Impressionist Hill Paintings.

I don't even know how to describe the explosion of colors outside. That's the first thing I do now when I get up in the morning... go out on the balcony and look at the fields. The bluebonnets are just everywhere now...... an ocean of blue, sprinkled with yellow and orange, red and purple and pink, lavender and magenta.... all wildflowers, all magnificent. Because of the frigid temperatures we had over the winter months, which we normally do not have, all the wildflowers came into bloom at the same time this year. And the result looks like a Monet masterpiece.

Just imagine a huge field of green as far as your eye can see..... and then add massive amounts of blue to that field, sprinkle that with orange and yellow and pink, add in touches of purple and magenta and some red here and there...... and what you're looking at can just bring tears to your eyes. It is that beautiful.

We had our neighbors J & J here for Easter dinner yesterday.... after we ate, we all went outside to look at our fields, our pond, our vegetable garden. We all ooohed and aaahed over the colors and arrangement of the wildflower patterns in our pastures. After J & J left, I cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the dining room, and my husband and I drove up to their hill and we all ooohed and aaahed over their fields, their pond, their vegetable garden. Everyone's property looks unique up here..... the ponds are different shapes, the homes are not identical, the pastures have their own one-of-a-kind patterns. From J & J's front yard, we can see our house and property..... and it just takes your breath away.

At this time of the year, people from all over the state are taking car trips to this County, just to see the wildflowers and the annual explosion of colors that decorate these hills. To think that we live here..... we live here..... is just beyond anything we could have imagined a few years ago when we decided it was time to get away from the waterfront area.

When I look out of my kitchen door, I can see at least seventeen shades of green and I still can pinch myself at the sight. The mesquite tree by the backyard deck is bursting with delicate feathery leaves right now, in a shade of green that I've never seen before. That tree must be at least a hundred years old, and it's just a sight to behold whether it's in bloom or not. The pecan trees are just beginning to bud now, and without the distraction of unpacking moving boxes (like last year) I will be able to pay attention to the daily changes in those big old trees that gave us such delicious pecans last Fall.

As I look out of the window near my desk here, I can see the pasture way out back behind the barn. That pasture is almost entirely covered in bluebonnets now, with a little carpet of yellow in the center. Beautiful beyond belief.

Walking outside at this time of the year is like being in a museum filled with paintings by the Impressionists.... you just don't know where to look first because you don't want to miss a thing. And we live here.