MAKING MUD PIES: THE UNVEILING

We went back to Fiber Woman's place yesterday afternoon, to check on our masterpieces. They turned out better than expected, even though we forgot to add the coloring agent into our concrete mix as planned. Never fear.

Though they look pretty good as is, Cheryl says if I just gotta have color (duh!), I can always paint it on once the piece is completely cured in a couple of weeks.

Her hubby Rick then gave us a quick demonstration on how to shape a chicken wire armature and wrap it with strips of burlap that have been dipped in slurpy concrete. Once it is dry, you can come back and add on layer after layer of concrete that has a bonding agent added to it, until you end up with whatever shape you desire. Think I will probably stick to the play-do stuff we did yesterday. This armature building looks mighty messy to me, and we're talking about a girl who wouldn't eat donuts as a kid because they made her hands sticky. Besides, that concrete hurts when it splashes on your skin!

After that we decided we needed some cool water to dip into, and you'll never guess where we went. No, not the Blue Hole. That's already closed for the year. Give up? Outdoor Woman took us to Jacob's Well! I've been hearing about it for years, but never saw it up close and personal. In fact, I assumed it was closed to the public, but as it turns out, all you need is a friend who is a Master Naturalist and knows the ropes. Doesn't hurt that she also volunteers there and teaches classes about it to school kids. Such a gorgeous place, but kinda eerie when you think about all the people who have died trying to explore its underwater caves.

One of OW's new neighbors - a modern-day bird- and insect-loving, chicken-raising, beer-brewing, world-traveling, renaissance-kinda-guy (mile wide, inch deep - his words, not ours) who is well on his way to becoming a Hill Country Character in his own right - met us there for her mini-tour, then joined us (dripping though we might be) for dinner at Linda's Fine Foods. The picnic tables out under the big oak tree seemed just right for this occasion, and interesting conversation was enjoyed by all. Perfect ending to a perfect day!

P.S. Many thanks to sleephappened.blogspot.com for the image of Jacob's Well.