Autumn in Texas is really quite wonderful once you get used to the idea there is no such thing as showy autumn foliage until around Thanksgiving and then all it takes is one cold December rain to put an end to the display. The leaves fall off the trees and there is nothing but bare bark.
October is also the month full of Fall Festivals. Every weekend we have our pick of anywhere from 4 or 5 up to 9 or 10 festival destinations. It is often hard to choose, but we have a rule that we try a new venue if the choice includes a festival we've attended in the past. This past week and weekend were no exception. We chose to drive to East Texas to the community of Tyler, home of the Tyler Rose Festival. It is a very big deal to that area. There is a Royal Court filled with lovely young women in even lovelier sequined gowns. The day starts with a parade (which we did not see because we would have had to leave Dallas about 5 a.m. There has to be a limit some place!!) of wonderful floats, some carrying the Royal Court.
I got to see Clydesdale horses up close. This is no big deal to some folks, I'm sure, but Clydesdales remind me of my childhood and the annual 4th of July Circus Parade we attended with annual regularity. I had not seen one of these majestic beauties up close in decades, so I was beginning to think it was just my recollection they were so huge based on my relative size at the time I was near them. (The last time I saw them was likely when I was younger than 10). I am delighted to report that they are definitely as huge as I remembered. The hooves could have easily been 12" in diameter, and as you can see, their shoulders are quite a few inches above the heads of their handlers. Truly magnificent creatures.
Here is the back of the float carrying the Tyler Rose Queen. The back is more stunning than the front of her gown because there is a sequined train flowing behind that takes one's breath away.
There is a rose garden open to the public with no admission. The fragrance of roses fills the air and the only drawback is the need to conquer the fear of bees if one exists.
Below are photos of various specimens. The names are all very technical and so varied I don't recall them except randomly.... there was even a GREEN rose; yes, really and truly green, the color of its stem and leaves. I forgot to post a picture of it.
After eating lunch, we got on a country road headed west and thus back to Dallas. Oh the things you can see and learn by traveling country roads. I saw camels and zebras. I saw a buck deer with a huge rack of antlers. There were baby calves, raccoons, hawks, emu, horses, longhorns, shorthorns, goats, and more.
Until the next post,
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