Wildflowers and turtles.

The fields here are changing every week now. The Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush have gone to seed. Before they were even at their peak, the Yellow Texas Stars were sprouting up and ultimately growing to nearly three feet tall (or so it seemed). I didn't exactly go out into the pastures to measure, for fear of snakes. There is truth in that saying that goes "...a snake in the tall grass..." (I forget what the rest is, but that's the part I don't want to forget.)

Queen Anne's Lace took over after the yellow wildflowers began to drop their petals, then orange and yellow daisies grew as tall as the Texas Stars. We now have purple thistles growing-- their leaves are prickly and dangerous to touch, but the flowers look like the fuzzy purple bloom in the "Horton Hears a Who" story by Dr. Seuss. Soon to follow will be the purple "basket flowers," which have a fuzzy purple top and a green base that looks like a woven basket. Looking out over the fields from the upstairs balconies is a treat every morning.... the patterns and the colors keep changing and the breeze blowing across the pastures is just amazing because it sways the flowers to and fro as if they're dancing. Unbelievably beautiful to see.


We went to lunch yesterday, to J & J's house. They invited B & G, and S & D, so the eight of us had a nice Sunday meal together. We all talked about the flowers, of course, and the dead snake that was in the road for two days before the vultures carried it away. I drove past that snake twice, each time slowing down so I could look at the color and pattern on it. I knew it was dead, but I didn't walk those two days because I didn't want to get that close to it. "Just a chicken snake," the neighbors said. "Can't hurt you, unless you're a chicken." And that I am, when it comes to snakes.

We also talked about the turtles that seem to be in everyone's pond. And occasionally, we've all found a turtle in the middle of the road, traveling from one pond to another, we're guessing. I've stopped my car on the road to pick up those turtles and carry them to the other side. We don't get much traffic on the one road coming in and going out of here, but still, I wouldn't want to see a smashed turtle on my way to the main highway. One of the neighbors said that when I pick up a turtle to move him to safety, I need to make sure his head is facing me and his "hind parts" are facing away from me. J said that a turtle's defense is to let out a "long stream of pee that will cover you from waist to knee in about three seconds." Well... who knew?! Thankfully, the three turtles that I've picked up in the past few months haven't been so rude.

A lesson every day here..... a blessed lesson every day.