Cacti, Oaks, and Palms.

I've written about it before - WE LOVE AUSTIN! We searched countrywide and feel our choice was spot on.

But I have an issue. It's Oaks and CACTI versus PALM TREES.

As areas are built out, as housing developments go in, some people opt for the native look and others for the more exotic.

To be BLUNT - THIS AIN'T FREAKIN' FLORIDA, all right?

Give me a gnarly Live or Spanish Oak - the kind with the trunk that goes every which way... give me a cactus... or a Mesquite! That's Texas done right.

SAVE US from the Palm Tree. That's FREAKIN' FLORIDA.

The Cactus: symbol of the west. Prickly. Iconic. Weathers well. Can take the heat. Flowers beautifully. Built in self-defense. Minimal care. Chaps. Leather. Boots. Grub. Horses. Longhorns. Jackrabbits the size of deer.

The Live or Spanish Oak (two species - Spanish Oaks are live, not Live): Character in a tree... sometimes covered in aerobic moss that takes nourishment from the AIR. Songbirds. Acorns. Shadows. The moon marries the shadows to give a sense of possibility, mystery, history. Campfires.

The Palm tree: Miami Vice reruns. Coke snorts patio side. Toned bodies, temples of plastic surgery. Boca. Pretention. The Afghan Hound of trees. Prissy. Two dimensional. One evolutioinary step from a STALK. Pastels. Strappy sandals. Yorkshire terriers yapping at pool floats.

I say piss on a Palm and keep Texas TEXAS.