Kathy and I did not have much time to attend to landscaping after moving to Texas. With Noah's illness and the summer droughts, we just did not have the opportunity to plant grass. To get by, each year I dutifully tilled the soil and threw out rye grass to keep the yard from getting too many weeds and keep the soil from blowing away.

The winter before Noah's passing, I spread the rye grass by pushing Noah along in a jogging stroller (he was not much up for walking then) and he spread the grass while I steered. It looked great all winter and for a good part of the spring, which ended in May when it hit 100+ degrees every day for a week. Slowly the beautiful rye green turned to brown.

Our neighbors had all done their yards. Some with turf, some with seed. For those who have lived in Texas, it won't be a surprise to hear how the winds can blow there, and some of our neighbors seed found it's way over to our front yard. The septic tank drainage fields gave it substance and some of that grass took root.

One day I was walking the dogs around the neighborhood, and I was thinking how tough it was for all those who had just put in new yards, only to be restricted in their watering by a long drought. As I approached our house I noticed how green some grass was that had freely taken root in our yard. It stood out sharply from the now very brown rye. Then I realized I was looking at a green image of the state of Texas.

Finding the "shape of Texas" was a big game with Noah from the moment we arrived in Texas. He would find that shape on the sides of buildings, along the roadway where the bridges would cross over the highway; just about any other place you can imagine. I looked at that green patch of lawn and laughed. My first thought was Noah you must have done this, and just then a cool breeze came through swinging the trees from side to side.