Think of what we take for granted living in the country. For example this morning a gentle rain on the porch roof. The roof is made of metal and the rain falls on it in a syncopated rhythm through which drift notes of birdsong. The most insistent is from a wren.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O, what a foretaste of glory divine.

C APITAL Highlights Dozens of Texas wind projects have been halted because the Department of Defense has not approved the federal permits required for them to move forward, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Data from the American Clean Power Association indicate that the state has 54 wind projects stalled as part of a nationwide delay affecting 165 onshore wind projects.

T EXAS History The last “Orphan Train” left New York City on May 31, 1929 bound for Sulphur Springs and points west ln the Lone Star State. Charles Loring Brace was a college-educated minister and social reformer working in the slums of New York City in the middle of the nineteenth century.

There’s a stretch of land between Austin and San Antonio where something unusual is taking shape. Not a subdivision.

Don’t ask me why, but I am always amazed, and mildly amused, by the beliefs I have cherished most of my life. I do hate a rude awakening.

In my last article on The Weed Experiment, I wrote about testing out mechanical control of weeds using a shredder. Check with the Fayette County Record if you missed this article. They may have a copy you can buy. This article goes into more detail and again, “Your results may vary.”

It took Johnny Rutherford a decade to win his first Indianapolis 500, but on Memorial Day 1974 his dream finally came true. John Sherman Rutherford III was born in 1938 in Coffeyville, Kansas which may come as something of surprise to many of his fans that know him as “Lone Star Jr.” They can, however, take comfort in the fact that while still a preschooler his family brought him to Fort Worth, where he lives to this day.

The cross and the events that led up to it should cause us to ponder power. How is power used? What kind of power do we seek? There is religious power.

Early voting in both the Democratic and Republican runoff races ends Friday, May 22, with the election on Tuesday, May 26. On the GOP side, the statewide runoffs are: • U.S.