Steve and Judy's Travels!

  Foul.  Beto O’Rourke.   He’s done it.  He finally went negative too.  He called Ted Cruz a liar.    

  Longhorn Caverns State Park.  One of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project from the 1930s.  We’ve got them all over Texas; all still in use; all fantastic in their use of local materials.   Looking down to the cave entrance.   Looking back up from partway down.   If you’re not familiar with the CCC, it was a New Deal program that operated after the Great Depression from 1933 to 1942 all over the United States, providing work for unemployed unmarried men.  As well as providing employment and training, it was dedicated to the conservation and development of natural resources.  The CCC literally built the Texas State Park system.  

  And the cotton is high.     High enough to be harvested.     It looks like a lot of cotton left on the stalks after harvest, but I guess that’s just the economics of the process.  I suppose it will be turned under with the stalks.  

    It’s such an odd fruit.   It’s about six inches in diameter.   We found some in San Antonio.  It is believed, but not proven, to have insect repellant properties.  The wood of the tree is prized for its strength, flexibility, and stability.  It makes good bows for bows and arrows.  It is resistant to rot, so makes good fence posts.  It is strong and flexible so works well in wooden boat building.   Nobody can figure out how the seeds are propagated though because the fruit oozes a white latex-like liquid that is bitter to plants and animals.  There is speculation that the animals that evolved to spread its seeds are now extinct.  These trees are cultivated and distributed by humans now.  

  Large and loud, they can be surprisingly stealthy.     But not always.