Springtime in Texas

It’s springtime in Texas, and the weather is beautiful. A few bushes are in bloom; others are leafing out. Tiny wildflowers are in bloom across grassy areas.

We enjoy watching the birds wherever we go. A week or so ago, we watched huge flocks of noisy Sandhill Cranes fly overhead as they made their way north. Red Winged Blackbirds stopped here briefly last week and the air was full of their unique sound. For a short while everywhere we looked there were Cedar Waxwings. We’ve always looked forward to the arrival of these birds in Wisconsin as heralds of spring.

We arrived at Bay Landing Thousand Trails Preserve on Bridgeport Lake, near Bridgeport, TX on March 4, and stayed until April 1. The lake is only at 40% capacity due to a prolonged drought, a common thread throughout the state. Boat ramps and fishing piers don’t come anywhere near the water, and haven’t for a long time. Cactus covers the ground here; apparently it’s the weed of the south. All areas not maintained are covered by it.

The park was fairly full during spring break a couple of weeks ago. We haven’t seen many children since then and all of the scheduled activities have ceased. All that remains are the full-timers and winter Texans. Some of the folks here were with us down in Harlingen at Tropic Winds. Another couple we met at Lake Texoma a few weeks ago. And on Friday, friends from Medina Lake arrived.

My parents and siblings live about 80 miles from here. We’ve made a few trips to see them and they’ve made a few trips back out to see us. We’ll make the most of the next week with them because after that we’ll begin our journey north toward our kids and grandkids.

Most RV parks have a Sunday worship service. This park has partnered with a Cowboy Church right outside the gate. We’ve seen lots of Cowboy Churches throughout the state, so we were curious and visited our first one on Sunday. It was a very small congregation. We were welcomed by the pastor and several of the locals before taking our seats in the cowboy-themed sanctuary. Most everyone was in a cowboy hat, from the pastor to the worship team. Each member of the band took turns singing an old country-style gospel hymn, but no one else sang – maybe because none of us knew the words. The message was excellent – on the power of prayer. All-in-all, we were glad we went and we enjoyed the experience.

Other than this, I’ve been cooking and baking up a storm. I have several recipes to share in separate postings. Jerry has been writing emails and making phone calls, trying to set appointments with merchants for our brand ambassador program. I wouldn’t say that this or the past few weeks have been exciting or adventurous, but they are part of the journey and we are still very much enjoying this RV lifestyle.