Springtime In Texas

   Springtime has hit Texas full blast and the shoulders of the state's highway are in bloom with Bluebonnets and Indian Paint Brushes. Here at home my wife's green thumb is starting to pay dividends as our house is surrounded by her handy work. She has one rose bush that is well over twenty years old and it seems to bloom different color roses each year. One year they were red, the next pink, and then they bloomed white with red streaks through each petal. It is the 'bud' stage now so we are anxiously awaiting to see what color it is going to be this year. It's kinda like Christmas morning for us old folks...

    This is the flowerbed just below my office window and she has it filled with Bluebonnets (state flower of Texas), but the far left side of the flowerbed is Mexican Heather, and it has yet to bloom this Spring. The Redbonnets (hybred plant from Fredricksburg, Texas) are a stark contrast to the Bluebonnets and get a lot of comments. Each time we get a different mail-man it is a sure thing he will ring the bell and ask about the red variety.

   We visited Tyler, Texas a few years ago and it is the Rose Capitol of the state. My wife bought a few small sprigs and some seeds; now our house is surrounded by Roses in addition to other flowers. Momma is one of those people that could plant railroad spikes and small nails would bloom.

   The down side is I have to mow AROUND all of her flowerbeds. This one sprung up along the fence around our backyard. The backyard remains shady most of the day and is the domicile of my big dog.

   Sarge is an eight year old Lab and tips the scales at one hundred and twenty pounds. He is a sweet dog IF HE KNOWS YOU..
The front flowerbed is also filled with various flowers Momma has nursed back to health over the years.

   Even on the far side of the garage she has flowers growing alongside the chain link fence. The rose bush closest to the camera in the above photo is the 20 year old plant. It gets a small flowerbed all to itself.

    This is Marilyn and she guards the flowerbeds from weevils and bugs...The symbolism is I am a grad of the University of Maryland...and their mascot is the Terrapin... thus our terrapin is named Marilyn.