Texas

I left my Garden Spot last Thursday for La Grange, Texas, to attend my niece's wedding held at my brother's and wife's beautiful Texas Ranch in the Texas Hill Country. While it is still quite hot in Texas (our northern Colorado home is just as hot--high 90s--, we just don't have the humidity), the countryside is beautiful to visit. My daughter and four year old granddaughter traveled with me. We stayed at a working quarter horse ranch that also doubles as a bed and breakfast. It was there at the B & B that I took the pictures of the beautiful butterflies. While we do have the black swallowtail butterfly here in Colorado--I plant dill and zinnas to attract them--they are half the size of the one I photographed in Texas. Even the yellow swallowtail looked a bit different than ours, deep color, I'd say. I was particularly put out at myself. In June when we visited my brother's ranch, my goal was to photograph the cardinals that are plentiful in his woods, but they are nearly impossible the photograph in the wild. I left my camera at my brother's since we were only sleeping at the horse ranch. The next morning at breakfast my daughter called my attention to the cardinal at the bird feeder! And no camera. There are several nesting pairs at the horse ranch that regularly visit the feeder. Rule one: always take your camera to the garden with you, and now I guess even to breakfast if there is a near-by bird feeder! Well, I will just have to return to Texas. Our B & B hosts were wonderful, the accomodations classic western decor, and a lovely garden in which to photograph flowers, insects, and those beautiful red birds. Now it is time to return to the classroom an daydream of the next vacation to Texas.