Personal | Cabin Art

Eighteen Things I Learned in Texas

I learned so many interesting things in Texas about the culture, history, and of course, wildflowers. Here is more, this time in list form. There is even more I could add, but I expect you have a life. Much of it appeared in my Texas travelogue posts: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six.

COWHIDES IN THE GROCERY STORE?? Yeppers. (The grocery store, called H E B, was ENORMOUS, of course.)

2. Prepping for and laying sod is an enormous amount of labor. Now I know how to do this.

3. Ever seen a 3-D printer? Fascinating. It uses coils of plastic, much like what is in a weed-eater, and follows a preset program.

In about 1-1/2 hours you can have this little item in your hand. (A plastic shark wasn’t what I had pictured for a souvenir of my time in Texas!)

4. Harvester ants are really interesting—their “hill” is huge, and they wear paths in the soil in their labors. They are red and bite, but not nearly as bad as fire ants.

5. This poor photo is of a castle, built next door to friends of my friends. You can read about it here: Unknown Castle.

6. Gas was so much cheaper! (It’s hitting $6/gallon in Three Rivers now.)

7. The speed limit on the freeway was 75. Is it that high in California? If I went anywhere besides Visalia or Exeter, I might know the answer.

8. These are the funniest squishy Tupperware containers I’ve ever seen. N was surprised by my ignorance; I reminded her that we attended a Tupperware party together in the 1980s and told her I hadn’t paid any attention to the stuff since then.

9. Speaking of convenience stores, there is an ENORMOUS truck stop chain in Texas called “Buc-ees“; the mascot is a beaver with buck teeth. It is HUGE. Jee-um asked me how I liked their convenience stores, and of course I replied that everything is bigger in Texas.

10. N and I had fun working our way through a few watercolor exercises in the neatest little book, designed for the purpose of practicing watercolor. (I won’t be switching from oils—it was just for fun.)

11. I relearned how much fun pingpong is.

12. This is the brightest caterpillar I’ve ever seen. I didn’t look it up.

Food

13. I had venison for the first time in many years; also had brisket, which is meat cooked for a very long time; they call it BBQ if it has red sauce on it, the kind that is sort of sweet, which we call “bottled BBQ sauce” around here.

14. My friends (with the sod project) asked me if I liked queso. I said, “Well, that’s Español for cheese, and I love cheese.” Wrong answer. It is a cheesy dip for tortilla chips, just downright scary good.

15. Instead of root beer floats, they often serve Dr. Pepper floats, because Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco.

16. I ate something exceedingly good called “Texican Tamale”. It was at a restaurant called “Mickey B’s”, which apparently is where Randy Travis likes to hang out.

17. Boiled peanuts do NOT sound appetizing, but they are pretty common fare in Texas convenience stores.

18. Finally, I learned how very dear my Texas friends are to me. Travel is such a series of inconveniences, and as I was fixin’ to go, I questioned why I thought it was even necessary, or if it would be worth all the trouble.

It was.

P.S. The seller of the Texas mug refunded my money and then sent me a replacement. Yikes, it is ugly (offends my inner color junkie) and I don’t want it!

Texas

Nine Things Learned in May

This month I will publish two Learned posts, this one and a Learned in Texas. I shared several things in my little series on being in Texas but there is still more.

1. If you want to search for a term on a website, on a Mac you can use the command key (clover leaf) with F and you get a search box at the upper right corner of the page.

2. Locks of Love takes hair donations to make wigs for kids and charges the kids. Wigs for Kids takes hair donations and doesn’t charge the kids. Wigs for Kids (I don’t know how they handle gray hair.)

3. Northern Lights! In Washington, Three Rivers, and even in Texas! I didn’t see them anywhere, but CK graciously shared her photo with me.

4. I should have known better than to succumb to the temptation of a Texas souvenir in the form of a fragile item. I wanted to replace a broken favorite mug with one of a similar size (15-16 oz.) and found this on Etsy. I mistakenly thought that this fragile item would be packaged in a manner that it wouldn’t arrive in pieces. Alas, I was disappointed. At least I didn’t have to fight for a refund.

5. I finally learned to recognize the difference between Eastern redbud and Western redbud.

Eastern redbud on the left; Western redbud on the right

6. ALWAYS save your postal receipt with a tracking number if you have to return something for a refund. Companies are so eager to sell to you, offering “full money-back guarantees”, but if you can’t prove that you returned it, they will balk. Never mind the fact that it arrived at their warehouse—PROVE IT, YOU SUCKER CUSTOMER. And if you order something with that guarantee, call the customer service number to see if it actually works while you still have time to cancel the order. Some places don’t answer the phone if they even have a number to call; many don’t reply to emails or to the contact form on their websites.

7. I had never seen a fossil, somehow missing all the elementary and secondary lessons on the topic. My good friend Jee-um (that’s how “Jim” is pronounced in Texas), a retired geology teacher, sent me one after he learned of my educational deficit! This is an echinoid, but it looks like a miniature starfish to me.

8. “Functional medicine” is a new term to me—it is a way of practicing medicine that gets to the root of the problem rather than just prescribing something to mitigate the symptoms. A friend told me about this, so I looked it up, as one does. The friend told me that there are practitioners in the area, so I looked that up too. Alas, it took me to the chiropractor I already saw, the very one who tried to sell me a $3500 package of all sorts of things that might or might not treat my neuropathy. Sigh. The saga continues. . .

Did these shoes wreck my feet back in the ’70s and ’80s?

9. No matter how certain I am that a painting is finished, there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

Tomorrow: Eighteen Things I Learned in Texas (Yes, EIGHTEEN, and that doesn’t include all of the things I told you about in my six Texas travelogue posts.

learned list

Random Photos of Late Spring

These photos are simply things on my property that I thought you might appreciate. Sometimes it is more enjoyable to look at cats and flowers than to watch paint dry.

This honeysuckle grows on the side of my studio and smells heavenly when the door is open. (Stop scratching your screen!)

I sowed some poppy seeds with an expired date on the package. So far two have been white, or perhaps cream or light yellow.

Jackson doesn’t care about the late season brodiaea but seems to be entranced by something that he might want to kill. This variety is called elegant brodiaea.

The piecemeal fence in the herb garden has needed paint for a couple of years. If I had done it earlier in the season, I would have been able to reach all the parts that are currently covered by growth.

Oh well, it is better than before, as long as the plants hide the unpainted portions

Oh no! I took you right back into watching paint dry!

Tomorrow: Sold in Spring

First Mineral King Stay of 2024

On the drive up the hill, I was just astonished by the abundance of yellow flowers, particularly bush poppies, covering the areas that burned in 2021. There were also blazing stars, common madia, flannel bush, and monkey flowers, all yellow. There were some other colors too, but yellow dominated.

I have been working on a painting of a scene, incorporating every cabin below Timber Gap and Empire’s outcropping, in spite of there being no actual place to see everything at once. So, this was a good opportunity to really observe each cabin before all the foliage had leafed out.

I spent several sessions standing in various locations, sketching how each cabin might look in relation to its neighbors.

But I bet you didn’t come to this post to see me go on about my work.

View looking uphill from Lookout Point. The tip of Sawtooth is barely visible, but you can see that Sawtooth is still snow-covered.

This is the stream by the Honeymoon Cabin.

The Spring Creek bridge is not in, but someone went snooping around and found a metal plank and placed it below where the stream divides.

The Mineral King road is still under construction with a fluctuating schedule of closures. As soon as I think I know when it will be open and when it will be closed, the schedule gets rearranged. There were many pieces of equipment parked along the shoulders (such as “shoulders” exist on this road), many piles of dirt, and many places of dropping down to gravel where sections will be repaved. But compared to last summer, it isn’t scary.

Let the summer begin!

Mineral King Mineral King oil paintings

Remember

Central California Artist in Texas, Chapter 6

N and I planned my visit to Texas around when she thought the bluebonnets would be in bloom. When she said the end of April, I thought, “Wow, that wildflower season is later than in Central California”. I was glad that it was later, because it meant I would be in Three Rivers through most of our green season and the wildflowers.

Alas, the bluebonnets peaked at the end of March. While I was disappointed, I couldn’t throw it all together to move my visit to a sooner date. I adjusted my expectations downward, knowing the main point of the trip was to see my friends.

Was I ever surprised by the greenery and the wildflowers!

There were bluebonnets, just not entire fields.

Winecups, in the poppy family. I also found a deep purple version but my photos were blurry.

I could go on and on about these wildflowers, but maybe you’re about Texased out. I might could* do another post, Things I Learned in Texas. I might oughta* do one. I might even be *fixin’ to do that.

*Texas speak, practicing so I don’t furgit.

Texas

Central California Artist in Texas, Chapter 4

On the way back from Waco, N took different back roads. This time we chose to go through Crawford, where Bush 43 has his ranch. Had his ranch? I don’t know for sure. We didn’t see any sign of the ranch, of course, but I was very surprised by the town.

Somewhere we read about a waterfall, and realized we had driven past without noticing it. It had a funny name: Tonkawa Falls.

It was accessed through a park, which had a closed gate on one side but was open on the other. We hadn’t noticed the park because of the wildflowers across the street. Check out #9 on the sign at the park.

This is the part I loved.

We stopped for a few more wildflower photos.

The other thing that really impressed me in rural Texas counties was the very imposing and formal architecture of the county courthouses.

I hope you are enjoying a look at Texas through the eyes of your Central California artist. There will be 2 or 3 more chapters, before we return to watching paint dry.

Central California Artist in Texas, Chapter 3

When N and I were planning my visit to Texas, I asked if she had ever visited The Silos, AKA Magnolia, in Waco. She had not, and we decided to make the 1-1/2 hour trip to this tourist destination. Have you ever watched Fixer-Upper? Chip and Joanna Gaines have transformed the city of Waco with this place to hang out, play games, shop, eat, and just enjoy the atmosphere. I have enjoyed their books and seeing them fix up homes, along with the fun way they interact.

N wisely chose backroads to Waco, and wasn’t at all averse to stopping any time I exploded with a “OH MY GOODNESS!!”

It was a thrill to see those *big ol’ silos in person. So silly, they are just giant worn out tanks, good for nothing but as a landmark. I don’t go many places or do much, but when I do, I am thrilled. (No, I don’t drink Dos Eck-ees; I don’t drink.)

We asked if there were plans for the silos; nope, they are too greasy inside from cottonseed oil, and just too worn out. But there is storage beneath them, and the man told us we might just spot Chip and Joanna inside if we peeked in underneath. So we did.

N and I inspected each store, finding very little that seemed worth the money, since we are both of an age where we don’t want any stuff. But anything we do together is fun, so we poked around.

Well, okay I did buy one thing. When I was traveling, a zipper-pull on my tote bag broke off. Look what I found in one of the stores:

Why would a store think that there would be a market for monogramed brass zipper pulls??

What I liked best was the architecture of the old church that the Gaineses moved onto the property. It doesn’t function as a church, and I don’t know what its purpose is, other than to delight the visitor.

Besides seeing the church, I was so pleased that we were there when the magnolias were in peak form.

I *might could go back, but would pick a day when I could walk across the Bosque River that goes through town, maybe visit the Dr. Pepper museum, take a tour of one of the fixed up houses, and even eat in the Magnolia restaurant called The Table.

*I learned to speak Texan and will demonstrate occasionally here for your laughing pleasure.

P.S. When I got home, I was shocked to discover that I have those brilliant wildflowers planted in pots near my studio. Why did I not remember this when we were passing fields full of them??

Central California Artist in Texas, Chapter 2

My friends of 38 years, N & J, have lived in Texas for 30 years, and this is the first time I have been to visit. They came to get me from my friends north of Ft. Worth, and we drove to their home south of Ft. Worth. I spent no time in any Texas cities, only the ‘burbs, which suited me just fine.

In spite of the lateness of the trip and all the mowing, there were a few bluebonnets remaining. These are definitely in the lupine family, but different than all our lupines in Central California.

This is a massive ant hill, made by harvester ants. They aren’t wicked like fire ants and have a little highway in the grass, busy all the time, just doing their ant business.

These friends also have an enormous lot with views of horses next door, a pond, and much greenery to mow.

Some things are just better to do when one is with a friend. Cutting off 14″ of hair was one of those. Dadgum, I am a gray-head! Oh well, whaddya expect at 64?

N and I hung around the house, taking walks in the mornings if it wasn’t raining, chitchatting, planning, catching up, laughing a great deal, just being together. Her husband was very patient with all the girl stuff going on around him. He was busy trying to solve the problem of a dead A/C and bird watching. The A/C quit the day I arrived, but fortunately for them, it was before the hard heat of summer set in.

We also had a few excursions, including thrift shopping, which is a bit odd when neither one of us enjoys shopping. Thrift shopping is more like treasure hunting than shopping. . . that is the best way we could figure out how to explain why it was fun. Maybe it was fun because we were together. I’ve thought from time to time that it might be good that we don’t both live in Three Rivers, because we’d probably never make other friends.

Tomorrow I’ll show you one of our excursions.

Central California Artist in Texas

Traveling is difficult, and it about broke my heart to leave Three Rivers while it was still green and full of flowers. The logistics of a trip can cause one to wonder if it is worth the effort.

It was.

I first spent time in a suburb north of Fort Worth with a dear friend who has young children and a new-to-them fixer-upper on a huge piece of property down a long driveway. They had three pallets of sod coming for a front lawn, and I was right on time to help with the project, because her husband had fallen and broken both of his arms above the elbows. (Don’t land hard on your wrists if you fall, okay?)

The greenery and scenery just blew my mind (figuratively speaking—not literally). I had no idea that Texas is so green this time of year, figuring I’d missed the best part of spring by waiting until the end of April.

Enough ogling. There was work to be done, and we were shocked by how hard it was. The plan was to rent Mantis type tillers, but neither one of us could get them started (nor could the Home Depot employee), so we rented bigger machines. They ’bout dang near vibrated our arms off, but there was no time for wimpiness.

There was time for a few walks, and we had to stop each time the sky let loose with a mess of rain. We also stopped when we heard thunder, because too many people have recently been struck by lightning for our comfort.

The husband keep the logistics moving ahead, coordinating, keeping the Littles busy, looking up instructions, doing what he could like bringing tools, and encouraging us. I had to drive his pickup with him to get a load of fill dirt in a pouring rainstorm because he couldn’t put his arms in driving position. Yikes, such terrible timing for him, but it was a great project and a privilege to be able to help.

The city yard where we got the fill dirt was fantastically organized, affordable, and easy to access, unlike in Tulare County. The last time Trail Guy and I got mulch at our county yard, it was full of plastic. Sigh.

Let’s take a break from the sod project and admire the property a bit more.

We were enormously grateful when the grown son arrived with a friend to finish the tilling and help lay the sod, since our arms were like limp spaghetti. We had planted many flowers, dug and lugged many rocks, and of course stayed up late catching up because we couldn’t talk when the machines were going.

The sod squares will not be evident as squares when the grass has an opportunity to do what God designed grass to do.

It was hard to say goodbye when my other set of friends, N & J, came to get me for the rest of my stay at their place south of Fort Worth. So interesting to have all of us together, both sets of friends formerly of Three Rivers, all now Texans, and just meeting for the first time.

There were so many things that would make beautiful paintings, but my audience (“collectors” in Artspeak) isn’t really interested in generic scenes. They want to buy paintings of places they know. Maybe I’ll paint some Texas green scenes when I retire (fall down laughing — why would I retire when I love what I do??)

To be continued. . .

Category: Personal

Food

Let the summer begin!