Top Seven Things About Texas Hill Country

1. Flowers.  We came for the bluebonnets (known everywhere but Texas as lupines) but were thrilled to see equally spectacular red carpets of Indian paintbrush and a smattering of other native wild flowers.  My host timed our visit just right and the flowers were everywhere.

2. Friendly folks. We had tips from all sides, taking us to beautiful places we never would have found on our own, including...

3. Cemeteries.  Really.  Several of them are very old and they seem to be great places to see flowers.  There's even one called Baby HeadCemetery.  Who could resist that?

4. Barbecue.  My husband used to live in Houston and he was really looking forward to Texas BBQ. Our favorite was Inman's in Llano, which is not pronounced as it would be in Spanish.  Live and learn.  Pork, sausage, brisket.  Oh, and we hit Chuy's Mexican Restaurant, a downtown Austin legend since 1982.  Mmmmm tacos.

5. Wildlife.  I wasn't expecting this; birds of prey, coyotes and foxes, and even a dead raccoon (I know; eeeew).  I was warned about snakes and despite looking compulsively I saw none. The best unexpected treat was watching many hundreds of white pelicans raft up for the night on Lake Buchanan, apparently a migration stop.

6. Fences.  Maybe not such a great thing, but notably different from home.  Nearly all the land is private.  We found bluebonnets growing thickly on abandoned railroad tracks and had just gotten a couple of shots off, talking about coming back at first light the next morning when we heard the siren.  I don't know who this guy was, but he did explain that if he were a "turd head" (I couldn't make this stuff up) he'd be calling the sheriff.  This begs the question, of course; why is this guy who was clearly a linebacker in high school driving a pickup with a siren if he himself is not the sheriff?  My husband was having that conversation and he didn't ask, so I'll never know.  At any rate, sunrise at those tracks is the one that got away.  Sigh.

7. The tribe.  There's a loose association of photographers from all over the country who are mostly women and mostly met in Maine a few years ago.  We're making good on a plan to show each other our home turf.  This was one of those trips and I'm so grateful to Gwen for hosting.  Next stops; Arizona in November and perhaps Washington DC next Spring.

There's always something to look forward to.

Thanks for the read.

More Texas Hill Country images as in the More Places Gallery on the website.