Balance Stones in Karen's garden
Texas can be overwhelmingly hot & humid but for a few wonderful weeks in the Spring we have gorgeous weather -- sunny, warm, & windy. That's when I get out and enjoy nature.
Karen and I spent a recent afternoon creating stone spirals in her meditation garden.
Then, I took advantage of Bear Mountain's Kayak Demo Day to see if water sports might be an option for exercise when the oppressive heat comes this summer.
Although my paddling style left a lot to be desired, I did manage to stay out of the reeds.
But the most fun and easiest to maneuver was the Hobie peddle kayak. It has an easy to use rudder and peddling with my legs was much easier than paddling with my arms. Kayaking is definitely something that I'll try this summer.
Especially, since Outdoor Waco (http://outdoorwaco.com/) has just opened downtown. In addition to kayak rentals they also rent bikes.
I rented one and took a ride along the river. Great fun!
And it wouldn't be spring if it wasn't time for the Fuzzy Friends (http://fuzzyfriendsrescue.com/) Calendar photo shoot. Several of us spent an afternoon at Janel's backyard pond getting all six of her dogs ready for their close up.
Spring would not be complete without Baylor University's diverse LifeLong Learning in Retirement classes. One of my favorites is the Citizen's Watershed Academy in which we get to tour some of the local water treatment plants.
Bullhide Waste Water Treatment Plant
We were surprised to learn that Waco has the fourth 'greenest' water treatment system in the nation. In fact, the new Bullhide Treatment Plant treats waste water using microbes and UV lighting, not chlorine.
In the next few weeks, we'll be visiting the cutting edge Dissolved Air Flotation treatment plant. Waco's watershed is plagued by algae, causing our water to smell and taste bad. The new system uses air bubbles to attach to the particles, floating them to the surface for removal. Our water quality has improved greatly without the addition of more chemicals. Our final visit is to the Lake Waco Wetlands (http://www.lakewacowetlands.com/home.html), where marshes are used to treat storm water.
All in all, it's been a great spring here in Central Texas.
1 comment:
Great post, Brenda! It is fabulous to have your artistic-flair "presence" in the little backyard mediation garden. It was fun creating the spirals with you! Thanks for making the meditation-garden-work-in-progress more like meditation-garden-FUN-in progress! Love all the spring activities and promises of outdoor fun, even when the weather heats up!
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