In Spite of Hurricane, Texas Wildfires Burn

From Texas Forest Service, July 24, 2008...

Texas Forest Service responded to two fires for five acres in East Texas. Higher humidity from Hurricane Dolly helped firefighters make good progress on the numerous large fires that started Tuesday. Fires in Blanco, Wichita, Mason, Lampasas, Hays, Scurry, and Brown counties were contained yesterday. Additional progress is expected again today on the remaining large fires as humidity values remain high.

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Fields of lavender and containers of caladiums

From Dallas Morning News, July 18, 2008...

It was her husband's idea to move to Blanco from Austin, to buy and restore an old stone barn to live in and to plant thousands of lavender plants as a crop in the rocky, limestone soil. A National Geographic photographer, Robb Kendrick had spent weeks in the south of France documenting how perfume is made. He noticed the similarities in soil and climate between Provence and the Hill Country.

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The Lavender Queen

From CNNMoney.com, June, 2008...

This memoir could just as easily have been titled The Unlikely Entrepreneur, as Ralston goes from highflying Manhattan writer to founder and primary farmhand of the first lavender company in Texas. She battles scorpions, heat, and isolation but finds liberation through running a business. Hill Country Lavender has since spawned imitators, a lavender festival, and a flourishing summer economy for the town of Blanco.

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Private Race Track and Car Club Planned in Blanco

From statesman.com February 7, 2008...

Texas' Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette owners may soon have a new playground in Blanco County.

A $13 million private motor sports club with two high-performance racecourses is in the works for an unspecified location in the northern part of the county.

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