"they call it the hill country, i call it beautiful..."

"i'd call it progress if it could be saved. they call it the hill country, i call it home."

gosh i love that song and after living down here for seven months, i have come to know those randy rogers lyrics all too well. i'm feeling particularly fond of this territorial paradise tonight as i reflect on an excellent weekend spent on the banks of the frio river in uvalde county. as most of you know, i hail from west texas and i do believe that that area has its own mystique and allure (which i will tell you about after i visit next weekend), but there is something about this little strip of land known as the hill county that has me captivated. for those of you wondering what exactly constitutes being considered tx hill country land, see map below, but i don't really go by any maps...you just know when you're there, you can feel it.



this land and its charms is something i'm extremely passionate about, so i've decided to tell you why i love it so:



first of all, as i've stated previously, this is the texas country music capitol. the live music venues are endless! i'm on a one woman mission to visit them all, but i do have my favorites. obviously gruene hall (pictured above) is the most revered on the circuit, but i'm also partial to floore's country store, cheatham street wharehouse, whitewater amphitheater, and a newfound favorite - the house pasture in concan.





and did i mention that at any of these fine venues, you're pretty much guaranteed to find good company and excellent dancing? God bless this poor old man who was trying to teach me some kind of texas polka?! it was truly an unfortunate sight, but my redeeming quality is that i have been told that i am one mean two step teacher. (gentlemen, do you want to know the secret? you need to be a forceful leader with the hand on her back. have a firm push and pull...it will make all the difference.)



don't even get me started on the food...so good!! but then again, lonestar faire in general is just divine. today, i had lunch at the original rudy's in leon springs and i swear, i don't know what it is, but it was significantly better than any rudy's i've ever been to before.



additionally, i do love the people that inhabit this area. there are some real characters! this man i call gus (doesn't he look like augustus mcrae???) and he works out in luckenbach. i have met several "personalities" down here that i shall remember for my next book. everyone from rebel rousers and good 'ol boys to aging beauty queens and desperate housewives. i shall confess that someday i aspire to be one of these small town local legends. someday, i'll live in one of these little anthill communities and drive my red cadillac down main street, while all the little kiddos whisper about that eccentric old lady they call miss shannan. i guess i've got somewhat of a start...i met these european tourists out in luckenbach one afternoon and they could not stop marveling over meeting a "veal texees cahgill."



i'm also crazy about hill country architecture and its aesthetic...madly in love with all of it. in my humble opinion, nothing beats that austin limestone, some hardwood floors, and something from the taxidermy mounted on the wall. add in the unmistakable scent of leather furniture, some wrought iron, and a flagstone wrap-around porch and we're in business. for me, it's the attention to detail that really pushes it over the edge. there are so many intricacies laced throughout the design of this look and there are so many ways to personalize it. someday, i will build this dream i have in my head.









finally, as predicted, i love the land and its rich, rich beauty. this morning when i was driving on US 187 through utopia and bandera, the majestic magnetism of driving up and down through those rolling hills left me stammered..it always does. we've got the prettiest lakes and rivers too. my friend harrison always says that people go insane if they're not by water, he says that's the reason that people from lubbock are so out of their wits. harrison's half crazy, but i'm starting to believe him.



as is foreshaddowed by the randy rogers song i mentioned at the beginning of this post, the hill country is in real danger of extinction because it's being so rapidly developed. hell, i don't blame real estate investors and builders for wanting to snap up this property and create subdivisions and strip malls, but it does hurt my heart a little. sometimes, i just hate modernity and expansion...

but i must focus on the treasures that are still here and preserved. what i do know is that all is well and as it should be when i get to drive out on an FM road, buy some fredericksburg peaches, and sit underneath the gruene arbor rocking away in my swing.