Go West!

So I realize this isn't a travel blog, but things are pretty brutal in the old home garden. So, what do we do in Austin in summer to escape the heat? Why, of course we go to the desert. Yes, it sounds crazy, but in reality there are parts of the Texas western desert region that are certifiably cooler than the rest of Texas. The Davis Mountains. The Chisos. 

And late summer is the rainy season out there, so the landscape is surprisingly green. Grasses that are stubby nothings in May, like blue grama and side-oats grama, are now fully blooming and batting their eyelashes in the breeze.

This is a beautiful white eryngo of some kind that would make a beautiful plant for a home garden. But coveting aside, it's gorgeous just the same...

The evening bloomer below smells citrusy sweet like star jasmine, and has a similar flower. I thought it might be a nicotania of some kind, but I have no idea. I do bet the hawkmoths love it.

Birds and other critters abound this time of year, and are different from the spring. Tarantulas were poking about, as were red-eyed phainopepla, grey foxes, and javelinas. Bright yellow Wilson's warblers and deep red rufous hummingbirds are already migrating back south from their northwestern homes. And big, beautifully armored grasshoppers buzzed across the landscape like black knights.

Still, there were hot spots, like down around the Mexican border along the Rio Grande.

But no bother. Awaiting us back at the campsite were cool, star-sparkling nights with heat lightening flashing like disco lights...

Ah, west Texas!