Signs of Spring

Texas Mountain Laurel blooming near San Marcos

Much as it usually does, March came in like a lion.  The winds blew in during the last night of our stay in Ft. Davis.  The RV was a ‘rockin,’ but it wasn’t due to anything we were up to…  It felt like we were out on the high seas.  Maya didn’t like it much and towards morning she was up on the bed with us cuddled as close to our heads as she could get. 

The morning came with no signs of the wind letting up. We had second thoughts but decided to head on anyway and ‘sailed’ in to Odessa with a strong wind on the starboard quarter.  We had a nice four day weekend with my family and then ‘sailed’ on to San Antonio as the wind seemed determined to blow on any day we wanted to drive.  But that is just March in West Texas.  I remember well my many windy West Texas springs.

 

Redbud at South Llano River State Park

Agarita at Guadalupe River State Park

 

The wind did not limit itself to West Texas.  It blew as hard as I have ever seen it in San Antonio on our first day back – with gusts up to 40 – 50 mph.   Thank goodness it gave us a break the following day.  Wind can really wear you down…

We spent nights in South Llano River State Park, Guadalupe River State Park, on friends’ land near San Marcos and at Palmetto State Park.  Spring was quickly bursting on the scene at all of these places.  One of the first signs of spring in South Texas, the mountain laurel, was near the end of its blooming in San Antonio but still going strong near San Marcos.  Redbuds too, were in full bloom and there should be a bumper crop of Agarita berries if the blooms are any indication.

 

"Nature's first green is gold

Its hardest hue to hold..."

I love seeing the first waves of green as the trees and shrubs are getting their new leaves and the grasses are just coming up.  It always reminds me of that Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” 

The Carolina Buckeye is also one of those early indicators of spring and we saw the small tree just starting to leaf out at Guadalupe River State Park but a week later in Palmetto State Park the buckeyes were in full bloom.  What a difference a week and 60 miles can make.  

 

Red Buckeye or Carolina Buckeye at Palmetto State Park

 

Buckeye and Giant Swallow Tail Butterfly

 

 

We plan to spend the next couple of weeks visiting friends and seeing spring in South and East Texas.  This April it will be a year since we bought our RV and we have to go to the Dallas area for the one-year check up. So we will make our way east and then north visiting as many state parks as we can work in and trying to avoid the spring break crowds (which may prove challenging).

It won't be that much longer before we head east for new adventures.  This year we are going to head across the south and then follow the Appalachian Trail (more or less) up the east coast to Maine and perhaps on into Canada.  We've never travelled much on the east coast, just to some of the bigger cities, Boston, D.C. and N.Y.C.  If you have suggestions for us, let us know - a favorite place or trail, restaurant or historic site, we will try to work it in.  It is all new to us and we want to see as much as we can. 

 

Texas Baby Blue-eyes at Palmetto State Park