Spring is coming

What an insanely beautiful day here in fabulous Austin, Texas. It's supposed to hit 80 today. It's March 14, people! I'm sure this means we're in for some kind of blistering summer, but hey, it's a gorgeous day and I won't complain.

We've had a really mild winter. In fact, on my way to Galveston on Wednesday, I saw the first roadside bluebonnet photo shoot of the season. A mother had pulled over along the highway just east of La Grange and had her kids out in the first bluebonnet blooms I've seen this year taking photos. Usually, the blooming season doesn't really kick in until April, and then you have to ramp up your "alert driver" sensor, because anywhere there's a patch of grass along the roadside, there's a chance someone may have pulled over to take pictures.

That's a tradition here for you non-Texans who don't know. All Texan children MUST have a picture in a field of bluebonnets taken at least once before their 18th birthday. You can take one every year if you like, and you can take as many as you like once you're past 18, but any parent who allows their child to reach adulthood without immortalizing their childhood against a backdrop of bluebonnets has to hand in their Texan card. I think it's a law. Someone should look it up.