It's a long history of happy drives through Texas Hill Country and this one yesterday was welcome. Despite the drought and other factors, oaks and junipers appeared to be thriving, and there was little evidence of the dying, withered flora that has characterized trips in recent years. Yet, something is missing, and it's hard to grasp except that what came to mind again and again was, where is the milkweed?

What is gone is bigger than that, but the absence of milkweed seemed to clue the whole of it...