She colored while the crayon melted, giving it a look like thick paint.  We also colored very heavily, then heated it and watched the colors run.  We then hot glued all the crayons at the top of a poster board, and heated the crayons and let them run!   A few words of warning, to melt the crayon the blow dryer has to be HOT!  We tried several different tools, for big splatters you can hold the crayon with tongs.  For smaller areas, you can either hold a long crayon above the hair dryer, or bend out a paper clip and heat it, then slide it into the crayon.  Crayola crayons work best for a thicker look, RoseArt crayons give a more watercolor appearance.

wooden learning letters

We have an assortment of wooden letters for my four year old.  They are the ones used for name plaques and signs, available at any art store.  When he feels like painting, they are fun to get out and let him paint.  While he is painting we talk about the letter, naming it often.  I tell him different words that start with that letter.  It's a great alternative to flash cards! 



Some other activities using wooden letters:

• To spell words. It's so much easier for him to have a hands on maniplitable as opposed to just seeing the word on paper. 
• We have a scavenger hunt, dividing out the letters evenly among the players, and then finding objects around the house that begin with that letter.  For example, if you had the letter C, you might grab a calculator.  It helps him to sound out different words looking for something that starts with that letter. 
• We also hide the letters, similar to an Easter Egg hunt.  For a younger child, you just find the letters, but for 4 and 5 year olds, it's appropriate to hide the whole alphabet, and put them in order as you find them!    

Sam Houston's grave at Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville

 "The world will take care of Houston's fame." ~ Andrew Jackson

These are the words inlaid in Sam Houston's memorial at his burial site in Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville.   It's right by the entrance, next to the road.  You really don't even have to get out of the car... but do!  Oakwood is a beautiful cemetery, filled with majestic oak trees whose limbs playfully reach down almost to the ground!  Stoic Cypress trees stand guard among the historical markers that dot the grounds.  Not only is our state's first father buried here, but so are many other noteables from Texas history.  I love the natural wildflower areas scattered throughout, also.

 We visited on Easter Sunday, and there were a few other tourist at the memorial.  Our kids had a great time running the path and seeing the abundant birds and squirrels that inhabit the grounds.  My husband and I walked the paths, me taking pictures and him reading aloud so I could hear the historical markers, like the one of Henderson King Yoakum, buried near Sam Houston.  Yoakum, also from Tennesee, authored History of Texas from Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846.  Another historical marker denotes  the original location of the Steamboat House, where Houston lived until his death.  The house was moved to the SHSU's Sam Houston Memorial Museum a few blocks away. 

While you are in Huntsville, take the time to visit the Museum, http://www.shsu.edu/~smm_www/.   Other places not to miss on the Sam Houston tour include The Sam Houston Statue and Information Center http://samhoustonstatue.org/department/division.php?fDD=4-12  The sculptor of the statue, David Adickes, lives and works in Houston, where more of his work can be seen. 
Washington on the Brazos State Park, visit Independence Hall, where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed.    http://www.birthplaceoftexas.com/
The San Jacinto Monument, where Texas forces led by Houston captured General Santa Anna, thus winning Texas Independence!  http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/

The Hunger Games

I love this book!  My kids love this book!  We looked forward to Spring Break, which we had predetermined to be when we would read it.  The three of us cuddled on the couch, and took turns reading out loud a chapter each.  I am going to admit that during some of the nail biting moments of the book, I would insist on reading, not having the patience to wait for my children, who read slightly slower than I do! 

As we read, I tried to think of an activity we could incorporate with the book.  One of the aspects I enjoyed most about the book was Katniss' foraging skills.  Eating off the land for us is limited to only wild berries, onions and nuts, but I love that it's enough for my children to have an understanding of where food really grows, not the grocery store or the garden.   I laugh when I recall a my daughter's friend, who accompanied us to pick up pecans from a local park in the fall.  She couldn't believe we were going to EAT the pecans we found in the dirt!  She tried the shelled nuts, and loved them!  When we dropped her off at home she told her mom, and I got a concerned phone call about letting her eat off the ground!

We decided to be adventurous with the the food that Katniss credits with saving her life.  It's an important moment in the book, right after she has received a loaf of old bread from the small boy that lives at the bakery, her first food in days.  She sees a dandelion growing, and remembers her father teaching her foraging skills in the woods, before he is killed in a mining accident.  We did some reading on dandelion recipes, and choose three.  We made dandelion greens, added dandelion flowers to a salad with poppy seeds, and lightly battered the flowers and fried them.  Can you guess which was my southern children's favorite?  We don't attend the Texas State Fair each year for nothing, we love anything fried!

Safe Lice Prevention

Does just thinking of lice make you start scratching your head?  It sure does me!                                                                                             

Luckily, our family has never had lice, but I completely agree with Ben Franklin that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... and in the case of lice maybe two pounds.  After several boys in my son's baseball team all had lice, from sharing helmets, I began doggedly searching for natural repellents.  A friend of mine told me she read that lice, like many other bugs, do not like the fragrance of rosemary.  She said that as a preventive measure, she keeps a few fresh twigs inside her daughter's pillowcases.  I have a HUGE rosemary plant, in Texas they are so easy to grow, and require little care, the worst thing you can do is over water them!!  Inspired by my friend's idea, I began placing the fresh twigs inside my children's shampoo and conditioner.  After about an hour, the smell is infused throughout the entire bottle.  I just leave it in the bottle.  My kid's hair smells great; it's a clean, fresh scent.  I can't promise that this is 100% reliable, but we have never had any lice to prove otherwise! However, I still scratch my head just thinking about it!

I did some googlin', and found a few companies that sell rosemary shampoo and sprays as a natural lice deterrent.  Just a FYI.  http://www.fairytaleshaircare.com/

Ivory Soap Science Experiment

This is a science experiment that really "cleans up"!

My daughter's best friend did this experiment at school, and after she told us about it, we just had to try it out!  We took a bar of Ivory soap and place it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.  While it's in there, I asked the kids what they thought would happen.  My son had a friend over, he said he thought it would melt.  My daughter said she thought it would burn. 
After 2 minutes, I took it out and it has become a cloud!  A wonderful, Ivory soap smelling cloud!  It looks like whipped cream, but the texture is more like meringue.  It immediately "falls" and stiffens, which is so fun to watch!   Then we placed the foam in water, and just like the bar, it floats!  Guess how my four year wants to take a bath tonight!
The scientific explanation is that the soap, which floats in it's bar form, is different from other soaps because it's whipped!  Whipping the soap causes lots of tiny air bubbles, and has captured water inside the bubbles.  Like popcorn, when it is heated, it expands!  Thanks to Steve Spangler Science for explaining it to me.  For more information;  http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/soap-souffle

Easter Themed Surprise Lunch

This adorable lunch I packed to surprise my ten year old daughter won't earn me Mom of the Year.  That's because I borrowed the idea from my friend, Holley, and I think she borrowed it from someone else.  But this is certainly an award winning idea!  I can't wait to hear about the surprise from my daughter tomorrow when she gets home from school!   

I packed a cute little Easter basket in her lunch box, then filled little plastic eggs with some of her favorite, bite size lunch items.  It includes a cut up beef stick, baby carrots, peanuts, cheese cubes, sunflower seeds, goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and a sliced up granola bar. 

If you can't find a small basket, lining the bottom of a sandwich bag or lunch box with Easter grass would be cute, too! 

Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt

Why does a rabbit hide eggs on Easter?  Because it's so much fun! 

One of our favorite Easter traditions is our annual Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt!  The kids invite their family and friends to meet us at a neighborhood park just after dark.  Everyone brings an Easter basket and a flashlight!  On the word GO, the kids "scramble" to find eggs.  I'm amazed every year at just how many eggs are found, they immediately locate the ones on the ground and those hidden in the trees and bushes around the 5 acre park!  Each year our hunt has grown, and now we have over 25 kids attending, ages ranging from 1 to about 14, and almost  1200 eggs! 

The first year we used reflective tape on the eggs, but found that it really wasn't necessary, as the colorful eggs shine in the beam of the flashlights!  It's really so much fun to watch the as they run all over the park!  Afterwards, the kids scrutinize and scoff their finds, and we enjoy the cool night air.  Games of tag are initiated, running and climbing on the playground equipment, and exploring the outdoor world at night! 

Book & a Movie Reading Club

Are you looking for a fun way to get your kids excited about reading? 

My kids and their friends started a Book and a Movie reading club a few years ago.  The premise is that they all read an agreed upon book, then they plan a get together to watch the movie.  When the movie is over they split up into teams, either by drawing numbers, girls vs. boys, etc., and break off to nearby restaurant, ice cream shop or park, and compile list of the differences in the book and the movie, with a time limit of about 20 minutes.  Sometimes there are just a few, and sometimes pages worth!  Afterwards, the adults review the list, making sure that there are no repeats or contradictions, and then the winning team is awarded a fun prize, usually a Half Price Books gift cards, etc. but to stress the fact that even the "losers" are winners, we also provide consolation gifts, such as a book light or book mark.

We have had some variations.  Their first meeting was for the book, the Watcher in the Woods.  It's an older movie and we rented the dvd and they met at a friend's house to watch and play!  My daughter has also had "all girl" games, such as for Judy Moody and Beevus & Ramona.  We have also played as a family, for movies like Matilda, Because of Winn Dixie and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  As soon as we hear a movie is coming out based on a book, they start planning the party!