Texas Wildflowers - April 9th (Austin)

Happy Birthday David!

We’re currently stopping over at a Rest Stop just north of Waco on our way to Dallas and then west to California.

Yesterday was laundry and chores day followed by one of the best steak dinners I’ve ever had courtesy of Chef Henri Clint. The full moon woke me around 2:30am. I enjoyed a moonlit hike in the oaks, prairie, and near the lake…along with deer, squirrels, crickets, killdeer, bats, katydids, dogs, motorcyclists, ducks, and a 1/3 of the campers in our section of RVers. The moon was just that bright and intensified with her reflection off the lake lighting up the whole campsite keeping most life awake.

Today, we toured Ladybird Johnson’s Wildflower Center in Austin. (The sign above was posted hroughout the center. Puts a whole new perspective on "Don't Pick the Flowers".)

I was determined to see bluebonnets before I left the state. The Center’s attendants guaranteed wildflowers since they’ve been watering their plants. The gardens were beautiful. I loved how all the wildflowers were very clearly identified and healthy. (See Foxglove example below.)

Clint captured a photo of one of the local water snakes swimming through their pond. .The turtles though are my favorite… two babies and two adults. I haven’t determined why yet, but one of the smaller turtles would go over to an adult that had a small turtle on its back, and tickled her face. The little turtle would go nose to nose to the big turtle then stretch his arms out and wiggle his fingers on the big turtles face. He did this 10 times or more then tried to knock the other turtle off her back so he could climb up. Even though he succeeded, he wasn't able to keep her off, so he went back to tickling the big turtles face. Fun to watch.

Throughout the park, local artists had their statues on display. We caught a favorite of Pooh Bear’s (Eeyore) and then my favorite “The Ghost Dance”. Clint enjoyed

hanging out with the scorpion king. I also enjoyed climbing their rock lighthouse-style observation tower with the spiral staircase.

The Center's fields of bluebonnets though were more like circles of bluebonnets dotted across the meadow. We could tell where the water had been. Fortunately, we were blessed with fields of bluebonnets and wildflowers on our way north of I35 heading to Dallas. Ahhhh…. Satisfaction.

Personal Note: Today is my brother’s birthday – age 51. Smoke was thick ac

ross the western sky due to all the wildfires skirting our path back to Dallas. Everywhere we’ve been and plan to stay has a wildfire 1 to 1-1/2 hours to our west filling the sky with choking smoke from the panhandle down to the coast. Reminds me of the California fires last year. I miss my beautiful blue skies. The preview display of my blog looks so much better than the actual squeezed version that gets published. I didn't realize the display editing wasn't going to be successful. (See journal for Hailey, Reba & health comments.)