It looks like someone’s been camping in the back yard, doesn’t it? We had frost warnings last Saturday night, and after we hauled the Plumeria and other tender plants into the garage, Philo rigged up some temporary tents with sheets over the tomato stakes, held together with clamps. We had icy rain and some hail, the official temperature was 34º, and there was ice on the roof, but on Easter Sunday, the tomatoes and peppers were uncovered and look okay.
I hope the peach orchards of the Hill Country made it through the night, too – although we’d hate to lose our tomatoes, we aren’t depending on them as a crop – and we are not expecting crowds of people driving to our house to buy our produce. Fredericksburg’s peaches are not only a crop, but a reason for people to visit Central Texas, enjoying restaurants, shops, Wildseed Farms, an herb farm and the Nimitz museum of the War in the Pacific, a thought-provoking place which juxtaposes weapons of world war two with a Japanese Garden of Peace. I also hope you like photos of Mockorange and Purple Iris, because I’m still thrilled at seeing them every morning. This particular Mockorange seems to be Philadelphus inodorus, with large individual flowers but not scented, at least none that I can detect. Here’s a closeup to show how really large the flowers are – I’ve heard that an old Southern name for them is English Dogwood.
Maybe this photo can give you an idea of how overwhelming the shrub can be when you stand next to it – the wooden fence is six feet tall, and the mock orange behind the fence extends another 4-to-5 five feet above that.
Here are Ellen’s iris once again, still blooming and with more buds in reserve. Ellen handed me the sack of iris divisions in mid-March .., when this iris bed was still in the planning stages. The Divas had already planted the three spiraea, but I was still clearing and digging the ground around them. The iris corms sat in a paper bag on the garage floor for weeks, then took off once their roots hit the soil. I was amazed that these iris bloomed so well just one year after transplanting, and even more amazed at the high bud count of this passalong iris. 
The iris are planted in the side garden, fairly close to the sidewalk, in a sort of Bat-shaped bed, honoring Austin’s famous free-tail Bat colony. The three shrubs of spiraea are just finishing their bloom cycle. Until this spring, there has been little in our front yard to slow down anyone who is passing by on foot or bicycle, but this display of purple makes the moms and kids stop.
They instinctively lean in to see if the iris smell good, and this variety does have a light, but very pleasant fragrance. As long as we’re in the front of the house let’s look at the space formerly occupied by the Arizona Ash.
A few weeks ago Austex called to say the stump-grinder was fixed, and I watched this powerful tool in action, cutting through the enormous footprint left by the tree, churning the bits of wood together with the surrounding black clay. Since I really wanted the chips and dirt, I asked the workmen to leave the debris… they were kind enough to shovel some into sacks so I could use it for another project, leaving most of the wood/soil mixture mounded in place. For now, we’re just letting it settle and start to decompose.Philo set the birdbath at the edge, and we planted a new tree off to the side, where it could frame the house rather than block it. We chose a native tree, one that doesn’t get enormous. Here are the leaves of our new Texas Redbud, Cercis canadensis var texensis. The tag also promised that it’s the white-flowering form – the long-desired Texas Whitebud - a promise that I hope will be fulfilled with white bloom next spring. I love the shiny leaves.
There are lots of other plants with buds that should be open for the April Bloom Day, but today I’m happy with green, white and violet-purple. I'd also like to say how grateful and overwhelmed it was to have so many comments on the post about enjoying blogging. Those of you who are still being clobbered by The Winter That Won't Leave touched my heart with your concern at how we in Texas made it through our little cold spell. I hope you will be awash in spring colors very soon!
The “Happy 101” award is making the rounds in geneablogger land and I'm happy to say that it has been given to me three times! I've received it from Carol at Reflections from the Fence, Harriet at Genealogy Fun, and Bill at West in New England.
An early René Herse mixte with twin lateral stays, (c) 1947. To me, it brings to mind a woman in a shimmering evening gown with perfect posture, holding a glass of champagne in a slender hand as she looks out into the sea. Am I anthropomorphising? Well, maybe just a little.
Beautiful lugs and fork crown.
Lugged connection points where the lateral stays meet the seatpost. (This is so much nicer than the welded plate behind the seatpost on my Motobecane mixte.)
How amazing to see a 1940s derailleur. Notice the unusual derailleur hanger design off of the chainstay.
Original 
I am curious about the handlebars. They seem to be Northroads, but weren't these bicycles fitted with the Champs-Élysées
Here is a later model of a René Herse mixte - a touring bike (c) 1964. It is incredibly well preserved and part of a gorgeous touring pair. I know that some people do not like mixtes with drop bars, but I am not one of them. The beauty of the mixte is that it is versatile, and I think that the drop bars on the above photo look as natural and elegant as porteur bars. The frame design now features a single top tube branching off into twin stays at the seatpost. Personally I prefer the earlier design, with continuous lateral stays, but still this bicycle is gorgeous.
A close-up of the stays attachment point. I am not certain when the switchover from the continuous twin lateral stays design took place, but possibly in the late 1950s - early 1960s.
And this is one of the later original René Herse mixte designs, again with single top tube branching off into twin stays at the seatpost, (c)1972s.
Stay attachment looks a bit different from the '60s model, in that the stays lie close to the main tube. Because Herse made bespoke bicycles, I am not certain whether this reflects a change in design, or a customer's request.
These wrap-around seat tube lugs are not typical for a mixte. See here for more photos of this bicycle from different angles and in high resolution.
Sunday morning. 17°F (-8°C). Blizzard. Snow emergency in effect.
The Co-Habitant has to work today. He prepares for his commute as usual.
Dragging the 60lb beast down the snow-covered concrete steps.
The snow is deep and I grow a little alarmed. "Are you sure you'll be able to cycle in that snow?..."
"No problem," he assures me cheerfully, putting on his convertible mitten-gloves.
And, with the quiet chuckle of a man who has conquered nature, he is off into the blizzard. I scurry back indoors to drink hot coffee and put on a second pair of wool socks.
Pictures taken with his mobile phone upon arrival to work. Lucky for the Pashley, his workplace provides secure indoor bike parking.
Morning view from a window at his workplace. It continued to snow after that, still is. Hope my fearless commuter rides home safely in the evening!
The La Sal Mountains in the distance.
They called this one Broken Arch because there is a crack running down the middle, just to the left and above where the man is standing.
This huge rock formation reminded me of the statues of lions guarding the gates, but these seem to have lost their heads! The trail was fun. Easy in some places and not quite so easy in others, with a bit of scrambling over rocks and squeezing through several tight spots.
These arches were on a short offshoot from the main trail. This was as close as I got, that trail went no further. It would have been interesting, I think, to walk through and in them.
Scrambling the second summit (photo by Steve Machuga)
And this is the beautiful ocean, full of big waves today!
Scott-Keister Cemetery, Etna-Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana
Trivia: Did you know that the 4-laneroad that separates the Hoog Catharijne mall (right under the mall passageway)used to be part of the Catharijnesingel (canal)? It used to be water underneathuntil the Gemeente Utrecht dried the area to pave way for the 4-lane road.
Grand Hotel Karel V on Catharijnesingel is the first 5-star hotel with a 1-Michelen star restaurant in Utrecht.
