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Have you been to Polly, Texas? Do you know where Polly is? Have you ever heard of Polly? You need to. This is a truly scenic and serene area full of grand oaks and Hill Country cedars along the banks of Privilege Creek and Bear Creek. And full of history. Mostly abandoned now, about 70 families once called Polly, Texas home.

People ask you why you fish for crappies. I mean, what’s the deal? They don’t yank down your scales like a big yellow cat. They don’t strip your reel like a striped bass. They don’t explode the surface like a lunker largemouth. And I’ll bet you haven’t read any Hemingway novels about The Old Man and the Crappie.

A wedding definitely represents a major milestone for any loving couple seeking to affirm their deep, emotional commitments to each other. And as such, its inception and, actual execution, take on an importance that, when successfully achieved, can help ensure a lauded recognition of what all associated desire to be the joyous beginning of two shared lives.

We have been married for 27 years (it’s true)! Mercedes grew up in Manila, Philippines and Jesse in Orange County, California. We met at a friend’s house which just happened to be everybody’s hangout place. Following our graduation from art school, Mercedes did a lot of work as a graphic designer, and Jesse worked first as a 3D artist and then transitioned into digital strategy. Thirteen years ago, we moved from California to Austin, Texas, and ten years ago started a wedding photogra ...

Want to take a trip back in time? Want to stop the cattle rustlers? Want to star in a Western movie? You can do it every weekend right here in the Hill Country. The good guys with guns in their hands may be you or your family and friends. The bad guys are steel targets.

To help maintain their good looks and vitality, TV and movie celebrities have come up with workout routines that promise to burn calories, tone muscles and presumably slow the aging process. They’ll be happy to share their “secrets” with you…for a price. I’m certainly no celebrity, but as a ranch resident of the Texas Hill Country with its ubiquitous, evergreen ashe juniper (or mountain cedar), I myself have developed The Kickin’-Ashe Workout that delivers heart-pumpin’, muscl ...

Return with us now to those hippie days of yesteryear. From out of the past comes the sort of clothing that grabs your attention with colors and designs that seem more random and unique than you could ever imagine. Tie-dye clothing amazes us again. The Hill Country Mistress of Tie-Dye is Robin Wood of Wimberley who has been creating this distinctive clothing loveliness for more than 20 years now. “I always enjoyed wearing tie-dye clothing,” she recalls. In her travels Robin attended ...

“You know something,” mused Graham Avery. “The theatre is like sausage. You'll enjoy it. You’ll like it. You may even love it. But you don’t really want to know how it’s made!” I was chatting with the retired ophthalmologist who’s a regular performer at Hill Country Community Theatre (HCCT). It was a Wednesday evening and we were backstage waiting to begin Moon Over Buffalo.

Ashe junipers, or the ubiquitous “cedar” trees covering the terrain, generally elicit scorn from Hill Country landowners. Most consider the bushy evergreens to be a nuisance, robbing the soil of moisture, causing miserable allergic reactions during pollination and serving no greater purpose than raw material for gnarly fence posts. But the Klaassen family views cedars as natural works of art that can be transformed into sturdy, attractive bed frames and other pieces of rustic furniture.

The act of skilled, visual creativity is an astounding thing. The proficiency to physically and emotionally capture, in two- and/or three-dimension, likenesses that evoke an other-worldly reality has always been an appreciated and revered aspect within the greater realm of the recognized arts. It’s inspiring when encountered as are those few gifted with the abilities to actually execute.