Winter Travel

We spent a very chilly weekend in the Texas Hill Country in January. We're talking 10 degrees F. in the mornings and not getting much above freezing during the day. There was ice in the birdbath and small potholes along the river, and thin ice along the banks of the river.
Frozen grasses encased in ice in the small ponds.
We enjoyed the sun, and the thinner ice did melt during the day.
The air was crisp and fresh. It was very different from a spring or summertime visit to this area. We usually can sit by the river in the warm sun, wade and swim in the pleasant water, and look for shade in the afternoon! But not this time!

The landscape is very different in the winter. The live oaks still have leaves, but they are a dull green. The rest of the trees have lost their leaves, and their branches really stand out against the landscape. You can see the bunches of mistletoe growing in the high branches of various trees quite clearly. The fields are different shades of browns and dijon-mustard yellows.

People who travel to this area for hunting season are familiar with the more barren landscape, but others who just come for the wildflowers in the spring or to enjoy the lakes and rivers in the summer see something completely different.

The bald eagles return to their nests along the rivers and they are easily seen perched in the bare branches of the tallest trees. They can see potential prey much more easily in this season. By April, they'll be gone. We've seen them flying over the rivers, hunting for fish.

We're lucky if we get to see the same place at different times of the year. That's something to think about when making travel plans. Most of the time it seems we want to get to that next new place on the list. If you can return to a place in a different season, it may give you a whole new experience and a new appreciation of a familiar place.