We are very fortunate to live in the part of Texas that gets enough (although sometimes too much) rain. That rain helps to make for green grass and for lots of trees. I like to munch on the grass when Mom lets Sophia and I out on our leads in our play area. Of course, she yells a lot when I throw up that green grass, but doing that is a cat thing. I also like the trees. We had a big Bois d’ arc tree that was in our play area. Now it is just a very tall stump. I like to sharpen my claws on it, although I like to sharpen them on the corner of the sofa more often. When Mom and Dad moved here, there was also a big hackberry tree outside the kitchen window, two hackberries by the swimming pool and another at the far edge of the back yard. All of them fell. The two types of trees are very different. The wood of a Bois d’ arc is harder than teak (per the man who cleared those other trees) while the hackberry rots easily from the inside out. That is why the hackberries are known for just falling over in a wind.

Our big back yard is lined with a mixture of younger trees – Bois d’ arc and hackberry. It almost looks like a green fence enclosing the whole thing. The two types of trees leaf out differently in the Spring. The hackberries open their leaves early while the Bois d’ arc waits with its tiny buds. I like the look when either of them has just tiny little leaves. Later the hackberry leaves will be like the whole tree; they drop those leaves easily. By August they cover the ground. The Bois d’ arc hangs on to their leaves much longer. They drop their large fruit, but that is another story for another day. This last week both types have spread all of their leaves. I had Mom take a picture while the leaves were still tiny. Enjoy.