All Gone...

Remember when I told you about all the verbena in Elli's Meadow?

Remember I told you the butterflies were swarming around, loving the display?

Well....Elli's grandsons showed up to mow.  They mowed and they mowed.
Before anyone noticed, the whole meadow was mowed.
The flowers are all gone.

The butterflies are unhappy, we're unhappy, and I think it's safe to say...Elli is unhappy.
But hey.....the boys did a thorough job.

It'll all come back.  Just maybe not this year.

Also all gone, is the water in the creek and this catch pond.
We're now less than half an inch of rain, for this month.
And, the temperatures are heating up.

We're hoping the rain in not all gone!


The mulching is mostly done.  Thank goodness....it's really warm out there.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

This and That on Tuesday....

Yep...it's that time. 

The brown fuzzies from the Live Oak trees have finished falling (I hope).

So, let the mulching begin.

The past few days have been full...again.

Yesterday, we attended a memorial service, for another one of our neighbors.

Another sweet person, taken from us too early.

She will be missed.

Saturday evening, we went to The Backyard for a concert.

The Backyard is an outdoor venue, in Bee Caves, TX.

It used to be over on Hwy. 71.  But, because of all the retail going in there, 

they moved over to a new area on Hwy 620, not too far from the old place.

There were the three of us....father, mother and son.

We got last minute, general admission tickets, which means sitting on the ground.

As this t-shirt on a young man in front of us shows, 

we were there to see Willie Nelson.

There were two lead-in acts.  Laura Nelson...Willie's daughter.

And, Jamey Johnson.

Both were very good.

It was after dark, when the main attraction came on.

After a fairly slow start, he put on his usual good show.

The years and hard living, are showing on this man's face.

But, he can still play that guitar and put on a show.

We had a good time.

****************************

Editorial Comment:

The Backyard has the potential to be a great outdoor music venue.

BUT...the bathroom situation is awful.

Although I don't like cutting down trees, if you have an area where people are trying to see a stage,

 trees left in the line of view, don't help.

It's been a long time since we sat in the 'lawn area' of a concert.

But, I don't remember people being so rude in the past.

We wondered why a large group of young women bought tickets to sit on the ground, show each other pictures on their phones and laugh and talk so loudly it was hard to hear the music.

And, then the not-that-young men yelling obscenities, as they took pictures of each other with their phones.

They all could have done this somewhere there were not people who actually came to hear the concert.

Maybe we're just getting old.  But, whatever happened to common courtesy?

OK...that's my soapbox comment.

********************************

Earlier on Saturday, we watched our granddaughter's soccer game.

She scored three goals!

Then, she had a spectacular tumble.

And, yes...after a trip to the doctor on Sunday....the wrist is broken, AGAIN.

Understandably...she is NOT a happy camper.

She's a tough kid, though.  She'll be ok, and back out there again.

And, that brace will be on that arm when playing, from now on.

OK...back to mulching. 

Hope you're having as beautiful a day, as we are here.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

How Time Flies....Anniversary # 3...

It's hard to believe.  

But, this blog was started Three Years Ago!

This was that first blog picture.

A few things have changed here.  Fences and new beds.

The front certainly looks different than three years ago.

We redid the Island bed.

And, built a driveway bed.  And, we have a new bed along the back of the house.

We have new places to sit and enjoy the view.

Gardening has been challenging.  We had a cold, cold DRY winter.

Followed by a hot, hot VERY DRY summer.

Then...thankfully...a wetter and milder winter.

The creeks and rivers are flowing again.

But, we're still not out of the woods.

We've had little rain for a couple weeks now.

The wildflowers and the butterflies are here again...gracing this beautiful place,

our little bit of heaven.

Here in the lovely spring, I still can find things to talk about and show you.

Sometimes, that surprises me.

Although, to those of you out there who know me....it's no surprise that I haven't run out of things to say.

So, thank you to all the bloggers out there, who visit and comment here.

It's an honor to have you drop by.

And, thank you for helping me make it to my third anniversary.

Here's hoping to get to number four.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Wine and Wildflowers...2012....

April in the Texas Hill Country, means wildflowers and the 

Wine and Wildflower Tour.

We did a marathon tour, last year, with our friends, Mike and Jorj.
This year we cut it WAY back.

Mike had been in San Antonio all week, working.  Jorj was with him.
We went down one day, to show her the missions.

We got up on Saturday morning, sat around with coffee, then went to breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed over to Driftwood, TX, and the Duchman Family Winery.

This used to be Mandola winery.  The vinyard is quite large, and in a lovely place.

The view across it is serene on a spring morning.

There is an upscale restaurant there.
Trattoria Lisina
It's very good quality Italian.

And, they have a beautiful garden, filled with native and adapted plants.
I always like to walk around this garden.  This year it's looking especially nice.

Being right after breakfast, we opted not to do a tasting.

So, we drove around a bit.  Dropped by Kings Feed, so they could get a big
Talavera pot.

Then back to the house to pick up the picnic basket, and head out again.

Just down the road a bit, to
Driftwood Estate Winery.

I've taken you to Driftwood Winery before.

The wildflowers are looking good, this year.

Everyone was patient, and let me jump out and get a few shots.

Calylophus

Chocolate Daisy?

Don't you love these?  Wild Foxglove.

The butterflies were swarming around.

Not sure which I liked more....the flowers or the butterflies.

We headed on up the hill, to the winery.
Jorj and I found a table, while the guys went in for some wine.

The afternoon was lovely.  The sky was a bit overcast, and there was a little breeze.

There were wildflowers, just over the edge of the wall.

We could see some workers, out in the vinyard.

A closer look and it seems they must have been weeding.  I believe I know how they feel...
on a much smaller scale, of course.

We had a great time.  Not the marathon of last year but,
good friends, good wine,
and a good time.

'Til Later...
~~Linda~~