Spring has sprung!

Rickie and I sat on the swing just as sunset was nearing. The temp was dropping as the day ended. He was covered up with a soft fleece throw our daughter-in-law Lisa had made for him several years ago. I had a crocheted throw Lisa made for me for Christmas year before last. It is all my favorite colors and she worked on it off and on for a year. We were warm wrapped in these gifts and talked about how Lisa had made them for us and the time and care she invested. The clouds to the southwest were pink from the sitting sun and we stayed there until it began to get dark. (Photo was taken before we cut cedars down to open view.)

We had spent the day cutting some cedar and enlarging our view from the back yard. Sitting in the swing we could see back the 12 miles to town. There are some communication towers there and we could see 4 of them blinking with their red lights, and another one partially hidden by a big oak tree down the hill. There is a big hill you come down as you enter the Llano River valley and we could see that hill. it is a beautiful view; a million dollar view, as they say! Of course we didn't pay a million dollars for it!

I now have several piles of cedar to burn. The other day I burned the last of the piles I had at that time. Woodrow and Gus love a fire and had to come check it out. Woodrow would almost walk into a burning fire! I don't know why but he is especially drawn to one. Later that afternoon after the fire had burned down and I had sprayed water on it, I saw him standing in the middle of it. I am pretty sure it was still warm but he had to find out for himself!

A couple of days ago Rickie and I went around cutting little cedars down. He has a small chain saw he is trying out. His big one is heavy and upon our neighbor Scott's recommendation he added a small one to his tool box for the smaller cedars. I use my long handled loppers for little ones. I found a huge claret cup cactus on the rock shelf going down the hill. When it blooms it will be covered with red flowers.We have a big one in a pot on the porch but this one was two times as big, at least! We will keep checking on it to see it when it blooms.

I went back to the dry creek or wash that runs across the back of our property. There were small pools of water and it bubbled and ran in the area beneath the cliff after the rains we had last week. It used to do that all the time the first 10 years we had our place. When Natalie was little she told me how she had drank the water that bubbled up from the rocks! There is a type of frog that buries itself in the sand and goes into suspended animation in times of drought. It emerges when it is wet and we can hear them from the cabin. It has been years since we heard them. As we sat on the porch yesterday I wondered aloud if we would ever hear them again. I hope so.

One day last week we let the longhorns into the yard. There is some fresh green grass and we knew they would enjoy it. It has been a while since we let them in; they are so big now. They were excited and did some running, jumping, and head bumping to show their joy!

This morning there were some yellow evening primroses blooming in the yard. When we were kids in north Louisiana we called a variety of these buttercups. These open up in the late afternoon and follow the sun. This morning they were facing the sun to the east and closed up shortly after we saw them. With the drought we didn't have much in the way of wildflowers last year so I hope this is a sign of a better year. So far it looks promising! There are wild bluebonnets all over the place.

It was a beautiful weekend and we spent every moment we could outside in the perfect Spring-time Hill
Country weather. We often get a late freeze or two and have had snow at Easter before. But right now I just want to go to the nursery and buy spring flowers to plant!

All is calm, all is bright

I woke up at 4:00 am Monday. It is always quiet out here but after the snowfall we had Sunday the quiet and stillness seemed more so. Looking out the front window the ice crystals on the ground sparkled in the reflection of the yard light. There was a little doe eating the birdseed on the ground under the front feeder. She heard me raise the shade and turned to look at me. It was a beautiful scene and I wished my life could always be this peaceful. 


The sleet started Sunday morning shortly after Rickie left to head back to work. It soon turned to snow. Big fat beautiful flakes. Birds seemed to appear from everywhere. A flock of juncos that has been here a couple of weeks. House finches. A couple of squirrels. All eating the seed I put on the ground under the back sunflower seed feeder, by the water tank in the yard, and under the finch feeder in the side yard. They chattered away as they fueled up to better endure the cold temperature.

I put my winter gear on and went out to take some photos. Usually this will send the birds and squirrels all scattering but they mostly ignored me. When my hands started to freeze, I returned to the cabin and added another log to the fire. A little house finch came and sat on the windowsill, all fluffed up and trying to get out of the snow. I had scared him off earlier when I opened the front door. He had been perched above it on the door frame. 

Later as the snow increased, I bundled up again and took more photos. I fed the longhorns, giving them extra feed and hay. They don’t have a barn to go into so they need to get that furnace going in their body and the feed and hay fuels that. I debated whether to put some old hay we have out on an area they sometimes sleep in but decided there were warmer places deeper in the woods and they know where they are. 

I also put out more birdseed at all the feeding spots and threw some corn out for the deer and some milo out for the doves and the turkeys I am hoping will return. I busted up the ice on the water tanks so the longhorns could drink. I refilled the wood box on the back porch and pulled it closer to the door. It is a short but cold trip out on the porch when the fire needs more wood! I thought I would shorten it.

Coming inside, I built up the fire and settled down with my book, thinking I was in for the night. Then I remembered the water lines to the longhorns’ water tanks. They froze last year when we were not here, even though we had the water off and had drained the cabin. Rickie had added some ball valves where we can drain these lines and there is a cutoff to the lines that leaves the water to the cabin on.

So once more I bundled up and went out to turn that water off and drain the lines in the ground and those going up the side of the tanks. I was relieved that the water drained and had not frozen yet! Whew! We had 5 breaks last year in these lines. My dad who was a plumber, and my husband who thinks I am a capable person, would both figure I could fix a break if no one else was around but it wasn’t something I wanted to do. Especially since I should have thought of it earlier!

The snow had stopped and it was sleeting a little again. I returned to the fireside and my book. The world outside my windows was covered in white. The only sounds were the fire crackling and the birds chattering. We only get snow a couple of times a year and I wished it had come a day earlier so Rickie could have seen it. He will have to settle for the videos and photos I took. 

Snow is also a fleeting thing out here. The next day we were back in the 60s and the snow melted away by noon. The magic was gone along with the illusion that the world is a peaceful place where people leave the comfort of their easy chair and the warm fire to make sure the beings they share the earth with are fed and safe. We lost something of ourselves when we left this kind of life behind and I’ve often thought since I came here to stay that if people would live a life closer to the earth, things would be different with them. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be here. And for these silent nights, holy nights I share with a little doe while the snow and ice sparkles around us.

Bald Eggs and Boiled Eagles

My friend Mitzie told me the other day that she has been watching some bald eagles on the lake where she lives. (Photo - Mitzie's back yard on the lake.) It reminded me of a phrase I have been carrying around for 20 years, hoping one day to use as a book title. That would require me writing a book and I'm not sure that will happen. The book would, of course, be about Southern women.

I mentioned my co-worker Terese in a previous post. She had a beautiful soft Southern way of speaking, the kind of voice you would hear in Charleston. She never hurried her conversation and it was like listening to a song being sung.

One day at lunch she said she had brought some "bald" eggs to eat. Our boss, Joe, walked in at that time and his face said "what are bald eggs; I've never heard of those?" Upon seeing she had boiled eggs, he made the remark that if it was bald eggs, it must be boiled eagles! I filed the phrase away in my mind and it always makes me smile.

I Got Here As Fast As I Could

When Sarah was 7 years old we purchased our place in the Texas Hill Country. We had spent 2 years searching; following up all leads we got from the small town newspapers we subscribed to. Originally we were only looking for 5 acres but ended up with 54. Things happen that way sometimes!

I had been working part time and when we purchased the property I went to work full time to help pay for it. I worked in a small office with a couple of women. One, Terese, was very nice and the other, Cathy, was somewhat annoying. She prided herself on being a “native Texan” and never let a chance go by to look down her nose at me for not being born in Texas. I should have pointed out to her that William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett had not been born here either, but I didn’t think of it at the time.

(Photos - John  and Zac canoeing on Llano with Rickie; Lisa and Larry on Copperas Creek near Roosevelt)

Why this mattered to her, I don't know. But she considered herself Texan and me not.  She had one flaw in her claim to Texas over me though, in my opinion. She had never been outside the Houston area. She liked her subdivision only and had no love of the actual true heart of Texas. When my friend Terese and I would talk about the Hill Country, she would wrinkle up her nose. She had no love of the hills, and the plants, and the clear water, and the rocks! She liked her concrete and her Homeowner’s Association rules.

(Photo - Llano River at Yates Crossing)

Terese said something to us one day that has stuck with me. She said either you are drawn to the Hill Country or you are not. And those of us that are drawn to it can never explain it to the others or convince them of the beauty of it.

I consider myself lucky to be a person that is drawn to a certain area. Some people say they have no idea where they would live if they could live anywhere. I find that sad.

From the first time I went to the Hill Country, I was hooked. The clear air, the way it feels on your skin, the way the colors are brighter and clearer. The limestone and the way it tints the water of the Llano aqua colored. The whiteness of the limestone in the hills and the smell of caliche in the air. The far views, the beautiful sunsets, the live oaks and mesquites. The history of it and the culture of it and the toughness of the people and wildlife that inhabit it. My heart soars when I look out upon it. I pine away for it when I’m not there.  We would do anything in our power to have a place there and Rickie and I have sacrificed much in other areas of our life to make it happen.


(Photo - Nat, Sarah, and Lexi at Barton Springs in Austin)

There are other places I could live but they all have the same physical qualities. They are dry and have hills and plants that stick! They embody the westerners sense of independence and are a little bit wild, so that if you wandered off you might not make it back. If you are out of one of the cities they look a lot like they did 200 years ago.

My friend Myra feels this way about the Montana she calls home as does my mom-in-law Dot about her beloved Mississippi. And my sister Jackie about living near the coast. My cousin’s husband Ralph took us on a john boat tour of the bayou in South Louisiana one time and we saw the land through his eyes, the land he loved.

I hope you have a place you feel this way about whether it is in the country or the city. Someplace that you know you would pick if anyone asked you where would you live if you could live anyplace. And if you don't, I hope you go out and find that place!


"Land really is the best art." Andy Worhol

How does your garden grow?

Rickie and I spent a few hours working in the garden Saturday. The weather was perfect. 70s and sunny!


(Photo - Rick waters a sunflower that has survived the winter)

Rickie pruned his grapes. We are hoping for a better year than the last one. We had so few grapes last summer that we left them all for the birds. They needed them more than we did. Maybe we will have enough this year for a small batch of wine or some jelly.

We lost one of our two oldest peach trees to the drought and Rickie cut it down. It was almost 20 years old. These two peach trees were the first things we planted in the garden. I had gone to Kerrville to the Golden Eagle Nursery and purchased two Red Globe peaches while Rickie was installing a drip irrigation system. This variety has proven to be well suited to the Hill Country, but is now impossible to find. Growers seem to like tinkering with plants even when they don’t need it. We have added other varieties through the years but none have done as well as these two. One survived the summer and Rickie will add a new tree so that we can continue to have peaches. He’s a good plant researcher so I’m sure he will come up with something that will at least have a shot of producing!

Rickie left the tree trunk of the dead peach tree standing with the main branches cut short. Maybe Bixby will use it for his first climbing tree! Jeremy, who is now 15, was the only grandchild that was a tree climber! He liked to climb up the crooked trunks of the oak trees out here. 


(Photo - Jeremy back when he was a tree climber)

Rickie also planted some giant cabbage plants. The picture on the plants showed a baby next to them and the cabbage was that big. We’ll see how that works out here in dry country! Ha! 


(Photo - Sarah and a cabbage about 25 years ago)

As a nod to his Mississippi heritage, he planted some crimson clover in one area of the pasture and also some in a pot on the porch for me. It is a beautiful sight to see the highway a solid red when the clover blooms in Mississippi!

I continued with the weeding I started this week. The winter weeds were getting out of control! While Rickie and I both like a weed free garden it bothers me more than him. I believe it has to do with our childhood garden experiences. He was raised in the country and had a gigantic garden! His dad worked out of town during the week and his mom was left to take care of the house, garden, and cows with help from the kids. She worked full time and the kids, of course, were in school. So it was impossible to keep the garden weed free. Even if his dad had been there it would have been a full time job to weed. The purpose of the garden was to feed the family, not so much to be neat and weed free. So Rickie is not overly obsessive about the order of the garden. His love is the plants.

We lived in a small town in a duplex and my grandparents lived on one side of the duplex and us on the other. My grandfather, Papa, had been a farmer and was semi-retired. We had a big garden in the back of the yard, but it was not as big as the one Rickie’s family had. We supplemented our harvest by purchasing additional butterbeans, purple hull peas, cream peas, and corn from other growers. But still, it was a good size and Papa planted it full of good things! He never had a blade of grass growing in the rows and it was a beautiful garden. He always planted some giant sunflowers at one end just for the beauty of them. They towered over my head and were my favorite thing in the garden! He was a harsh man in a lot of ways and it always amazes me the love he had for flowers and plants. He was always taking me out to look at different flowers and plants in the yard.

(Photo - My sisters Jackie and Deb on the trimmed sidewalk!)

I have been scanning old family photos and one thing in the way of gardening stands out in my mind as I look at not only my photos but Rickie’s family photos. Back in the day before weedeaters were invented and affordable, it seems everyone’s sidewalks were overrun on the edges with weeds and grass. Everyone’s except ours when Papa was alive. Papa used to take a sharp shovel and go along the edge of the sidewalk and cut a very narrow trench that was clear of grass. He also did this to edge the planting beds around the house and yard. He taught me to do this and I tried to keep mine neat although I never succeeded to the degree he did. When I lived in the Houston area, the excessive wetness and the hard gumbo soil defeated me more than once! But I can remember getting on my knees and trimming the grass around the house using only a pair of small hand clippers. It was a hopeless task as the grass seemed to have grown back before I made the circle around the house!

So I follow in Papa’s footsteps and the order in the garden concerns me as much as the plants. But I have loosened up some and Rickie does things that probably wouldn’t bother him if they were left undone. He operates the weedeater because I don’t like the way it throws rocks and stuff at me and I try to do most of the weeding and mulching, especially since I am here more than he is. I like to use the push mower and will mow the yard when he might let it go another week. (Out here you only really have to mow a few times a year it is so dry. Last year we never mowed at all.) I’m hoping for a new garden fence next year and he doesn’t see the need for one. My neighbor got a new garden fence and I have garden fence envy! It is straight and even and beautiful and I drool with envy of it!

But one thing we totally agree on is that we love to work in the yard and in the garden together! I love these Spring-like days that come in the middle of winter. Wouldn’t it be nice if a Winter-like day would come in the middle of summer?

Goodbye 2011, Howdy 2012

2011 had its ups and downs like most years. Our mom passed away in April but we lost her a year and a half before that when her Alzheimer's got really bad. We siblings stuck together and saw her through to the end and in doing so found a closeness that often escapes grown siblings.

My friend Faye (our son's mom-in-law) lost her mother too. And we each received a new grandchild in 2011 to help heal our hearts. Faye's granddaughter CC being born on the day of her mother's funeral and my grandson Bixby coming to us in August.

It was a year of extreme drought and wildfires. But we saw people pull together like never before and our state survives. We had a little rain in the last months of the year to encourage us as we reached the end of our rope.

My grandson Anthony safely finished his tour of duty in the Navy and came back to Texas with his little son. He was able to find a job right away.

As far as I know all my loved ones that want a job have one. It may not be the job they want but its always good to have one and maybe 2012 will bring a better one for those that want it.

All the kids have a roof over their heads and a place to call home. All the grandkids are safe and the grown ones are working toward their life goals. I am thankful for each and every one of them and the unique individuals they are and the love they bring to my life. We have made some good memories this year.

2011 was the year I more or less moved to the Hill Country I love. I've seen some beautiful days and done some work I was not sure I could do. I've learned some things and seen some things that are new to me.

I am thankful for all these blessings of 2011. I hope that you all are safe and happy and that 2012 brings us all peace and smiles.

Deck the halls 2011

The little cabin is ready for the holidays!

This drill on the mantel belonged to Rickie's dad. It's screwed into a block of wood using a large drill bit. This supports it upright. I saw one like this for $200 on a website. Mine was free.

The little snowman on the right was bought at a craft fair. It is paper mache and reminds me of Bixby with his little smiley face.

A friend of mine made the felt angel cone. She makes a lot of nice Christmas pillows, ornaments, and photo books.

The boys put the lights up on the pumphouse for me when they were out. The little fence in front of the pumphouse protects the water cutoff valves in the ground from being run over!

We hang our cards on twine at the end of the daybed. 

The large Santa is made from a cypress knee. I got in on a trip to Nachitoches, Louisiana with some friends.

The little mittens hanging on the old window chalkboard used to be part of my office decorations before I retired. 

I added a little skinny artificial tree to the counter this year. I think it needs some lights so I will get some and add to it. It has small mercury glass ornament balls on it and tiny Santa ornaments. They are kind of lost in the tree without lights. Everything is better with lights!

One of the tiny glass Santas on the little counter tree.

A friend gave me this glass block with lights last year. It had a fancy bow on it which was beautiful but a little too fancy for the cabin. I replaced it with a wooden ornament and put it on the spice rack in my kitchen. I love glass blocks and lights!

These inexpensive snow globes belonged to the kids when they were little. The red ones are almost 40 years old.

I love the Santa pillow some friends gave me and would leave it up all year if I could get by with it! 


Last year I added this beautiful multi-colored throw by daughter-in-law Lisa made for me for Christmas! The small Santa with sleigh pillow is one my friend Belinda made. She also made the felt angel cone in the first picture.

We've gotta have a little camo for the hunters! I made this stocking many years ago. The trim is part of an old shell holder Rickie had. The feather was found on our place and the ornament is from the Dollar General!


We cut a little cedar tree for the back porch again this year, as we always do and it is covered with lights. And we also have the fence post tree again with lights in the front yard. One year I am going to get busy and made several of those! 


I also make a cedar wreath each year and put it on the gate. I haven't done that yet. I was waiting until it was closer to the holiday so it would stay green until Christmas.

And as always we have the lights on the   porch. Zac and Cam put those up for me when they came out to go hunting.


Give thanks for all you've been blessed with and hold your loved ones tight.......


One more picture. It doesn't have anything to do with cabin decorations. It is of my mom last year at her last Christmas. I wish she could have spent that at my little cabin and I wish she could have been healthy to enjoy it and know where she was. I miss her and Daddy as the holidays approach. But as Elvis says, maybe I'll see you tonight in my dreams.