Williamson County Park Greenbelt "the woods"

Well it has been a slow couple of month.  Slow in the camping world, busy everywhere else.  We had a great trip planned in October to Colorado Bend,  but had to cancel due to weather.  The fronts have been coming through on the weekend and that weekend was hot, muggy, and rainy.  Not exactly great weather for camping on the riverbank.  The mosquitoes have been very bad this year too.  We managed a night away, but that was just Patrick and I at cub scout camp.  Not exactly a relaxing nature experience, but a great way to check out Bastrop.
We have made it out to the greenbelt a few times or "the woods" as my kids call it.  It is just down the street from our house.  Easy to get to on foot or bike and a very manageable size for a kid on his own.  Usually he brings a friend.  There are trails made by county trucks.  It is bordered by neighborhood on the west, park on the east, road to the south and ranch to the north.  Most of the time you can still hear dogs barking or lawnmowers.  But to a growing boy it is a magical wild place for exploring.  This area is undeveloped as it is a watershed for the park and neighborhoods.  When it rains the water flows through here and forms Honey Bear Creek.  The ponds are shallow and dry up in the summer.  But after the rain, a series of marshy ponds just perfect for walking through with mud boots form.  We often see cardinals and hawks, and during the fall and spring migrations it is a stop for wild ducks.  We see deer and tracks of raccoons, skunks, possum, and wild boar.  We see the fur and bones left by the coyotes and have been scared more than once by a fleeing rabbit.  In the fall, the leaves change color and the ponds are more full.  In the spring it is filled with wildflowers and butterflies.  In the summer, there are sunflowers, dragonflies, and lots of (icky) grasshoppers.  For a neighborhood as large as ours, the woods should be filled with dirty children.  But it is not.  Often on a beautiful Saturday, we won't see anyone.  As a child I explored the orange groves near my neighborhood.  We built forts using "borrowed tools" and even tried to make a camp fire.  The worst thing that has happened to him in the hours spent building forts, climbing trees and hunting for treasure have been the chigger bites.  We are blessed to have this space and love it dearly.
On this day, it was cold and rainy, but we had to check out a fort Patrick had been raving about.  He didn't build it, but he had a great time discovering it.  We also discovered the coyote population had been very active.  He found a deer skull and we found a boar jaw with teeth intact.  After some time spend in bleach water, the jaw made a great addition to our collection of found treasures. 
We have a trip coming up over Thanksgiving weekend.  We are hoping it isn't too cold or wet.  We are ready for some outdoor therapy.