One More Thing

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4 minute read


What’s your weather like? We’ve had spring, jumped forward to full-on summer for a few days, then fell back to winter. Now it’s spring again. You’ve just gotta love Texas for its weather.

We have been playing with the idea of planting a veggie garden. And planting a tree. And whether or not to take out a large portion of our back yard and add a simple rock “solution” there, which would mean much less lawn-mowing/weed-eating for my sweetie, while adding visual interest.

I think we both still expect to have tons of energy to accomplish things, but we’re finding that we don’t. We discuss, decide, and then lollygag… and nothing gets done.

I think that the political strife is getting to my sweetie. I’m better at ranting, then letting it go. Every day brings something new to freak out about, if you let it get to you. I’m striving to keep my wits about me. I’m also trying to make arrangements for my son to have a series of MRI’s done.
For those of us with good insurance, it’s simple to schedule these kinds of procedures… for those without, it is a Möbius loop of authorizations, denials, un-returned phone calls, and a scheduling nightmare. I know I will eventually accomplish this for him, but I wonder how someone without an advocate would ever get their needs met.

On the positive side, we’ve developed a strategy for decision-making; we ask if what we think we want to do is “going to be one more thing to take care of.”

That question has put the kibosh on lots of ideas because our summers are overwhelmingly hot and neither of us wants to deal with garden maintenance in that kid of heat. So, we ruled out a veggie garden.
It’s also why, despite many, many convos about getting a pet (I’d love another cat) we don’t get one. We are well aware of everything that being a good pet parent requires, and neither of us is willing to do that again. Especially at an age where our pet could conceivably outlive us.

At this point in my life, I don’t think I could even give a goldfish what it needs!

I’ve got two Purple Fountain Grass plants waiting to go in the ground. And a couple of shrubs that need pruning back because it’s starting to look like the Addams Family mansion around here, and today is a good day, I had 10 hours of sleep last night.

Success! The grasses are in the ground, and two of the three shrubs are scaled back. It would be so much easier to keep everything box shaped, but, of course I want them to be round green balls. I brought my hairdressing skills to this task (I was imagining channeling Edward Scissorhands as I plodded along with my clippers) but overall, it looks great.

When I peruse Pinterest… I always admire the topiary gardens. Plants spaced as evenly as pieces on a chessboard. And a pebble pathway through it all.
Upon moving in, I tore out the old overgrown garden that ran along the back of the house, under the kitchen windows. We tried putting flowers and plants in a wild cottage garden style. We both hated it. The next year I strived for more order, but a plant I grew for the butterflies took over – invasive, leggy, stretching for the sun, and stinky! I’ve been pulling that out this year. I assume most gardeners go through this trial-and-error when they plant gardens for themselves, right?
I know what I don’t like, and I am learning from what has failed so far… at some point I hope I’ll come up with something I love.

Sounds a bit like life; our garden setting parameters and guiding us, showing us (and others) a little something about who we are inside.

I am determined. I will figure this out. I’ve done it before at the house we remodeled. I tore out a hedge of holly with its prickly leaves from around the pool, and planted a tropical garden (in luscious soil that held moisture) unlike this dry, rocky fill our new house is built on. Maybe this needs to be more of a desert garden? Okay, I’m headed back to Pinterest for ideas on Arizona/desert style…

I’ll have some great books to share with you next time, and maybe photos of a finished garden. If you have any favorite plants that you know would work, please share. I’d love your input!

XO Donna

COWGIRL UP!

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I got to spend the morning on my friend Barbara’s ranch a couple of weeks ago. Her ranch manager was out of town, so she invited me to come along to check-up on her livestock.

Lookout Cow

She’s an orthopedic surgeon who’s been taking care of my shoulders for years now. You know… those pesky rotator-cuff issues most of us have from years of slinging around ridiculously heavy purses, lifting bag upon bag of groceries, hoisting our kids to our hips, and now hoisting grandkids, if we’ve got them.
I don’t have any “grands”, but I had my arms raised for years cutting and blow-styling hair.

Barbara is also an accomplished horse-woman. And a wonderful singer/songwriter/storyteller. And a lot of fun!

After a 90-minute ride through rolling green land east of Austin, we pulled off the main highway and turned onto a long dirt drive to her property. I was expecting something more rustic, but the land was beautifully fenced and mowed, fields green, and her farmhouse was charming cottage.

We checked on things inside as she showed me around, and after having a drink of water, we made the short walk from the cottage to the barn, with its adjacent henhouse and the fields where the horses and cows were anxiously awaiting us.

Thanks. But, no, thanks! Picky chickens.

Barbara had mentioned that her hens liked scraps, and if I wanted to bring them some, I could. As I recall, my Grandmother threw everything to her chickens, her philosophy being, “eat it or go hungry.” But when I proudly presented my leftover goodies to these gals, they looked at me like I was stupid. Grumbling as they went, they moseyed off.


The cows, on the other hand, were not at all picky. Quite the opposite, they were curious and bold. It was a bit frightening coming face-to-face with a 1,200 lb. creature, if truth be told! But I “cowgirled up” and shooed the cows away like an old hand, as I dumped piles of grain from a sack on the back of the Gator, walking behind it as Barbara drove. What an experience!

Too close for comfort

After the work was done, we drove the fields checking on the hay bales as big as Volkswagens. They never look that big from the road.
We checked fences and then rode the trails through the woods. There was even a cove with a few large pieces of Petrified wood! I wish I’d planned ahead for better photos, but I am glad I grabbed a few fun shots to share.


It was a morning well spent – I came away with a dozen beautiful eggs, courtesy of the girls, and a reminder of how hard our farmers and ranchers work to bring us all food.

Look like Easter eggs!

As my dear friend, Karen, always says, “If you have food to eat… thank a farmer.” Indeed.

XO Donna

Don’t Tread on Me!

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I was greeted yesterday morning, over a delicious cup of coffee NOT made by me (since I’m clever enough to sleep an hour later than my darling) by the news that our neighborhood newsletter was warning more about snakes needing to be removed from people’s homes.

Do you remember the scene from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones is hanging over a pit full of writhing serpents and says, “Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?”

That’s exactly how I feel about them, and to hear about this before I’d even finished my coffee.  Arrrggghhh!!  

So what’s a gal to do?  Since we live in a city, (we’re out in the country, but it’s still within a city) a shotgun is out of the question. Not that I’d ever kill one, no matter how afraid I was.  Education (as with most things in life) is the answer!

Having been horrified when I moved here, upon learning that there are poisonous snakes everywhere in Texas, I took advantage of an avid herpetologist friend’s knowledge  to learn everything I could about snakes.  I wanted to be able to recognize the ones I needed to worry about…  instead of worrying about them all.

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As it turns out, any snake will try to bite us to defend itself, even a little green garden snake.  The State of Texas is home to 15 potentially dangerous snake species or subspecies. 

Despite this, each year, there have been more deaths in Texas attributed to lightning strikes than to venomous snakebites. The four poisonous snakes species here: rattlesnakes, copperheads, water moccasins, and coral snakes.

By not hanging around the banks of rivers, streams, and brooks, I can avoid water moccasins. Copperheads? Rattlesnakes? Out here, in the woods… and I’m not a hiker through uncharted trails. Nope, thanks.

Coral snakes are small with little-bitty mouths, usually only biting fingers when we stick our hands somewhere without looking first. I don’t garden without gloves, don’t reach into trees or bushes or woodpiles without looking first. 

 Snakes tend to be accidental house crashers. You might find one curled in a corner on your patio looking for coolness in the heat of the summer. Or in your garage… seeking the same. 

The good news? Rattlesnakes will usually signal if you’ve startled them by rattling or buzzing their tails,  giving you an opportunity to pee in your pants then run in the opposite direction! 

I’ve lived here for 41 years, and have never seen a dangerous snake anywhere besides my herpetologist friend’s house! More good news – they are as afraid of us as we are of them! 

The newsletter shared common-sense tips for living where there are poisonous snakes: turn on a light and have a look around before stepping out on your patio at night, or into your garage. And even look around first before stepping out on your patio during the day. Mindfulness, that’s all.

If you encounter a poisonous snake in your garage, on your patio, or in your garden… run away, and call wildlife management. Or, if you live out here, you can call the group of “snake wranglers” who will come fetch them. 

XO Donna

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