BBE 9 - The Hill Country

We stayed two nights in the Hill Country at Walnut Canyon Cabins, off Deer Road. There were two cozy cabins that the landowner rents to tourists for some extra income. It reminded me of the summers I spent as a teenager in cabins at the cow camps in the Sierras. There were even horses in a corral next to the cabin, and a Queensland Heeler dog running around.

This cabin was snug and new, though, and mice didn’t run across the beds at night. Oh, and there was an indoor bathroom. There was also a small kitchen with fresh eggs and sausage in the refrigerator. The owner keeps a flock of hens.

The cabin in the woods,



A view of the hills from the back porch.


Where the Cap’n and I sat for a while.


The horse pen. This shows what happens to the shallow topsoil when the grass is overgrazed (these animals are fed hay).


Reggie the llama, who lives with the horses.


There are a lot of llamas in this area. Some of them are used to guard sheep and Boer goats. Llamas were a fad in California 20 years ago. I once saw one that sold for $40,000. There isn’t $40,000 worth of usefulness in a llama. Or meat. Or cute, for that matter.

In the morning, the landowner stopped to show me what he’d just picked up at the post office:


A new batch of baby laying hens! (See, Uncle B, they’re still shipped in cardboard boxes.) These were from Murray McMurray. I correctly deduced the breeds, thoroughly impressing the owner. I don't know much about a lot of things, but I do know chicken stuff, folks. And I know at least a dozen kids who are even more knowledgeable. 4-H is great training for adult leaders as well as the kids.

We spent our first day in the Hill Country driving around in a big circle. The area near Fredericksburg is noted for its peach orchards, dating back to the days of the original German settlers. There are lots of little hobby farms and a few that seem to be big enough to keep a real farmer busy.

This was an interesting sight. We had to drive back and take a better look.


It was fish heads hanging on the fence. We guessed they were catfish. The one on the left was huge. We saw more fish heads hanging on another fence later in the day. Is this how Texans tell their fish tales? “You shoulda seen the fish that went with them heads, Earl! They wuz monasters.”