a drive in the Texas hill country

A short drive and and heart attack inducing lunch in the Texas hill country—-

Hoping to find great carpets of wildflowers we took an unscheduled drive down a few back roads, and stopped for a “famous” hamburger at a fun rural cafe deep in the hills.

I found some nice prairie verbena and beautiful fields of flowers at a wild seed farm.

a visit to the botanical gardens in New Orleans

Finally I managed a trip to the New Orleans botanical gardens. It was something I used to do regularly when I lived there in my youth, but just can’t seem to do now.

All was great! The rose garden was a bit reduced, but there were great specimens of ferns, succulents, and tropicals. The orchids are always colorful, and  inspired me to do better with mine.

a trip down the bayou

On Easter break we took our grandson on a swamp trip down the bayou. Of course, it included many alligators, garfish, and snapping turtles.

 Cemetery with victims of 1915 hurricane.

 Trapper's cabin no longer used.

 Beautiful cypress trees hanging with grey moss. The very large ones were harvested over a hundred years ago for lumber.

Thankfully we didn't see any snakes that day. Generally they are quite plentiful, perhaps the weather was too cool for them yet.

white violets

Returning from a cloudy day ramble I discovered these little stars blooming in a long swath beneath the trees near the pond.

Finding gifts like these are the biggest reward on one of my unplanned walks. 

Other surprises were a crushed goose egg, probably from the Canadian geese attempting to nest on a island in the pond, a singing common yellowthroat in the cat tail rushes, and a ghost like visit from the grey male harrier as he swooped down to flush killdeer from the field.

A brief rainbow was a perfect end to a walk that started off overcast and without much promise.

rushing through spring

We've gone from frigid winter to mid spring before February ends. I took a trip to California to visit my granddaughter, and when I returned many bulb plants and fruit trees had already flowered and then leafed out! The lawns are green and need mowing. 

I am beginning to learn what the freezes did to some shrubs and perennials,  and planning on placements or just eliminating some.

One of my returning favorites is this iris usually called cemetery white because it's often planted in graveyards across the South. It requires no care and emerges every spring in forgotten places. Mine was here at the house when I arrived 50 years ago. It comes in up the same location and has not spread beyond that point.  

lunar eclipse

An eclipse on a cold frosty morning. The temperature was 26, but I bundled up and gave it a try anyway. The coyotes gave me a chorus of encouragement and the sky remained clear. Using only the iPhone I managed to record our dance with the spheres.

The bloody shadow begins to eat the moon.

A last glimpse of the eclipsing moon as it sinks pass the old oak.

after the big cold

After two snows and two big freezes—the landscape is rather bleak. The dark clouds on the horizon to the north promise another cold front.

another big freeze

Another arctic air mass came roaring through here this week. There were days that the temperature never rose above freezing. Ice and snow remained on highways and shut down transportation. Since this rarely happens in Louisiana there is no system to deal with it. 

Schools and businesses closed, and when the thaw began so many water mains and pipes were broken that the shut down lingered.

I took a few photos of the ice covered roads around home that we navigated as we tried to finally pick up my grandson.

icy pond

Another Arctic morning—a week of temperatures below freezing and the pond froze over as I watched.

The flu is finally retreating and life goes on.

just a try at blogging from another app

Usually I try to blog from my iPhone because most of my photos are there now. However blogger doesn’t update the app for Apple products and blogger no longer works on iPad or iPhone.
I’ve tried several apps, but none work smoothly. Photos take too long to load, the writing platform is choppy and makes makes for poor continuity.
I’m using chrome on my iPhone. It’s still quite a challenge so the quest continues.

the Grinch stole Christmas

Below freezing temperatures every day for a week, a case of flu that has me feverish and with an unrelenting cough, no time outdoors, few birds at the feeders, flowers and plants frozen black.

Things will get better.

Texas skies

Early morning silver Christmas tinsel stripes obscure the sun.






A fiery sunset that the camera can’t quite capture.

Texas sized

A quick trip to Texas and a stop at one of the iconic Texas sized convenience stores—

Buckee’s.

The store seems to be a block long, filled with unnecessary items that are emblazoned with the tooth filled beaver face, but, truthfully advertises, and has, the cleanest bathrooms!

Driving into Austin I am greeted by one of the many spaghetti piles called highways.

digging deep

The unusual snow cover and freezing temperatures brought the pink footed, bare tailed possum to the yard looking for scraps of bird food.

He is ill equipped to forage in snow cover.

Usually he competes for bits of compost with the raccoons, but extreme weather has made food scare for those who must dig and scrape for sustenance.

winter wonderland

Woke to find my world transformed!

bits and pieces

A last warm day from this strange fall—the temps still in the 80s. 

A quick walk to check on things—the hickory late to turn color, many still green. A rainbow in a shower less sky and a tree filled with kumquats.

Temps in the 40s today and freezing precipitation predicted by Friday.

Quick changes.

guess who came to dinner

He rolled his scaley head my way and peered at me as I munched my sandwich. It was more wildlife sharing my plants and home—an anole or small lizard that is native to our gardens. Somehow they are able to find their way in from spaces in the door and window frames. Usually I ignore them for a while, but since they need a steady diet of insects I will

eventually  return them to the outdoors. Sometimes they are back the next day if I don’t carry them far from the house.

We get non native small geckos, too, that are nocturnal, and make little squeaking sounds like a mouse. 

Once or twice a garter snake traveled in on plants I brought in for winter.

It makes for interesting lunch time companions.

butterfly days

Who could have thought I would have the gift of so many butterflies at the end of November . They came in clouds to nectar on the chrysanthemums. I managed a few phone photos while grinning like an idiot.