Hello, Cowgirl in The Tub ... *

For several years now, I've been talking about getting a galvanized steel stock tank to use as a cowgirl bathtub outside.  Last week I finally stopped talking and took action.  I hopped into FloraBob, my little green truck, and we headed south to American Fence & Supply Company in League City, which had the style of stock tank I wanted: a 2 foot wide, 1 foot deep, 6 foot long tank with ribbed sides.  AFS employees loaded it into the truck bed and away I went! 

Since I was already so far south, I headed over to Bacliff to pick up some sculptures from nurseryman/artist Mark Fox (more on those in a future post).  From there I headed over to Seabrook, home to Maas Nursery. On the way, there I was happily surprised to discover a place from my past: Casa Mare, a Girl Scout camp on Galveston Bay where my troop spent many happy hours.  I doubt there's ever been another camp house like it and it was bittersweet to see conventional single story dorms standing in the spot where a grand mansion once reigned.  Take a look at this photograph and then read this article by freelance writer Susan Perry Benson, and you'll understand my feelings.

I continued on to Maas Nursery and despite my promise to the Head Gardener that I wouldn't do any planting within 2 weeks of the Garden Bloggers' Fling in San Francisco, I left Maas with a summer phlox and an orange echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit'.  And because I was feeling more than little peckish, I drove on over to Galveston and picked up a shrimp po-boy at Shrimp N Stuff.  I drove along the seawall, munching my sandwich and enjoying the view of the ocean.  It was a great way to spend my day.  As for the reason for the trip, I don't know why I didn't treat myself to a cowgirl swimming pool years ago!  It makes gardening in the heat and humidity much more bearable!

*I've been listening to a lot of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on Pandora lately ... apologies to Neil Young for messing with his lyrics.