texas - could i live here?

so, some of you may know that we have been offered a free place to live in texas. a three bedroom, two bath log cabin with a huge front porch across the street from my parents. ok, so that might be a little strange. but texas is a little strange. when most people think of texas, they imagine northwest texas - all dust and sagebrush. the only thing taller than the barbwire fences are the occasional cow or oil derrick. but southwest texas is totally different. texas in high summer is one of my favorite places in the world. Why?
1. the nighttime - fireflies flash from the grass as they rise into the trees, cicadas buzz and crickets chirp. the stars are dizzyingly bright and numerous. the air is warm and soft and smells like grass and warm earth. we take the ranger on night runs with a big flashlight - last summer with matt and effie and my brother, we saw the usual herds of deer bedding down, whitetail and the exotic axis, a skunk, a family of raccoons, and two armadillos. last week when we drove into texas, the road was covered with huge rattlesnakes, soaking up the heat from the blacktop as the air cooled.

2. the river. my folks live about a half mile from the frio river. it’s not that cold and it’s clean, clear, and beautiful. you can innertube or kayak, swim, or just feed the fish.

3. the people. everyone acts like people in the nw are so friendly. But if you say hi to, or smile at someone you don’t know in the nw, you have about a 75% return rate. in texas it’s right around 99.9%. when people say “have a nice day,” the mean it. as long as you're white.

4. blue bell ice cream – nothing compares.