while i'm not really in love with abilene {and neither is taylor} it's taken a little while to start finding things that really grab me about this place. the first thing i really started to love was faubus fountain lake on acu campus. it's not a lake at all - just a little pond. kind of a glorified version of byu's duck pond. at first (when it was cold), i'd just run around the track and see the lake for a good ten minutes of my run. once it started getting warmer, i'd walk down the stone steps to sit by the water and read while i waited for taylor to stop therapatizing people so he could come play with me. now, it's become our picnic spot. we pack up our sandwiches and our mutual book sometimes and head over to watch the birds and fish while we eat and take turns reading to each other. it's hot lately, but the sun is darn good for my legs!
this is our friend, the great blue heron. he's a lonely bird that doesn't let any of the others (or us...) get close. i'm glad he's sticking around for the summer - he's about the only majestic part of abilene there is. {okay, okay, except for the lightning and thunder. which is amazing, by the way.}
aaaand these are my toes loving the sun. you can't see them in the pictures, but there are MASSIVE coyfish in the pond. bright florescent orange, red and glowing white. and then there's one that's probably 3.5 feet long - really. there's also a little angel fish that hangs out by the rocks. she's pretty cute.
and here (at long last) is the grackle. these birds are everywhere in abilene. this is guy came over for a sip of water and was angry because the water level was too high for him to climb down. they make an awesome sound with their heads tipped all the way back. pretty cool birds. sadly, everyone here hates them... well, except us i guess. :-)
it was taylor's turn to read, so i sneaked a picture while he was at an exciting part. we've just finished the fablehaven series and neither of us is finished grieving yet. one of the best fantasies ever written, in my opinion. just plain amazing.
even if most of the city is pretty sad, i'm glad there are a few little spots that satisfy my need for nature. here's to hoping i find more!
