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I was a dreamy child
I was a dreamy child; this was my mother’s gift to me. She had been a dreamy child herself, and knew exactly what a dreamy child needs– time, space, silence. When I was very small, I hummed...
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Walking Bare-Legged in a Dry Land
This time of year, the South Texas heat fades back like a song tapering off after going on for far too long. The first cold snap is like a new tune— jittery, unexpected, and always...
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On Wonder
My grandfather had a talent for wonder. He liked everything, and in his soft gentle way, he taught me to like everything. If my mother’s gift to me was dreaminess, my grandfather’s gift...
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Lady-Style Recliners and Other Decorative Grandparental Mysteries
Of all the unanswered questions of my childhood, the ones that haunt me the most are the ones that still embellish the edges of my adulthood. To be specific, I am confused about the household...
View ArticleEven In Thorns, New Life
Click to view slideshow. The Husband was working at the ranch a few weekends ago. He called me up one evening, a little out of breath, to tell me that he had seen something he’d never seen...
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Across Texas in a Day (A List)
At first, you listen to music and you chat and you eat snacks and there is so much to hear and say and see. It is morning. The first silence settles in as Hill Country cliffs tumble upward to...
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On Enthusiasm
When my mother married my stepfather, we all received a gift from this man. Although this gift was not unexpected, I do not think any of us realized exactly how we would be affected by the gift and...
View ArticleAll Across Texas, I Missed Y’all A Ton
Click to view slideshow. …and this is what happens when you give a bored Bluebird a camera on a long drive. Sheesh. (I missed y’all!)
View ArticleWithin Reach/Still Reaching
Click to view slideshow. See that tree? That tree watched my mother grow up. That tree watched me grow up. That tree still knows who we are. The other day The Husband was kind enough to take...
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Meditations Before A Thunderstorm
ACT ONE In a drought season, the tough skin of the earth splits and tears. It is a great temptation to reach down and pat the firmament, to reassure it, that somehow, somewhere, the...
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In Rattlesnake Season
In rattlesnake season, you wear your boots outside the house, even if you only mean to grab something from the truck. Your eyes read the ground for movement— a twist of the grass, a shadow...
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Down the Road a Piece
When I was a small girl, my grandfather would often tell my grandmother— “I’m goin’ down the road a piece.” In my grandfather’s vernacular, “goin’ down the road a piece” meant he was heading...
View ArticleHe Never Hurries; He Never Tarries
My grandmother gave me some good advice. She said: Boring people are boring. And— Always choose a mate who can amuse him/herself. I followed her advice. Now I am a hyper woman...
View ArticleBarbacoa No. 2 and Someone Brand Spanking New
Click to view slideshow. During calving season, my grandparents, my mother and I would drive around in the jeep looking for brand new calves. My grandfather drove the old military-issue...
View Article5-Minute Dance Party [Voodoo Child (Slight Return)— Stevie Ray Vaughan, Live...
‘Cause I’m a voodoo child! Gawd knows I’m a voodoo child. Wake up, Monday people! Let’s get this week started! The Marriage Interpreter (No. 25) (!) is up for your pleasure....
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Bluebird’s Alaska (A Place Is a Place)
The Husband and I are leaving the Anchorage Depot for Talkeetna. I am sleeeeeepy. 1. Teach Me How to Leave It has been six months since I’ve taken a trip anywhere, and I have forgotten...
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Three Linked Thoughts on the Way Back Home
I used to set up a time and a place to photograph, as if it were an event. A happening. Thirteen years into my semi-professional photography career, I started to realize that the light...
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In Calving Season
This morning, I woke in a snarl of blankets and dogs with my grandparents on my mind. More specifically, I woke with the tender threads of a memory of the two of them acting out a dramatic...
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The Olla Podrida of Ogden Avenue
(Hey! This post contains some standard adult situations— e.g.: a flasher, some euphemisms for body parts, and some implied curse words. Don’t worry— nothing too awful, but if this...
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Strong Texas Women
My Texan grandmother voted every chance got. She voted in federal elections, state elections, school board elections, and local referendums. I’m surprised her voter’s registration card didn’t...
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Supper at the Drive-In
When The Husband and I take our annual fast jaunt across Texas, we aim to do things we don’t often ordinarily do. For instance, we don’t really eat out, and we really don’t do the burgers-and-fries...
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