Spring is Coming to Central Texas

March 1st arrives in central Texas tomorrow
and with it comes the beauty of spring.

Flowering fruit trees,
red buds,
greening of oaks and willows
will be breaking out in
the weeks to come.

Once again we'll try to have a garden of
pretty flowers,
but as dry as it gets here blooms will come
early in spring or wait until autumn.

Enjoy your trips to the nurseries!

I shall try to get back to blogging.
I overdid it in our yard about 3 weeks ago
and have been recuperating from strained muscles.
It's not fun.
At my age it is much more difficult to bounce back.
All this has even effected the time I spend at the computer;
sitting for long spells is somewhat painful.
My chiropractor and regular physician are getting me
back in the swing of things.
Ciao and happy March!

A Dusting of Snow for Central Texas

Last night we had a tiny little dusting of snow. It is just enough to make things pretty, but not so bad as to cause many problems. You know many folks in central Texas don't know how to act in snow. The G-man & I went to a little breakfast place (Maxine's on Main) this morning and saw where a Suburban had slid down one of our hills & into a tree. Just a minor problem for the driver... no one was injured.


I think this was Gertie's first time to be in snow and she's almost 13 years old. It's been a long time since we had snow in central Texas although further east has had a good bit the last couple of years. There is more humidity along the coast which caused a big snowfall there a couple of years ago. Then we were in a huge drought so we missed out on rain & snow.

North Texas is no stranger to snow. Snow falls every year from Dallas to Lubbock & north into the Panhandle. The G-man's sister called on the 2nd to wish him a happy birthday & told us about the zero degree temperatures & snow they were experiencing. Brrr!

Below are some photos from around the area taken this morning.

Bend on the Colorado River

Family playing in snow

Along the Colorado

Ninth Green at Pine Forest Golf Club (above & below)

Up river along the Colorado

Jambalaya Grits for a Cold Day Brunch or Dinner

Photo of Shrimp Jambalaya Grits

From: Jambalaya Cookbook

Yield: Serves 6


Ingredients:

2 Tablespoon bacon grease (I sometimes make my roux with olive oil rather than bacon grease)

2 Tablespoons flour (I use whole wheat flour)

½ cup chopped onion

1 green bell pepper, chopped

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup quick grits (better to use regular grits than "quick" grits---cook according to package directions)

3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup ground ham (diced ham can be used, but ground makes the flavor saturate the dish)

Bacon, cooked to crispy and crumbled

(Occasionally I add andouille sausage, sliced & quartered, which adds a spiciness to the dish.)


Directions: In a heavy skillet, heat bacon grease and gradually add flour, stirring constantly, until roux becomes light brown. Add onion, green bell pepper and celery; cook 5 minutes. Cook grits according to package directions and add to roux and vegetable mixture. Add tomatoes and ham. Sprinkle with bacon and serve immediately.