I have enjoyed my time in Elm Mott, Texas near Waco, visiting with my friends here and making new friends. It’s SPRINGTIME in TEXAS. The Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush wildflowers are in full bloom, and the Bluebonnets smell so fragrant. I learned that there are albino Indian Paintbrush flowers, instead of being bright neon orange color, they are a pale yellow. The Bluebonnets are a deep purplish blue color with white and a little bit of fuchia. They are also called Cat’s Claw because when you pull back a part of the flower there is a piece that looks like the claw of a cat. I have not been back to Texas in the spring in a long, long, time so it’s been very heart touching to see these beautiful flowers. When I lived here I would drive past the pastures with the flowers on my way to work and back everyday when they bloomed.
The wedding of Rebeccah and Brian on March 23rd was so beautiful. The wedding dress that Rebecca wore was spectacular!!! The fabric was woven by some the gals here on their looms and then it was sewed and had embroidery with her initials, but you could not tell unless you knew since it looked like the design of the trims.
It was perfect weather for the wedding and at night the sky was filled with bright stars and no clouds. We all enjoyed the cake, snacks, etc. Before the wedding ceremony those of us from out of town were invited to a dinner with wood fire baked pizza made with sourdough pizza crust, fire roasted tomatoes for the sauce and roasted veggies and cheese on top. We also had Hibiscus Berry Tea and salad. After we ate, we walked to the church for the ceremony. It was very touching when the minister talked a little about both Rebeccah and Brian telling some stories about them and his relationship with both of them since he knew them for many years, in fact all of their lives.
I have been staying in my camper which is parked in the front yard of Kim and Shahar Yarden and their family. I’ve been eating my dinner with them every night and sometimes for breakfast. We pick carrots from the garden which we use in the salad or in a meal. Everything we eat is healthy and organic.
I’ve been working in the Gristmill fairly often packaging various products such as grits, granola, cranberries, popcorn kernels, etc. I’m also getting lots of practice putting labels on bags and filling them.
Since it’s spring here we have been planting vegetable seeds such as squash, cucumber, beans, etc. and we weeded the potato garden. We also as a group of about a dozen people planted about 200 tomato plants. I helped wrap the wire cages with plastic wrap which is important because it’s pretty windy and it protects the plants from the wind until they get larger. The plowing here is done by horse drawn tillers, and other attachments. I’m really impressed watching the plowing. The person leading the horses gives them commands and uses the reins and the horses know whether to back up, go forward, or step sideways. They are in teams of two horses side by side and they are in sync when they move. It’s amazing!!!
One of the cats here had 4 kittens, 2 orange and 2 black. I got to hold them when they were 2 days old, they were so adorable.
Everyone here makes me feel so special and welcome and it’s such a peaceful place to be. I am planning on leaving here about April 9th and then go to visit a friend north of Austin for a few days, then head north to Fort Worth to visit with other friends. I will probably stop at a Corps of Engineer Park in Georgetown north of Austin for a day or so. Many years ago we used to camp there and it was a nice place to be. I think there were lots of deer in the park back then, not sure about now.
Well, that’s about it for now. I used the Yarden’s computer to update my website so I am not able to upload the photos of the wildflowers. I will when I can get Internet to my computer.
