Warrior priest saves Texas for Spanish Crown

Spanish authorities banished Father Juan Manuel Zambrano from provincial Texas on May 22, 1814, but the combative priest stood his ground and forced his earthly adversaries to rescind the order. Gov. Manuel de Salcedo succeeded in sending Zambrano into exile in 1807.

Squished

Living the rugged, country life is going to kill me. Every day I face harrowing circumstances. I become injured. (I stubbed my toe on a rock.) I bleed. (Blackberry bushes have thorns.) Just last week, I nearly died.  It all started with the chickens.

Financial gifts – and tips – for new graduates

It’s Graduation Season again. If your child is graduating from high school or college, you have reason to celebrate. But what should you give to your newly minted diploma holder?

Legislature grinds toward May 29 close with much still to accomplish

With a mere two weeks remaining until the end of the 85th regular session of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers have not yet finalized a state budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.  The Legislature’s 150 House members and 31 Senate members can work around the clock, if need be.

Museum piece

A little earlier, I was helping my mom run some errands. This gave us a chance to talk, and the conversation drifted in and out of various topics.

So you don’t have a tiara

If you know me personally, it is no secret that I think my granddaughters are the most beautiful, personable and confident little darlings on the planet. Two of my said darlings under four years of age participated in the Five Hills pageant on Saturday. We were ready!

LBJ faces mudslinger in 1946 campaign

H ardy Hollers began his bid for Lyndon Johnson’s congressional seat on May 13, 1946 with these fighting words:  “He went on a few months’ sightseeing tour of the Pacific with a camera in one hand and leading his publicity agent by the other.

When do plants need fertilizer

All plants grow and survive by taking in carbon, hydrogen and oxygen which is available in air and water. The five micronutrients they need are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Secondary nutrients are sulfur, calcium and magnesium. The micronutrients are copper, iron and zinc.

Repealing Obamacare easier said than done

R epublicans have put on a clinic on overpromising during the past several years. Even if you were paying only very little attention, you would have gotten the distinct impression over the past four election cycles that the GOP was unalterably committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Nuggets from mom

I stopped the paragraph after the word mom because she’s so amazing, she warrants her own paragraph. She’s so incredible, any words that come after that name are bland by comparison. My mom is this beautiful, complicated blend of cotton-candy squish and brick-wall slam. She’s safe. She’s strong.