Exploring in Fernland

I love new places and hidden gems and interesting experiences with our little family. When we stopped at the library a few weeks ago, I noted a funny little park near it and made a mental note that I wanted to visit. Maybe it's my former-homeschooler-educational-bug, but it looked like a great family field trip to me.... log cabins and pioneer structures and walking paths! Fernland Historical Park was such a fun little experience.

I would apologize for the amount of pictures, but I know that half of the blog readers only ever look at the pictures anyway, so y'all won't even read this apology. :P

There are a few things I am learning about Texas, now that we have been here for six weeks. Just a few things that have traveled from my head to my inner consciousness.
1. It's hot. I mean, seriously, it's hot. It's summer in Texas. It is going to be hot. So just get over it... don't go anywhere in the afternoon and if you're outside, do it in short spurts of time.
2. Green and brown are pretty colors, too. That Texas foliage? It's interesting and pretty in its own way. So I am starting to love it.

We had only been walking around the historical park for a few minutes, sharing the space with two different photographers. I guess it's a popular portrait background!

Random sidenote: I like to watch other photographers work... if only so I can rejoice that the inner-work-pressure isn't mine anymore. I reeeeeally like the idea that I can take photos/make art of whatever I want to. This may be another blog entry altogether, but let's just say I like my creative journey right now. I like discovering new things that inspire art in my life. I liked being a wedding photographer, and now... I like where it has led me even more. Photography is part of discovering who I am and what I can do and what I really, really love to capture. And lucky for you random blog reader, I also really like to share photos on this blog.

Fernland has a little gate into Memory Park. A pretty little place filled with plants and curious turns in the path. It thrilled me. Like something from those children's storybooks that line my bookshelves at home.

So much to discover. So much to share with our little one!

Remember when we introduced Devereaux to turtles at the Houston Arboretum? This was like TURTLE HEAVEN. There were turtles everywhere! At one point, I counted nine turtles! And they were also surrounded by some monster goldfish/koi. Crazyness.

There was a little turtle family. I totally was like, "It's us! In turtle form!"

There was a Texan cattle statue randomly placed in the grass. It made me laugh.

Keep walking!

The perfect place for an engagement portrait session, yeah?

This Memorial Park looped around the pond and ended up at the library. So convenient!

Where Devereaux attempts to eat ants.

Back to looking at historical things.

So there ya go! The great state of Texas has lots of history, lots of heat and we have lots of smiles because we are liking the experience.