Fall 2021

Fall in Texas is a prolonged summer, for a good while, and many of our days were warm and full of sunshine. Mark and I nurtured our grandsons as I lovingly tend to my plants, with careful attention allowing them to flourish and grow, but not overindulgence that would spoil and stunt them. And how Jack and Benjamin are flourishing. Carefree days at home, visits to the zoo, the playgrounds and the nature center at the Arboretum—what a privilege to be a part of their child’s magical world. For fall break in mid-October, Mark and I flew out to Durham to see Matthew, a trip we try to do as often as we can. We visited Duke Gardens in full for the first time. I was not expecting the Japanese gardens to be as pretty as they were, and they brought me back not only to the exquisite gardens in Japan, but also to the one in Portland, Oregon we enjoyed so much. For my birthday weekend, Elizabeth and Andrew brought the boys to Austin. A visit to Barton Creek’s fire station and to the Japanese Gardens at Zilker Park—and Jack’s last swim for the year—were what we captured in photos.