Windmill

Saturday the 12th began with a trip to the local bakery for trail snacks and a half-pint stop at Gate Inn, the pub in Upper Brailes. According to Linda: Louisa dropped us north of town to begin our day’s walk. The path led to a cattle paddock with a herd of HUGE cows and one …

Walking

Friday morning saw us awake and eating a couple breakfasts while we secured our bearings and planned the day. At 11:00, we stepped out into the cool and followed Lou to a footpath leading south out of Brailes. Our destination was Whichford, some three miles away. England’s USGS equivalent is their Ordnance Survey, which publishes …

Arrival

I could see a little of the west Irish coast before a cloud covered just about everything else below. As the plane was a bit ahead of schedule, we circled around a few times before our much-anticipated descent. Touchdown was at Heathrow Four into a cool, overcast day. A long line of immigrants cued up …

Fly Day for Night

We drove to Houston Tuesday evening and slept at my sister Carol’s. The Super Shuttle arrived at 11:25 Wed morn and swept us to Bush Airport, where we checked in and experienced the usual injections, inspections, detections, infections, neglections, and selections. With plenty of time until our 3:45 take-off, we enjoyed a healthy lunch of …

Live Oak Autumn

It’s as if the gods suddenly threw a switch. With a signal from beyond, springtime is bursting forth in Central Texas. One of my favorite harbingers of the fresh season is the Texas Live Oak (Quercus virginiana var. fusiformis), which exhibits an unusual behavior this time of year. My tour clients from the west or …