Adventuring

  

We haven’t been Adventuring much lately.  Well – winter and all.  Plus my Adventuring friend moved from a Wharton suburb to a Houston suburb.  (It’s a bit of a drive to get there).  However, this past week I drove over and we went to Kleb Woods, which is a nature preserve right in the middle of the city!  Who knew! 

Kleb Woods was originally a family farm established in the 1840’s.  It remained a farm in the Kleb family until in the 1960’s.  When great grandson Elmer inherited the property, he pretty much stopped farming and let the place go back to nature. 

He planted trees and set it up as a preserve for animals and birds.  Unfortunately, he never concerned himself with mundane things like – paying taxes – and the county started making “forced sell” noises.  Elmer’s problems attracted a lot of attention and ultimately the property was donated to the county as a Nature Preserve, with Elmer allowed to continue living there until his death. 

It’s lovely there, even this time of the year.  We’ve already planned to make another trip there in March or April when our world is green again.  In the meantime, here’s a few things I saw

Throughout the preserve, there are markers naming trees and plants.

I got closer to see what this one said –

It made me laugh – 

yes, thank you, I have a large brush pile in the yard!

Mushroom farm

There’s a very nice learning center

filled with all sorts of interesting things.

We spent a couple of hours walking the paths and generally enjoying the world.  It was a nice adventure.  A relaxing day.

Then, when on the way to lunch, we passed this –

The entrance gate was open so we drove in and made a slow circle around.  This is the Từ Bi Quán Âm Đạo Tràng Buddhist Temple.  It is the First Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Cypress was founded in 1994.  The name means – “The spirit of Buddha is of great loving kindness and compassion, saving all people by any and all means. The great compassion of the spirit is empathetic; the spirit is ill with the illness of people, to suffer with their suffering.”

It is a lovely place and you could feel the peace when driving in. 

May every living being,

Our minds as one and radiant with light.

Share the fruits of peace,

With hearts of goodness, luminous and bright.

15 Jan 2022