Barbeque & Birding Weekend

In Texas the Sky is bigger. It really is. When I lived in California the horizon was dominated and defined by mountains. Here the Earth is flat and the sky seems boundless. I notice clouds more than I ever used to. Texas is a good state for cloud watching.

I had the weekend off, and I took the opportunity to check out a couple of local restaurants. For months now I've been driving by Luther's Bar-B-Q, which is on the Eastex Freeway in Beaumont, but Saturday I actually stopped and had lunch there. It was OK, about the same as Willie Ray's Bar-B-Q on I-10 (most of these barbeque places seem to be about the same). The cole slaw was particularly good. Sunday I drove to Port Neches and ate at Billy Joe's Bar-B-Q. I had sliced beef and links. The food was tasty, and the prices were unusually low; for the quality and quantity of food I got it was a real bargain. I think we have a winner.

Saturday I planted three more shrimp plants to attract hummingbirds. They love the stuff. My yard is already a hummingbird magnet, but at this point I'm going for total overkill with the flowers. Sunday was hot, I mean really hot, but a good day for backyard birding. Saw both adult and juvenile Red-headed Woodpeckers, so I guess they must have nested somewhere in the neighborhood. Other birds in and around my yard on Sunday included Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, Summer Tanager, Orchard Oriole, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, and House Finch.

Incidentally, the mosquitoes have arrived.