Three Years in Texas

Happy. I'm having a hard time believing I've been in Texas for three years now. I've really settled in down here and usually I feel like I've been here a long time, though not quite my whole life. Every once in a while I experience a conversation or notice a mannerism that seems odd and out of place to me, reminding me that I was born and raised in a different culture. I've never really dealt with homesickness, at least not for my old life, but I do miss my friends and family, which explains why I head up north so often! This time last year I reflected on how much I've accomplished and attained so far, but I'm pretty sure this year - specifically these last few months - out weigh anything that's come before.

What has happened in this last year? If you didn't already know (and by now how could you not??) Jared and I got married! While the ceremony technically wasn't in Texas, it very nearly was. There were several moments when either Jared or I turned to each other and expressed the desire to just go to the courthouse in town and be done with it. We held out to be with our families, but upped our timeline by a whole year. We were impatient!

Jared and I are also proud new homeowners! I've been talking about wanting a house for about a year and a half now, and in October we finally began the process. By November we'd found what we wanted, and closed on a beautiful little house outside of town in December. January 2018 closely resembled January 2015 for myself - packing to move! We moved most of our stuff with my brother's and his friend's help in the middle of January and we were officially done renting on January 30th! Whoo Hoo! We've settled in to our new place nicely, and though we still have boxes to unpack it is a functional home that is ours.

The animals have settled in to the new place pretty well too. The dogs took right to it, the cats only took a day or so, and the others didn't seem to notice. Except the squirrels. That's another thing: I have squirrels again! These two little loves came to us in May and I couldn't be happier! They were rather displeased with the move, but after a week or so finally settled in. We've acquired several new animals including a few snakes, a new puppy (Ghost) and a new cat, Taiga. We lost Luna in June and Taiga found us in November. She's a good fit, if a bit of a diva, and has claimed a spot next to the fire place as her own. We need a plaque denoting "Taiga's Spot."

Another year in Texas, another year at Tiger Creek. I am finally confident in my abilities regarding my job, and this past year  has taught me a lot about how to handle myself while managing others. I am by no means perfect (yet) but I know I can and will continue to grow.

I've touched on this before, but I really, really love the Texas weather. This winter has actually been rather cold, and I can do without the 20 degree or colder days and nights, but otherwise I've found a happy place where I can enjoy being outdoors year round without worrying about hypothermia. While there was real actual snow that stuck around for two days about a month and a half ago, being able to wear shorts in February is fine with me! And if you don't like the weather where you are, just jump on one of the fantastic roads down here and head somewhere else that suits your fancy, all while never leaving the state. Want ocean? Head south/east. Forest? East Texas is your goal. Prairie/plains? Panhandle. Desert? West Texas. Sub-tropics? South Texas. Mountains full of ponderosa pines? The Guadalupe Mountains rising above the Chihuahuan Desertis where you want to be. A weird mixture of most of the above? Hill Country! And did I mention the roads to get there are half the fun? Guys, I love this state.

I never thought I'd say that. I was so vehemently anti-Texas that if you'd told me four years ago I'd be living in Texas with a husband, a house, a career, and a bunch of fur kids I'd have laughed in your face. Texas was number 50 on my list of states I wanted to live in, right below Nebraska. And yet here I am, loving it. Here's to another year in Texas!

A Snapshot and The Scoop: An Arkansas Homestead

While backpacking along the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas last November with Torrey we made a stop on our second day at an old homesteading site tucked back away from the river and accessible by a side trail to the one we were trekking. Old homestead sites, cabins, ghost towns, and the like are always interesting to poke around in, if you're allowed to do so. This particular site even had a prefabricated concrete outhouse, which at the time was state-of-the-art technology. A dugout fruit cellar, always cool even in the humid Arkansas summers, a smokehouse where they preserved meats, a chicken coop, and a few other smaller buildings littered the area, and it wasn't difficult to imagine a family living there, scraping together a living from the land and their own bare hands. A touch of the past, indeed.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: Indian Cave

Indian Cave State Park in southeastern Nebraska has always occupied a place of quite appreciation in my head. I can't remember my first time visiting, because I've always visited this park, since I was a baby in my parent's arms. I remember camping there, stopping by on our way to see family in the area, spending an afternoon or a day or a night tucked against the border of Nebraska and Iowa. October was always the best time to visit, when park staff pulled out all the stops for their Halloween celebration and the trees popped with gold and red as far as you could see. The "cave" itself was always worth a visit, and though the petroglyphs etched into the sandstone bluff never change you could still feel the weight of history surrounding you as you searched for remiders of the past. I haven't been to the park since I moved to Texas, but when I got a chance to do so while vising family I took it. I wasn't disappointed.

A Snapshot and The Scoop: A Siren Song

The pups and I came across this little spring tucked deep back in the trail network of Lost Maples Natural Area and we couldn't pass up the chance to soothe our tired paws. We hadn't left camp long before, but already we were footsore and panting from the mid-morning heat. The spring seeped from a little ledge, dripping down into a pool and filtering through the rocks under our feet to join with the seasonal river that carved the canyons and hills around us. Hill Country, especially the area closer to the arid deserts of west and south Texas, is a wild place that calls to me whenever I tire of the oppressive humidity of the piney woods that I call home. I haven't been back to the hills since my visit to Lost Maples, what with the holidays, buying a house, moving, and settling in (ya know, life) but I'm about ready to end my hiatus and head back. I need to get back on the road and get lost somewhere beautiful, if only for a weekend; I feel my well-being deteriorating the longer I stay in one place. This spring just might be calling my name, a siren song that is growing harder and harder for me to resist.