God's back yard

On Wednesday, my good friends Kathleen and Christopher picked me up after work and school, and we headed out to Willow City Loop near Fredericksburg. I've never been to the loop before, and Kathleen assured me I'd love it. She did not lie.

 The Willow Loop is a two lane road with many private residences, so I did not understand how we were supposed to get out and take pictures. It turns out that there are a couple of parking spaces along the way. We stopped at the first one, got out of the car, walked in a little ways, and saw this.

 

 I was thrilled. What a lovely little cove of flowers, I thought. We walked in farther, and kept happening upon little openings that were much the same.

 

We asked Christopher to pose among the flowers, and he obliged. It felt like too much to ask him to smile, too!

 

 

 

The further in and down we walked, the more open the valley, the more glorious the flowers. When we had gone quite a way, I realized that my battery had died. I got the keys and fairly sprinted up the rocks, lest I lose the light. Okay, I didn't sprint. I'm 53 years old, and I wasn't wearing the right shoes. But I hiked as quickly as I could. On my way back with a new battery installed, I saw this:

Of course, once Christopher saw me the moment was over. I wasn't able to get them to stay put for a closer shot.
The light was much lower when I got back, but I did get my favorite shot of the day.

And I was able to cajole Christopher into a family photo pose.

We never did go further on the loop. By the time we got back up to the car, it was 8:00 and fairly dark. We decided to drive into Fredericksburg, have dinner, and go home. We will return another day for the rest of the loop. I've been promised.

After dinner, Christopher slept in the backseat while we, talked out, happy, and well fed, listened to Kate Bush.

Thank you, universe.