The Two Faces of Mother Nature

When you picture Mother Nature, does she have a kind, benevolent face?  I picture her dressed in flowing robes, tenderly caring for colorful, fragrant flowers in the garden.

But yesterday I saw the evil twin of Mother Nature when high winds, with gusts up to 50 mph, visited my home town of El Paso, Texas.

The winds should not have been a great surprise to anyone who is familiar with springtime in the Desert Southwest. We can't escape our typical seasonal weather pattern, with temperatures warming up to the 80's to tease us, followed by cold fronts moving in to drop temperatures and stir up clouds of dust.

But when I awoke this morning, Mother Nature had been extremely mischievous in our front and back yards.

A large yucca plant had blown over and was blocking the front steps to the house.

The chinaberry tree, that I had been checking every day for signs of its heavenly scented blossoms, had cracked, and one of its large limbs had fallen over a walkway. 

Not too pretty, Mother Nature!  But she had also left delights in the garden this springtime.

A large Wallflower "Bowled Mauve" (Erysimum) that I thought had died during our long, hot summer, came back to life, putting out purple spikes in all directions.

A very large Cassia shrub in the pool yard has been a mass of aromatic yellow blossoms for at least three weeks now, perfuming the whole area, especially if we are lucky enough to have a hint of moisture in the air.

Climbing roses against a stone wall are an early springtime delight and are always good for a sweet whiff as you pass by. 

But maybe the plants I truly respect are the rough, tough native plants that give so much beauty with so little care. Mother Nature must love them.

Such impressive flowers from a small, thorny cactus.

And the gangly creosote bush in the front yard has recently put on a show of small yellow flowers. Creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata) are well known in the Desert Southwest for emitting an aroma similar to that of witch hazel after a spring shower. This must have been the year for creosotes, because we have probably twenty volunteer plants on our property.  I'm not going to chop down a one.   

I may have to modify my image of Mother Nature, realizing that she (like all of us, I suppose) occasionally has a bad day and puts on her ugly face.

I'm hoping she stays in a good mood until summer  arrives, bringing us long,leisurely days, colorful sunsets, and cool desert evenings.

A hometown dining adventure

Does this conversation ever happen at your house?  "Do you want to go out for lunch?"  "Yes, but where?" And do you often end up by default at tried and true local restaurants?

On a recent warm springlike day, my husband Wayne and I agreed that we were looking for a new dining adventure for lunch. A flyer had arrived with the morning newspaper, announcing a restaurant and bar in an older area of our home town of El Paso, Texas. The restaurant had the intriguing name of  "The Frutas Avenue Fraternal & Social Club."  

The Frutas Avenue Fraternal & Social Club

The location was part of a historic property that had been established in 1904 as a brewery and had changed owners (and products during Prohibition years) until closing in 1967 as the Falstaff Brewing Company. The flyer explained that the restaurant property was a remodel of a Falstaff VIP party property created as a mock German Village.

Mock German Village

The current restaurant description included a German Beer Garden, which was a patio with shade trees and hanging colored lights.

German Beer Garden

  

 

Outdoor Bar

I was especially interested in the history of the establishment.  And Wayne checked the menu carefully, especially the descriptions of daily plate lunch specials such as Grandma's Pot Roast, Stuffed Bell Peppers, and Homemade Meatloaf.  Sandwiches and desserts were also on the menu.  

We arrived at the restaurant about 1:00 pm on a Monday. Wayne fortunately got the last available plate of pot roast with vegetables, bread and dessert.  My choice was the vegetarian sandwich. We ate a quiet lunch indoors.

Indoor restaurant

Conversations with the owner and an employee reflected a vision of what they intended the Frutas Avenue Club to be - a quiet, welcoming place (no music allowed) with home style food and friendly service.  The free pool table in a back room would be perfect to entertain a bored teenager.

Pool table in former Starting Cellar

I have already "liked" the establishment on Facebook so that we will receive future messages about the twice monthly barbecue offerings in the patio. And we will return on one of El Paso's picture perfect summer evenings. sit in the patio with a glass of iced tea, and solve life's problems with stimulating company and conversation.