BRRR! It's winter in Texas

Well, it's winter everywhere isn't it?  Most places I have lived though, there are 4 seasons and winter comes on gradually.  Here in Texas, we are wearing shorts one day and our parkas the next.  Last week we had two days of 80..then overnight, "The Big Arctic Freeze" blew down and we had a freeze.  It did not get above 30 for 4 days in a row.  Most cities in Texas are not equipped to deal with ice and snow because we don't get it on a regular basis.  Plus we have all these high in the sky overpasses and bridges that freeze over.  Makes life interesting. Our little fountain on the porch did not get drained yet, so it has had a bit of ice on it the past few days.  I like the way it looks.

The colors have finally changed here though and it looks real pretty.  I don't have an oak tree in my front yard.  I have a live oak in the back and it doesn't shed it's leaves in the fall, only in spring when new growth occurs. But my neighbors on both sides have oak trees and so I have the benefit of tons of leaves.  I find it amusing that the guy on the left rakes most of the leaves from my yard, he says it's the least he can do, since they came from his tree.  Matters to me not a whit, we eventually rake or vacuum them up when they all fall.  The guy on the right rakes right to the property line, so I always just hope that the ones on my side blow back into his yard..HaHa  He also rakes every few days, then the next day the yard is full again. He's also the guy who mows his yard 3 times a week, while the rest of us do it once a week.   Both my neighbors are great, its just funny to me, the differences in people..

 

 Oak tree to the right

 

Oak tree to the left

 

Leaves in my yard

Leaves for crafting