Springtime in South Texas is the most beautiful time of the year. When winter finally passes, everything bursts into bloom. That's already happened down on the Gulf Coast and it's just starting in San Antonio and into the Hill Country. We were treated to beautiful Texas wildflowers on the drive up Friday afternoon.
On Saturday we decided to take advantage of the picture-perfect weather and try to get a few obligatory "bluebonnet pictures" of Our Little Princess. Anyone who has ever been to Texas probably knows that all Texans must have at least one photo of their children taken in a field of bluebonnets. I'm pretty sure it's a State Law.We packed all the baby accoutrement, including a variety of Spring dresses, into the car and headed North out of San Antonio towards Blanco. Wildflowers were few and far between. I remember reading a few years ago that the wildflower bloom moves 100 miles northward every two weeks. I'm thinking it'll be at least two to three weeks before the bloom makes it to the Hill Country. So, postponing our bluebonnet photography for a couple of weeks, we decided to head on up into the Hill Country for lunch and leisure.
At Becker Vineyards, just outside of Fredericksburg, the lavender fields are on the verge of bloom. In another couple of weeks they'll be breathtaking. But the peach trees and Texas
redbud trees are in full, glorious bloom. We stopped for a brief respite and enjoyed a stroll around the lawn. But, we didn't stay too long, because they have wine and bread, but no lunch appropriate for a one-year-old Princess. It was lunch time and we were starving. We drove on to Fredericksburg and had lunch on Main Street. After lunch, Grams and the Princess enjoyed a stroll through the park while Mama and Grandad finished their lunch. We visited a fabulous toy store where the Princess gathered up as many dolls and stuffed animals as she could carry. We did manage to distract her long enough to get her out the door without actually purchasing any of them.Sunday was another beautiful day, so we spent a few hours at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. It was so much fun. Again, most of the gardens are not yet in bloom. But the formal garden near the entrance was beautiful. We got to see a beautiful wedding under the garden's Wisteria Arbor and there were several brides having their bridal portraits taken throughout the garden. We took the Texas Native Trail which included a climb to the top of the Overlook for a gorgeous view of San Antonio.
We had a lot of fun with the ducks in the pond at the East Texas Pineywoods portion of the gardens. We also especially enjoyed Watersaver Lane. It's an exhibit that demonstrates how beautiful and varied xeriscape lawns can be. Grams and Grandad have been studying xeriscape in anticipation of some redo of our own lawn which was badly damaged by last year's drought.We finished up the weekend with a delicious home-cooked meal, cooked by the Princess' Mama. Grandad flew out on Monday morning to work in Houston and Grams settled in for a week of playing with the Princess. It's such a treat when your grown-up children cook for you.
I hope you're all enjoying a leisurely pace this Spring. Here in Texas ... Life is Good!
