Erik
Yeh, I guess that's why they call them the "Great Plains"! I think us people in the East take our trees for granted sometimes. Here in S.C. it's a perpetual battle to keep trees and shrubs from not taking over our yards. We would convert back to woodland in about 10 years if we left our yards alone. Never been to your area (SW Texas only) but I'll bet it's spectacular to see!

Penny,
as an ecologist I love it. We're on the ecotone of forest to the east and prairie to the west. It has been dynamic for millennia.
If you (or anyone else here!) want to visit, send me a PM. We are near major highways and have a guest room. Plus a pool surrounded by palms....
--Erik

Erik
Ecologist huh? My graduate work was in Freshwater Ecology (undergraduate Marine Biology go figure!). Thanks for the invite. I too have the pool surrounded by palms but if you stay here you will have to sleep on the couch!!! (son and grandsons back with us). Since I "retired" in 2002 I haven't had time to leave the state (except Mexico). I started several other businesses that are literally 24/7. I long for the free time I had when "working for the man".