Yesterday Bob and I drove over to our friend Linda M's place near Sequin. We were greated at the tall gate by her golf cart with a note on it to drive it on up to the house. All twelve acres of her property is surrounded by a deer proof fence ..

I had to get out of the cart and take a picture of one of her bottle trees ...

It was a beautiful winter day, but not too cold to walk the trails around her property. This mossy path is only one of many wonderful views. Her soil is sandy and acid do this luscious moss grows here and there in damp spots ...

Here's a tree showing some personality ...

We were impressed by this fascinating cut ant village. It must have been 30 feet across ...

I know ants might be viewed as pests, but you have to admire an insect that farms underground. They cut and carry plant material down into their many chambered nests where they chew it up and grow a fungus on it, a fungus that is found no where else in the world. The fungus they grow is their only food.

This ant is collecting wild plum blooms to carry back to the nest to compost. Other ants could be seen carrying pieces of grass and leaves ...

Linda has dozens of clever signs inside and out. Each part of the property has a special theme. Many trails are named after friends and family.

This is one of my favorite signs inside the house. The lady gardeners will appreciate this one ...

Linda with her cute and funny flamingo T shirt ...

This is one of Linda's favorite quotes. She designed the sign and it hangs in a special place ...

As we left loaded down with plants from Linda's garden and the stock tank she gave us the setting sun was putting on a show highlighting the beautiful bare limbs of the trees ...

These are the first pretty sky and cloud pictures I've ever been able to capture. I think it was the special magic of Linda's place that let that happen ...

Linda is especially appreciative of ALL the wild life that shows up around her home. She says right after we left the fox family she feeds came up to her porch. I wish we could have seen them, but they are very shy. She takes some wonderful and unusual pictures herself such as huge hawks spashing in the bird bath!

I hope you enjoyed seeing these winter 'south Texas style' photos, and getting just a little taste of Linda's beautiful garden spot, a little piece of heaven for sure.