Thursday, June 28, 2012

Sensory Tour of Texas

Sight:
To my surprise, Eastern Texas does not look like the set for a John Wayne movie. They get lots of rain so the grass is lush and the trees are tall.

Sound:
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the insects. These 2-3 inch grasshoppers chirp constantly, and the cicadas sing.

Smell:
There are agricultural smells, exhaust and dust. Trucks and SUVs are popular; the distances are long. (The landscape is green, but the population mostly isn’t.)

Taste:
The Texas barbecue and Mexican food was delicious but less spicy than I expected. 

Touch:
The heat and humidity are astounding to someone who has lived in MI for 25 years. This is the old stage coach road after the trees and brush had been cleared. This type of yard waste is typically burned in Texas, and the picture shows several burn piles. Imagine a huge bonfire on hot and humid summer day. (No one seems to worry about the carbon footprint.)



2 comments:

Wyman Stewart said...

When your two primary products are oil and cows (lots of cow gas), you're going to worry about your carbon footprint?

Not ahead of profit I don't think. Which is why pollution is probably bigger in Texas too.

(Just picking on them. Nothing personal. My car likes gas. Plus, the BK Whoppers I am about to eat, probably started in or passed through, Texas.)

Kristin Lenz said...

I'm catching up on your blog posts. I love the grasshopper pic!