Breakfast Tacos and BBQ

David is one of the cooks in the cafeteria at work.  He greets me every weekday morning with a friendly smile and great food (often, made-to-order breakfast tacos!  For me, he uses olive oil instead of butter and corn tortillas instead of flour).  He is also a fireman/EMT in the Medina Lake Volunteer Fire Dept and invited us to "come out" for their annual BBQ fundraiser.  We made the drive out to Lakehills for our lunch and had a great Texas treat in a firehall much like the one in Cooperstown.  Slow smoked brisket and sausage, ranchero beans, potato salad, sweet tea (Mrs Baird's white bread) and "all the fixin's".  Pretty good stuff.

Spring is blooming in Richmond

The first photo is as close as we get to Texas Mountain Laurel here in VA. It's pretty but, unfortuntately, does not smell like grape Kool-aid. We still prefer the Texas variety.

We've never seen these pink trees before, but they are beautiful with blooms that look a lot like carnations. They line the streets in our neighborhood and make our spring walks even more enjoyable.

The squirrels are in full action and as you can see, like in Texas, they love to taunt Penny.

Easter People

Old Fellas

These old fellas across the drive from our home are fine examples of Texas Live Oaks.  Live oaks have a typical lifespan of 80 years, but many individuals live much longer.  At maturity, they reach 40ft tall and may have a canopy spread of 50ft. They are able to survive drought and are generally quite hearty, but are susceptible to oak wilt.  These guys have beat the odds.