Springing forward...

Spring has Sprung....


It's Spring. Certainly it is in Texas. And we are hurtling towards Summer. The heat will be here before we know it and how will I manage? Haven't spent a full summer in Texas in a few years. Not sure I will be able to do it.

Anyway. Spring.


Three ways I know it is Spring for sure- at least in these parts- are bluebonnets, the rodeo and allergies.


I know the bluebonnets are in bloom by the adorable photos my nieces post on Facebook of their children plopped in a field of snakes bugs mice flowers.  Also we have a few little patches of blue flowers in our neighborhood.  I never got pics of my kids sitting amongst the bluebonnets (an act that surely brands me as a failed Texas mother) but I have gotten the dogs.
So.
Proof that it is spring in Texas: My child in a field (patch) of bluebonnets.

 Carlos could not understand why I wanted him to sit and stay. 

So grateful to the neighbors for keeping their little bluebonnet patches. 

And here is the last dog, the amazing Jake, also posing in a field (patch) of blue.  Can't even tell he only has three legs at this point.

 Look at that sweet face. 

He had survived bone cancer and his leg being amputated 

by about 8 months at this point. Four months later he was gone. 

Good dog, Jake. 

Aren't they cute?

My allergies are also blooming. Ugh. Every Spring. And Fall.
In spite of 4 years of allergy shots, my sinuses still notice the change of seasons.
I am medicating myself daily with at least one of the available disagreeable options.
Nasacort, which clears up my sinuses and doesn't put me to sleep, apparently causes glaucoma.
Benadryl and Claritin-D both work wonderfully, but it seems they are going to give me dementia.

Talk about the lesser of two (three) evils.
Do I not breathe, not see or not think?
I'm going to have to go with my girls' attitude on this. By the time I develop whatever symptoms I end up developing, hopefully science will have a cure.
(I used to get this rationale from those girls every time I insisted on sunscreen. I gave up threatening cancer and instead threatened spotted skin like their sunbathing mother and now both of them are regular and diligent sunscreen users. It pays to know your children's weaknesses.)

And the last true sign Spring has sprung in Texas is rodeo.  Every March for almost 3 weeks, the city of Houston does rodeo. And they do it big time. Or is that bigly?

This was an amazing display.  

Starting with one grandma horse, all of her daughters and their daughters came out one by one

and ran through the arena. 

All bred to be bucking horses. 

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the largest live entertainment and livestock exhibitions in the United States. The musical entertainment runs from rock, Tejano to country. There's mutton busting and bull riding and wagon races. Carnival rides outside have all the wonderful fried foods you could imagine. There's a Wine Garden for the adults and plenty of clubs with live music to entertain the volunteers. 

The beginning of an evening at the Wine Garden. 

Martha and I ran into Allison and her friends. 

And there are TONS of volunteers.  Thirty three thousand volunteers.  One of the benefits of volunteering for the rodeo is that you get to go to any and every show (that you aren't working) for free and bring a friend along. Friend Martha is a volunteer. She has been for 14 years. And this year I benefited from her volunteering not once but twice!  She loves to go to all the shows but her sweet husband travels a lot so she needs company. I am always (almost always) a willing date. 

The wine bottles are adding up and we've added another friend.

Thanks to Martha I saw Chris Stapleton one night and Chris Young another.  We ran into my high school friend Allison and her friends at the Chris Young concert and both nights saw many of her volunteering partners and friends.   

Several bottles in and the nice man at the next table offered to take our pic. 

He also volunteered to photo bomb.

We were all quite happy at this point!

Martha even got me out on the dance floor trying to teach me a line dance before we both realized that was a mistake. I have many talents. Dancing is not one of them. 

Chris Stapleton. An amazing concert. 

He seemed like such a shy performer but his music was beyond...

And Chris Young. 

Sadly the acoustics were off at this performance, but it

was still an amazing night of fun and music.

So YAY for Spring. The rodeo is over. The bluebonnets are almost done. And the allergies? They are probably here to stay. 
Sigh.