Romantic Mission San Jose

Our U.S. National Park Service is turning 100 this week and this third post in my series on the San Antonio missions is in honor of that event.  According to their special centennial website:  "We invite you to find your park and discover the national parks and programs in your own backyard!"

I'm taking up their challenge since sharing the beautiful sights of San Antonio is one of my favorite blog activities.  What better way to celebrate than to take their advice and visit my nearest national park.  The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park comprises four Spanish missions established along the San Antonio River in the early 18th Century.  The fifth mission, The Alamo, is managed by the State of Texas and is not part of the national park.  Mission San José south of town along Mission Road is the mission we're visiting today.

Completed in 1782, Mission San Jose is the largest and most romantic of the four missions.

San Antonio is a romantic city with our tree-shaded River Walk and the rose window fits right in with our beautiful city.  Completed in 1775 La Ventana de Rosa is considered the finest example of Baroque carving in North America, the window has been beautifully preserved on a stone wall at the mission.   The story of the window remains a mystery since there are no records on who carved the window or why.  All this mystery lends itself to several romantic versions of the story.

Today an iron fence and a deep window well keep vandals at bay.  The window was carved from soft white limestone brought from farther north along the San Antonio river while most of the church was built with locally available darker stone.  Differences with surrounding architecture makes the window appear to have been added after the church was built even though it was completed about six years earlier.  

One tower was never completed.

Soft white limestone and Baroque carvings similar to the rose window contrasts with the surrounding more rustic building stone.

Intricate carvings up close.  Some pieces have been restored using old tools.

Inside the most elaborate of the mission church interiors.  The church is still an active parish which is responsible for maintenance of the structure and interior of the church.  The frescoes were restored about 15 years ago.



The two story convento housed priests, missionaries, and travelers on the second floor while the lower level contained storage and work rooms.

Originally stone exterior surfaces were covered with plaster frescoes like this remnant shown below.  On September 9th of this year, patterns will be projected in light on the front of the church as part of the World Heritage Festival.

Brick used to shore up a restoration of the bell tower.

You might have noticed a gathering on the left above and near the center of the convento below.

A wedding reception was in progress at this active parish church and the bride, taking a break from her guests, posed among the massive stone walls surrounding the mission on a very windy day.  I've visited many of our national parks and, while I'm sure there are weddings and other events held there, it's rare to find buildings in those parks still being used for their original purposes.

Spanish missions in the new world flew the Cross of Burgundy flag.  Some of the stonework, like this gate, is newer 19th and 20th Century additions.  

As the missions fell into disuse the original stones were removed by locals for their own buildings and restoration to reflect new uses was necessary.  Enough early stonework remains for a good sense of how the buildings looked in the 1700s.

Asphalt sidewalks and glass doors to offices used by the parish are probably not original.

Early Spanish missions were much more than churches as shown by the rows of rooms which housed converts who worked the surrounding farmland.  Some of today's parishoners are descendants of those early converts.  These rooms were rebuilt in the 1920s on the original foundations.

An interior view of one room.

Vigas and latillas ceilings were commonplace back then.  My friend Jeannette slept under ceilings like this in her childhood home and reports that they were prone to dropping debris on you.

An oven just outside the living quarters.

A few of the yuccas in the middle of the courtyard.

Oddly placed Live Oak probably about 25 years old.  At least it doesn't hide the famous window from the entrance.

Just over a year ago the San Antonio Missions were designated a World Heritage Site.

Another beautiful, romantic spot to visit in San Antonio.

Happy Birthday to our U.S. National Park Service!  It's a great reason to get out and enjoy the park in your backyard.  I visited Mission Concepción here and to see my visit to Mission Espada last fall click here.

Mission Concepción

Our U.S. National Park Service is turning 100 on August 25th.  According to their special centennial website: "We invite you to find your park and discover the national parks and programs in your own backyard!"

Well, that's easy.  Sharing the beautiful sights of San Antonio is one of my favorite blog activities, so what better way to celebrate than to take their advice and visit my nearest national park.  The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park comprises four Spanish missions established along the San Antonio River in the early 18th Century.  The fifth mission, The Alamo, is managed by the State of Texas and is not part of the national park.  Founded in 1716 by Franciscan Friars, Mission Concepción is the most easily accessed of the four since it stands closest to downtown.

Dedicated in 1755 the main church building is just a few years younger and very similar in style to San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio.

On the Feast day of Assumption the ocular window over the door directs a beam of sunlight into the exact center of the cross-shaped church.

For nearly three centuries a crowd has gathered to see the light every August 15th.

The restored fresco ceiling and dome mark the spot from overhead.



An iron scrollwork lantern with brightly colored glass lights the side of the altar.

Frescoes left unrestored in a niche add to the sense of history.

Decorative details on a side corridor which leads outside again.

Stone archway connects buildings.

Along side the church walls are very fortress-like.

A few of the original working buildings remain.



We visited the stone grotto on the grounds.

Since this is a garden blog after all....

Karst stones commonly found in my northside neighborhood look remarkably like catacombs.

The sign reminds visitors to be respectful of the grotto.

Another look back at the church framed by oaks against our typically bright blue sky.

This view from the nearby road is the one residents see while heading to work or running errands.



Just another beautiful day sightseeing in my backyard.  Next up Romantic Mission San Jose, and to see my visit to Mission Espada last fall click here.

August: Oh Sage!

Texas sage doesn't bloom like this very often so when they do it's time to celebrate.

As stand outs in the landscape they appear very much as I envisioned this scene when planting these seven Leucophyllum frutescans  'Silverado' back in 2012.

Bright blooms burst open ten days on the nose after a deep soaking rain the last week of July.  Jenny of Rock Rose blog in Austin also adds that we need a few dry weeks before the rain arrives to bring on this dramatic display.  I think so too since frequent spring rains produce sporadic blooms in overlapping succession and are not nearly as striking.  Texas sage is known as "barometer bush" and is sometimes thought to predict rain.  If that were the case, these blooms would have arrived a few days ahead of the rain back in July.

A few clouds but no rain in the forecast now.

Flowers have been buzzing with bee activity.

All the same type of honey bee.  While a few butterflies have flown past on their way to other plants, it's just hundreds of bees on the sage.

"The sage in bloom, is like perfume" as the song Deep in the Heart of Texas goes.  A light fragrance starts off a bit musty then turns more floral as it ages.

It's even been fun to take out the trash which is located just at the end of the row left of the garage.

Our neighbors have a nice view which they appreciate.

Our view from the front walk is pretty nice too

The blooms are fleeting, especially in summer heat and are already dropping their flowered confetti on the ground.

After a few weeks rest, they'll be primed to bloom again when autumn rains arrive.

The Spanish Governor's Palace and Courtyard Garden

As San Antonio begins the countdown to our 300th anniversary celebration in 2018, I'm playing tourist and sharing even more of my city's history.  The Spanish Governor's Palace is a place I've wondered about because it certainly doesn't look like a palace.  It turns out that the building was the residence and office of the Captains of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar or Spanish Garrison at San Antonio so it was never a palace and there weren't any Governors living here either.  The inflated title was the result of a romanticized vision back in the 1920s to help promote the preservation of a significant piece of San Antonio history.  Myth or reality, the important part is the story saved one of our earliest buildings dating back to 1720.

Wildlife Wednesday August 2016: Deer, deer, deer

It's the first Wednesday of August and time for Wildlife Wednesday hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says...".

I walk out into the garden one morning last week and a garter snake slithers away while hummingbirds zip in and out of the Aniscanthus wrightii along with several different bees.  A striking white butterfly I haven't seen before is resting on a bright bougainvillea.  Wildlife Wednesday is coming up!  I don't have my camera!  Returning a few minutes later with the camera to find that all of the above, except a few bees, have vanished.  It's much too hot to sit and wait for their reappearance so we'll take a walk around front to enjoy the neighborhood deer in my neighbor's yard.  Since I can see all of this from my front yard, I'm calling it within the spirit of Wildlife Wednesday.

Good morning!

Wildlife Wednesday: July 2016

Wildlife Wednesday celebrates its two-year anniversary today.  Two years of taking time on the first Wednesday of each month to post about wildlife in my garden and linking up with our hostess Tina at "My Gardener says...." for a look at wildlife in blogger gardens far and wide.  I appreciate the nudge this meme gives me to keep a camera handy and an eye out for wildlife while in the garden.

Almost every month I come up with a .GIF or "Awesome Motion" in Google terms.  For July it's an Anole up in a live oak showing off his dewlap to assert his territory and attract a mate.

Happy Fourth!

Out and about early this summer morning I spotted our neighbor's flags waving in the breeze.

He's a Vietnam veteran...

...who brings out the flags on every patriotic holiday.

Happy Independence Day!