Climate & Critters
If you think of Texas and images of dust and heat are conjured up, you're only 1/2 right. Yes, it's hot. Summer temps are in the 90s most days and often tip into the 100s.
In the winter, a thick sheet of ice can form over the roadways closing school for the day. It does get cold in the winter. Snow isn't common but it does happen and is gone by lunchtime. A freezing cold night might easily turn into a balmy 70 degrees by afternoon. More weather.
My first brush with wildlife in the Hill Country happened during a mid-morning sit on the porch. As I pondered how hot it would get today, as if on cue, butterflies appeared in the planting bed. Next came the humming birds. As one would leave, another would appear.
A deer took a slow stroll across the front lawn. And then the birds began their chorus in the trees. There were red birds, blue birds and birds with long black tail feathers.
Once my senses had been aroused to this harmony, I began to notice the smaller things. The bees, were also participating in this choreographed production being played out before me. The fire ants were the stage crew and the wasps under the eaves were the background music. The mud daubers floated by filling any voids that were left. More wildlife.
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