The Mayor of Needmore

by | Feb 10, 2024 | Bright Lights

Willie Lewis Shafer came to Bailey County in 1930, settled near what we now know as Needmore, and started farming with six teams of mules. He met Zeffa V. Stevenson on a blind date, and they were married in 1932. In 1937 Willie Lewis became manager of Needmore Co-Op...

Pachypodium Succulentum x. Bispinosum

by | Feb 3, 2024 | Cactus Are Cool

I picked up this little plant at the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) convention in Colorado Springs this year, 2023. I had not seen one before, but then it’s easy to see plants you’ve never seen before at these conventions! Vendors bring all...

The Trip to Marble Falls

by | Jan 28, 2024 | Cactus Are Cool

The Highland Lakes Native Plant Society invited me to give a talk on landscaping with drought-tolerant plants, so of course, I said yes. The meeting would be on January 20 at the Marble Falls Public Library, a mere ten minutes from our house at Lake LBJ, which meant I...

A Few Black Family Stories

by | Jan 17, 2024 | Bright Lights

Okay, so Nelda said the Redwines, the Blacks, and Johnson grass were going to take over Bailey County. (“If you live in Muleshoe, you might know a Redwine,” December 23, 2023). You now know about those Redwines, but what about that Black family? Well, turns out there...