Ladybird's Legacy

Click on the photos for a closer view!

Recently I had my first opportunity to see the legendary Texas roadside wildflowers. My feeble pictures don't begin to do them justice. To the side of the interstate highways are immense swathes of purple (bluebonnets) punctuated with orange (Indian paintbrush) and bits of pink and yellow from other blossoms.

In our region, we're starting to get some cactus flowers. But the central and east Texas roadsides (these pictures were taken between Houston and San Antonio) are in their full glory.

Goodbye to a good friend

As was anticipated for some time, we lost my beloved grandmother during the night. She was 95. She'd lived through the influenza outbreak of 1918, saw FDR nominated for the presidency in person, and grew from a girlhood of some privilege to Depression farm wife and mother. She seemed to always roll with the punches in life (though not always without expressing exasperation!) and seemed to get stronger with each challenge she faced.

We shared a love for fabric and stitching, but one of the things I most valued in her and learned from her, was her sense that learning was never over. Five years ago, I was able to give her a special experience, seeing the moon through a telescope for the first time. At 90, she turned to me and said, "I have so much yet to learn."

Late in life she wrote of her belief in god, the value of hard work, the importance of loving family relationships, and so typical of this strong and inquisitive lady, "lastly, always to have a goal, something to strive for and tackle with enthusiasm. This is the reason of life - - the zest to work toward achieving a goal and anticipation of satisfaction in attaining it. Be always ready to accept new goals - - it makes life challenging."

That's so HER. And what I hope to be, too.

I'll be out of pocket for a week or so, spending time with the family, so the blog will be quiet for a short time.

Fantastic Saturday

This Saturday I treated myself to an excursion in El Paso.

Feeling the need to get back to my artwork, I was in search of a good fabric store. I found one four blocks from the border crossing in downtown El Paso. There was a flood of Mexicans coming across the border to shop for discount socks, lingerie, cheap shoes. One of my favorite stores was a combination artificial flower/luggage store. I think I was the only Anglo in blocks.

The fabric store was primarily ends of bolts and discontinued fabrics--no standard quilting fare. Thread was an off-brand, and there was a limited selection. I saw a teenager and her older sister going from bolt to bolt, holding the fabric up to pictures in a spanish language prom magazine. The clerk saw them and wisked them off to another part of the store with fabric more suitable to the designs they were considering. All of the conversation was in Spanish except with me. The clerks were very helpful and cordial, and I had to suppress my enthusiasm for the store. Much of the fabric was men's suiting materials, felts, upholstery, flashy evening chiffons, satins, and organzas. But get this--organza was $1.95 a yard. Satins were $1.50 a yard. See my haul of organzas, laces, and satins, all for just $50!! Now that I've found a great fabric store, I feel one step closer to being home here.

From there, I went to a historic hotel in downtown El Paso. Saturday, I was on a picture-taking mission for the Trail's website, not a drinking one! The bar has a Tiffany ceiling and was rated one of the top 10 bars in the world. This may be an exaggeration, but when I stayed at the hotel this summer, I did have a mighty fine pomegranate martini! Remember this place if you come visit me!

Next to a historic cemetery, which unfortunately is now adjacent to the largest freeway interchange in the city. Inside its stone walls are graves of Chinese railroad workers from the 1800s, buffalo soldiers, and gunfighters. Not far from the grave of gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, I encountered a juvenile burrowing owl, guarding his home underneath a tombstone. He was a bit lighter in color than this photo (which is from the internet), not more than 10 inches in size and rather calm, letting me get within 15 feet of him.

On Newstands Now

Next time you're at the bookstore, take a look at pages 34-35 of the April/May 2006 issue of Fiberarts magazine for a little sidebar interview about my long relationship with the Hibberd McGrath Gallery!

Every Rock Tells a Story

I've been told that one of the tenets of geology is that "every rock tells a story." A few months ago, I took these photos on the same spot at Red Rock Ranch, one looking down and the other looking out. The first photo shows fossilized holes, where ancient worms worked their way through seabottom and seashore mud. Now that ancient seabottom is at the top of a mountain in the middle of a desert, hundreds of miles from the ocean.

Signs of Van Horn, part 2

This will look familiar if you've seen Tommy Lee Jones' "Three Burials of Melquiedes Estrada." I wouldn't recommend eating lunch there.

Weather at a Glance

Date.....High.....Low.....Precip
2/23 ......66 .........48 ........ .07
2/24...... 58......... 40......... .08
2/25...... 69......... 42......... .10
2/26.......71......... 41
2/27...... 62......... 41
2/28...... 77......... 39
3/1.........82..........46

Month to date rainfall: .25
Year to date rainfall: .25

Horses Missing

To Whom it May Concern:

3 horses have come up missing, 18 miles outside of town @ Wildhorse. The Sheriff's Department has been notified as well as the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn. and Texas Rangers. It is believed the horses have been stolen, as vehicles have been spotted in the area on private property. A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. The missing horses are: 1 bred Mustang mare, red in color with grey on legs, with a star on face, name of Spider; 1 bred Mustang mare, dark brown in color, almost black, grey on legs, light brown on nose, name of Blue; 1 quarterhorse stud, all black with a white blaze on face. This horse is unique as he is foundered on his front legs. Name of Copenhagen. All horses are approximately 30 months old. If you have any information, please contact Sheriff's Department, ......... There are three very sad little boys who desparately want their horse back. If they are returned, just put them in the pasture and there will be no questions asked.

Signs of Van Horn, part 1

From Edward Abbey

“Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places but scattered abroad in spareness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life-forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom.”