Battle of Palo Alto

While in Brownsville recently, Martina and I visited the site of the Battle of Palo Alto. We are not exactly military enthusiasts, but we do occasionally visit the sites of famous battles. For those not familiar with it, the Battle of Palo Alto was the first major engagement of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and it was largely a cannon battle. The US, though outnumbered, won the battle due to agile cannon maneuvers.

I had always thought that the old paintings of the battle were stylized, but after visiting the place, I quickly realized that they were not as stylized as I originally believed. What struck me was the sharpness of the grass, the abundance of cacti, and the size of the soaptree yuccas in that part of the country. Although I did not see any, there must have certainly been rattlesnakes present. For the soldiers it must have been miserable trying the cross the battlefield much less fighting the enemy. 

Cowboy Jamboree Magazine

Cowboy Jamboree is an online magazine with Texas ties. This nascent magazine publishes western and rural writing, and each issue is built around a theme. Number One was called "Oh, Death!" and Number Two is entitled "Flood Waters." The founder, Adam Van Winkle, was born and raised in Texoma and formerly taught at the tertiary level in Fort Worth. Contributors have included Spur Award nominee James Reasoner, the Iowa Review's Tim McGinnis Award for Humorous Writing winner Jason Half-Pillow, and Sterling H. Cash.

You might want to give it a gander.

http://www.cowboyjamboreemagazine.com/ 

New Indie Bookstore on the Block

In the age of Amazon, in a time where it seems that brick and mortar bookstores are teetering on the edge of extinction, a new independent bookstore has emerged in Fort Worth. The bookstore is called The Last Word, and it is at 615 South Jennings Street on the Near South Side. Martina and I visited on Saturday, and we were pleased to learn of their Around the World in Eighty Books book club and see books by both local and world authors.

Martina and I purchased a copy of Aledo native E.R. Bills' Texas Obscurities as well as a copy of Dona Barbara by former Venezuelan president Romulo Gallegos, with a forward by Larry McMurtry. The inventory is impeccably chosen, and we were pleased to see books by authors such as Haruki Murakami and Milan Kundera as well as great titles by local authors and even books from Dallas' Deep Vellum press. If you get the chance, stop by The Last Word.

https://www.facebook.com/thelastwordbooks/

Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge

Martina and I attended a friend's wedding in Brownsville on Saturday evening, and we visited the Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge on Sunday. While we were at Laguna Atascosa, I felt like we were on our own private safari. There were very few visitors that day, at least during the hottest part of the day when we were there, and we spotted plenty of wildlife even in the late afternoon. Upon our arrival, we immediately saw green jays, a beautiful species that is perhaps unremarkable to residents of the valley, but it was certainly fascinating to us. We also saw a golden-fronted woodpecker, an altamira oriole, a great kiskadee, a long-billed thrasher, and a couple of crested caracaras, a strange-looking bird that prefers fresh carrion. We also heard the loud, raucous call of the chachalaca, though we did not see one.

After a short hike down an old paved road lined with soaptree yucca, mesquite, and other trees that must have been in the acacia family, we came to an alligator pond. The pond was close to dry, but we did see one alligator that seemed rather large by my standard as well as a very young one. There are ocelots on the refuge,too, though we didn't see one, of course, for these elusive creatures are nocturnal and very difficult to spot. However, I could not help but wonder what animals used the game paths that led through the thicket. Looking at the thicket that volunteers must work like the devil to keep at bay along the trails, I did not feel a particular urge to crawl along a game path and find out who resided at the other end. There is a reason that ocelots live in this place, for it is an absolute fortress of thorn.

While I stood there looking into the dense, thorny thicket, I thought about the European settlers that tried to cross the brush country in the mid-nineteenth century. It must have been a strange and hostile land. Even today there are signs in Laguna Atascosa reminding parents that they are in mountain lion country and that they should keep their children at their side (lest they become breakfast).

We also saw a Nilgai antelope gallop across a field when we drove by on an unpaved road. Neither of us, I must confess, had ever seen one of these creatures before, and it was not until we were back at the hotel that we even figured out what we had seen. We learned that these creatures were introduced to South Texas on the King Ranch around 1930 and that about 15,000 of them can now be found on the South Texas range.

In my opinion, the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most fascinating places in Texas. I hope to be back again one winter during peak birding season. However, after our recent trip, any time of year and even any time of day seems like the right time to visit.  




 

Parker County Peaches

This weekend Martina and I went to my aunt and uncle's house in Parker County for some fine fellowship and to pick some peaches from their trees. Thus, today was like the Golden Peach Jubilee at our house. We were in such a Dionysian state of peach worship that I could envision us riding the royal float at the Golden Peach Jubilee and waving joyfully to the smiling throngs, all the while tossing samples of the blushing fruit to the adoring crowd. After my daydream disappeared, I discovered that Martina had made a sensational peach cobbler and I had conjured up some splendid peach salsa that was dined upon on the porch.

One of the most ridiculous songs I believe I have heard in a long while is about the town of Weatherford, the Parker County seat. The musical artist alleges that Weatherford is home to the best peaches in the state, a boast that the folks in Gillespie County would likely dispute. This song about Weatherford and its peaches had exactly three views when I visited, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a gander just for kicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd7RXiIPHCA   

Guy Clark: Passing of a Legend

Texas songwriting legend Guy Clark passed away today to be with his dear Susanna. Mr. Clark was a songwriter's songwriter. His lyrics were wise and full of insight. His delivery was unvarnished and true. He was a bon vivant, a working man's philosopher, a bohemian poet in boots. He was the writer that many of us aspire to be.

The songs of Guy Clark tend to stay in your heart and mind long after the last note is played. Songs like "Instant Coffee Blues," "Randall Knife," and "Desperadoes Waiting for a Train" all ache with beauty and truth. On the chorus of "L.A. Freeway," Mr. Clark's voice captures a feeling that so many of us understand.

If there was ever a song that I would use to define my life, it would be Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues." I have strummed the song on my porch for years, even on my porch in Thailand; and it was the first song my good buddy Shane ever learned how to play on a guitar. It is a song that defies the everyman conventions of country music by showing that the everyman can be well-traveled and can appreciate art and culture yet still be who and what he is. Guy Clark, quite simply, was a songwriter whose work touched me in a deep, substantial way. Although I never met him, or even saw him live, he will be missed at my house and eulogized on my porch. May God rest this gentleman who made the world a better place. 

Here is a link to "Red River." Among the lyrics: "Susanna, Oh Susanna / when it comes my time / just bury me south of that Red River line." Rest in peace, Guy Clark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1O97kbKETo&list=PL19C41E9FCD4C0940&index=34

Bison for a House Pet

In my opinion, the top news story of the day has nothing to do with the peculiarity of this election cycle, the actions of an army that considers itself a catalyst of the coming apocalypse, or even public restroom access. No, the top story belongs to Bullet, a house-broken bison cow now living in Argyle, Texas. Bullet is a cow, so she is not like a bull in a china closet, and she has been known to wander through her owner's home on occasion. Bullet's owner, Karen Schoeve, must now sell the 1,000 pound bovine cutie, and interested parties with a big enough spread for a pet bison should contact her.

Here is a link to a fine Dallas Morning News article about Bullet:

http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/headlines/20160514-house-trained-bison-with-great-personality-for-sale-in-argyle.ece

Back in my Yellowstone days, I remember reading about how to acquire a free Yellowstone buffalo from the Department of the Interior. Seeing as I didn't own property, and my backyard was Yellowstone National Park anyway, I never requested a buffalo from the government. Now, after seeing what a fine friend a bison can make, perhaps I should have written the Department of the Interior and requested a big furry companion after all.