Wildflower weekend.

Seems like I've been in the kitchen and/or dining room since Thursday of last week. Young Miss C and her friend C drove up here on Friday afternoon....... they stayed till Friday night. It was so nice to see her again..... C had her 21st birthday at the beginning of this month, which is so hard to believe...... I've known her since she was in second grade, and now she's 21.

Yesterday, one of my husband's friends drove up from Houston, along with his wife and two-yr-old daughter..... we're not used to having little kids in the house, but it all went just fine. She was an adorable baby, well-behaved for just two, but one thing is for sure-- you can't have a long adult conversation during lunch when there's a little baby stealing the show.

This coming weekend, our friends V & S and their son and daughter-in-law will be here...... it's S's birthday and they're taking a drive to the Hill Country to see the wildflowers, have lunch with us here, and visit with friends H & K who they met at our Christmas party. H and S hit it off because they're both history buffs, so now having V & S here without inviting H & K also just won't do. We'll have a full dining room table on Saturday..... I'll be in the kitchen again the day before and the morning of..... but V is also bringing some food up, and S's birthday cake, so that makes it easier.

As I type, I've got the parakeets out on the balcony..... I put their cage in the corner, out of the sun and out of the breeze.... they love being outside-- they can call out to the bluebirds and the barn swallows. The bird-chattering here is sometimes overwhelming. Sounds like we're living in an aviary. But I'd rather hear all the birds than the sad calls of the mama cows when the calves are taken to market. Which hasn't happened yet this season, come to think of it. The crying of the mama cows as they search the pastures for their calves has just got to be the saddest of sounds. I could never raise cows and then send some of them 'to market.'

The weather has been gorgeous..... sunny days, warm without being too hot.... comfortable nights with lots of stars.... and some mornings have been a bit foggy but it quickly burns off before noon-time. While everyone else was driving around looking at wildflowers this weekend, my husband and I were at home, entertaining friends. Hopefully, we can get out on 390 tomorrow or the next day and have a look-see at the views from that road. Our fields here are filling up with bluebonnets and paintbrushes and yellow stars..... but it's still nice to see the acres of wildflowers up on La Bahia, with the lake as a back-drop for all that color.

I'm still pinching myself sometimes...... people drive two hours from Houston to come up here in the Spring to look at the views...... all we have to do is look out from our porch.