Spring Pilgrimage

Every year about this time we make our annual pilgrimage to a little piece of heaven on earth, the Frio River. Butch and Joyce McCaleb Weston are our gracious hosts at Camp Live Oak just north of Leakey. It's that special time that the migrating birds are abundant in the area. You mix that with the mystery of the Frio and its cypress giants, and it serves as a relaxing tonic. Enjoy a few pics from our Spring Pilgrimage.

Every day Butch Weston holds forth from his deck overlooking the grounds of Camp Live Oak. If you sit there long enough, you'll see pretty much every type of bird on the grounds at his feeders. Well, I guess the Green Kingfisher probably has not visited there, but pretty much all the rest! I'm enjoying visiting with Joyce while Butch poses for Wes.

 There is no shortage of hummingbirds and bees at the Camp Live Oak feeders.

Wes let me borrow this pic of the Golden-fronted Woodpecker getting his fill at Butch and Joyce's bird bath. This is the loud one.

Sunday Jimmy and Aggie joined us at Neals' Dining Room for lunch. Those hinged windows used to be screens only, we remember when! The food is always great, and it's always good to see the familiar faces from our past.

A Neals' tradition, the hummingbird feeders stationed around the exterior of the Dining Room.

This pic is especially for Ginger. Her family used to spend some family gathering time at the little cabin on the left, just below the 'Seven Bluff'. The new unit next door changes the neighborhood a little, but the view of the river hasn't changed.

I took this shot crossing the river at Seven Bluff. I'm working on adding sound!

Wes captured this unusual thistle bloom at Camp Live Oak. It's called a Musk Thistle.

I'm just in awe of this relic. It is huge, and hard as stone. Apparently a live oak that broke off nearby, and formed a bridge across the ravine. The intersection with the ground to the left is about 40 feet from me.

We think it's the most beautiful place on earth. This sanctuary is on the East Frio near where it joins the West Frio. God's glory revealed in His Creation!