Quotes – Wandering Dawgs

This week Ann-Christine’s challenge is Pick a Favorite Quote and Illustrate it. We can choose one quote accompanied with a maximum of five pictures or a maximum of five quotes illustrated with one picture each. She asks us to “Make us ”feel”your quote(s) in pictures!”

My first quote is one of my favorite sayings. I have a plaque on my kitchen wall to remind me of it’s message every day. Seeing the sunrise is a beautiful gift to start a new day.

“Yesterday is History

Tomorrow a Mystery

Today is a Gift

That’s why we call it the Present”

— Anonymous

The next quote reminds me to live life to the fullest. One of my greatest adventures was flying in a small plane over mountains and glaciers in Alaska and seeing Mt. Denali from the air. I’m not a fan of flying in small planes!

***“Life is either a great adventure or nothing” — Helen Keller***

Almost twenty years ago volunteers on Tybee Island planted Oak Trees to help celebrate the 120th anniversary of Tybee Island. Today the trees are thriving and getting taller every year.

“What does he plant who plants a tree?
   He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
   And far-cast thought of civic good—
   His blessings on the neighborhood,
      Who in the hollow of His hand
      Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.”

— “The Heart of the Tree” by Henry Cuyler Bunner

The final two quotes and images need no explanation.

***“If there is a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached” — Jimmy Buffett***

***“Some old fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat” — Laura Ingals Wilder***

It was my pleasure to host last week’s challenge. Your responses took us all around the world with fantastic images On the Water. You wowed us with all types of water from puddles to mighty oceans, peaceful landscapes and thundering waterfalls. The variety of animals, people, and plants on the water were great. Thank you to everyone who joined the challenge..

Many thanks to Ann-Christine for this fun challenge Lens-Artists Challenge #396: Pick a Favorite Quotes and Illustrate It.

Be sure to check back on Saturday, May 9 at noon eastern time when Anne will be hosting the challenge.

You can receive our weekly challenges by subscribing to the Lens-Artists team members websites: Tina, Patti, Ann-Christine, John, Sofia, Anne, Egidio, Ritva, Beth.

For information on how to join the Lens-Artists challenge please click here.

Every Day is a Gift

“Yesterday’s gone on down the river and you can’t get it back.” – Captain Augustus McCrae to July Johnson, from “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry.

“If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.” – Captain Augustus McCrae to Lorena, from “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry.

Our dog eared copy of Lonesome Dove — Our dog-eared copy of Lonesome Dove

One of my favorite books of all time is Lonesome Dove, the 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Larry McMurtry. I am currently reading it for the third time, and Henry has read it two or three times. We both also love the 1989 TV miniseries starring Robert Duvall as Captain Augustus McCrae and Tommy Lee Jones as Captain Woodrow Call.

In fact, the whole idea for our Lonesome Dove Cattle Trail, Gulf Coast, Cajun Country, Whooping Crane, Bluebonnet and Brisket Tour began over a year ago when we watched the miniseries for about the third time. As we were watching, the idea of a trip to follow the cattle trail through Texas as far as Ogalalla, Nebraska began to form. Once we started talking about Texas we decided to time it so we could try to see the whooping cranes and bluebonnets. We couldn’t pass by Cajun Country or the Gulf Coast without spending some time there, either.

The story begins at the Hat Creek Cattle Company in the fictional south Texas border town of Lonesome Dove and revolves around the two former Texas Rangers Gus and Call as they lead a cattle drive to Montana.

Lonesome Dove Trail Map courtesy https://www.etsy.com/shop/AntiqueMapsofTexas

Since Lonesome Dove is a fictional place, we had to do some research to figure out where to start.We studied maps of the cattle trail and the closest place we could find with a nice place to stay was Laredo.

Lake Casa Blanca didn’t exist back then and Laredo doesn’t resemble the dusty, dry town of Lonesome Dove at all. When we left Laredo and started driving north on I-35 towards San Antonio the landscape looked more like it must have looked like to the cowboys. On both sides of the interstate were fields of cactus, mesquite, yucca and dust with few trees in sight. The railroad, which was built following the cattle trail that was used by the real cattlemen, runs beside I-35 most of the way to San Antonio. There are few towns and for miles and miles there was no sign of civilization except the vehicles on the interstate.

We drove through the city of San Antonio (no fun pulling a fifth wheel) and set up camp beside Canyon Lake to explore the Texas Hill Country. When we crossed the Nueces River I could picture the cowboys on their horses herding the cattle across.

In the story of Lonesome Dove several events take place in San Antonio and in and around Austin. Of course, all the places in the story are different now. San Antonio and Austin are big cities and both are surrounded by suburbs, big box stores, strip malls, and outlet malls.

So our plans have changed. As Henry said, it would be disappointing to try to find where a fictional event might have taken place, because we might get there only to find a Home Depot sitting on the location. Instead of driving through the plains of Kansas and Nebraska (in the beginning of tornado season), we will spend more time in Texas. We will leave Lonesome Dove in our imagination.

Hey, it’s our trip! The beauty of not making reservations ahead of time is that we can change our plans if we want.