Texas is the place to be for archaeologists these days. Right now in Houston, the fossil Lucy is part of an exhibit at the Natural History Museum. And last week, the Dallas Museum of Art announced that it will host the King Tut exhibit next year.

I finally made it over to the Dallas Arboretum last week. It has been too hot (plus I have been to tired) to go until now. It is a really nice setting on White Rock Lake, big with mazes of gardens and lots of things for kids to explore. The Autumn Festival is going on now, so there were loads of fall flowers, 20,000 pumpkins lining the paths, and a pumpkin patch with a pumpkin house. I was surprised there were so many people there during the week, but there were some school groups, mothers with toddlers, retirees, and out-of-town tourists.

We are readying for our first onslaught of Dallas trick-or-treaters. At least six neighbors stopped by to warn us about Halloween here. Apparently Swiss Avenue, the street right behind us that is lined with old mansions, gets 3,000 to 4,000 trick-or-treaters every year. Obviously the more industrious of those hit our street as well. The neighborhood in general seems to go all out for Halloween decorating as well. I’m glad; Halloween was a big deal in the Heights, and I would have missed that.

Happy Halloween!