The doors are propped wide open. Outside, spring raced with the posture and speed of a roadrunner. This year, the redbuds flowered in storms of intense pink petals, rivaling my childhood memories of strolling under cherry blossoms at their peak. Windflowers on the hilltops (Anemone, berlandieri) and the endemic variety deep in the gorge (Anemone, … Continue reading Inside… For Just A While
MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MAY YOUR HOLIDAY BE FILLED WITH HAPPINESS. AND MAY YOUR NEW YEAR BE AMAZING. THANK YOU FOR SHARING IN MY LIFE. KAREN
"The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected." — Robert Frost Like an alarm bell, the sprouting sedums announce the passage of time. Could it be more than a year since the first post on Take Comfort? I had three reasons to start this blog: To share stories with my kids; to challenge myself … Continue reading Take Comfort: A Year Flew Softly By
"On the outskirts of Comfort, Texas, atop rolling limestone peaks of the Texas Hill Country, The Lost Madrone Ranch is the magical place where I walk — literally and figuratively. I visit the ranch to experience nature, seek respite, find inspiration, form ideas, renew my energy, work, create and enjoy life." With the above words, … Continue reading Where Do You Wonder?
The first tomatoes and peppers of summer are ripe at the Lost Madrone Ranch. The only thing better than eating tomatoes picked from the vine is sharing them with friends. Happy Summer!
On most visits to the ranch lasting more than a day, I gather plant material — whether bare branches or full blooms — and make an arrangement to display at the house. It might be a simple zinnia or fern frond in a vase, an oversized arrangement of fall leaves and grasses, or a quickly … Continue reading Seeking Flowers, Finding Spiders, Considering the Lilies
We started to watch sedum plants at the Lost Madrone Ranch beginning March 4th. I will be honest, I did not realize it would take this many Saturdays to reach the peak blooming period for this little succulent. Thank you for watching the sedums with me! I arrived at the ranch yesterday happy with the … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch: The Final Week
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Anyone with unirrigated land in South Texas knows how it feels and sounds as you walk across dry parched grass. Crunch is the sound I heard as I walked to see the sedums this week. That was unexpected. Just last week at the Lost Madrone Ranch, I walked through a bright yellow … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch: That Was Unexpected
When I launched this blog and invited friends to come walk with me and take comfort at The Lost Madrone Ranch, I had no idea that a few months later I would “need” to get to Comfort to see sedum plants! That sounds sort of funny. And yes, my kids are calling me the sedum … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch at The Lost Madrone Ranch: April 29
Spring rains are here, the ground is wet, and overcast skies dampened my expectations to find many blooming sedums this week at the Lost Madrone Ranch. So, as I planned to head to the ranch, I thought about what else I would look out for on this trip. Last week was week six of watching … Continue reading Saturday Sedum Watch at the Lost Madrone Ranch: April 15