It's Here Again - My Favorite Season

Fall stirs something deep inside me! I love it!

Mother Neff State Park

Dan and I drove out to Mother Neff State Park this morning. It only takes a half hour, or less, to get there from our house. We wanted to scope it out for Chris and Kelsey, since they love camping in the various Texas State parks, and haven't been to this one yet.

It was a beautiful fall morning. The temperature was around 80 degrees, so it was perfect for getting out and walking. Mother Neff is a small, forested park, with a few hook-ups for campers and some nice day-use areas. We spoke with one of the rangers, who was doing some maintenance there, and she said that in a couple months they will be completing an expansion that has been going on for a year or two, which will add considerably more camping spaces to the park.

The park sits alongside the Leon River, and fishing is allowed from the bank. In the 1930s the CCC worked there, quarrying native limestone and milling local timber, to construct the pavilion and a couple other buildings, which are all still in use.

There are numerous hiking trails with some points of interest, such as a Tonkawa Indian cave, a stone tower, and a pond. We didn't go to the tower or the pond, but did climb down the rough, rocky stone steps to visit the cave. I was a little nervous about Dan going down those stairs, since he's just seven weeks out from his last knee replacement surgery, but he did great!

Homestead Heritage Village

It's been quite a summer! Between moving Mom here and taking care of Dan during his recuperation after having both knees replaced, summer has sort of passed me by. That's okay, though, since I was more than happy to be there for both of them. But now it's FALL, my very favorite time of year, and I have been feeling a great need to get out with my camera to somewhere beautiful.

I had heard about Homestead Heritage Village, just north of Waco, some time ago, and was again reminded of it this week, by a friend who had been there recently. So I set out late this morning to explore it. (Dan's new knee wasn't quite up to an activity like this yet.) What a wonderful place! I'll be going back as often as I can. It's open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It has a working gristmill with a store that sells its flours; a forge, where blacksmiths work; a pottery workshop; a fiber crafts building, for carding wool, combing cotton, beating flax, spinning, weaving, and knitting; a woodworking shop; a gift shop; and a cafe/bakery. They offer classes to the public in the various crafts. 

The weekend after Thanksgiving they hold a big craft fair with demonstrations, live bluegrass and gospel music, food, and hands-on activities - for adults and children. 

THE FORGE

THE GRISTMILL

This waterwheel powers the mill

The mill store, where they sell flours and baking mixes, as well as homemade jams and jellies.

THE CAFE/BAKERY

I had lunch here, and it was very good. I was sorely tempted to have a dessert, as they looked absolutely wonderful - but I didn't.

THE FIBER CRAFTS

A class, framed by one of the large looms

This woven piece, still attached to a loom, was in process.

Some completed woven scarves

THE POTTERY BUILDING

A class was going on while I was there, and a man was working on this piece. He used a grape leaf to make the impression.

THE WOOD SHOP

This very tall chest was made in the wood shop and is now displayed in the gift shop. 

This is the top of the chest shown above. You can only see the top from the upper story of the shop, but even this "unseen" portion was beautifully crafted.

THE GIFT SHOP

These are scented soaps. They slice bars from the long slabs.

 THE WINDMILL

ANIMALS

On fair days, they offer horse-drawn hay wagon rides, but on non-fair days, they only have a few animals in a petting zoo area, such as this llama, who seems to have a severe under bite ;-)

 Although the Thanksgiving Fair would be a lot of fun to attend, I really enjoyed going on a day like this. There were not many people there (except in the cafe/bakery), and it was so peaceful and quiet.

Lunch at the Dead Fish Grill

On Wednesday I picked Mom up and took her to lunch at The Dead Fish Grill. Now before you judge it too harshly, based upon it's rather "stinky" name, let me tell you that it's a very nice restaurant, located right on the shore of Lake Belton, near the dam. Mom ordered the fried catfish, and said it was wonderful. Must have been, since she ate all of it, and she's not usually a big eater!

I tried to get a picture with my iPhone, but had trouble because of the bright background, so Mom's image is a little too dark. But you can see that it was a lovely day to be at the lake. This restaurant is only about 5 minutes from Stoney Brook, where Mom is living.