Nearly spring and, in the Rio Grande Valley, the Texas wildflowers are coming out.
On a warm morning, everyone and everything is enjoying the sun.
Some - this was taken in downtown McAllen - stand out more than others.
These are Black Bellied Whistling Ducks.
One of the pleasures is all the ‘down home’ music. Tom, from Mississippi, has been playing the fiddle for about seventy years.
Thursdays, in my little community, there’s a ‘country jam’.
This was taken at a party on my street.
At the party, ‘Cactus Jack’ (so-called because he and his bike frequently collide with cacti) tests the margaritas. On a hot day, the bourbon slush is also popular.
My neighbours, Alan and Janet, hold a picture of their 1946 Chevrolet ‘Woody’, meticulously restored over a quarter century. They hope to find a vintage surfboard to put in the back.
Here’s another neighbour - Dale - who started as a telegraphist and worked on the railroad for much of his career.
I really do enjoy the Valley, the people and my deck. On it, watched by my piñata (a burro I rescued from a shop before it was bashed apart by nasty children) …
… I breakfast, have afternoon iced tea and comfortably drink into dusk.
Another winter is almost over.
