April edition of Texas Co-op Power

APRIL 2015

@MrDiggs811 is, and you should be, too … PAGE 20

WHO’S READYFOR SOME

SAFE DIGGING?!?

3 QUESTIONS: #CALL811Q. What’s 811?

A. 811 is a national “Call Before You Dig” phone number designated by the FCC to eliminate the confusion of multiple “Call Before You Dig” numbers and help save lives by minimizing damages to underground utility lines. One easy phone call to 811 quickly begins the process of getting lines marked. Local One Call Center personnel will then notify affected utility companies, which will send crews to mark underground lines for free.

Q: I’m just a homeowner, not a contractor—is 811 for me?

A: Yes. State law requires you to call 811 if you plan to dig 16 inches or deeper. Whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer planning a weekend project or a professional excavator contracted for a home improvement job, one phone call to 811 will get your underground utility lines marked for free.

Q: Can you explain why so many lines break? If workers have to call [811], then why do so many cause issues? (This question came via the @CoServ_Energy Twitter feed, from the Frisco Police Volunteer Association.)

A: Unfortunately, not everyone calls 811 before they dig. And with so much construction throughout North Texas, there’s a lot of digging going on. National Safe Digging Month and the #Call811 campaign serve to remind the public to have a professional utility-locate company mark underground lines before digging.

For more about #Call811, click on the Safety tab at CoServ.com or visit call811.com.

Stay informed with daily updates that are relevant to you and your community from our Inside the Lines blog, which you can find 24/7 on CoServ.com.

WHY ARE THE NAMES OF 58 COSERV MEMBERS

AND CUSTOMERS ON THIS BASEBALL?

Because they are your neighbors and friends who won

a RoughRiders Founder’s Ticket Package last year. For your chance

to join the 2015 Winners’ Circle and enjoy family-friendly fun

at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco this season, visit CoServ.com and

click on the RoughRiders page under the Community tab.

Good luck—and play ball!

CoServ | 7701 S Stemmons, Corinth, TX 76210-1842 | (940) 321-7800 | [email protected]

Jim Wade, Danny

Wilson, ALLEN | David

LaBombard, AUBREY | Ricky Moses,

COPPELL | Travis H. Cannon, William Starr,

DENTON | Selena Cable, DOUBLE OAK

J. Evans, Melissa Grant, Stephen Harris, Fran Mariaux,

Sharon Ridinger, Rudy Ramirez, Gregory E. Stoltz, Rex

Ungericht, Carey White, FLOWER MOUND | Jill Bohland,

Michael Frank, Barry Lyons, Greg Matlack, Richard Meinz, Paul

Pirrello, Nora Rivas, Aimee Sanders, Connie Simons, Roy Ziemba,

FRISCO | Jacilynn Clark, Richard Phillips, KRUM

Raj Shrivathsa, LEWISVILLE | Corey Alton, Allan Jacobs, Allison

Jernigan, Casey Kime, William Miller, David Nguyen, Claudia Rubi,

LITTLE ELM | Shaun Abshire, Randy Andrews, Lance Barton,

Kevin Fincher, John Gooding, Greg Jones, Deidra Lujan, Cindy

Maki, Jill Pittman, Hasnain Saboowala, Shijo Thomas, Brian

Valtierra, MCKINNEY | Michael Kelly, NORTHLAKE

Joe Brannan, PILOT POINT | Jason Graham, Young

Kang, Richardo Ortiz, PLANO | Barbara Newell,

PROSPER | James Fife, PROVIDENCE

VILLAGE | Cheryl Clarke, SANGER

William Dail, John Maly, SAVANNAH

COSERV ELECTRIC EDITION APRIL 2015Santa Anna Dinner for Two Rockin’ Out in Llano

IT’S WILDOUT THEREIntroducing the Nativesand Taming the Invasives

apr 15 local covers custom 3/12/15 5:19 PM Page 1

We are pioneers.

Our mornings, our nights and the waking hours in between —

this is when we discover what we can achieve.

We are determined to grow and build and cultivate

the life of our dreams. Because this is our ground.

Our opportunity. Our responsibility.

Our life to lead.

© Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2015

kubota.com

TexasCoopPower.com April 2015 Texas Co-op Power 3

It’s Wild Out There Despite the exuberant showthey put on every spring, wildflowers don’t have it all that easy. Plus, find best-bet drives for wildflowerwatching and tips on how to make your own meadow.By Helen Thompson

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April 2015

F A V O R I T E S

20 Local Co-op NewsGet the latest information plus energy and safety tips from your cooperative.

33 Texas HistorySanta Anna’s Complex CharacterBy Martha Deeringer

35 RecipesDinner for Two

38 Focus on TexasIn Bloom

40 Around TexasList of Local Events

42 Hit the RoadLlano: Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceBy Helen Thompson O N L I N ETexasCoopPower.comFind these stories online if they don’tappear in your edition of the magazine.

Texas USAOwl WisdomBy Martha Deeringer

ObservationsBreakdown on the Tahoka CircleBy Clay Coppedge

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

T E X A S E L E CT R I C C O O P E R AT I V E S B OA R D O F D I R E CTO R S : Jerry B. Boze, Chair, Kaufman; David Marricle, Vice Chair, Muleshoe; Mark Tamplin, Secretary-Treasurer, Kirbyville; Debra A. Cole,Itasca; Mike R. Hagy, Tipton, Oklahoma; Robert A. Loth III, Fredericksburg; Mark Rollans, Hondo • P R E S I D E N T/C E O : Mike Williams, Austin • C O M M U N I CAT I O N S & M E M B E R S E RV I C E SCOMMITTEE: Greg Henley, Tahoka; Bryan Lightfoot, Bartlett; Billy Marricle, Bellville; Mark McClain, Roby; Blaine Warzecha, Victoria; Jerry Williams, Paris; Kathy Wood, Marshall M AG A Z I N E STA F F: Martin Bevins, Vice President, Communications & Member Services; Charles J. Lohrmann, Editor; Tom Widlowski, Associate Editor; Karen Nejtek, Production Manager; Andy Doughty, Creative Manager; Grace Arsiaga, Print Production Specialist; Chris Carlson, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Anna Ginsberg, Food Editor; Suzanne Halko, Copy Editor;Elizabeth John, Communications & Member Services Assistant; Randall Maxwell, Videographer/Photographer; Jane Sharpe, Graphic Designer; Ellen Stader, Copy Editor; Shannon Oelrich, Proofreader

O N T H E C O V E R Sunflowers and Indian blanket wildflowers in early dawn light. Photo © Dean Fikar | TDF Photography

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Letters, emails and posts from our readers


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TEXAS CO-OP POWER VOLUME 71, NUMBER 10 (USPS 540-560). Texas Co-op Power is published monthly by Texas Electric Cooperatives (TEC). Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX, and at additional offices. TEC is thestatewide association representing 76 electric cooperatives. Texas Co-op Power’s website is TexasCoopPower.com. Call (512) 454-0311 or email [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE is $4.08 per year forindividual members of subscribing cooperatives. If you are not a member of a subscribing cooperative, you can purchase an annual subscription at the nonmember rate of $7.50. Individual copies and back issues areavailable for $3 each. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Co-op Power (USPS 540-560), 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701. Please enclose label from this copy of Texas Co-op Power showing oldaddress and key numbers. ADVERTISING: Advertisers interested in buying display ad space in Texas Co-op Power and/or in our 30 sister publications in other states, contact Martin Bevins at (512) 486-6249. Advertisementsin Texas Co-op Power are paid solicitations. The publisher neither endorses nor guarantees in any manner any product or company included in this publication. Product satisfaction and delivery responsibility lie solely withthe advertiser.

© Copyright 2015 Texas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. Reproduction of this issue or any portion of it is expressly prohibited without written permission. Willie Wiredhand © Copyright 2015 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

my attention. This uprising wasprobably the reason my grandpar-ents, John and Eula Black Harding,and their three sons, Otis, Dixie andTravis, left almost everything behindexcept the old family Bible and evac-uated from Sinton by train in 1915 toInez, where they lived on the Bald-win property south of Inez. My dadand grandmother always told storiesof how they had to hide in the fieldsbecause of the raids going on.JEANNETTE MULLENIX | HOUSTON

VICTORIA EC

Fashion Sense on the FarmI enjoyed “Feeding Their FashionSense” [February 2015]. It remindedme of one time in the early ’50s thatmy sister and I went to the storewith Mama for something special.Would it be an ice-cold Grapettefrom the box by the door or maybea Baby Ruth candy bar? No, Mamahad something else in mind.

We entered the store, and shesteered us toward the back corner,where there was a mound of flour-filled cloth sacks on pallets. Mamawanted each of us to choose one

for a flour sack dress. How hard itwas to choose just one from all ofthe pretty printed sacks!

We finally made our choicesand hurried home ready to wearour new dresses. It seemed an eter-nity before all of that flour hadbeen used and we could actuallywear our special dresses.ANN BOST | ELKHART

HOUSTON COUNTY EC

I was one who wore feed sackdresses and underwear. I was alwaysso happy to see the new prints andloved them. After I married, my first maternity dress was feed sack material. That was the good olddays. If you never had that privilege,you don’t know what you missed. NELL LARREMORE | VIA FACEBOOK

Bitten by Memory“Gone But Not Forgotten” [Feb-

ruary 2015] really brought back memories from long ago during my childhood on my grandparents’farm in Brenham (serviced by Blue-bonnet EC). There were many hornytoads that I played with, and I can-

Life Jackets The article about the University ofTexas Marine Science Institute[“Immersed in Learning,” January2015] covers a great learning pro-gram for middle students, butsomething is missing in one of thephotographs: It looks like someonemissed the importance of wearing a life jacket on the boat. It appearsthat three adults are not wearingthem, just the students. Safety firststarts with the instructors! JERRY AND TISH SWIGGART | CANTON

TRINITY VALLEY EC

Response from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute:Safety is our top priority. Our educa-tion programs on the research vesselKaty require all persons under theage of 13 to wear life jackets whileon board. We also strongly encour-age older youths, adults and chaper-ones to wear life jackets, but by lawthis is not required on vessels aslarge as Katy, and we respect per-sonal preferences.

Iguana in New YorkWhile visiting a friend in New York in October of 1998, I took this pictureof this giant iguana. It looks like thesame one in the February issue ofTexas Co-op Power [“The CuriousCreations of Daddy-O Wade”]. PETE LARRIEU | SCHERTZ

GUADALUPE VALLEY EC

Remembering the UprisingThe article about the San Diegouprising [“Plan of San Diego Upris-ing,” January 2015] certainly caught

Flying With LindyThank you for the story about “Unlucky Lindy” in your February 2015 issue.

It was especially interesting for me because my dad, HomerFitzgerald, was a teen whenLindbergh stayed in their familyhotel/home for a number of daysuntil the plane was repaired.

Lindbergh even gave my dad a short plane ride that was morescary than fun for my dad at thetime, but the experience pro-vided a great story for many years to come.

JO ANN FITZGERALD EASTMAN | KINGSLAND | CENTRAL TEXAS EC

GET MORE TCP ATTexasCoopPower.comFind more letters online in the Table of Contents. Sign up for our E-Newsletter for monthlyupdates, prize drawings and more!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

ONLINE: TexasCoopPower.com/share

EMAIL: [email protected]

MAIL: Editor, Texas Co-op Power,1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX 78701

Please include your town and electric co-op.Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

Texas Co-op Power Magazine

not remember how many timesthose big red ants bit me. My fatheror grandpa would put tobacco juiceon the bite to help with the pain.

That was back in the 1940s. I still have a recollection of whenelectric power came to our farm-house. Thank you for the memories.CHARLES SKWERES | MAGNOLIA

SAN BERNARD EC

CURRENTS

TexasCoopPower.com6 Texas Co-op Power April 2015

K I DS CO R N E R

Five Rulesfor Kids andElectricalSafetyTouchstone Energy and KidsEnergyZone.com offer fiveimportant lessons to share withyoungsters to help them staysafe around electricity.

“Teaching electrical safetyfrom the very earliest of agesensures a healthy respect ofthis resource to help preventaccidents and injuries,” saysDebbie Robinson, CEO andgeneral manager of WoodCounty Electric Cooperative.“Resources like Kids EnergyZone make learning fun anddrive home lifesaving points.”

1. Always ask a grown-up forhelp when you need to usesomething that uses electricity.

2. Don’t yank or pull electriccords from a wall. Pulling cordscan damage the outlet, appli-ances or plug.

3. Never overload outlets withtoo many plugs.

4. Keep electrical stuff awayfrom water. Water and electricitydon’t mix. Most electrical acci-dents in the home happen whenpeople use electricity near water.

5. Watch out for power lines.Never touch a power line,especially if there is one thathas fallen down.

CURRENTS Energy, innovation, people, places and events in Texas

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Poteet Salutes the StrawberryFor 67 years, Poteet has held a festival to celebrate strawberries and their growerson Atascosa County farms. The Rotary Club organized the first Poteet StrawberryFestival in 1948 as a way to encourage World War II veterans to return to areafarms. That party drew about 5,000 visitors.

Since then, Poteet has become synonymous with strawberries, and the festivallures more than 100,000 people to town for a weekend of contests, strawberrydishes, children’s entertainment, dancing, and a carnival and rodeo. Country singerKevin Fowler and norteño and conjunto star Ramón Ayala, the “Accordion King,”headline the musical lineup for this year’s festival, April 10–12.

Many strawberry growers who partake in the Poteet festival are members ofKarnes Electric Cooperative. The co-op contributes $1,000 to the scholarship fund for the festival’s Taste of Texas Food Show and Auction.

INFO: (830) 742-8144, strawberryfestival.comFind more

happenings all across the state at TexasCoopPower

.com

Honeybees must visit 2 million flowers and travel

over 55,000 miles to produce 1 pound of honey.—According to the National Honey Board

F O L LOW I N G U P

Texans Can Help Track MilkweedThe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department encourages citizen scientists to help monitor milkweed, the only plant that monarch butterflies eat. Theproject was prompted by a significant decline in the monarch population,attributed in part to widespread decline of milkweed in the United States.

Volunteers can join the “Texas Milkweeds and Monarchs” project atiNaturalist.org and download the app to their mobile device. When theysee milkweed, they can get a picture of it, post it and provide informationon the app. This will help biologists from TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program learn where milkweed is growing, how much is out there and whether monarchs are using it.

Millions of monarchsmigrate through Texas twicea year (“Trouble in theKingdom,” September2014). A decline in milk-weed in Texas couldthreaten that migration.“We do not feel that theloss of this species is realistic; however, we areconcerned about the poten-tial loss of the migration,”says Mark Klym of the WildlifeDiversity Program and a Bluebon-net Electric Cooperative member.


Lineman Appreciation DayOn National Lineman Appreciation Day, April 13, co-ops and their members recognize the men and women who keep the lights on. In December, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association designated the second Monday of April each year for this purpose.

“It gives us a rallying point for our linemen,” says Kerry Kelton, the NRECA’s Texasdirector and Mid-South Synergy CEO.

The text of the resolution, which the board adopted unanimously, includes: “Whereaslinemen leave their families and put their lives on the line every day to keep the power on;whereas linemen work 365 days a year under dangerous conditions to build, maintain andrepair the electric infrastructure; whereas linemen are the first responders of the electriccooperative family, getting power back on and making things safe for all after storms andaccidents; and whereas there would be no electric cooperatives without the brave men andwomen who comprise our corps of linemen; therefore be it resolved that NRECA recognize the second Monday of April of each year as National Lineman Appreciation Day.”TR

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Grow YourOwn Tall TaleAfter reading “Tall Tales” [October 2014],Jim Kolkhorst alerted Texas Co-op Powerto another special tree—La Bahia Pecan atWashington-on-the-Brazos State HistoricSite. The tree overlooks the historic ferrycrossing where the Navasota and Brazosrivers meet, and it witnessed the begin-ning of Texas as Texas. Seedlings from La Bahia Pecan are available for purchase.

Tests confirmed the tree stood when delegates drafted and adopted the TexasDeclaration of Independence in 1836, saysKolkhorst, president of the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park Association and amember of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.

Jim Ellison, a Bluebonnet member whoowned Ellison’s Greenhouses for 44 years,came up with the idea to sell La Bahiaseedlings to raise money for the park asso-ciation. With help from Texas A&M Univer-sity, pecans were propagated. Almost2,000 seedlings have been sold, andanother 2,000 are available this spring.

Bluebonnet EC has sent bucket trucksand crews to harvest the pecans (shownabove). “For us at Bluebonnet, that’s aneasy request,” says Wesley Brinkmeyer, theco-op’s manager of energy programs.“We’re a co-op, and nothing beats helpingout our members.”

The seedlings sell for $100, and theproceeds go to the park association andA&M. To purchase a seedling, contact Ellison at (979) 451-9187.

Every spring, pastures, rights-of-way, easements and meadowsalong Texas roadways erupt into Technicolor splendor. View-ing wildflowers preoccupies enthusiasts all over the state.Searching out, ogling and photographing lavish fields of yellow black-eyed Susans, red-and-yellow Indian blanket,luminous-purple winecups and deep red Drummond phlox

becomes a spectator sport. Two hotlines (one from the Texas Depart-ment of Transportation, the other at the Lady Bird Johnson Wild-flower Center) keep callers apprised of new flower sightings fromMarch 1 through the middle of April.

The holy grail of wildflowers is, of course, the bluebonnet, whichis the Texas state flower. So popular is the prolific lupine, whose bluepetals resemble the shape of a bonnet worn by pioneer women, thatit has generated artistic genres unique to Texas: the bluebonnet paint-ing and the family photograph featuring a child nestled into billowingswaths of the flowers.

Don’t, however, leap to the conclusion that all is well in the wild-flower world. “The robustness of the spring bloom is not an indicatorof the general health of their environment,” notes Lady Bird JohnsonWildflower Center Senior Botanist Damon Waitt. The fact that theflowers bloom at all is a barometer of the gracious cooperation of tem-perature, rain, sunshine and the plants’ genetic hardiness. It is also atestament to the determination of a small battalion of people whowork endlessly to improve the ever-shaky odds that winecups, Indianpaintbrush, bluebonnets and other native flowering plants will survive.

This task is challenging. Despite the show of vigor these wildflowersmuster once a year, the threat to their well-being is constant, and it’sright in their midst. “People assume that all wildflowers are native toTexas,” Waitt says, “but the flowers have become less native over thelast 20 years.” The reason? The relentless influx of invasives—plants

BY HELEN THOMPSON

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Despite the exuberant show they put on every spring,wildflowers don’t have it all that easy.

THE FACTthat the flowers bloom at all is a barometer of the gracious cooperation of temperature, rain, sunshine and the plants’ genetic hardiness.

Native American Seed’scrop of standing cypress


like the aptly named bastard cabbage, which appears in clusters withpretty little yellow flowers. The plant flourishes from Port Aransasto Fort Worth and is hell-bent on pushing westward to El Paso.

“Bastard cabbage is opportunistic,” says Waitt. “It loves road-sides and disturbed areas.” There’s plenty wrong with that scenario.“It’s pre-empting the native wildflowers and taking up space wherethey would ordinarily grow.”

If bastard cabbage were just an isolated offender, there mightbe less cause for alarm. But the influx of invasives has become socataclysmic that in 2005, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

partnered with the Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Parks andWildlife Department, Texas Master Naturalists, Department ofAgriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, andother environmental groups to create texasinvasives.org. Coordi-nated at the Wildflower Center, the website partnership allowsgovernment agencies, nonprofits, academia and conservationorganizations to share best practices and information with thepublic. “This is a problem that demands the public’s help,” saysdirector Justin Bush, emphasizing the immensity of scope. “Itaffects every section of land and every waterway in the state.”

Texas depends on grassroots support tofight this fight. And that’s where texasinvasives.org’s Citizen Scientists programcomes in. About 2,400 volunteers havecompleted the training necessary to seekout and report outbreaks of the 79 envi-

ronmentally harmful invasive plant species tar-geted. Citizen scientists contribute important datato local and national resource managers who, inturn, coordinate appropriate responses to controlthe spread of unwanted invaders. “The premiseis simple: To move all of us beyond awareness andinto action,” Bush says.

One such citizen scientist taking action is MarkStaerkel of Spring. The semiretired plumbing andhardware manufacturer’s representative joinedCitizen Scientists as part of the 40 hours of servicetime required for master naturalist certification.Scouting for invasives had a familiar ring: “ItW

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Invasives such as bastardcabbage, above, pre-empt native wildflowers.

Citizen scientist MarkStaerkel pulls down inva-sive Japanese climbingfern at Jesse James Parkin Spring, Texas.

“People assume that all wildflowers are nativeto Texas,” says Damon Waitt, Lady Bird JohnsonWildflower Center senior botanist.


reminded me of what I did as an assis-tant Boy Scout master for 30 years.”Although Staerkel has always been out-doorsy, he isn’t a gardener.

You can spot Staerkel at one of hisfavorite haunts, Jesse James Park inSpring. He’s the one carrying a big plas-tic bag and pulling up the vine-likeJapanese climbing fern, which, if leftuncontrolled, will smother entire trees.The fern also produces a thick ground-cover that thwarts native seed germi-nation. “I’d never even heard of it,” saysStaerkel, “but it was easy to identifyand is everywhere in Houston.”

The program has changed Staerkel’sview of what he sees in the landscape.“I used to enjoy looking at some ofthese plants, like the crepe myrtle orthe Japanese mimosa,” says the citizenscientist. “But now that I know thatthey prevent natives from growing, andbirds and insects can’t eat them, I don’tthink the way I used to.”

Neither does Bill Neiman. Throughout the 1970s to themid-1980s, Neiman ran a successful landscaping busi-ness that addressed the needs of urban Dallas as wellas the burgeoning suburbs that were scraping flat theplains north of Dallas. Neiman and his crew of 45 builthardscapes, planted big trees and installed vast irriga-

tion systems. But then the drought of 1980 hit, and Neiman noticedsomething: “Those intensive landscapes I’d installed in HighlandPark were failing.”

At the time, no one thought of Asian jasmine, Japanese box-wood, Pakistani crape myrtle and African Bermuda grass as nonnative, much less as invasive. On the road home one day,Neiman saw the light. “I pulled over on the side of the road to stare at flowers that were blooming despite no rain and temper-atures over 100 degrees,” he recalls. “I realized that these plants

were all natives. They’devolved here withoutfertilizer, herbicides,pesticides and irriga-tion systems.” That real-ization changed every-thing Neiman had livedfor. “I realized I waspart of the problem.”

Neiman went homeand shifted everything

in his nursery to native plants. He sowed his first seed farm andhad his first harvest in 1988. In the summer of 1995, Neiman andhis family moved to the Hill Country, on the Llano River just outsideof Junction, and founded Native American Seed. The companyharvests native seeds there and at other farms on the CoastalPrairies and in the Piney Woods for a range of seeds to suit allareas of Texas. Apache Plateau, Bee Happy, Hummers & Singers,Deer Resistant and other mixes offer options to suit personal tastesand geography. Some, such as Lady Bird’s Legacy Wildflower mix,are rebranded in packets by civic, nonprofit, academic and businessgroups (including Texas Electric Cooperatives), with profits goingto the Wildflower Center. TxDOT also is a customer, seeding stateroadways with the mixes when Neiman is the low bidder on thecontract. “What we are doing,” says Neiman, “is providing our cus-tomers with an ecosystem in a bag. It’s a way to save the legendaryDNA of these flowers.”

The battle to save Texas’ wildflowers has become more urgentin the past two decades, as Wildflower Center botanist Waittnoted. But people have responded to the call for action.There are more than 2,000 other volunteers like Staerkelchopping down, pulling up and ripping out invasives allover the state. And there are gardeners, inspired by

Neiman’s unrelenting message urging awareness, who are replacingtheir boxwood-lined gardens with Texas native meadows. Neimanis optimistic. “It’s all in the dialogue,” he says. “It’s the only way weare going to do it. And that’s something one person can do.”

There are plenty of ways a person can continue the dialogue. Infact, there’s a license plate that helps: The horned lizard plate fundstexasinvasives.org and conservation efforts in the state. And, newthis year, a wildflower license plate delivers 100 percent of its profitsto the Wildflower Center. Affixing one of these plates to your car ortrailer lets your vehicle do the talking—and it’s just in time for wild-flower season, when what’s blooming is the season’s hottest topic.

Read more of author Helen Thompson’s work at seeninhouse.com

Wildflowers have asymbiotic relationshipwith other wildlife.

Bill Neiman built his busi-ness, Native AmericanSeed, around Texas wild-flowers. N

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FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE INFORMATION, theTexas Department of Transportation has a wild-flower hotline at 1-800-452-9292.

These routes are longtime favorites confirmed bymultiple sources, including wildflowersightings.org.

WILDFLOWER CORRIDORSa I-35 between Dallas-Fort Worth and South Texasa I-10 between San Antonio and Brookshire

CENTRAL TEXASBLANCO AND BURNET COUNTIES a U.S. 281between Johnson City and Marble Falls BLANCO,COMAL AND BEXAR COUNTIES a U.S. 281between Blanco and San Antonio GILLESPIECOUNTY a Willow City Loop (near TX 16 off FM 1323)a Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site, U.S. 290 east of Stonewall LLANO COUNTY a

Around Lake Buchanan and Inks Lake, along FM 1431 MASON COUNTY a Mason County Loop (from U.S. 87 southeast of Mason, take RR 783 southto Threadgill Creek Road, turn left, and go back to U.S. 87) TRAVIS AND BASTROP COUNTIES aU.S. 290 between Manor and Paige a TX 71between Austin and Bastrop WILLIAMSON ANDBURNET COUNTIES a TX 29 between George-town and Burnet

EAST TEXASANGELINA AND NACOGDOCHES COUNTIES aU.S. 59 between Lufkin and Nacogdoches BOWIE,MORRIS AND TITUS COUNTIES a I-30 betweenTexarkana and Mount Pleasant HOUSTON, TRINITYAND POLK COUNTIES a U.S. 287 between Crockettand Corrigan MARION, CASS AND MORRISCOUNTIES a TX 49 between Jefferson and Dainger-field MONTGOMERY COUNTY a I-45 and TX 105near Lake Conroe NACOGDOCHES AND CROCK-ETT COUNTIES a TX 7 between Nacogdoches andCrockett TYLER COUNTY a Around Woodville

NORTH CENTRAL TEXASBASTROP, LEE AND BURLESON COUNTIES a TX 21between Paige and Caldwell DALLAS COUNTY aI-45 just south of Dallas, near Hutchins FAYETTECOUNTY a I-10 between Schulenburg and FlatoniaFAYETTE AND AUSTIN COUNTIES a TX 159between La Grange and Bellville WALLER ANDWASHINGTON COUNTIES a U.S. 290 betweenHempstead and Brenham WASHINGTONCOUNTY a Most anywhere in Washington County

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in front of his house in South Austin. It was for bothsentimental reasons as well as environmental. “I lovewildflowers,” says van Overbeek, who grew up in Cali-fornia where his father, an amateur botanist, taughtbiology at California Institute of Technology. “We usedto drive into the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Modestoto see the flowers and to take photos of them.”

It was only natural that van Overbeek decided to planta meadow when he and his family moved to a new housein 1997. “There was no lawn in front,” he says. The soilwas also very poor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.


“I have always heard that wildflowers do well in bad soil,” he says,“but even so I had a truckload of dirt brought in for the fall seeding.”

When planting your own wildflower garden you can also refer to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website,

wildflower.org, which is encyclopedic inscope. The database includes “how to”articles on large-scale wildflower plant-ing, recreating a prairie, planting ameadow garden, how to grow bluebon-nets and a lot more. Plus, as van Overbeeknotes, “Every bag of seed has directionson the back. They are easy to follow andall you have to do afterwards is pray forrain.” That’s a factor beyond our control.“You are at the mercy of Mother Nature,”he says. “But the reward is wonderful.”

SHARE your own experience of growing wild-flowers in Texas on our Facebook page.

Will flowersMake Your Own Meadow: A wildflower project you can do at home

Will’s wildflowers: “I shot them in a way that reminded me of the old framed botanical samples you see,” he says.

Gaillardia pulchella, Indian blanket or firewheelEngelmannia peristenia, Engelmann’s daisyOenothera speciosa, pink evening primrose

By Helen Thompson | Photos By Will van Overbeek

Will insists he is not an expert, buthere’s how he plants his wildflowers:

1. Pick a good site with full sun.

2. Sow seeds to bare, loose dirt. “That means preparing the ground,” he says, “either by covering it with clearplastic for a couple of months to kill theweeds or by using a broad-spectrumherbicide that doesn’t run off and is not harmful to plants or animals.”

3. Broadcast the seeds by hand—don’t bury them.

4. Plant in the fall.

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Clogged, Backed—up Septic System…Can anything Restore It?DEAR DARRYL: My home is about 10 years old, and so is my septic system. I have always taken pride in keeping my home and property in top shape. In fact, my neighbors and I are always kidding each other about who keeps their home and yard nicest. Lately, however, I have had a horrible smell in my yard, and also in one of my bathrooms, coming from the shower drain. My grass is muddy and all the drains in my home are very slow. My wife is on my back to make the bathroom stop smelling and as you can imagine, my neighbors are having a field day, kidding me about the mud pit and sewage stench in my yard. It’s humiliating. I called a plumber buddy of mine, who recommended pumping (and maybe even replacing) my septic system. But at the potential cost of thousands of dollars, I hate to explore that option. I tried the store bought, so called, Septic treatments out there, and they did Nothing to clear up my problem. Is there anything on the market I can pour or flush into my system that will restore it to normal, and keep it maintained?

Clogged and Smelly – Houston, TX

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DIG SAFELY; DIG WISELY

Mr. Diggs, safety columnist

April is National Safe Digging Month. So while digging yourself a hole, make sure you don’t dig yourself into a hole. Accidental contact with underground utility lines and cables could cut power to your street, cause injury or worse.

Utility locate companies mark underground lines so that you don’t knock out power or endanger yourself when digging. And the good news is they do it for free.

How do you do it? Call 811. 811 is a federally mandated national “Call Before You Dig” number created to help protect people from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. Operators take your information and dispatch utility-locate companies to mark the location of underground lines in about 48 hours.

The program was created by the Common Ground Alliance, an association formed in 2000 that works with industry stakeholders in an e� ort to prevent damage to

underground utility infrastructure and to ensure public safety.

If you’re a homeowner, you belong in that “industry stakeholder” group. In fact, anyone with a shovel belongs to it.

Think of how embarrassing it would be to cut your neighbor’s cable and Internet connection while performing a simple weekend shrub-planting project or while repairing your driveway. You don’t want to have to pay that bill, and you don’t want to have to host his family to watch sports with you all weekend.

Do yourself a favor and call 811 before digging your hole this spring. It’ll save you the headache of extra repair bills and it might save you from injury or worse.

Follow me on Twitter at @MrDiggs811 as I dispense daily nuggets of wisdom throughout April, National Safe Digging Month!

Mr. Diggs writes about burrowing, safe-digging, and how to search for food in the dark.

NATIONAL SAFE DIGGING MONTH

Top 6 reasons to dig a hole � Planting a tree � Planting hedges � Adding a pond or water feature � Building a fence � Putting up a mailbox � Pouring concrete

April is National Safe Digging Month. So while digging

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20 Texas Co-op Power COSERV ELECTRIC April 2015

CoServ_04-2015 TCP.indd 20 3/10/15 4:12 PM

COSERV GAS CREW REPAIRS RUPTURED LINE

Recently, a third-party excavator digging a trench accidentally ruptured a CoServ Gas line in Prosper. The good news is that no one was injured or lost service during the rupture and repair.

Ruptured gas lines create a very dangerous environment. Any time you smell gas (it smells like rotten eggs thanks to an additive called mercaptan), leave the area and call CoServ and 911.

Our crews are specially trained to repair ruptured lines. They wear fire-retardant clothing, follow safety protocol, block roads, eliminate hazards and monitor the air for gas levels while repairing the line.

Call 811 before you dig. Operators will dispatch utility locate-services to mark the underground lines. Gas lines have a tracer wire running the length of the pipe that allows utility locators to detect pipeline locations.

Visit CoServ.com and click on the Safety tab to learn more and see a brief video. #Call811

NATIONAL SAFE DIGGING MONTH

Alert CoServ Members know that natural gas smells like rotten egg, but do you know what it can sound like when a pipe breaks? Watch a recent video of a CoServ pipeline repair by clicking on the Safety category on our Inside the Lines blog at CoServ.com.

April 2015 COSERV ELECTRIC Texas Co-op Power 21



COSERV ELECTRIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Q&A WITH RICHARD MUIR, SECRETARY/TREASURER

‘COOPERATIVES EXIST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE MEMBERS’Meet District 1 Board Director Richard Muir. Richard is a

lifelong Sanger resident, who is retired after more than 30 years in commercial banking and personal and commercial insurance. He’s married and has two grown children and six grandchildren.

Q. What inspired you to seek election to the CoServ Electric Board of Directors?

A. I was a director of Denton County Electric Co-op from 1975 to 1982. At that time, I was approached to fi ll a vacated seat and I was re-elected a couple of times. I chose to step down in 1982 because of the ages of my children and some other business involvement. But when I was approached again to fi ll another vacated seat, I was very interested. So I interviewed, and have currently been a director since 2010.

Q. Describe your role as board director.

A. The Board of Directors oversees and approves directions that management is steering the co-op toward. Our role is to look at the fi nancials, review operations each month related to personnel, investments and equipment. Management reports to us on high-growth areas with regard to new commercial load and new subdivisions.

Q. How has the district you live in changed over the years?

A. We’ve seen substantial growth in the last 25 years as people seek to move out from the city for raising children or retiring, and they want to have a little more breathing space. The main towns in my area are Sanger and Krum, and the populations in these towns have probably tripled or quadrupled.

Q. Describe some of the challenges facing CoServ.

A. Ongoing growth in our area, and I’d say we’re meeting that challenge. From the time I fi rst served as Director in 1982 until I came back in 2010, things were a little bit di� erent as you might imagine. You could just add a zero to several things—the number of Members, the number

of assets—the area had grown to about ten times what it was in the early 80s due to urbanization. My area is one of three areas that are less densely populated. The districts to the south and to the east are the more dense areas by far, but all of CoServ territory is seeing growth.

Q. What exemplifi es the co-op di� erence?

A. Cooperatives exist for the benefi t of the Members, rather than for stockholders, which would be the case in an investor-owned utility. Each is its own model, and the investor-owned model is the corporate model—stock is sold to investors, but the profi ts are paid back to investors, not to people that have an electric meter. In CoServ’s situation, Members pay a deposit, a meter’s put on and we track Capital Credits earned by Members. Since 2003, more than $72 million in Capital Credit Retirements have been distributed to Members.

Q. What should Members know about CoServ?

A. There’s a constant vigilance about trying to maintain a good and competitive price structure. A reliable company with a stable electricity rate benefi ts Members, as does timely information about the company. CoServ does a wonderful job of informing Members about a variety of programs designed around the cooperative principle of “Concern for Community.” These include grant presentations by the CoServ Charitable Foundation; our W. Tip Hall, Jr. Scholarship Program, which will distribute $15,000 this year; and our sponsorship of two teens from CoServ Member households who will represent us this summer at the NRECA’s Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington DC. It makes you proud when you contemplate what co-ops try to do.

The CoServ Electric Board of Directors is elected at-large by CoServ Members and serves three-year terms. For more about the voting process, please click on the Energy Solutions tab of CoServ.com.




DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A LINEMAN?LINEMAN APPRECIATION DAY IS APRIL 13

It takes courage, commitment and training. Linemen secure a quality of life now taken for granted. They make it possible to refrigerate and cook food, irrigate fi elds, wash clothes, watch TV, play video games, keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter.

Linemen build new power lines, upgrade old ones, perform ongoing maintenance and restore service during outages. They work day and night, no matter the weather—freezing temperatures or blistering heat.

So if the lights are on, remember to thank a lineman—whether it’s o� cially Lineman Appreciation Day, April 13—or not.

CoServ has an established comprehensive Employee Development Program (EDP) to train linemen that starts at Groundman trainee level and ends at Journeyman. The process takes a minimum of fi ve years—longer than it takes to earn most college degrees.

CoServ’s linemen are part of a winning team that includes highly trained system planning engineers, application developers working with the latest technology and friendly, local customer service representatives. In addition to best-practices training, CoServ aims to provide the best gear, personal protective equipment and fl eet in the market.

View the availability of these positions and more in the Careers section on CoServ.com.

TOP: CoServ’s linemen are fi rst responders who start early, leave late and do what it takes to maintain the delivery of safe, reliable electricity to the homes of more than 160,000 CoServ Members.

AT RIGHT: CoServ crews are always on call. During the brief but paralyzing ice storm in late February, they braved icy roads and subfreezing temperatures to perform needed work on a transformer in Flower Mound. The service disruption a� ected 30 Members and was restored in less than two hours.




COSERV IN THE COMMUNITY

CoServ Area Manager Craig Chambers with CoServ District 1 Director Richard Muir (in red) presents the Sanger Economic Development Corporation a $15,075 grant from CoServ Electric.

CoServ Area Manager Dan Mugg, left, and CoServ Board of Directors Chairman Clyde Geer accept a certifi cate of achievement for CoServ’s contribution to Frisco schools from Frisco Education Foundation Board President Peter Burns.

Frisco ISD Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Richard Wilkinson, left, accepts the school district’s 2014 Capital Credit Retirements check of $143,354 from CoServ Area Manager Dan Mugg and CoServ District 4 Director Clint Bedsole. To learn more about Capital Credits, click on the Energy Solutions tab at CoServ.com.

GOING FOR THE GOLD: Frisco Member Scott Booker attends CoServ Dollar Night at the Texas Legends Feb. 18 at Dr Pepper Arena and wins a new iPad Air 2 in a gold fi nish. Congratulations, Scott!

BOOKMARK THIS ON YOUR SMART PHONE

When the power is o� , your charged smartphone is still on. Check the mobile-friendly Outage Map on CoServ.com to monitor service disruptions and estimated restorations times. You can also set favorite locations, view current/historical summaries and assess weather conditions. Visit CoServ.com or scan the QR code to bookmark today.

AT&T 1:53 PM

outagemap.coserv.com

2




AprilHistoric Weather DataAprilHistoric Weather DataApril(DFW Weather Station)

Normal Average LowNormal Average High

54.8o76.3oNormal Average Rainfall

3.07”

Will “April showers” really “bring May flowers” this year? Last year they brought hail and thunderstorms to the opening night of Frisco RoughRiders baseball. In addition to thunderstorms, April typically brings us milder temperatures, which lets our energy hungry HVAC units rest until summer temperatures pick up. It’s a great time to work on energy e�ciency projects for your home. For more information on how the weather a�ects your electric service, click on the Together We Save tab at CoServ.com.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (www.NOAA.gov) National Weather Service

SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 18, 2015Enjoy food, fellowship and fun on Thursday, June 18, at CoServ’s Annual Meeting at the

University of North Texas Coliseum in Denton.

We’ll dine on barbecue, draw names for great prizes and announce the results of the CoServ Electric Board of Directors election. This year, Director seats in District 1 and District 5—two of CoServ’s seven districts—are up for election.

Because you elect fellow CoServ Members to represent you on the Board of Directors, you have a voice in how your electric company is run. To learn more about the election process, visit the Board of Directors section under the Energy Solutions tab at CoServ.com.




``

Thank you so much for attending the 2015 Groundhog Day Gala, celebrating our 20th year as a foundation. I am excited to tell you that we raised over $46,000 at the event, to be invested in our Teacher Grants, Sta Scholarships and Student Scholarships. We also recognized nearly $123,700 in new endowments and major gifts to the Foundation in the past year.

You, as a Foundation supporter, have partnered with us in supporting DISD. Together, we are accomplishing great things in our schools and for our community.

—Jackie Jackson, Denton Public School Foundation Executive Director

We appreciate the crews’ hard work. Yours too!

—TxBluesman, Twitter, Jan. 27

Our friends at CoServ are on standby for any issues that may arise with this weather winter event.

—Denton County Scanner

Join the conversation on CoServ.com!

Voice of Membership

Thank's for all you do!

—Melissa Marshall, Facebook, Feb.23

I was sorry to lose you when I moved! You do a great job!

—Tanya Lewis, Facebook, Feb. 23

Thank you!

—Maegan Jenkins Stanaland, Facebook, Feb. 23

Thanks we appreciate your hard work and dedication.

Jean Tom, Facebook, Feb. 23

Thank you for all your dedication!

Pam Schon Bjork, Facebook, Feb. 23

Thanks for being amazing!

Karina Marsh, Facebook, Feb. 23

We appreciate your hard work and willingness to be away from your families while watching out for us.

—Paul Jackson, Facebook, Feb. 23

Thank you for all ya are doing ya be careful out there!

—Susie Trevino Solis, Facebook, Feb. 23


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Texas History

Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna,president of Mexico, dictator, tyrant, self-styled Napoleon of the West, waged avicious war against rebellious Texians during the Texas Revolution of 1836. Heordered a take-no-prisoners policy at the Alamo and directed the execution ofall Texian soldiers captured at Goliad.Glimpses into the dictator’s well-hiddenpersonal life only surfaced occasionally.

In the aftermath of the Alamo, SantaAnna sent for Susanna Dickinson, wife of artilleryman Almeron Dickinson, andoffered to take her and her 15-month-olddaughter, Angelina, with him to Mexico.There, he promised they would live in thepalace, and baby Angelina would be rearedas his daughter with aristocratic privileges.

Susanna refused. Santa Anna sent herwith a military escort toward Gonzalez andgave her a handwritten ultimatum for SamHouston that detailed the Texian defeat atthe Alamo and warned of further reprisals.

A few weeks later, on April 21, 1836, theTexian army overwhelmed Santa Anna’sforces at San Jacinto. When he perceivedthat defeat was inevitable, the generalattempted escape but was taken prisoner.After negotiating the Treaty of Velasco, awounded Sam Houston, aware that manyloyal Texians wanted the Mexican dictatorexecuted, decided to move him to a safeplace. Houston chose Orozimbo, a secludedplantation owned by James Aeneas E.Phelps, a doctor.

From July through November of 1836,Santa Anna remained at the Phelps plan-tation under heavy guard. The Phelpsestreated their notorious guest with respect.When a rescue attempt by a bold Mexicanofficer failed, Santa Anna sank into depres-sion and drank poison, but Phelps nursedhim back to health. Phelps’ wife was saidto have saved the general’s life a second timeby begging for his life when a Texian soldierbroke in and attempted to execute him.

Santa Anna would repay the Phelpses’

kindness. During the ill-fated Mier Ex-pedition in December 1842, their son, Orlando Phelps, was captured. When SantaAnna confirmed the young man was theson of his former host, the general orderedhim released. He sent the youth into thecity with an escort. The younger Phelps wasthen outfitted with new clothes and movedinto the palace.

Santa Anna said he felt fortunate to haveit in his power to return, in some measure,the kindness Phelps had shown him whenhe was a prisoner in Texas. Santa Anna gavethe younger Phelps money and sent himback to Texas by stagecoach. For manyyears, the Mexican dictator regularly sentChristmas presents to the Phelps family.

In about 1900, school principal Sarah S.King of the Bowie School invited JohnChristopher Columbus Hill, another sur-vivor of the Mier Expedition, to speak toher students about his experiences. Kingrecorded the talk as Hill told his story. Hehad set off for Mexico at age 13 with hisfather and older brother as part of a volun-teer Texian force to fight Mexican troops.

After their capture at Mier, the captivesattempted to escape. An infuriated SantaAnna ordered every 10th prisoner shot. Bythen Mexican Gen. Pedro de Ampudia hadtaken Hill, the youngest of the captives,under his wing and sent him to Mexico City,where he reported directly to Santa Anna.Young Hill’s courage won the admirationof the general, who offered to adopt, edu-cate and provide for the boy. Santa Annaalso released Hill’s father and brother.

Santa Anna treated Hill as a son, sendinghim to mining school in 1850. Although heoccasionally returned to Texas to visit hisfamily, Hill spent the rest of his life design-ing mines and railroads in Mexico. This wasone more example of how, in spite of SantaAnna’s disastrous leadership and dictatorialbehavior, some reported that the Mexicangeneral had an engaging personality.

Martha Deeringer, a member of Heart ofTexas EC, lives near McGregor.

WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.comIf you’re interested in further research regardingSanta Anna, see our list of resources.SC

OTT

DA

WSO

N

Santa Anna’s Complex Character

BY MARTHA DEERINGER

The Mexican general occasionally contradicted his well-documented brutality


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Recipes

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Dinner for TwoFor some, dinner for two meansflowers, candles and romance; for others,it’s TV trays and dinner on the couch.Whatever the case, the average house-hold size is shrinking, and dinner for twois more common than ever. Still, mostrecipes are designed to feed four to six,leaving singles, empty-nesters and smallfamilies with leftovers that may last up toa week. Given the scenario, we asked ourreaders to share recipes that serve two.

Our featured dish is a scaled-backrecipe from “Dairylicious! Cooking withDairy” by Kitchen Kimberly and theSouthwest Dairy Farmers, available at southwestdairyfarmers.com and Amazon.com.

ANNA GINSBERG, FOOD EDITOR

Caprese Toast Bites for Two

¾ teaspoon unsalted butter1 small clove garlic, minced⅓ cup canned petite diced tomatoes (drained), or chopped fresh tomatoes1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil ¼ pound sourdough bread (2–4 slices), thickly sliced 1 ½ tablespoons cream cheese1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirringconstantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.Mix in tomatoes and fresh basil. Reduceheat to medium and cook about 1 minute.Remove from heat.3. Toast bread slices on a baking sheet

about 5 minutes or until lightly toasted.In a small mixing bowl, combine thecream cheese with the Parmesancheese.4. Spread warm bread slices with soft-ened cream cheese mixture, and thenspoon warm tomato mixture over thecream cheese. Sprinkle evenly withshredded mozzarella.5. Return bread to oven and bake untilcheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

COOK’S TIP from Kitchen Kimberly: Anotherway to prepare this recipe is to slice the loaf ofbread in half horizontally, and then spread themixtures as directed over each half. Slice thehalves into the desired serving size and enjoy!

Servings: 4. Serving size: 1 slice toast. Per serving:174 calories, 8.57 g protein, 6.51 g fat, 19.02 g carbo-hydrates, 1.09 g dietary fiber, 394 mg sodium, 1.84 gsugars, 20 mg cholesterol

36 Texas Co-op Power April 2015

Chicken Cordon Bleu en Croute

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil1 tablespoon butter1 sheet puff pastry dough4 slices Swiss cheese4 thin slices ham

EGG WASH1 large egg, beaten with a splash of water

SAUCE2 tablespoons butter (¼ stick)1 small shallot, minced 2 tablespoons flour½ cup dry white wine1 cup chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Linetwo baking sheets with parchmentpaper.2. CHICKEN: Cut each breast horizon-tally through the center to create atotal of four pieces. Place piecesbetween two sheets of plastic wrap,pound gently to an even thickness,then season with salt and pepper. 3. Heat olive oil and butter in a skilletor sauté pan over medium-high heat.Place two chicken breast pieces in panat a time and cook 2–3 minutes oneach side to brown. Repeat withremaining chicken, then set aside tocool (no need to fully cook thechicken). Keep the skillet handy forfurther use; do not clean. 4. Cut the sheet of puff pastry doughinto four squares. On a floured surfaceusing a floured rolling pin, roll eachsquare until doubled in size. Layer aslice of Swiss cheese, a slice of ham

Steak for TwoDENA ZIZZO | BLUEBONNET EC

1 ½-inch-thick rib-eye steakSalt and pepper¼ cup butter (½ stick), divided use4 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in a bundle with cooking twine2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled4 ounces sliced mushrooms1 small onion, thinly sliced½ cup dry red wine, plus more as needed

1. Season the steak on both sides withsalt and pepper. Melt half the butter in acast iron skillet over medium heat. Placesteak in pan and cook on one side for 4 minutes.2. Add the remaining butter and thebundle of thyme. Turn the steak overand cook another 4 minutes, spooningthe melted butter on top of the steak asit cooks. Turn the steak again and spoonthe butter on top for one more minute. 3. Remove steak from pan and set onserving platter. Sprinkle the blue cheeseon top of the steak. 4. Remove the thyme bundle from thepan and add the mushrooms and onion.Cook 3–4 minutes until soft. Add thewine and cook another 2 minutes. 5. Slice the steak. Pour the mushroommixture over the steak and serve.

Servings: 2. Serving size: ½ steak. Per serving: 402 calories, 9.24 g protein, 29.53 g fat, 12.98 g carbohydrates, 3.58 g dietary fiber, 552 mg sodium,4.18 g sugars, 82 mg cholesterol

Recipes

and piece of seared chicken on thedough diagonally and fold the doughends over the stack to form a pocket.Turn seam side down and place onparchment-lined baking sheets.Repeat with remaining pieces ofcheese, ham, chicken and pastrydough. Place two croutes on eachbaking sheet.5. Brush tops with egg wash. Placeboth baking sheets in oven and bake25–30 minutes or until goldenbrown. Let cool about 5 minutes. 6. SAUCE: About 15 minutes before thechicken is done, start the sauce. Onmedium-high, heat butter in the samepan used to sear the chicken. Add theminced shallot. When shallot starts tosoften and brown, add the flour, stir-ring constantly to make a golden roux.Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan,then add the broth. Stir continuouslyuntil reduced by about half. 7. Spoon sauce onto plates and settwo chicken croutes on each plate.

COOK’S TIP If you don't have a shallot, youcan use ¼ of a red onion.

Servings: 2. Serving size: 1 breast. Per serving:1,076 calories, 89.70 g protein, 57.20 g fat, 24.58 gcarbohydrates, 1.30 g dietary fiber, 1,674 mgsodium, 1.88 g sugars, 395 mg cholesterol

Dinner for Two

THIS MONTH’S RECIPE CONTEST WINNERCARLY TERRELL | UNITED COOPERATIVE SERVICESWhen you’re not feeding a crowd, you can enjoy the freedom tosplurge a little, either with ingredients or attention to detail—orboth. From chicken and steak to crab, dessert and beyond, our readers showed us that dinner for two may be a small affair, but itcan turn out to be a big hit.

$100 Recipe ContestSeptember’s recipe contest topic is Five Ingredients or Fewer. Sometimesif you can’t get to the store, you have to make do with what’s on hand … andthe results can be terrific. Send us your favorite recipes with five ingredientsor fewer. Oil, water, salt and pepper don’t count. The deadline is April 10.

There are three ways to enter: ONLINE at TexasCoopPower.com/contests; MAIL to 1122 Colorado St., 24thFloor, Austin, TX 78701; FAX to (512) 763-3401. Include your name, address and phone number, plus your co-op and the name of the contest you are entering.


Classic Lump Crab Cakes for TwoELVIS & GINGER MCQUINN | BARTLETT EC

1 large egg, beaten½ teaspoon yellow mustard2 tablespoons mayonnaise3 teaspoons parsley flakes2 teaspoons seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay)2 slices white bread, crumbled1 pound lump crab meat2 tablespoons cooking oil2 lemon wedges

1. Mix the egg, mustard, mayonnaise,parsley, seafood seasoning and crumbledbread until well blended. 2. Gently stir in crab meat and shapeinto 4 patties. 3. In a skillet, heat the oil over mediumheat and cook the crab cakes, turningcarefully, until golden brown on bothsides. Serve 2 to a plate and garnish eachplate with a lemon wedge.

Servings: 2. Serving size: 2 patties. Per serving: 519 calories, 46.40 g protein, 28.40 g fat, 13.13 g carbohydrates, 0.82 g dietary fiber, 1,432 mgsodium, 1.28 g sugars, 269 mg cholesterol

Lamb Chops for TwoSUSAN LAVERY | FARMERS EC

2 lamb chops2 teaspoons olive oilSalt and pepper to taste1 clove crushed garlic, or more to taste1 teaspoon herbes de Provence

1. Rub lamb chops with oil and seasonboth sides with salt, pepper, crushed gar-lic and herbes de Provence. Let sit about15 minutes.2. Grill chops about 6 minutes on eachside or until center reaches 145 degreesfor medium doneness.

Servings: 2. Serving size: 1 chop. Per serving: 462calories, 16.52 g protein, 40.66 g fat, 0.39 g carbo-hydrates, 0.23 g dietary fiber, 136 mg sodium, 0.02 g sugars, 86 mg cholesterol

Chocolate Mint PuddingNANCY PUMPHREY | BIG COUNTRY EC

6 ounces firm silken tofu½ cup sugar¾ cup baking cocoa1 tablespoon vanilla soy milk1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted⅛ teaspoon mint extractDash salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a foodprocessor. Cover and process untilsmooth. 2. Divide mixture between dessertdishes and refrigerate until serving.

Servings: 2. Serving size: 4 ounces. Per serving: 320 calories, 6.56 g protein, 9.59 g fat, 68.96 g carbohydrates, 10.74 g dietary fiber, 155 mg

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UPCOMING CONTESTS

JULY MY FIRST CAR DUE APR 10

AUGUST AROUND THE FARM DUE APR 10

SEPTEMBER MY FAVORITE TEACHER DUE MAY 10

All entries must include name, address, daytime phone and co-op affiliation, plus the contest topic and a brief description of your photo.

ONLINE: Submit highest-resolution digital images at Texas CoopPower.com/contests. MAIL: Focus on Texas, 1122 Colorado St., 24th Floor, Austin, TX78701. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must be included if youwant your entry returned (approximately six weeks). Please do notsubmit irreplaceable photographs—send a copy or duplicate. We donot accept entries via email. We regret that Texas Co-op Power cannotbe responsible for photos that are lost in the mail or not received bythe deadline.

Focus on Texas

In BloomJust living is not enough ... one must have sunshine, freedom, anda little flower. —Hans Christian Andersen

In the wild and in the garden, spring flowers are in fullbloom. Texas Co-op Power readers sent in photos of some realbeauties. GRACE ARSIAGA

WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.com Brighten up your day with moreblossoms online.

a PAT DUNNUCK, Sam Houston EC: Raindrops adorn this rose.

d SHARON REGAN, Magic Valley EC: You have to get up early to capture this night-blooming cactus.

d REBEKAH BONGATO, Sam Houston EC: Purplethistle attracts a butterfly.

d PAUL GARCIA, Medina EC: When the flowerscome in spring, so do the butterflies.

o DAVID COHEN, Guadalupe Valley EC: Taken at theSan Antonio Botanical Gardens, this hibiscus is afavorite of monarch butterflies.

a NIKKI DICKERSON, Pedernales EC: This American white water lily was photographed at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.

Focus on Texas


d CANDY LOVINS, Nueces EC: Candy shares her coralvines in full bloom.

d CAMMY HATZENBUEHLER, Grayson-Collin EC: A purple iris stands tall in the sun.

d MARIA HERNANDEZ, SHELBY GORDON, BluebonnetEC: This passion flower’s bold bloom speaks for itself.

o CHARLES ASCHENBECK, Jackson EC: Bluebonnets cover the ground on either side of thisbridge in La Grange that spans the Colorado River.

C A D D O : T H E T E XA S H I STO R I C A L CO M M I SS I O N . G I R L : © AC I K | D O L L A R P H OTO C LU B


Palacios Patchwork of Life ChristianWomen’s Conference, (361) 972-6068, patchworkoflife.com

Rockdale Relay For Life of Milam County,(512) 760-7194, relayforlife.org/milamcotx

Texarkana Ark-La-Tex Challenge: One Ride, Three States, (903) 276-6267, arklatexchallenge.com

Utopia Community Auction,(830) 966-2435, [email protected]

Possum Kingdom Lake [11–18] Arte de losBrazos, (940) 779-2424, artedelosbrazos.com

April8Canton [8–11] Van Zandt County Fair and Rodeo, (214) 732-9811

9Brenham Art in Blossom Flower and Art Show, (979) 277-4023, bluebonnetgardenclub.com

Marble Falls [9–11] Paint the Town,(877) 638-3927, paintthetownmftx.org

10Blanco [10–12] Wild Woman Weekend,(512) 750-6362, wildwomanweekend.org

11Decatur Glitzy Girls Trailer Park,(940) 210-9169

Kemp Wildflower Festival, (903) 498-3191,cityofkemp.org

Lampasas Hillacious Bike Tour,(210) 326-8892, lampasashillaciousbiketour.com

Pick of the MonthCaddo Culture DayAlto [April 11]

(936) 858-3218, visitcaddomounds.com

Experience the real life and story of the CaddoIndians from the Caddo Nation of Oklahomathrough a live performance of their culturalmusic. Take part in clay bowl making, corn-husk dolls and natural dyes, flint knapping,atlatl throwing and guided tours of the CaddoMounds State Historic Site.

Around Texas Get Going> For a complete listing of the events and festivals across

April 11KempWildflower Festival

T

WIN A GALVESTON GETAWAY AT

ENTER TODAY AT

• 2-night stay (Sunday–Thursday)

• $200 food and beverage voucher

• VIP Pass for Galveston Attractions from the Galveston Island CVB

• $75 gift certificate to Nonno Tony’s World Kitchen at Pier 21

Exclusive Offer for Texas Co-op Power Readers:Enjoy a 15% discount on the best available rate at The Tremont House (Sunday–Thursday, sub-ject to availability). Valid through December 31,2015. Enter rate code XXXLOC28.

35th Annual

www.SRFestival.com

Get Your Tickets On-Line – TODAY!

Jousting, Birds of Prey,21 Stages of Renaissance Entertainment,200 Shoppes, Artisan Demonstrations,

Mermaid Lagoon & so much more!

A K I YO KO 49 | B I G STO C K .CO M


17Grandview [17–19] Antique Alley Texas and 30+ Miles of Shopping, (817) 240-4948,AntiqueAlleyTexas.com

18Bryan Downtown Street and Art Fair, (979) 822-4920, downtownstreetandartfair.com

Denison Big Texas Breakfast Open House,(903) 465-8908, visiteisenhowerbirthplace.com

Huntsville Margaret Lea Houston Birthday Celebration, (936) 294-1832, samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com

Brazoria [18–19] Migration Celebration,(866) 403-5829, migrationcelebration.com

19New Braunfels [19–24] Texas WoodcarversGuild Spring Seminars, (940) 484-9395, texaswoodcarversguild.com

24Kirbyville Kirbyville Public Library Local Author Event, (409) 423-4653, kirbyvillelibrary.org

Submit Your Event!We pick events for the magazine directly fromTexasCoopPower.com. Submit your event forJune by April 10, and it just might be featured in this calendar!

April 19–24New BraunfelsTexas Woodcarvers GuildSpring Seminars

Lamesa [24–26] Chicken-Fried Steak Festival/Balloon Rally, (806) 777-1171,ci.lamesa.tx.us

25Canadian Block Party and Canadian’s Got Talent, (806) 323-6234, canadiantx.com

Granbury Annual Acton Nature Run,(817) 326-6005, actonnaturecenter.org

New Ulm Art Festival, (713) 446-6348,newulmartfestival.org

26Lake Jackson Taste of the Town,(979) 285-2501, visitbrazosport.com

30Helotes [30–May 3] Cornyval and PRCARodeo, (210) 695-2103, cornyval.org

May2Boerne Heal the Soul 5K/10K Trail Run,(830) 331-8950, kcwstexas.org

Stephenville Cowboy Capital MS Trail Ride,(254) 592-1895, mstrailride.com

Victoria Cinco de Mayo Celebration,(361) 573-5277, visitvictoriatexas.com

Call for Details! 877-685-4682

Quality, affordable travel since 1967!

Travel with others in the AG Industry!

Please mention promo code CF09500

Autumn Leaves Tour Striking Fall Foliage in the Northeast

14 days from $1499*Departs September 18 & October 9, 2015. Start in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution. Travel through the colorful vistas of Amish country to historic Gettysburg and tour Civil War battlefields. Visit the Corning Museum of Glass and see the spectacle of the astonishing Niagara Falls, Canada. Enjoy a sightseeing cruise through the 1000 islands. Drive through the beautiful scenery of Adirondack Park, Lake Placid, the White and the Green Mountains including Franconia Notch State Park and Flume Gorge. Follow the Freedom Trail in colonial Boston. Visit Plymouth, Cape Cod National Seashore and tour one of the famous mansions in Newport, RI. Explore New York City seeing all the major sights of the “Big Apple.” *PPDO. Plus $159 tax/service/government fees. Add $100 for September 18th departure date. Alternate September - October departure dates available.Seasonal charges may apply. Add-on airfare available.

B U T T E R F L I E S o f T E X A S

FIG 1

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FIG 1: SPICEBUSH SWALLOWTAIL Host Plant: Spicebush FIG 2: RED ADMIRAL Host Plant: Pellitory FIG 3: MOURNING CLOAK Host Plant: Cottonwood

FIG 4: ZEBRA LONGWING Host Plant: Passionvine FIG 5: GULF FRITILLARY Host Plant: Passionvine FIG 6: SULPHUR SOUTHERN DOGFACE Host Plant: Alfalfa

FIG 7: PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL Host Plant: Pipevine FIG 8: TIGER SWALLOWTAIL Host Plant: Texas Ash

FIG 9: LONG-TAILED SKIPPER Host Plant: Phaesoelus FIG 10: MONARCH Host Plant: Milkweed

B U T T E R F L I E S o f T E X A S

WATERCOLOR BY ALETHA ST. ROMAIN • ©2006 TEXAS CO-OP POWER

WIN A SET OF SIGNED POSTERS

We’re giving away a set of 16" x 20" Butterflies of Texas

and Hummingbirds of Texas posters signed by artist Aletha St. Romain.

ENTER TODAY AT

the state, visit TexasCoopPower.com/events

42 Texas Co-op Power April 2015

“You could be blindfolded and drivenaround for hours,” says Terry “Tex” Toler,“but you’ll know exactly where you are theminute you take the blindfold off.” Tolerrefers to his adopted hometown of Llano,where he manages Llano’s Main Street Pro-gram. He attributes the area’s rock-solidunique identity to geology, which is quin-tessential Hill Country with a mighty doseof moonscape thrown in.

The city of Llano sits amid modestlymountainous terrain. Round Mountain,Packsaddle Mountain and Dancer Peak arehigh points on the Llano Uplift. The upliftis an island of granite that got superheatedabout 2.5 billion years ago and then cooled,leaving giant bubbles of granite nowexposed by millions of years of erosion.Enchanted Rock, the massive pink granitedome just 15 miles south of Llano, is a conspicuous upshot. Enclosed in a statepark, Enchanted Rock is a mecca for rockclimbers who revere the dome’s diverseclimbs, with names such as Raw Meat, Fearof Flying and Stranger Than Friction thatevoke a sense of what’s involved in ascend-ing the 425-foot tall batholith.

The igneous excitement is reflectedeverywhere in this town of 3,232 peoplethat’s anchored in its historic square,presided over by the two-story sandstone,marble and granite Victorian-style countycourthouse. The courthouse faces FordStreet on the east (which becomes Besse-mer Avenue north of downtown) andSandstone Street on the south. The streetnames are reminders that Llano had aniron-mining boom in the 1890s and stillenjoys something of a rock boom.

From its vantage point at the top of theuplift, Llano is front and center for all sortsof precious stones and minerals (includinggold) that were kicked up over the volatilePrecambrian years. That includes one-of-a kind llanite, a type of granite sparkedwith blue quartz crystals that is found onlyin Llano County. You can see a dike of llan-

ite on a road cut on Texas Highway 16about 9 miles north of town.

You also can buy llanite at EnchantedRocks & Jewelry, owned by Frank Rowell andhis wife, Patricia Felts, who is a jeweler.Rowell knows all the best places to lookfor rocks, but one of his favorites is theLlano River, not far from the courthouse.Wade into the stream downhill from theintersection of East Sandstone and Ashstreets, where swimming also is allowed.

You can’t miss the river: It flows throughthe heart of Llano, underneath the beautifulRoy Inks Bridge, a four-span, steel, 1930s-era truss bridge that connects downtownproper to the rest of the city. That’s whereyou’ll find the other half of Llano, includingthe outdoor music venue behind the his-toric Badu House bed-and-breakfast. It fea-tures two decks and a patio with twofireplaces for heating up chilly winternights. This is a soulful place that wouldinspire a bit of jealousy in many an Austinhangout. For more live music, Fuel CoffeeHouse ( just off the square) perks nightlywith music ranging from the Ukulele Clubto the Lake Bottom Jazz Band.

No visit to Llano would be completewithout experiencing the fine barbecue.Laird’s and Inman’s Kitchen and Brother’s Bar-

B-Que are contenders, but Cooper’s BBQreigns supreme. Whiff the aroma of brisket,pork chops, ribs, chicken and sausage cook-ing in the huge pit in front of the restaurant.Some connoisseurs go so far as to insist thatLlano is the real barbecue capital of Texas,but you can decide for yourself.

Deer season is big in Llano, which alsocalls itself the deer capital of Texas. But thecity is a year-round happy hunting groundfor more diverse events, including the LlanoArt Studio Tour, Fiddle Fest, CrawfishOpen, Blue Bell & Bluegrass Festival, OpenPro Rodeo & Parade, Rock’n River Fest andStarry Starry Nights. There’s also LlanoHeritage Weekend, where Toler is planningto add a national rock-stacking contest tothe other events such as the chuck wagonmeal, shoot-out, author extravaganza andteam roping. Rock stacking is similar tosand castle building, but practitioners usebigger elements and get taller results.

They are coming to the right place:Llano, it turns out, was made to rock.

Read more of author Helen Thompson’s work atseeninhouse.com.

Hit the Road

Llano: Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceThis Hill Country town comes by its many assets naturally

BY HELEN THOMPSON

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A jumble of massive pink granite boulderscharacterizes the distinctive Hill Countrygeography around Llano.

WEB EXTRAS at TexasCoopPower.comYou’ll find details about lodging, dining,historic sites and maps.

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April edition of Texas Co-op Power

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