ONE HELLUVA BACKYARD

Though we still haven't made it to the Blue Hole yet this summer, we did finally squeeze in a float in Outdoor Woman's creek. It was my first time to experience it, since last summer it had been emptied by drought. Can you even imagine,

having beauty such as this, right in your very own backyard?

It's kinda funny, the story of how they ended up here. You see her hubby, Outdoor Man, had this group of on-line guy pals, one of whom was The Judge in Wimberley. One time The Judge invited all the guy pals to his place for a get-together, and the minute OM laid eyes upon the place, he knew this was it - his dream home. It was just the kind of place he had always imagined living in some day, with a comfy-casual house just right for a big, dog-lovin' family, a great kitchen for people who love to cook, a veggie garden, chickens, a creek for swimming and kayaking, all just 45 minutes from their beloved Austin, where they both went to college. Perfect! So he tells The Judge, "If you ever decide to sell the place, I want first dibs." But, of course, who in their right mind would ever let go of a place like this?

Well, several years later OM gets a call out of the blue. Turns out The Judge has accepted an appointment in Portland, Oregon. "If you still want it, it's yours," he tells OM. "I'll take it!" he replies, without even thinking - about the fact that his wife has never even laid eyes on the place, or that her dream might not be the same as his. She says she was praying all the way to Wimberley, that it would be a place she could at least tolerate, so they wouldn't have to go to war over this, and she wouldn't be responsible for dashing his dreams. I'd say she's "tolerating" it just fine!

P.S. That's not her place in the background, with the perfectly-mown lawn. She's across the creek, looking down from the cliffs - the perfect spot for morel-hunting!