Pétanque

The latest addition to our yard is a regulation-size pétanque court, which we broke in last weekend when E and his children were down for the weekend.

For some reason, pétanque is not as well known in the US as bocce. Maybe the Italians just have a better press than the French! Basically, it is the same game with a few important exceptions. Bocce is usually played on a lawn and not on a court; pétanque, on the other hand, is played on a court 15 meters x 5 meters. The second exception is that the pétanque ball is much easier for a child to hold than the bulky bocce ball. The pétanque ball (made out of metal, not wood) is about the size of an American baseball. Our 6 and 7 year old grandchildren were handling the balls like real pros (and winning games) after a few trial tosses. Finally, bocce is more a game of bowling, whereas pétanque is a game of precise throwing.

Here is a website that gives additional information:
http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Sports/DF_boules.shtml

Developing the court took several months because of the boulder field in our backyard. Gradually, the boulders were removed and the tree-shaded allée became a pretty impressive playing field. The pictures show the progression from a wasteland to a great place to play.

Cacti, Take Two

This little fellow is not wild--I planted him myself in a little succulent garden located, of course, near the cactus in the back. The ball-shaped cactus is at most 2 inches across. I estimate the brilliant pinkish-red blossoms to be at most 1/4 inch across. Thanks to my new macro (close up) lens (a gift from my family last year) I can capture beauty that the naked eye could not see.

Cactus Flowers?

Are cacti considered wildflowers? I tend to think of wildflowers as small, often requiring a closeup lens to reveal their beauty. Cacti, on the other hand, are often large and imposing. Are they wildflowers?

We have quite a bit of cactus in the back of our yard--beyond the grass and the flowers. Recently they have burst into bloom, and the flowers are beautiful to look at (if short lived). The colors of the blooms in this cactus which is so abundant range from yellow to orange to red. I hope the picture gives an idea of how lovely they are in bloom.

Fiesta

Fiesta in San Antonio is like Mardi Gras in New Orleans—a festival for the entire community and surrounding area. Fiesta lasts 10 days and is made up of a series of events, all of which celebrate the cultural diversity of San Antonio, and all of which generate income for various charities and local non profits. Originally, Fiesta started out in the late 19th century as a way to celebrate the heroes of the Alamo and San Jacinto (two of the important battles in the war for independence from Mexico). Now it is a series of parties for residents and many who visit San Antonio especially at this time of the year.

Thanks to our son A, we had front row seats on the San Antonio River for the river parade, a parade where the floats really float! We munched on gourmet sandwiches and sipped wine as the gaily-decorated floats meandered by. The floats were a delight, but the star of the evening for us was our 23-month old grandson who greeted each new float as if it were the first one he had ever seen!

Bluebonnets!

Yes, we saw bluebonnets on the way home. The rain had stopped; the clouds were gone; and the sky was as bright as the flowers.

We took the advice of Texas Highways magazine that the best spots for viewing bluebonnets were in Washington County, and they were so right. Obviously the drought of Central Texas had not extended as far east as the Brenham, Texas area, as we saw field after field full of flowers. Often there were pink buttercups mixed in with the bluebonnets (a type of lupine) and occasionally there was the bright red of Indian paint brushes. The star of the day was the bluebonnet, the state flower of Texas, and this was the perfect weekend for this drive.

Washington-on-the-Brazos is the place where the Texians [sic] declared their independence from Mexico on 2 March 1836. There are a number of exhibits and a museum in the park, but we saved the history lesson for another day. This trip was devoted to magnifient, abundant wildflowers.

The Wahooligans

So we went to East Texas to see a performance by Joseph and Tree Brunelle but instead got the Wahooligans? What’s going on here?

Actually, the Brunelles did sing, but the Wahooligans were the warm-up act. The Brunelles were good; the Wahooligans were entertaining and funny.

Oh, yes. Vaudeville is alive and well in East Texas.

Texas--More than a Single State

Texas is a big place. I know, that is a reality everyone understands—and one that non Texas probably tire of hearing about. But Texas is a big place in more ways than geography. Driving from the Hill Country to East Texas this past weekend confirms that fact.

The topography changes dramatically. As one drives east, the limestone of the Hill Country gently merges into farmland with rich dark soil before finally changing into the heavily-wooded terrain of East Texas with its sandy red soil.

The Hispanic elements so prevalent in Central Texas gradually become less pronounced. Oh, there are taquerias everywhere (Latino fast food establishments) but the Roman Catholic churches and the churches entitled “Iglesia” are replaced by many, many Baptist churches. The Church of Christ—almost non-existent in the Hill Country—is almost as common as the Baptist Church. For those who are unfamiliar with the Church of Christ as found in East Texas, let’s just say that this is not the same as the United Church of Christ in the rest of the nation—the name now generally used by congregations that used to be called “Congregational.”

Accents are different, and I just wish that I had the ability to put into printed words some of the different sounds one hears as one approaches Louisiana or Arkansas.

It was reading a feature story in an East Texas newspaper, however, that made me stop and think how different some of the sensibilities are—at least of some East Texans. Here is the start of the article:
April is Confederate history and heritage month. More than 2000 men from Cherokee County [Texas] proudly served in the Southern armies during the War of Northern Aggression from 1861-1865. They fought to defend their homes and families from an invading army who desperately needed and sought the South’s abundant resources of cotton, tobacco, and abundant agricultural supplies.

I don’t know if counties in central, south, or west Texas sent soldiers to fight in the Civil War. Certainly because of the distance, there would have been fewer than from those counties closer to the sites of battles. The description of the war (“of Northern Aggression”) seems to me a characterization one would not find out of the Deep South. In this regard, East Texas still very much feels like the South of the Confederacy.