Bandera's annual "Wild Hog Explosion" is one of those local down-home Texas events that was just too good to pass up
Where We Be
Bandera, Texas (Month of March)
The full kitchen has allowed us to do something unusual for us -- cook!
Our home for the month of March -- a quiet little cottage near Lake Medina
Deer wander through the open space behind our back yard on a daily basis here
Open the front door and what do you see? More deer!
Kicking back on the back porch with a glass of wine
Robin as the deer must see her from the fenceline
It's a short walk to Lake Medina
A uniquely beautiful stretch of the Guadalupe River near Brick's River Cafe in Bandera
Skooching closer at Brick's River Cafe in Bandera
My Mom and Dad were close enough to visit us from Houston during our time in Bandera
We've often wondered how logistically difficult and
expensive it would be to live for one month at a time
in different parts of the U.S. or the world. Would it be
possible to find a reasonably priced place to stay for
such a short duration? How would we go about finding
such a place? We got our first answers here in Texas.

We tried three useful approaches: 1) searching
Craigslist rental ads under "Sublets/Temporary;" 2)  
visiting the town in person and looking for "For Rent"
signs; and 3) calling local short-term rental agencies.
In this case, a rental agency helped us find an "artist's
cabin" near Lake Medina halfway between San Antonio
and the small town of Bandera. The cabin has plenty of
space for two and even offers an extra bedroom for
my parents when they visit. The cost: $600 for the
month, or $20 per day for the two of us -- not bad.

During our month here, we've especially enjoyed
sitting on the back porch with a glass of wine in hand,
watching the resident deer in the open space just
beyond the fenceline. Circling hawks are a common
sight, as well as colorful songbirds, hummingbirds,
and butterflies. We've even seen wild turkey. For
variety, we made three trips into San Antonio to enjoy
the Riverwalk, visited Bandera for a local hog festival,
and camped overnight at Lost Maples State Park.