Some people may wonder … do we actually still live in Texas? Yes, y’all! We made progress this year on revitalizing our landscaping at home in Dallas, and actually had an exuberant garden here too. We stay in touch with friends and professional colleagues whenever we’re here, collaborating on projects and socializing. We continue to work at clearing out and organizing our offices. Our health is greatly enhanced by our regular sessions with our fantastic trainer Melanie at Pilates Unlimited (though we also do them remotely from AZ and CA, the workouts are always more intense in person). Dallas also has great urban amenities we love. We enjoyed the Dallas Opera’s performance of “Romeo and Juliet” in February and went to many restaurants here, both old favorites and new discoveries.

Though we didn’t spend a lot of time traveling around the state this year, we did manage to bird the Texas Coast and the Piney Woods in April. Our short trip included visiting the many birding havens of the Upper Texas Coast, and a quick visit with friends Tom & Meredith Treadwell who were visiting from Massachusetts.   We were also surprised to run into Carlos Bethancourt, a friend and expert guide from Panama!

The bird of the year in Texas, however, was right here at home – the Barred Owl — enjoying the water fountain and forest behind our house.