hill country sun, march 2016

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Serving Austin, Bandera, Blanco, Buda, Bulverde, Burnet, Canyon Lake, Castroville, Comfort, Concan, Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, Georgetown, Gruene, Henly, Hancock, Johnson City,Kerrville, Kyle, Lakeway, Llano, Leakey, Luckenbach, Marble Falls, Medina, New Braunfels, San Antonio, San Marcos, Sattler, Sisterdale, Stonewall, Wimberley, Utopia, Uvalde, Vanderpool & More

MARCH 2016

MARCH 2016 R HILL COUNTRY SUN

I had to wonder about my little granddaughter when I read in a Texas Parks and Wildlife

news release that today’s kids spend between seven and 11 hours a day indoors sedentary with media and only minutes a day playing outdoors. Hours each day indoors look-ing at a screen. Minutes each day outside looking at critters, blossoms, sunrises, sunsets, clouds, creeks, well, you know.

Anyway, about the almost-four-year-old. Lately her favorite thing has been to get me out in the back yard “so we can get in the hammock and do bird-watching.”

Do bird-watching. Her phrasing tick-les me. And it delights me that she likes to watch our cardinals and doves and Carolina wrens and blue jays and wood-peckers. And the occasional marauding flock of cedar waxwings.

She loves to race through the back yard gardens – no grass, just plants and

pavers and butterflies and birds and little fenced places hoping for protection from

our squirrel-chasing terrier-pug black dog.

Often, we’ll head across the street to play at our neighborhood park or take a car ride south and visit Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. She loves to be outside, al-though I’ll admit that

when I take her to a park she expects a swing set.So

I’ve had to differentiate be-tween a park and a play-

ground. It was quite a walk at the

Wildflower Center to find the tree swings in the newish Arboretum.

And her parents love to go on out-ings with her to their local parks in Wil-liamson County. But truth? If we doubled the time she spent outdoors, it would still be less time than she spends inside with her nabi© tablet.

Texas Children in Nature is trying to change that and get kids outside.

With their hun-dreds of partner orga-nizations across the state, their goal is to change the trend of what Texas Parks and Wildlife and others call “nature deficit dis-order” by providing opportunities for out-door exploration and play.

Nature Rocks Tex-as, a website created by Texas Children in Nature, lists nature centers, parks, green spaces, and nature-based activities for children and adults. The site’s goal is to be a one-stop guide for families to find things to do together in the outdoors.

“We wanted to create a resource for families where they could connect with na-ture in their commu-nity,” says Jennifer Bristol, coordinator for Texas Children in Nature.

“The web site is built with today’s busy families in mind so they can easily find the nature-centers, parks and out-door learning opportunities in their neighborhoods or nearby.”

As Texas continues to grow, access to nature for families in urban and suburban areas becomes increasingly important.

This shift to a sedentary life, disconnected from nature, leads to a rise in childhood obesity, depression, near-sightedness, and other mental and physical issues.

Research shows when children spend time playing and exploring outside, they are healthier, happier and smarter.

Texas is home to six of the most pop-ulated cities in the country but only boasts four percent public lands where families can find healthy outdoor oppor-tunities.

Right now Nature Rocks Texas lists events and public lands around Texas with a focus on the heavily populated ar-eas of Austin, Caprock, Coastal Bend, Dallas/ Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio regions.

“Our idea is to help families under-stand they have options for getting out-

doors that are local, low cost, and fun,” says Jennifer.

“Our partners input their events, programs, and camps for families to find learning and structured opportunities. We also have all the parks listed for families to explore and enjoy nature on their own.”

Texas has 95 state parks and 12 na-tional parks and recreation areas that cel-ebrate some of the best natural and cul-tural wonders of the state. These parks offer every possible outdoor adventure one could imagine.

In addition, local parks, trails, and nature centers offer an even greater di-versity for the daily contact with nature that children and families need.

Nature Rocks Texas helps connect families with these opportunities. And sometimes it’s as easy as stepping out-side the house and fiddling around in the back yard. It always amazes me how cre-ative my little granddaughter can be about our back yard.

“Texas children deserve every oppor-tunity to grow up strong and healthy,” says Jennifer. “We want to give them ev-ery resource possible to get outdoors to be healthier and happier.”

FYI • To discover nature near you and start planning your next adventure with your little ones, visit the web site at www.naturerockstexas.org.

Texas Children in Nature wants to get kids outsideSuzy Moehring Mallard

hill country PARKS

Katie Sue at the Family Garden at Lady Bird Johnson Wild-flower Center in Austin. Photo by Suzy Moehring Mallard.

HILL COUNTRY SUN R MARCH 2016 PAGE 3

The Hill Country Sun is published monthly. For advertising rates or information, call Julie Harrington at 512-484-9716 (email [email protected]). Credit cards accepted.

•Circulation: 22,000. Distributed monthly to more than 450 popular Hill Country locations (see list of towns on front cover) and home delivered to all 5,276 Wimberley homes and 8,663 Dripping Springs homes by the US Postal Service.

•Cover: Two-tailed Swallow on a Mexican Firebush at Hill Country Nature Center outside Utopia, home of Nature Quest April 15-17 and April 29-May 1. Photo by LeAnn Sharp, Hill Country Nature Center. www.hillcountryadventures.com.

•Deadline for calendar events is the 15th of each month.Email events/releases to [email protected].

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Hill Country SUN

Julie Spell HarringtonPublisher/Advertising

[email protected]

MeliSSa Maxwell BallEditor/Design

[email protected]

ernie altgelternie lee

Suzy MoeHring Mallardlaurel roBertSon

C.J. wrigHtWriters

gerry BurnSdelonn Bowie

adelle SpellDistribution

Kenzie, Luke and Julie HarringtonPhoto by Becky Roberson Photography.

March 2016Volume 26 • Number 9

ISSN: 1524-2315

Entire contents copyright © 2016 by TD Austin Lane, Inc.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in any fashion without the

written consent of the publisher.

HENLY

Texas Hill CountryLocator Map

© 2016 by TD Austin Lane, Inc.

INDEXAustin J5

Bandera B10Bergheim D9

Bertram I2Blanco F6

Boerne D9Buchanan Dam F2

Buda J7Bulverde G10

Burnet G2Camp Verde B8

Canyon Lake G9Castroville C12

Center Point B8Clear Springs H11

Comfort C8Concan A11

Driftwood H7Dripping Springs H6

Fischer G8Fredericksburg C5

Georgetown K2Granite Shoals G2

Gruene H10Hancock G8Helotes G6

Henly G6Highland Lakes F2/3

Hondo B13Hunt A7Hye E6

Ingram B7Johnson City F5

Kendalia F8Kerrville B7

Kingsland F2Kyle I8

Lampasas G1Leakey A9Llano D2

Liberty Hill I12Luckenbach D6

Luling K10Marble Falls G3

Martindale J9Mason B2

Medina A9New Braunfels H10

Oak Hill I6Oatmeal H2

Pipe Creek C10Round Rock K3

San Antonio F12San Marcos I9

Sattler H9Seguin I11

Sisterdale D8Spring Branch F9

Startzville G9Stonewall D6

Utopia A10Vanderpool A9Wimberley H8

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In February, the chortles of Purple Mar-tins brightened the air, erasing winter doldrums, filling us with thoughts of

spring and a new beginning. Filling us with hope. With March, Golden-cheeked Warblers add their buzzy songs, once again announcing their return to the Texas Hill Country.

Breaking diapause, monarch butter-flies leave their wintering grounds amidst the Oyamel Fir Forest of Mexico in March, winging their way to Texas, their orange and black wings coloring the awakening earth, the females searching for milkweed on which to lay their eggs—ensuring the birth of the next generation.

The arrival of monarchs, martins and golden-cheeks heralds the approach of spring migration, a celebration of flight. Our hopes ride on their wings; our spirits lift with their songs.

And while some winter birds still visit our feeders building fat reserves for their journey north, we await more migrants to arrive, our birdbaths filled, our feeders at the ready.

Some species stop to refuel and rest before moving on while the males of other species remain and stake out territories in preparation for the nesting season.

The excitement builds and by the mid-dle of April the air is buzzing with new ar-rivals, each day bringing fresh discoveries.

One day a couple of Indigo Buntings grace a feeder, a Blue Grosbeak drops in the next, all wearing lovely breeding coats.Both buntings and grosbeaks belong to the family Cardinalidae (cardinals, buntings and grosbeaks), known for their conical bills, which enable them to crush seed shells without difficulty. Typical of this family, males have colorful plumages while females’ coloring is muted.

Indigo Buntings are small with plump bodies and short tails, which they often swish from side to side when perched on a limb. Males are adorned with deep-blue coats, their heads a richer blue, their wings tipped with black, their short, conical bills silver. Females, however, wear brown with finely streaked breasts and white throats,

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ideal camouflage as they fulfill their role as primary caretakers of their eggs and young hidden amidst brushy thickets. When females begin nesting for a second brood, however, males step up to feed their fledglings. A common songbird, In-digo Buntings summer throughout over half of the eastern U.S. and much of the southwest.

Larger than the bunting, male Blue Grosbeaks are also a vibrant blue except for their chestnut wingbars that offer a startling contrast. Their silver-and-black, conical bills are quite large, seeming to cover their faces, save for the small black masks in front of their eyes. Females are brown with buffy wingbars.

Interestingly, when it comes to tail swishing and caring for young, Blue Gros-beaks closely mimic the actions of Indigo Buntings.

The grosbeaks’ territory spreads across most of the southern U.S. and ap-pears to be expanding northward. Both

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have healthy populations with Grosbeak and bunting territories overlapping across the east and south.

As we look forward to the upcoming migration, it’s interesting to look back to ages past when there was little scientific understanding of where birds disappeared to each fall.

Thus, stories to explain the phenome-non abounded. Because, many songbirds lift off in evening to migrate throughout the night, stories circulated that they flew to the moon for the winter.

Since some mammals spend the win-ter in hibernation, other observers hypoth-esized that birds did also, remaining in caves or burrows during the cold months.

When searches disputed that claim, folks thought that perhaps they hibernat-ed in mud or even beneath frozen bodies of water. And what about hummingbirds? Why they dehydrated in fall turning into thorny knobs that hung from trees until

Rufous Hummingbird. Photo by LeAnn Sharp, Hill Country Nature Center. www.hillcountrynaturecenter.com.

HILL COUNTRY NATURE, from page 4

See HILL COUNTRY NATURE, page 10


Dripping springs

By LaureL robertson

Can you have it all — happy hens, your own fresh eggs, and neigh-bors who don’t look at it as an eye-

sore? That’s a question Dyan and Montie Twining were asking themselves in 2013. The answer turned into a new business for the couple — Urban Coop Company.

“Backyard chickens are not just a fad,” Dyan says. The popularity of rais-ing poultry in urban and suburban set-tings is growing exponentially, as more and more people discover the joys and benefits of keeping chickens as pets. The trouble can be the substandard construc-tion of many chicken coops, she believes.

“Chicken coops should be cute!” Dyan insists. One look at the many clean, charming coops settled around her sub-urban yard near Dripping Springs proves that’s possible.

Montie, who used to build luxury yachts, cares about detail and good de-sign. Dyan, who raises dozens of chick-ens of different breeds, knows how to keep a hen happy and a chicken yard shipshape. Together, they have designed four different chicken coops, along with attachments and accessories, that make housing backyard chickens a pleasant experience.

All Urban chicken coops are built from the ground up in the Twining’s 7,000 square-foot production facility on their acreage outside Dripping Springs. Dyan and Montie make great effort to source materials locally and regionally — starting with the American red cedar they build with and ending with the cardboard boxes they use for shipping. Most of the work is done by skilled hands, not computer-operated machines.

“We’re excited to develop skilled la-bor,” she says. “We look for people with a strong work ethic and a capacity to learn, and train them.”

During peak production season (March through June) a crew of about 30 workers can complete 70-90 coops per week. Urban Coop Company sells and ships coop all over the United States -

and has even shipped coops to Bermuda and Puerto Rico.

“We usually have a three-to-four week backorder, but I keep a few coops on hand for local sales,” Dyan says, add-ing that local pickups receive a discount and no shipping fees. “We really like to sell within our community,” she explains.

Dyan and Montie tested their first coop design by listing it on Craigslist - and were encouraged when it sold im-mediately. In the intervening years, they’ve added to their standard coop de-sign (the Backyard coop)with a Mobile coop, a deluxe Walk In design, and a basic Starter unit.

They’ve developed accessories for each design, including run extensions, storm panels, custom designed waterers and feeders — even a planter box. All the designs are tested and tweaked by their own experience with their own flocks.

The entire Twining family partici-pates in the business. Teenagers Olivia and Cassandra show chickens in their lo-cal 4H program and help out cutting wood, inventorying materials and assist-ing in the packaging department. The twin sisters also run their own business, Huevos Locos, selling hatching eggs, chicks and started pullets. Son, Nathan, is head gopher and chicken catcher. He also

Keeping backyard chickensis easier with Urban Coops

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Urban Coop Company creates clean, charming chicken coops for your back-yard. Here, the Belfry model.Photo courtesy Urban Coop Company.

The popularity of raising poultry in urban and suburban settings is growing exponentially, as more and more people discover the joys and benefits of keeping chickens as pets. Photo courtesy Urban Coop Company.


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stays busy sweeping and keeping things neat and orderly around the shop.

“Every year we experience a 75 to 100 percent growth rate,” Dyan marvels. Right now, she’s busy developing more plans for the future, including a Duck House and a multi-species Sustainability Coop. She’s begun selling chicks and hens to go along with the Urban Coops ; cur-rently she’s carrying Cream Legbar and Isbar varieties, along with her favorite - Leghorns.

Dyan spends lots of time on the phone, answering customers’ questions about chickens and coops. She’s a walking

encyclopedia of chicken facts and loves reading and talking about chickens. Though she’s convinced that Urban Coops offers the best designs and quality con-struction, she’s dedicated to helping ev-eryone find the right coop for their needs - even if that turns out not to be an Urban Coop.”Mainly, I just want people to enjoy having chickens” she says simply.

FYI • Urban Chicken Coops are built and sold by the Twining family near Dripping Springs. They are available online at www.urbancoopcompany.com and at their resi-dence ranch, located at 301 South Canyonwood Drive, Drip-ping Springs 78620. For more information, visit the website or call 877-741-COOP (2667) or 512-298-EGGS (3447).

URBAN COOP, from page 6

All Urban Chicken Coops are built from the ground up in the Twining’s 7,000 square-foot production facility on their acreage outside Dripping Springs. Above, Emmanuel Diaz at work. Photo courtesy Urban Coop Company.

ABOVE Dyan Twining with Carlos. She and her husband, Montie, launched Urban Coop Company in 2013. BELOW LEFT A round top walk in coop. BELOW RIGHT The “Coopa Cabana.” Photos courtesy Urban Coop Company.


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By ernie Lee

Stand on the edge of a meadow at dusk this spring and you could be in for an enchanted evening that will

bring back memories of old. The hills

come alive with beauty and wonder as fireflies take flight during their annual emergence. This should be a bumper year for Hill Country “lightning bugs!”

You’ll find fireflies — or lightning

bugs— most places in Texas, especially in April, as soon as the earth warms enough to complete their life cycle. The lightning bug, one of America’s favorite summertime occurrences, is actually a flying beetle in the order Coleoptera, in the family called Lampyridae.

Firefly eggs hatch after three or four weeks, and spend a considerable time in the soil.

They like damp organic leaf litter. Like all beetles, they go through the four stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Sev-

There’s magic, mystery and murder in firefly land

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A firefly in the daylight. Photo courtesy Barbara Elliot, www.backyardsfornature.org. Used with permission.

eral stages have more than one instar, or de-velopmental period.

We usually see fireflies in their flying adult stage. Those we see flying are males; the females prefer to wait on a blade of grass for the right fire-fly to come sailing by. They dry out easily, so life is rough for them in the Texas climate, just one reason we have a short firefly season in the Hill Country. By May, most of these light-ning bugs are gone, except from moist ar-eas.

There’s a lot to the firefly story, much more than can be told

here.Rather than load you down with the science, here’s a little about the mystery, magic, and yes, murder, in firefly land!

The magic: Fireflies make light by producing three chemicals (a pigment lu-ciferin, an enzyme luciferase, and a chem-ical adenosine triphosphate, or ATP) in their body and exposing these to oxygen. Fireflies control the blinking of this light by opening and closing a valve allowing air to reach the chemicals.

The mystery: Fireflies blink to attract a mate. Each species of firefly has a unique blink code, helping in the matching pro-cess. Once that is accomplished, they lay their eggs.

And murder: Some fireflies are car-nivorous, meaning they eat meat. As a protection against spiders and birds, one genus, Photinus, creates a bad tasting ste-roidal pyrone called lucibufagin. Light-ning bugs in the Photuris genus do not produce the defense.

Armed with this information, let me take you on a firefly “date.” (Cue music: “You don’t have to be lonely…”)

Miss Photuris sits on her grass blade just waiting for Mr. Right to come flitting by, lighting up her world. When a male Photinus flies by, she intends to blink her special firefly code telling him she’s his kind of girl so he will drop in for a roman-tic evening.

Meanwhile, she is a little worried that some bird or spider might sneak up and end her dreams of romance and the pit-ter-patter of little firefly wings.

So, Mr. Photinus flies by, excited and trying to set the world on fire. Being the smart girl she is, Miss Photuris simply gives him the blink code, and down he comes for dinner... not knowing he is the main course.

Miss Photuris eats him for supper! And not only does she get a nutritious meal, she also gains the lucibufagin she is lacking, protecting her from attack.Then, fed, protected, and ready to play, she resumes her wait for the firefly of her dreams. So ends another night in firefly land!


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Just imagine if someone combined the sweet savoriness of genuine Creole crawfish with the subtle spiciness of

our traditional Hill Country pork sau-sage. Sound good?

Well partner, it is and thankfully, you don’t have to go all the way to Louisiana or East Texas to sample some.

Since 2003, Leakey rancher and ex-perimental chef John (J. P.) Price has made it his business to bring that geographical pairing into one delicious harmony and boy has he succeeded.

Appropriately manufactured and marketed under the umbrella of the Texas Cajun Sausage Company and sold using the brand name of “Crawlinks,” J.P.’s tasty two-meat-in-one masterpieces have created a seemingly insatiable demand with a wowed public literally, “snapping ‘em up” at every opportunity. Click, click, oink, oink!

Hailing originally from Humble, Tex-as, not that far from the Cajun state line, J.P. had come across another sausage maker who mixed crawfish with pork. And while good, J.P. thought it could be even better. After retirement as an air traf-fic controller and then happily relocating to Leakey, with his time freed up a bit, J.P. went to work to see if he was right.

Devoting weeks of slowly mixing, testing, tasting and sampling he finally “hit” upon what he considered the “per-fect formula.”

As he recalls, “I ultimately made my links a little longer and a little less hot than the other guy.” And, based on feed-back, not to mention the 40,000 pounds sold over the last 15 years, J.P. smilingly offers, “Folks do seem to like my Crawl-inks a lot – grilled, baked or boiled!”

Using only the finest in crawfish tail meat and premium pork in a two to three ratio respectively then seasoning with a special blend of herbs and spices, all of J.P.’s sausage is not only incredibly appe-tizing but is also USDA approved and

produced without any MSG, sodium ni-trate or sodium nitrite. And, it’s gluten free as well. As he states, “It’s a unique, healthy and flavorful product that I’m proud to offer for sale.”

Unfortunately however, currently Crawlinks is only stocked in two stores in the Leakey area – Bear’s Meat Market and the Leakey Mercantile.

But, it is available for purchase through the company’s Web site and several restaurants in Kerrville and Houston also feature it on their menus. Most are introduced to Crawlinks at the many festivals, fairs and other events at which J.P. and crew exhibit and demonstrate.

This spring, he’ll be showcasing (and sausage-casing) at Fort Clark Days in Bracketville on March 4-5, the Old Town Spring Music and Crawfish Festival (near Houston) on the weekends beginning on April 29 and again on May 6 and at the Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival May 27-29. Aside from the generous distributions of lots of free samples, J.P. will also be imparting various cooking tips and sharing recipes. Other appearances are slated throughout the year. Click, click, oink, oink!

FYI • For more information about J.P., the Texas Ca-jun Sausage Company and Crawlinks, including to make purchases as well as learning about upcoming events, visit the web site at www.gocajun.com or call 877-462-2586. Crawlinks has rightfully earned the “Made in Texas,” “Go Texan” certification.

Hill Country sausage with true Creole snap

Genuine Creole catfish combines with traditional Hill Country pork sausage in Crawlinks. Photo courtesy Texas Cajun Sausage Co.

John (J.P.) Price and his daughters, Johnna and Sheryl. Photo courtesy Texas Cajun Sausage Co.


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WILDLIFE, from page 5

STONEWALL H The LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour starts at 9 am on Saturday, April 2, at the LBJ National Historic Park in Stonewall. Gates open at 7 am. The ride begins and ends on the LBJ Ranch runway with routes of 10, 30, 42, and 62 miles over scenic Hill Country, mini-mally-trafficked roads. Participants include riders of all skill levels ranging in age from about 6 to 85. The course offers eight rest stops with nourishing food and drink (with three stops at historic country schools).

As President Lyndon B. Johnson told visi-tors to his beloved Hill Country ranch, “All the world is welcome here!” Organizers of the LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour want visitors to feel the same warm welcome and sense of Presiden-tial history as those who came before them.

“It is a very exciting and colorful affair as the cyclists gather at the start line on the run-way and sing the Star Spangled Banner. The President and Mrs. Johnson’s younger daugh-ter, Luci Johnson, and her husband, Ian Tur-pin, lead the ride,” explains Shirley James, Friends of Lyndon B. Johnson National His-torical Park board member. “The LBJ 100 has grown from 400 cyclists in 2008 to more than 1,500 in 2015!”

That afternoon, “Luci leads a Historical Bike Tour of the LBJ Ranch. She grew up at the Ranch and tells many family stories along with the history of the ranch dur-ing the tour. Luci’s bike tour is a popular addition to the event and seems to attract more and more people each year,” says Shirley. “A bicycle ride on the LBJ Ranch was actually Ian’s brain child. The last few years of Mrs. Johnson’s life, Luci and Ian spent weekends at the Ranch. Avid cyclists, they would rise early and bike around the Ranch and out on the back country roads.“

“When the (then) new superintendent, Russ Whitlock, arrived in 2007, Ian broached the idea with him,” she says. “Russ is a ‘can-do’ man and immediately took steps to make the idea reality soon after the Ranch became the LBJ National Historical Park. The first LBJ 100 was in 2008 – the year of President Johnson’s cen-tennial, which accounts for the name of the ride.”

FYI • For more information, including registration, email [email protected] or visit the web site at www.lbj100.bike.The LBJ 100 is the major fundraiser of the Friends of LBJ National Historical Park, a 501 ©(3) organization. The group holds two fundraisers each year: the LBJ 100 Bicycle Tour in the Spring and Barbecue on the Pedernales each Octo-ber. 100 percent of proceeds go to the betterment of the Park, and the group’s prime interest is a commitment to educa-tion, and the success it brings to young lives. President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson gave the LBJ Ranch to the National Park Service so the American people could see firsthand where history was made. The Friends and the Park staff respect Mrs. Johnson’s commitment to environmental sustainability so that future generations can enjoy clean air, clean water and na-ture’s bounty, and seek to honor the Johnsons’ legacies and create opportunities for a diversity of people in the Park.

Bike tour with levels for all on historic LBJ Ranch

spring rains descended and rehydrated them.Over the past several decades, re-searches have dispelled these and other myths, shedding light on how, with sea-sonal change, birds know in which direc-tion to head as well as how to reach their destinations.

Though diurnal birds such as geese and raptors rely on landmarks—coasts and ridgelines, for example—nocturnal songbirds, ornithologists discovered, cue in to their internal magnetic compass

while also getting their bearing from the patterns of stars.

How birds sense the earth’s magnetic field, however, is still a mystery.Unlike many birds that have made the journey to wintering grounds before or that are in the company of those that have, no monarch reaching the forests of Mexico—some trav-eling from as far as Canada—has ever made the trip before.

Astounding to contemplate. And yes, they, too, appear to rely on the earth’s

magnetic pull in combination with the po-sition of the sun.

Although we don’t have all of the an-swers to migration, we now know a great deal. Yet, that knowledge doesn’t make its occurrence any less profound.

That a Rufous Hummingbird, weigh-ing less than three and one half grams, en-countering predators, rough weather and other threats to its survival, migrates solo from Alaska to Texas each fall, arriving to winter in the same Texas yard, defies imagination.

Scores of birds fail to survive the rig-ors of migration, but countless others do. With many populations in decline, how-ever, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Audubon have teamed to increase protections for birds, improving the odds for their safe return.

The two entities’ initiative seeks to ex-

pand the protection birds receive under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, signed into law in 1918.

Their focus is on providing protection for birds from power lines, cell phone tow-ers, open oil pits and wind turbines.

During this time of renewal and as we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, welcome weary birds with food and water when they stop to rest or stay.

Join the many monarch initiatives across the U.S. and Canada by planting milkweed and nectaring plants for mon-archs and other pollinators such as bees.

As Wendell Berry, American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer once said, “The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibil-ity. To cherish what remains of it and to fos-ter its renewal is our only hope.”

The LBJ 100 is April 2. Photo courtesy Friends of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Park & Historic Site.

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MARCH 18-19


Hill Country Calendar

NOTE: Dates or locations for the events listed in the Calen-dar may change. Some require admission fees or reserva-tions. Please call ahead to confirm information.EVERY DAYGRUENE: Live music at Gruene Hall. Free music shows Monday through Thursday nights, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. www.gruenehall.com.EVERY SUNDAYBEE CAVE: Thundering Paws Pet Adop-tion Event. Noon to 4 pm at PetSmart, 12812 Shops Parkway #400. [email protected], 512-402-9725.SECOND SUNDAYBANDERA: Cowboy Camp. Live cowboy music at Frontier Times Museum. Free. 1 pm to 5 pm. 830-328-0321.JOHNSON CITY: Taste Wine + Art. Kirch-man Gallery. 830-868-9290.FIFTH SUNDAYDRIFTWOOD: United Methodist Church Bluegrass Gospel Sing-along Service. Ev-ery fifth Sunday on months with five Sun-days. 11 am. Corner of Farm Market 150 and Elder Hill Road (1/2 mile south of Farm Market 1826 and Farm Market 150 intersection. 512-944-6300.EVERY MONDAYCANYON LAKE: Seniors Bingo. 12:30 pm at Habitat for Safe Seniors, 2174 Old Road, Startzville. 830-899-2256.CYPRESS MILL: The Bunkhouse Gang at Wenmohs Ranch. Paint and enjoy fellow-ship of other artists. 830-825-3465.EVERY TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAYWIMBERLEY: A premier hand blown glass lighting and art glass studio since 1992, Wimberley Glassworks hosts glass blowing demonstrations for travelers and art glass enthusiasts from around the world. wgw.com, 512-213-2110.EVERY TUESDAY WIMBERLEY: Hill Country Community Band rehearses at Chapel in the Hills. 7 pm to 8:30 pm. 512-517-3111.FIRST TUESDAYSBANDERA: Cowboy Capital Opry. Silver Sage Senior Center. 830-796-4969.WIMBERLEY: Hill Country Community Band Rehearsal. Chapel in the Hills. 7 pm to 8:30 pm. 512-517-3111.SECOND TUESDAYSWIMBERLEY: Art Society of Wimberley (ASW) Meeting. 6:30 pm at the Art Room, 100 Melody Way, Suite H. Please email [email protected] for more infor-mation.THIRD TUESDAYSNEW BRAUNFELS: Country Music. Knights of Columbus. 830-629-4547.LEANDER: Low Cost Pet Spay, Neuter and Vaccination. 512-260-3602, ext. 101.EVERY WEDNESDAYDRIPPING SPRINGS: Farmers Market. 3 pm to 7 pm at Highway 290 and Ranch Road 12. March to December, rain or shine. www.cityofdrippingsprings.com.WIMBERLEY: Farmers’ Market. Senior Citizen’s Activity Center on Ranch Road 12. 512-264-1637.SECOND WEDNESDAYSWIMBERLEY: Wimberley Garden Club meets at Lutheran Church of the Resur-rection, 101 West Spoke Hill Drive Sep-tember through May. Refreshments at 9:30 am; meetings and programs at 10 am.

www.WimberleyGardenClub.org.THIRD WEDNESDAYSDRIPPING SPRINGS: Cook Off Club. 6:30 pm. VFW Hall. Email [email protected] for more information.FOURTH WEDNESDAYSWIMBERLEY: Hill Country Neighbors. 10:30 am at the Wimberley Community Center. 512-847-2849.EVERY WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAYWIMBERLEY: Live music at Cypress Creek Cafe. Check listings at www.cy-presscreekcafe.comEVERY THURSDAYDRIPPING SPRINGS: Coffee House with Light Dinners, Desserts and Open Mic. Hours are 6 pm to 9 pm. Thyme and Dough. 512-894-0001.DRIPPING SPRINGS: Thursdays with Doug Moreland and Flying Armadillos. www.mercerstreetdancehall.com.DRIPPING SPRINGS: Live Music at Smoke ‘N Hops. smokenhops.com.FIRST THURSDAYDRIPPING SPRINGS: First Thursday. Participating businesses offer special events, food and music plus sale items. 5 pm to 9 pm. www.drippingspringstx.org.FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYCANYON LAKE: Noon Lions meet at Canyon Lake Golf Club. 830-899-4406.SECOND THURSDAYWIMBERLEY: Hill Country Bead Society. Meeting. Wimberley Community Center. 1 pm. Marilyn Pierce at [email protected] AND FOURTH THURSDAYWIMBERLEY: Toastmaster Club, learn public speaking and leadership skills. 7:10 pm at the “old” Baptist Church, 501 Old Kyle Road. 512-847-6822.THIRD THURSDAYWIMBERLEY: Susanna’s Kitchen Coffee-house presents some of the best in the Hill Country’s musical talent. For listing of performers, visit the web site at www.wimberleyumc.org.EVERY THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAYWIMBERLEY: Live Music at Linda’s Fine Foods. Delicious food, beautiful music at 500 Farm Market 2325. 512-847-5464. www.facebook.com/LindasFineFoods.EVERY FRIDAYBLANCO: Tasting Room Open and Brew-ery Tours at Real Ale Brewing Company. www.realalebrewing.com.GRUENE: Friday Afternoon Club at Gru-ene Hall. Broadcast live KNBT-92.1 FM Radio. 4 pm to 7 pm. 830-629-5077.WIMBERLEY: Bingo. VFW Hall on Jacobs Well Road. 512-847-6441.FIRST FRIDAYFREDERICKSBURG: First Friday Art Walk. Tour fine art galleries offering spe-cial exhibits, demonstrations, refresh-ments and extended viewing hours. www.ffawf.com.SECOND FRIDAYCASTROVILLE: Friday Night Fever. Cars, trucks, bikes, food, shopping. 6 pm to 10 pm. Lundquist Automotive. www.castroville.com, 830-931-2479.UVALDE: Four Square Friday Enjoy late night shopping, food, live music and art at the event named for town’s original de-sign with four town squares. 6 pm to 9 pm. Downtown. www.visituvalde.com.

WIMBERLEY: Wimberley Community Civic Club Meeting. (September through November, January through May) 11 am at Chapel in the Hills, 14601 Ranch Road 12. Milly Maxey at [email protected] or Aurora LeBrun at 512-847-3595.THIRD FRIDAYWIMBERLEY: Wimberley Parkinson As-sociation Meets at Chapel in the Hills Community Church. Speakers on subjects pertaining to Parkinson, members share happenings. 11 am at 14601 Ranch Road 12. Call Gae Koen at 512-847-7953.FOURTH FRIDAYBANDERA: Fourth Friday Jam. Enjoy music at the Silver Sage Corral begining at 6:30 pm. 830-796-4969.EVERY FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAYFREDERICKSBURG: Rockbox Theater. Variety, music, and rock ‘n roll show, great family fun. 866-349-6688.EVERY SATURDAYAUSTIN: Austin Farmers Market. Repub-lic Square. 512-236-0074.AUSTIN: Sunset Valley Farmers Market. Barton Creek Mall. 512-280-1976.BANDERA: Flying L Ranch Chuck Wag-on Dinner. Barbecue, wagon rides, roping lessons, branding, and more. Details at www.flyingl.com.COMFORT: Area Farmer’s Market. 8 am to 1 pm. Comfort Park, Highway 27.DRIPPING SPRINGS: Texas Music and Wine. www.solaroestate.com.FISCHER: Jackson Open Air Market. Hours are 9 am to 5 pm. 6341 Farm Market 32. 830-935-2781.

NEW BRAUNFELS: Canyon Trail Chuck-wagon Supper and Cowboy Music Show. 830-626-8200, 888-408-7245.WIMBERLEY: Tour Jacob’s Well. Hear stories about floods, divers, experience beauty of spring that started the town. 10 am. www.jacobswellspring.org.WIMBERLEY: Arnosky Family Farms Market. Find beautiful flowers, fresh veg-gies, transplants, eggs cheeses, and more. Ranch Road 2325, and Highway 165. 830-833-5428.WIMBERLEY: Saturday Evening Dinners. www.blairhouseinn.com.UTOPIA: Lunch and Dinner Served at Laurel Tree. A special dining experience. www.utopiagourmet.com.FIRST SATURDAYBANDERA: Market Days. Courthouse Square. 830-796-4447.BANDERA: First Saturday Book Sale. Public Library. 830-796-4213.DRIFTWOOD: Driftwood Community Club meets to enhance community spirit. Dinner at 7 pm. www.driftwoodtx.org.WIMBERLEY: Market Days. (First Satur-day March through December). Shop more than 475-plus booths, enjoy free ad-mission. 7 am to 4 pm. www.shopmarket-days.com.SECOND SATURDAYCASTROVILLE: Market Trail Days. Houston Square. 830-539-2316.WIMBERLEY: Second Saturday Gallery Trail. 15 galleries around Square open late offering art, wine, appetizers. Facebook.com/SecondSaturdayGalleryTrail.

After the flood, we are back & Wimberley strong!Thank you for your support!


HILL COUNTRY CALENDAR

www.ErnieLeePoetry.com

1542 Lakeside Drive WestCanyon Lake, Texas 78133

[email protected]

THIRD SATURDAYMARBLE FALLS: Bluegrass, Country and Western, and Gospel. 6 pm to 10 pm. Boys and Girls Club. 830-898-1784.EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAYROUND MOUNTAIN: Tours at Westcave Preserve. www.westcave.org.SECOND SATURDAY AND SUNDAYAUSTIN: Tours of Bright Leaf Natural Area. www.brightleaf.org.FOURTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAYJohnson City: Market Days. Food, arti-sans, vendors and more. 830-868-7684, JohnsonCityTexasChamber.com.MARCH 1AUSTIN: Ladysmith Black Mambazo in Concert. Long Center for the Performing Arts. thelongcenter.org.BANDERA: Cowboy Capital Opry. Enjoy “Grand Ole Opry”-style entertainment hosted by Gerry and Harriet Payne. 7 pm at Silver Sage, 803 Buck Creek. www.sil-versagecorral.org.MARCH 1-6WIMBERLEY: Wimberley Players present “Lend Me a Tenor.” Wimberley Play-house. www.wimberleyplayers.org.MARCH 1-20WIMBERLEY: “Aladdin.” Children’s se-ries performances are at 10 am Saturdays and 2 pm Sundays. EmilyAnn Theatre and Gardens, 1101Farm Market 2325. www.emilyann.org.MARCH 1 - APRIL 3 AUSTIN: “Life and Death on the Border 1910-1920.” Exhibit re-examines events

and context surrounding some of the worst racial violence in United States history through displays of rare artifacts, photographs, court documents, newspapers, family histories, and eyewitness accounts. Bullock Texas State History Museum. www.thestoryoftexas.com, 512-936-8746.AUSTIN: “The Crusader Bible: A Gothic Masterpiece.” The Crusader Bible, from the collection of the Morgan Library in New York, considered one of the most im-portant and fascinating illuminated man-uscripts in history. Blanton Museum of Art. blantonmuseum.org.MARCH 1 - MAY 1 NEW BRAUNFELS: “Lindheimer’s Tex-as.” The “Father of Texas Botany,” Ferdi-nand Lindheimer of New Braunfels, col-lected close to 100,000 specimens of Texas plants and sent them out to fellow bota-nists to show off the unique plants and flowers of the state. This exhibit has col-lected some of his original works for dis-play. The Sophienburg Museum and Ar-chives, 401 West Coll Street, 830-629-1572.MARCH 1 - MAY 13 SAN MARCOS: “Animals Among Us: Photographs from the Permanent Collec-tion.” This photography exhibit features cats, dogs, horses, fish, fowl, insects and more in images by 39 artists. The Wittliff Collections. www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu.MARCH 1 - MAY 15 AUSTIN: “Come As You Are: Art of the

1990s.” Exhibit is first major American museum survey to historicize the art of this time, featuring approximately 60 works by 45 artists. Blanton Museum of Art. www.blantonmuseum.orgMARCH 1-JUNE 9 AUSTIN: “Texas Czechs: Rooted in Tradi-tion.” Exhibition that introduces this vi-brant community and the many facets of contemporary Czech culture through sto-ries, films, and photography. State Capi-tol Visitors Center. www.polkaworks.org.MARCH 1 - JULY 3 SAN MARCOS: “Rodrigo Moya: Photog-raphy and Conscience / Fotografia y con-ciencia.” Exhibit is first retrospective in the United States of Moya’s work, includ-ing more than 90 images documenting Mexico and Latin America from revolu-tionary movements to timeless moments of daily life. Wittliff Collections. www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu.SAN MARCOS: “Places in the Heart: Texas Cinescapes.” Screenplays, props, wardrobe pieces, behind-the-scenes pho-tos and other items show how authentic visions of the Lone Star State have been created on screen. Wittliff Collections. www. thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu. MARCH 3-6BULVERDE: S.T.A.G.E., Inc. Presents “The Color of Stars.” A story of family, pa-triotism, fear and prejudice set during World War II at the Krause House The-atre, 1300 Bulverde Road. www.stagebul-verde.org.MARCH 4-6 AUSTIN: Pirelli World Challenge. Car racing event features several competition classes. Circuit of the Americas. www.cir-cuitofthe americas.com.MARCH 5CANYON LAKE: Murder Mystery Des-sert Theater at The Tye Preston Memorial Library. Sponsored by Friends of the Tye Preston Memorial Library and performed by actors from Circle Arts Theater of New Braunfels. Sangria and dessert served pri-

or to the play and at conclusion. Guests will act as teams to solve the mystery. Re-served seating available for tables of 6, or join the fun of open seating. Tickets $12, advance sales only, at library. 16311 South Access Road. Starts at 7 pm. 830-964-3744. DRIPPING SPRINGS: Texas Night Sky Festival. Live presentations, displays, Discovery Dome Star Show, night observ-ing party, more. Dripping Springs Ranch Park. www.TexasNightSkyFestival.org. WIMBERLEY: Market Days. Stroll along a shaded path to more than 475 booths filled with a wide variety of arts, crafts, antiques, gift items, clothing and more. Lions Field, 601 Farm Market 2325. www.shopmarketdays.com, 512-847-2201.MARCH 5-6 LAGO VISTA: La Primavera Bike Race. In its 25th year as one of the largest road races in the region, the notably hilly 5.5-mile course attracts junior, master and pro cyclists. Highland Lake Drive at American Drive. www.lagovista.org.MARCH 6SAN MARCOS: Moe’s Better Half Mara-thon. Road race known for its challeng-ing and scenic course and often colorful race management. Tanger Outlets, 4015 I-35 South. www.sanmarcosrunners.org/mbhm, 512-396-2584.MARCH 11UVALDE: Four Square Friday. Enjoy late night shopping, food, live music and art at monthly event named for the town’s original design with four town squares. Downtown. www.visituvalde.com.MARCH 11-13 LLANO: Llano Earth Art Fest. Event,is host of the 2016 World Stock Stacking Competition, and features art installa-tions, interactive rock balancing, work-shops, fine arts and crafts, live music and other performances. Grenwelge Park. www.llano earthartfest.org.MARCH 12NEW BRAUNFELS: “The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis and the Blues Brothers.” Per-

Don’t miss the Texas Night Sky Festival March 5 at Dripping Springs Ranch Park. The day’s activities will be followed by an evening star-gazing party on the park’s open field (weather permitting). Photo © 2015 Alan Dyer/amazingsky.com


Shop • Dine • Swim • Tube • Raft • Canoe • Fish • Camp • Sail

800-528-2104 • www.canyonlakechamber.com

CANYON LAKE...YEAR ROUND VACATION LIVING

Come enjoy our clear lake and cool, refreshing river!

www.visitwimberley.com/vfw • 512-847-6441 • Lic. #1-74-6066562-7

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Non Smoking • Plenty of Parking • Air & Heat • Food Available

Every Fridayv 4 Early Bird Games 7:15pm ~ 50/50 Splitv 10 Regular Games 8pm

VFW Hall Post 6441 @ Veterans Park 4 mi. no. on RR 12 to Jacobs Well Rd

www.texasvfw.net


WIENER DOG RACES – Saturday 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. &Sunday 10:00 a.m. with finals Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

NEW THIS YEAR - Mixed Breed Races – Saturday 11:30 a.m. and 3:00p.m. & Sunday at11:30 a.m. with finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

BBQ Cook-Off (Saturday), Arts & Craft Booths, Food, Kid Gamesincludes Bouncy Houses, Petting Zoo, Fish Pond, Live Music, The BudaBee and Bake-Off (Sunday)

$5.00 General Admission - Kids 12 years & under get in FREE!

Buda Lions Club19th Annual

BudaLionsCountry Fair andWienerDogRacesBuda City Park – Buda, Texas

April 23 & 24, 2016 • 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Club Info: 512-565-0505 •www.budalions.com

NEW!Mixed Breed

Dachshund

Races

formed by Tony Gloria and joined by Fairchild Blues Classic at Brauntex The-atre. www.braun tex.org.STONEWALL: Annual LBJ Kite Day. Come make an old-fashioned 1900s kite with materials provided, or fly your own. Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and His-toric Site. www.tpwd.gov/stateparks/lyndon-b-johnson, 830-644-2252.MARCH 12 CANYON LAKE: Canyon Lake CROP Hunger Walk. Registration at 8 am, walk begins at 8:30 am. St. Thomas Catholic Church, 180 St. Thomas Drive. Portion of proceeds benefits local food pantries in Spring Branch, Canyon Lake, and Bul-verde. 830-935-4036.COMFORT: Hermann Sons Annual Chili Cookoff. 830-995-3131.WIMBERLEY: Second Saturday Gallery Trail. More than a dozen galleries offer wine, snacks and art displays from 4 pm to 7 pm. Wimberley Square, 101 Wimberley Square. www.facebook.com/Second Sat-urdayGalleryTrail, 713-732-1543.MARCH 12-JULY 24 AUSTIN: “Our Global Kitchen.” Through digital interactives, dioramas, artifacts and models, exhibition tells stories of the complex and entwined relationship be-tween humans and food. Bullock Muse-um. www.TheStoryofTexas.com.MARCH 17WIMBERLEY: Susanna’s Kitchen pres-ents The Austin Lounge Lizards. 7:30 pm Susanna’s Kitchen, 1200 County Road 1492. www.wimberleyumc.org, 512-722-3316.MARCH 18 NEW BRAUNFELS: An Evening with Pat Boone. At the Brauntex Theatre. www.brauntex.org.SPICEWOOD: The Artisan String Quartet in Concert. Advance tickets recommend-ed. 7 pm at Spicewood Vineyard Event Center, 1419 County Road 409. www.spicewoodarts.org.

MARCH 19 BANDERA: Wild Hog Explosion. Teams of two enter the ring, catch a hog and race to the finish line. Spectators also enjoy music, arts and crafts, cook-offs and other activities. Mansfield Park, 16 N. www.wildhogexplosion.com.LUCKENBACH: Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook-off. Open chili cook-off and music fest named in honor of that pesky wasp. www.luckenbachtexas.com.MARCH 19-20AUSTIN: Artists and Artisans Festival. Enjoy early spring blooms at the Wild-flower Center while perusing work of lo-cal artists, all working with nature theme. Handmade watercolors, woodwork, pot-tery, jewelry, nature photography, more in intimate gathering indoors and in court-yard. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Cen-ter, 4801 La Crosse Ave.wildflower.org.MARCH 21 KERRVILLE: Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at Scott Schreiner Golf Course. www.kerrvilletx.com.MARCH 22-24 MARBLE FALLS: Balcones Songbird Fes-tival. Event encourages preservation of critical habitat through educational tours, exhibits and children’s activities that pro-vide opportunities to experience the ani-mals, plants and habitats of the Texas Hill Country. Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, 24518 F.M. 1431. friend-sof balcones.org/festival.MARCH 23 AUSTIN: FlamencoAustin. With Vicente Amigo, one of the most famous flamenco guitarists of all time. AISD Performing Arts Center, 1500 Barbara Jordan Blvd. www.austin classicalguitar.org.MARCH 24 NEW BRAUNFELS: A Tribute to The Who. www.brauntex.org.MARCH 24-26 NATALIA: Natalia Bluebonnet Festival and Parade. On the last weekend of

SEND IN YOUR CALENDAR

EVENTS!For a FREE LISTING, please send events

to Melissa by 15th of month prior @

[email protected]

The Cowboy Capital comes alive with history during Mayhem on the Medina in Ban-dera April 9-10. Photo courtesy Mayhem on the Medina.



March each year, visit this Hill Country town for music, a carnival, crafts and food. Palm Courts. 210-213-1990.MARCH 25-27 KERRVILLE: Easter Hill Country Bike Tour. Experience charm and hospitality of the Hill Country and three days of the best riding Texas has to offer. Based at Schreiner University, 2100 Memorial Blvd. www.ehct.com.MARCH 26AUSTIN: “Star Trek: The Ultimate Voy-age.” Lavish production includes im-pressive live symphony orchestra and in-ternational solo instruments performing music from “Star Trek” films and TV se-ries. The Long Center for the Performing Arts. www.thelongcenter.org. COMFORT: Easter Volksmarch. Starts at Comfort Park. 830-995-3131.DRIPPING SPRINGS: Crawfish Boil and Cajun Festival celebrating Hill Country Care’s 30th Anniversary. Food, Cajun mu-sic and dancing. Hill Country Care Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center, 1505 West Highway 290. Noon to 4 pm. Suggested $10 donation. 512-858-5624.JOHNSON CITY: Last Saturday Art Walk. Celebrate good Texas goods and great Texas art at Texcetera. show, “Dream Trees,” features the art of Ali Mignonne. Complimentary wine, beer and appetiz-ers. www.texcetera.net.KERRVILLE: Easter Eggstravaganza. Family festival includes two egg hunts at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm, face painting and kids’ activities, resurrection story skit,

TO ADVERTISECall Julie512-484-9716

email [email protected]

food, arts, crafts, cake walk. 10 am to 1 pm at Salvation Army Kroc Center, 201 Hold-sworth Drive. www.kerrvillekroc.org.KERRVILLE: Here’s to the Heroes Easter-fest and Cook-off. Enjoy a chili cook-off, food, games, vendors, live music, a wash-er-pitching tournament, Easter egg hunt, and car and bike shows at Flat Rock Lake Park. www.kerrvilleeasterfest.com.KERRVILLE: Kerr County Market Days. Old-fashioned market features hand-made crafts, artwork, homegrown plants, produce. www.kerrmarketdays.org.LOMETA: Lometa Diamondback Jubilee. Annual fest features rattlesnakes, rodeo action, arts, crafts, carnival, chili and bar-becue cook-offs, music and a street dance. Downtown. www.lampasaschamber.org.STONEWALL: Easter at the SauerBeck-mann Living History Farm. Celebrate Easter in the style of a traditional 1915 German farm family. Includes natural-dyed Easter eggs, lamb cake and grass nests as made by the early settlers. Lyn-don B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site. 830-644-2252.MARCH 29-APRIL 3 AUSTIN: “Cabaret.” Acclaimed Broad-way classic presented by Roundabout Theatre Company. Bass Concert Hall. www.BroadwayIn Austin.com.MARCH 31-APRIL 3 BANDERA: Thunder in the Hills. In-cludes poker run, field events, bike show, tattoo contest, tent camping, live bands Thursday through Saturday nights, food and vendors. Mansfield Park, 2886 Texas

16 North. www.bikerralliesoftexas.com.MARCH 31-APRIL 24 KERRVILLE: Kerr Arts and Cultural Cen-ter Exhibits. Hill Country Youth Art Show, “Behind The Scene Digital Photo Collage” by Leslie Kell, sculpture by Pe-ter Mangan. Kerr Arts and Cultural Cen-ter. www.kacckerrville.com.APRIL 8KYLE: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Ex-travaganza 2016: An Enchanting Evening at Texas Old Town. Enjoy cocktails, din-ner by Chef Jay Events, dancing to Groove Knight, live and silent auctions, casino. www.ststeveschool.org.APRIL 9COMFORT: Comfort VFD CookOff and Fundraiser. Comfort Park. 830-995-3131.APRIL 9, 10NEW BRAUNFELS: Train Show. Satur-day 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. $8 admission for adults, $2 for kids 5-13. Free train ride on Landa Park Railroad for kids up to 10 years of age. Civic Center on Seguin Ave. For information, email [email protected]. www.nbrrm.org.APRIL 16COMFORT: Heritage Foundation Tour of Homes. 830-995-3131.APRIL 19COMFORT: Gaddis United Methodist Music, Picnic in the Park. 830-995-3131APRIL 19-22SAN ANTONIO: Night in Old San Anto-nio. More than 250 food, drink and atmo-sphere booths, 12 live musical acts, chil-dren’s games, decorations, costumed volunteers and souvenirs brings the city’s heritage alive. 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm. www.niosa.org, 210-216-5188.APRIL 22WIMBERLEY: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School 5th Annual Earth Day. Event for area preschoolers and families on Friday, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Creative crafts, nature activities, playground play and a beautiful nature trail. 6000 FM 3237, www.ststeveschool.org, 512-847-9857.APRIL 22-23DRIPPING SPRINGS: Founders Day. Celebration kicks off with Grand Parade. Free music, the Mighty Thomas Carnival, food, beer, street dances, cook-offs, more than 150 arts and crafts booths and business vendors. 512-858-4725, www.foundersdayfestival.com.APRIL 23 COMFORT: Town-Wide Garage Sale, Gar-

den Club Plant, Bake Sale. 830-995-3131.WIMBERLEY: 1st Annual Heart of Texas Herb Symposium. Celebrate multi-fac-eted power of plants, as pillars of herbal and plant community come together to share their knowledge through lectures, plant walks, and workshops for begin-ners to advanced. EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Register at www.heartoftexasherbsymposium.com.APRIL 23-24BUDA: 19th Annual Buda Lions Club Country Fair and Wiener Dog Races. New this year: mixed breed races. Enjoy a barbecue cook-off, arts and crafts, food, kids’ games, live music, a bake-off and more.1 pm to 6 pm. Buda City Park. www.budalions.com, 512-565-0505. WIMBERLEY: 8th Annual Wimberley Arts Fest at Blue Hole Park. About 75 lo-cal, regional and international artists ex-hibit. Live music, food, beer and wine, and a vintage car show. Parking is free; shuttles to the Square for shopping, din-ing, exploring galleries. www.wimberley-artsfest.com, 512-826-4286.APRIL 30JOHNSON CITY: Last Saturday Art Walk. Evening of art and complimentary wine, beer and appetizers. “This Heart of Mine -- Concrete Love,” features the art of Rose Galindo. Texcetera, 207 North Nugent Avenue. 4 pm to 8 pm. www.texcetera.net.MAY 7 BOERNE: Boerne Handmade Market. All items handmade, ranging from bath and body products to home decor to chil-dren’s items, plus live music, food and children’s activities. The Pavillion, 826 John’s Road. www.visit boerne.org. MAY 14WIMBERLEY: Wimberley Garden Club’s 21st Annual Garden Tour. Showcasing six beautiful private gardens and one newly designed public garden in the Wimberley Valley. Native plants and water-wise gar-dening will be featured. The tour will in-clude refreshments, a native plant sale, and the sale of unique, hand-made gar-den art. www.wimberleygardenclub.org.MAY 28JOHNSON CITY: Last Saturday Art Walk. An evening of art and complimentary wine, beer and appetizers. This month’s show, “Dazzling Designs,” features hand-crafted jewelry by Anna Wison. Texcetera, 207 North Nugent Avenue. 4 pm to 8 pm. www.texcetera.net.

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