Deep in the Heart of Texas

In case I have not told you, I am a medical device product rep for a company, and I spend a lot of my time traveling on the road. I am responsible of Fort Worth, West Texas, and half of New Mexico. (I know you are all envious of the geography I get to travel to. Some say it is the most beautiful in the country if you like tumble weed, cactus, oil wells, and wind.)

However, this morning I left my house early for a surgery about an hour away in a small town off the beaten path. I was driving as the sun was coming up enjoying my travel mug full of Caroline's Coffee (that's right-we have our coffee beans shipped from Grass Valley. It's cheaper than Starbucks-and I like to support small businesses), and I couldn't help but smile at what I was looking at.

BLUE BONNETS!

They are the official state flower of Texas, and are the most incredible sight to see when they literally cover the vast plains as far as the eye can see. When blue bonnets start to bloom they remind me of 2 things. First is how I plan to embarrass my own children in the way my parents did to me by pulling over on the side of a busy road to take pictures in the flowers. It was horrifying in junior high. Second, it means that I can officially start planting my own flower beds. When the pretty blue flowers show their little blue faces, it means that enough rain has fallen and the night time temperatures are warm enough to plant my beds.

In the same way that Andrea sometimes sits in bed at night thinking about her next creative project, I too sit awake at night planning out my next flower bed. Part of the reason we bought the house we are in is the massive back yard. It is a clean slate. Every year I add another bed, and one day it will be our own little oasis in this Texas heat. I already invested in a massive umbrella for E to play under while I did in the dirt for many hours. Hooray for Blue Bonnets!