Liberty Hill Living October 2021

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LIBERTY HILL

P R O U D LY C E L E B R AT I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y O F L I B E R T Y H I L L , T E X A S

GOT GETTING YOUR

LOCAL FARMERS RAISING HAPPY HERDS

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Welcome to Fall in Liberty Hill!

ALEX RUBIO PHOTO

I

t’s our favorite time of the year as summer’s scorching heat creeps aside making way for memorable sunsets and enjoyable evenings in Pantherland. As the sounds of the Liberty Hill High School Marching Band and the cheering crowds are carried aloft from Panther Stadium, the stress of the world takes a back seat for a moment as we’re reminded why we chose small-town life.

Most of us chose Liberty Hill for the family atmosphere, the freedom to spread out a little and enjoy the landscape as we sought an escape from the hectic pace and stress of bigger city life. And while some of those stressors have become increasingly present in our little town, we hold tight to the belief that things are just better out here and no matter what the challenge, we can meet it together.

This month, meet some goat farmers whose dedication to creating their happy herds may inspire you to adopt a few four-legged friends of your own.

The terrain here seems aptly suited for nature’s gardeners.

We also took a short drive to Spider Mountain and explored the wild world of downhill mountain biking in the Hill Country.

As we continue to face the challenges of staying safe during this new surge of the pandemic, Liberty Hill Living found a few options for enjoying time at home this fall. We found the experts at perfecting barbecue and take-home libations, then got to know a family whose astounding collection of board games offers never-ending challenges and entertainment. We also found a

The Fightin' Panther Club starts a recent football game with the traditional run across the field at Panther Stadium. It's a Liberty Hill tradition among elementaryage students that families look forward to every fall. way to eat healthier with microgreens, and discovered a local artist who is painting his memories and sharing them at a gallery he built on his homeplace.

Our mission here at Liberty Hill Living is to share with you the best of our hometown. Join us as we enjoy the fall on the Shin Oak Ridge of Texas.

Publisher

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PROUDLY CELEBRATING THE COMMUNITY OF LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS

CONTENTS 20

FEATURES 14 | GETTING YOUR GOAT

Liberty Hill goat farmers raising happy herds

20 | BUILDING BIKERS

Texas’ only lift-served mountain bike park offers world-class trails

36 | HAPPY HOUR TO GO

41

Get a taste of the best beverages you can take home

46 | MEMORIES ON CANVAS Painter uses life experiences to create works of art

41

52 | ROLL THE DICE

Enthusiasts explore different worlds through board games

DEPARTMENTS

10 | LIVING Local

Q&A: Angela Palmer

31 | LIVING Reptiles

Hobbyist turns snake relocator

41 | LIVING to Eat

Experts share their secrets to barbecue success

56 | LIVING Healthy Microgreens

60 | LIVING for Fun

Fall Events Calendar

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VOL 7, ISSUE 4 | OCTOBER 2 0 2 1 | www.LibertyHillLiving.com

LIBERTY HILL

P R O U D LY C E L E B R AT I N G T H E COMMUNIT Y OF LIBERT Y HILL, TEXAS

ABOUT OUR COVER

The goats of Shady Oak Farms are beloved by their owner, Kady Cochran, who breeds them for dairy products and benefits from their focus on keeping the land cleared.

PHOTO BY STACY COALE

GOT GETTING YOUR

LOCAL FARMERS RAISING HAPPY HERDS

LIBERTY HILL LIVING | A Publication of The Liberty Hill Independent Newspaper/Texas Independent News Corp.

PUBLISHER | Shelly Wilkison CREATIVE DIRECTOR | Stacy Coale PUBLICATION DESIGN | Kristen Holland ADVERTISING SALES | Stacy Coale CONTRIBUTING WRITERS | Scott Akanewich, Christian Betancourt, Rachel Madison

www.LibertyHillLiving.com The information in this publication was compiled with great care to assure the accuracy of editorial content and advertising copy. Liberty Hill Living and its parent company assume no liability for the accuracy of the information reported to us herein, and the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. For advertising rates and information, or to obtain additional copies, call (512) 778-5577 or send email to news@LHIndependent.com. The publisher appreciates the active support of Liberty Hill area businesses for their generous contributions to Liberty Hill Living. This publication is truly a collaborative effort of experienced journalists, a professional design team, advertising specialists and many others passionate about sharing the story of Liberty Hill, Texas. Find Liberty Hill Living online at www.LibertyHillLiving.com.

Copyright©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent/Texas Independent News Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

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LIVING | LOCAL

Angela Palmer Angela Palmer has been a big part of Liberty Hill for the last eight years.

In her role as director of the Liberty Hill Public Library, she has worked tirelessly to grow the library’s inventory, host successful summer reading programs, and oversee the renovations needed to keep the building operating. While her passion for books runs deep, she hasn’t always been a librarian. For example, her love for animals has led her to foster hundreds of dogs in her home over the last 17 years. And before she pursued library science in school, she was working on a doctoral degree in biological anthropology and studying ancient primates.

BY RACHEL MADISON

LHL: Before you became a librarian, you were pursuing a PhD in biological anthropology. Why did you change course?

Angela: I first got my master’s degree in biological anthropology, and then I applied to PhD programs to pursue the same thing. I got accepted into several programs, but the University of Texas offered the best package, which is why I moved to Texas. I worked on that and took my exams, and then got to my dissertation and decided I was unhappy.

I loved research, teaching, and doing stuff in the lab, but the rest of academia wasn’t for me. I realized it wasn’t what I wanted for my life.

I had worked in libraries previously while putting myself through school, so I decided to get a master’s degree in library science instead. I got my first library job in Bee Cave where I worked for eight years, and then I came to Liberty Hill, where I have been for eight years.

LHL: What is your favorite book?

Angela: I don’t have just one. I love Jane Austen, especially Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice. I also love the Lady Astronaut Universe series

by Mary Robinette Kowal. It’s one of my recent favorites. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks is another one of my favorites. That’s like one of those Russian doll books that keeps opening up more and more as you read it. I also love the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. I just finished number 17, and it’s just a fun series that gets better with every book.

LHL: What do you love about reading?

Angela: One of my favorite memories of my dad—he passed away when I was very young—was him lying on the floor and reading. I’d lean against him and we’d both read our books together. Reading is a way to visit other places and use your imagination. It feeds 10

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my curiosity. You can build whole words in your head and visit all those places. I loved Lord of the Rings as a kid, because it changed everything for me with that whole world building and imagining.

I came from a very small town, Dongola, Ill., and reading gave me a chance to get out of there and explore a wider world.

LHL: How did you get started fostering dogs?

Angela: My husband, Kim, and I adopted a dog in 2004 from a rescue, and I started out doing some fundraising for the rescue, but then we started fostering and that was it—we were hooked. We currently have six dogs of our own and one we are fostering, but we’ve been up to 20 something before. We foster dogs for Small Chance Rescue and Wee Rescue, both based out of Austin.

LHL: What do you like about fostering dogs?

Angela: I love watching the dogs come from being scared and having given up hope to nurturing them and seeing them start blossoming.

We’ve fostered almost 400 dogs over the years, and I have made some of my best friends through dog fostering. I fall in love with each dog, but some of them are forever dogs and I keep in contact with their people. We take a lot of medical cases and senior dogs that need more attention because we have the experience. A lot of what we do is getting the dogs healthy again and allowing them to decompress.

LHL: What other hobbies do you have?

Angela: I come from a very crafty family. I was in 4-H from the ages of 9 to 17 and was even the 4-H Queen for Union County, Ill., in 1981. I still have my tiara. I did everything in 4-H from cooking, canning, and preserving to animal care, livestock, sewing and public speaking. I still do a lot of those things today. I like to paper craft and make Christmas ornaments, and I also make putz houses, which are cardboard houses decorated with glitter that you can hang on your Christmas tree. They became popular in the 1940s and 50s, and my grandparents had them.

I like to collect them, but they are expensive, so I started making my own. I also like to bake cookies and make candy when I have a chance, and of course I listen to a lot of audio books.

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Liberty Hill goat farmers raising happy herds t isn’t uncommon to see a goat chewing on a tin can or climbing the biggest obstacle they can find. After all, it’s typical goat behavior as far as most people are concerned. But, there’s a lot more to goats than what meets the eye.

For goat raisers at Carleton Ranch and Shady Oak Farms, they are practically family, and their contributions are endless. From utilizing them as lawn mowers and tree trimmers to breeding them for show, these Liberty Hill goats have a lot going for them.

CARLETON RANCH

A loud “woooooo goats!” is all it takes for Sue Fuller’s herd of Boer goats to come running from the field they’ve been grazing in at Carleton Ranch in Liberty Hill. Even if she doesn’t have any treats for them, they are still motivated because as Fuller puts it, she’s the “source of all good things” for her herd.

Fuller hasn’t always been a goat farmer.

In fact, the notion fell into her lap after she inherited the ranch from her Uncle Bob in the mid-90s. At the time she lived and worked in Austin, but decided she’d sign on to take care of the ranch, which was home to goats and cattle. Even though she didn’t know a thing about livestock, she was determined to learn.

“My husband and I would come out on weekends, and we quickly realized there were way too many animals for the land, so we sold the cows,” she said. “I didn’t have the same type of attachment to them I had developed for the goats. We just rocked along for about 10 to 12 years with this herd of goats.”

The goats she inherited were Spanish (Brush) goats, but before he passed away Fuller’s uncle had arranged to buy a Boer goat. They were new to America in the early 14

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1990s and weren’t seen in nearly every goat pasture like they are now, Fuller said.

“When we saw the difference in the kids that the Boer buck produced compared to what the Spanish bucks produced, there was no going back because it was so much better,” she added. “At that time, we were rounding the babies up once a year and selling them for meat, so with the Boer goat kids we got more pounds of meat, which meant more money.”

After several years of selling the goats for meat, Fuller decided she didn’t like raising something people killed, so she switched gears. She started raising goats for 4-H and FFA students to show, and that’s what she’s done for the last 15 years.

“We control the breeding, so the babies are the right age,” she said. “They start being born in April and go through June. The students come out during the summer, pick out the goat they want to show, and then they buy them from me and raise them, feed them, exercise them and show them.”

Fuller said students mostly purchase wethers, or castrated males, to show, which leaves her with a lot of female kids. Those goats are typically sold for breeding stock.

“I think I’ve got a monopoly on [Liberty Hill’s] eighth grade class this year, because I’ve sold a bunch of goats to them,” she added. “But that means I’ll get to see my alumni goats at the county show and how they’re doing. That’s a big part of why I do this. I enjoy seeing the families and students come out and they are so excited because they’ve never had a goat before. Raising livestock is a real good way for students to learn all kinds of life lessons about responsibility and commitment to a goal.”

Fuller currently has a herd of 62 goats—60 breeding does and two bucks.

This spring, her herd produced 85 kids, which kept her STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

PHOTO BY STACY COALE

I

STORY BY RACHEL MADISON

Kadey Cochran of Shady Oak Farms.

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Getting Your G OAT very busy for a couple of months. Not only does she serve as the mother goats’ “obstetrician” and the kids’ “pediatrician,” but she also does all her goats’ routine health care, like vaccinations and deworming, as well as castrating and dehorning all the male goats she will sell for show.

“It’s getting to be harder to find vets that know anything about goats and are willing to work on goats,” she said. “Most younger vets tend to go into dogs and cats over livestock. I do everything I can at home for them, and if I can’t fix it, then we’ll go to the vet. Not any one thing is difficult, but it’s a lot to do and you have to know when you need to do it.”

Goats have big personalities—some can be extremely friendly, especially if they’ve been handled by humans a lot or bottle fed, while others are more standoffish.

“Goats are at least as smart as dogs in terms of what they can learn,” Fuller said. “They are also troublemakers and can be destructive. They climb on everything, run into everything. Being careful is not in their mindset. From the time they’re tiny, their instinct is to climb. They definitely have personalities.

I hear that a lot with a tone of surprise from my customers because they don’t think about it beforehand.”

Fuller also has a Great Pyrenees, which is a livestock guardian dog. The dog lives with the goats 24/7 and protects against predators. She used to have a llama for protection, and he did a good job, she said, but since she’s started using dogs, she hasn’t had a single goat injured or killed by other animals.

Threats to goats can include coyotes and even neighborhood dogs that get loose.

Fuller said the local goat farming community is very supportive and willing to share knowledge because even though there are millions of goats in America, compared to cows, goats are a niche market.

“I learned most of what I know by doing it wrong the first time and finding out what didn’t work,” Fuller said.

Carleton Ranch Boer Goats can be contacted at (512) 496-5317 or CarletonRanch.com

PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

ABOVE: Sue Fuller breeds Boer goats for local 4-H and FFA students to show. BELOW: Kadey Cochran raises Nigerian dwarfs and African pygmy goats on 16 acres in Liberty Hill.

PHOTO BY STACY COALE

SHADY OAK FARMS

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Kadey Cochran likes to think her goats at Shady Oak Farms in Liberty Hill flock to her because they love her, and she’s probably right. A goat whisperer in a sense, Cochran has been building her herd for about six years. She grew up participating in 4H, but back then, she raised pigs, so learning the ins and outs of caring for goats has been a process.

“We started off with five acres, and now we have 16,” she said. “You don’t realize how much work it takes to care for all that land, and in the beginning, five acres wasn’t big enough to justify buying a tractor. My neighbor had goats on his place, and they kept everything nice and trimmed up, so that’s how I got started. I call them nature’s gardeners because they keep everything trimmed and tidy. They’ll eat the grass and the underbrush from trees.”

Cochran initially tried farming Boer goats, but decided they were too big for her and instead started a herd of pygmy goats. Hers are mostly Nigerian dwarfs and African pygmies.

“Both of them are dairy goat breeds,” she said. “The folks I sell to are sometimes interested in getting into milking. They have a higher butter fat content to their milk so it’s desirable. I don’t do milking; I just raise them and sell them. It’s a hobby that got out of hand, but I love them.”

Besides using them as dairy goats, other people purchase the goats from Cochran for land clearing and just to have a fun pet.

“People who move out here and get onto a STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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Getting Your G OAT

A doe and her kids at Shady Oak Farms.

couple of acres for the first time realize it’s a lot to take care of, and these guys help immensely,” she said.

Cochran currently has about 40 goats in her herd, but earlier this year she had more than 90.

“We had 48 babies in 2021,” she said. “I let my Billy goat into the pasture with all the girls and he got 21 of them pregnant. For three weeks in April we were having babies every single day. I won’t do that again, but we now have three generations of goats in the herd. A lot of these girls are the grandmothers and mothers to the babies.”

Most of those babies have been sold, but a few are still a part of Cochran’s herd because they’ve made an impression. For example, there’s Scooter, who was one of the 48 babies born in the spring. She was hit in the back with a large hail stone during one of the spring storms and couldn’t walk for about three weeks. With some physical therapy and tenacity, she’s learned how to get around well on three of her four legs and has found a special place in Cochran’s heart.

“I’m a terrible farmer, because once I name you, you never leave the property,” Cochran said.

Cochran also has four Great Pyrenees dogs—Pudge, Sugar, Hurley and Snowy—that watch over her herd day and night, and for good reason. In the past, she’s seen coyotes try to hunt her goats in broad daylight, and sightings of a bobcat have been reported at the creek near her property.

In addition, her dogs are also great communicators.

“Pudge tells me when the moms go into labor and he stays with them,” she said. “One time he even came and got me when a mom went into labor unexpectedly in the woods. Sugar is a reluctant guardian, but she is my snake detector. She tells me if there’s a snake anywhere near the barns.”

Cochran is also a big advocate for making sure the people she sells her goats to are ready for the lifelong commitment.

“People like baby goats because they’re so adorable, but then a CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

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baby goat turns into an adult,” she said. “If you’re getting into the goat business, you have to be prepared to take care of them for their lifespan.

I’m big on not letting people buy goats from me just because they think the baby goat is cute.”

Reach Shady Oak Farms at (512) 560-8018 or ShadyOakFarms.com

GOAT Fun Facts 1 The adage that goats eat everything from tin cans to homework is just a myth. “They will chew on things and put things in their mouth, but they are actually pretty picky about what they’ll consume,” Sue Fuller said.

2 3 4

Goat meat is especially popular in Hispanic and Middle Eastern communities.

There are many different breeds of goats specialized for different purposes, like dairy, meat and fiber.

Goats are very routine oriented. “Goats like to do the same thing at the same time in the same way every day,” Sue Fuller said. “The same goat leads the way every time; she’s the navigator. Her role is to decide when they move and where they go.”

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ABOUT THE LAST PLACE ONE WOULD EXPECT TO FIND A DOWNHILL MOUNTAIN BIKE PARK IS CENTRAL TEXAS ...

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As Trail Crew Supervisor, Hunter Jowers’ job is to trick out the terrain at Spider Mountain.

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T

he Texas Hill Country has provided the canvas for the confluence of creativity and countryside that is Spider Mountain, a 55-acre site on the banks of Lake Buchanan in Burnet, which has become a haven for enthusiasts of mountain biking.

The park features the only ski lift in all of North America that is designed strictly for allowing access for mountain bikers – as opposed to ski resorts, which open their lifts and their mountains up to bikers in the summer.

According to Spider Mountain General Manager Suzy Bauer, the lift is the cherry on top of a flavorful sundae in providing an easy route to the top.

“We have the only year-round lift access for mountain bikers in the country,” said Bauer, of the device that was imported from Taos, New Mexico.

“Our ultimate goal is to be a real destination for mountain bikers in providing year-round, humanpowered adrenaline sports, but the lift is what we really sell.”

An eight-minute ride takes bikers to Suzy Bauer the top of the 1,000-foot starting point, where they have their choice of attacking 10 different trails of varying ability levels, plunging 350 feet of vertical drop filled with all manner of natural and man-made obstacles to overcome, including jumps, high-speed berms and slower, more technical sections to test traversal abilities.

Fittingly, each trail is named after a particular creepy, crawly creature – primarily arachnids, although a few others such as Centipede and Sidewinder have been added in recent months.

Anyone who is familiar with how ski trails are rated will recognize the color coding used at Spider Mountain – green for beginner, blue for intermediate and black for advanced riders.

Bauer said the idea of having different strokes for different folks is all part of a progression in building up the skills of riders little by little.

“It’s a process I like to call ‘building bikers’ as far as introducing people to the downhill mountain biking culture,” she said. “You don’t need to be an expert to begin, but the progression is important in giving riders the opportunity to develop their skills and providing a pathway to learning.”

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

In order to become proficient in navigating the rugged wilderness terrain of a mountain bike park like Spider Mountain, riders must be patient on the path of progress and a big part of that is to take advice from those who know and then apply it, said Chris Bauer Chris Bauer, Spider Mountain bike patrol lead and a veteran of the trails himself.

“One of the biggest things is to learn to steer with your feet in handling the bike,” said Chris. “It’s also important to ride with your skeleton and not your muscles – your knees are the best shock absorbers. You need to learn how to control your bike and that only comes with practice and instruction in the fundamentals.”

The park offers a free tips-and-tricks clinic on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and also features a mini-course for novices to get a feel for what they will experience on the mountain.

With the best interests of aspiring riders in mind, Spider Mountain offers clinics for various levels of learning and different demographics, most notably a series of three-day courses designed specifically for women – which is high on the priority list for the park, said Chris.

“We want to empower women in the sport because it’s so maledominated,” he said. “Also, we really want to be familyfriendly while still offering something for the zealots – but Spider Mountain has the only the bottom line is intermediate riders rule here.” ski lift in North America that is designed strictly for mountain bikers.

CARVING OUT THE COURSE

Hunter Jowers is a former motocross rider from the Houston area who moved to Burnet with his family shortly after Spider Mountain opened. He found out about it quite by accident.

“I was selling ads for the local paper and it came across my desk,” said Jowers. “So, I drove out here on my lunch break that day to check it out.”

It didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the hidden gem – so much so that he made a career change right then and there, he said.

“Before I even got to the top on the lift, I knew I was going to give my two-weeks notice,” said Jowers, who is Spider Mountain’s trail crew supervisor.

Jowers’ primary responsibility is to oversee the maintenance of the trails, STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 22

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as well as collaborate with his crew when the time comes to construct new ones. It’s a process that includes shaping terrain features by hand or machine, depending on how tight the section of land is, which sometimes requires some serious elbow grease if the area won’t accommodate a mini-dozer or excavator, he said.

“It’s definitely a challenge sometimes,” said Jowers, whose shoulderlength hair and bushy beard certainly suit his new profession. “We’ll get out picks, shovels and even have to move dirt by hand in five-gallon buckets – sometimes as many as 30-40 at a time.”

However, the most critical component to tricking out terrain is to simply build on what nature has already provided, he said.

“If we’re building a technical trail, we’re looking for places that already have rock drops or shelves,” said Jowers. “I like to give riders options and different lines through certain sections, so you can go around something or go right down it.”

Jowers said he designs trails while keeping in mind the different mentalities riders have when negotiating the bumps and turns as they work their way down the mountain.

“Sure, everybody wants to catch air and you can get as much as you want,” he said. “But, others want to keep the wheels on the ground, so we want to make the trails smooth so you can carry speed.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

CHOOSING A RIDE Mountain bikes come in many different varieties depending on a rider’s preferences for how to attack the terrain.

With price being a main motivator and with bikes ranging from the hundreds to well into the thousands, choosing the right one can be a daunting task.

One of the main differences is having full suspension with shock absorbers on both wheels or having what’s known as a “hardtail” – which only features suspension on the front wheel.

Full-suspension bikes usually begin at around $1,500 and will provide a smoother ride, especially if the rider plans to traverse more technical terrain, but one needs to be willing to spend a bit more.

However, if maximum speed is the goal – especially downhill – fullsuspension is definitely the way to go, as the bike will easily handle even the biggest bumps – ones that would perhaps trouble a hardtail requiring a reduction in speed to overcome the obstacle.

On the other hand, hardtails are more cost-effective, with the higher-end models costing about the same amount that it takes to just enter the full-suspension spectrum.

Hardtails also are lighter and require less maintenance due to the fact there are fewer moving parts to deal with, which can possibly malfunction.

Another major factor to consider is the material the frame is made of, with carbon and aluminum the compounds of choice for today’s mountain bikers.

Carbon is much lighter and absorbs the bumps much better, but interestingly enough, tends to be stronger than their aluminum counterparts regardless.

Many frames from various manufacturers are available in both materials, but expect to pay an average of about $1,000 more for a 26

L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

carbon frame. Performance comes with a price.

Lastly, wheel size must be considered when choosing a bike, with 27.5-inch and 29-inch models the standard. Many times, it comes down to as simple a formula as smaller wheels on smaller frames and larger wheels on larger frames in order to better maximize synergy between rider and machine.

Plus-size tires, which are wider and offer more traction on tough terrain, can also be added to further customize the riding experience.

All in all, aspiring mountain bikers should do some research in determining the best bike for each individual.

RIDER RESCUE Much like a ski resort has a patrol on duty to help downed skiers, Spider Mountain has a bike patrol on hand at all times to aid riders who encounter mishaps needing medical attention.

Chris is a certified EMT who has experience from having worked on ski patrols in the past and brings that expertise to his new post.

“Mostly abrasions is what we get,” said Chris. “Occasionally, we’ll get the odd head bonk.”

Chris said giving riders the piece of mind to enjoy a day at the park knowing they will be properly cared for in the event of a fall is all part of what they want to offer.

“Our No. 1 job here is guest service,” he said. “We want to be able to help people, so we assume it’s everyone’s first day out here.”

STAYING OVER Adjacent to Spider Mountain is Thunderbird Lodge, a lakefront complex that includes cabins for those interested in an overnight stay to fully experience what the entire complex has to offer.

“After riding in the Texas heat, a cool dip in Lake Buchanan is a great reward. Plus, for non-riders, it provides a cool respite and place to hang out,” said Hudson.

Learn more at www.spidermountain.com or (512) 756-4878.

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LIVING | REPTILES

Reptile enthusiast turned snake relocator offers unique service

Blake Herman has become the go-to guy for relocating snakes in the Liberty Hill area.

STORY BY RACHEL MADISON | PHOTOS BY BLAKE HERMAN

W

hat started out as a hobby several years ago for Rancho Sienna resident Blake Herman has evolved into a unique service he provides for his neighbors: snake catching and relocation. His side gig, aptly named Rancho Reptiles, has gained popularity across the neighborhood and the greater community, and he’s officially become the go-to guy when people spot an unwanted snake on their property.

It all started back in college, when Herman’s interest in exotic pets of all kinds really took off, with snakes being his favorite.

“Back then I had probably 60 to 70 snakes I kept as pets, and they ranged from all different kinds of species, venomous and nonvenomous,” he said. “At one point I even thought about switching schools and going into herpetology to study snakes, but I never did.”

After graduating with a degree in business and entering the working world, he had to cut back on his hobby for several years. He was living and working in Austin and starting a family, and besides, he rarely ever came across any snakes in the city. However, when his family made the move to Rancho Sienna about five years ago, he quickly returned to his hobby in a new way.

“I kept hearing about people seeing snakes, and people would post about them on the neighborhood [Facebook] page,” he said. “I came up with an idea to help snakes and people at the same time by providing a free service to relocate snakes that people find in their yards or garages. Anytime I have availability, I help people as often as I can.”

After five years of providing the service in Rancho Sienna, the word has gotten out and Herman has become the go-to guy in the area when people see snakes.

STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 “Every time somebody sees a snake, L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

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LIVING | REPTILES

"THE MOST COMMON REASON PEOPLE GET SNAKE BITES IS BECAUSE THEY ARE MESSING WITH THEM ." – Blake Herman

Dekay’s Brownsnake is small and non-venomous.

or moves here and gets worried about snakes, my name gets brought up,” he said. “It’s spread through word of mouth over time.”

Herman said about 75 percent of the snake calls he gets are from Rancho Sienna residents, which is how he came up with the name Rancho Reptiles, but he does get calls from other area neighborhoods as well, like Santa Rita Ranch.

The first thing Herman does when he gets a call is to identify the snake. That can make a big difference on the urgency and the method he will use to catch it.

“I always try to get people to text me a photo first, but sometimes they call and I don’t have anything to go off of,” he said. “I have my snake tongs and hook in my truck at all times, and I’ve got two venomous safe containers in my truck and one in my house.

I also have back-up tongs and hooks at the house, too. I try to just be ready at any time because the calls vary. People have called early in the morning, during the day and at 11 p.m. They will see snakes in their garages, irrigation boxes, or just crossing the street.

There’s been a wide range of different circumstances over the years.”

The amount of calls Herman receives in a week varies based on the season and the weather. After it rains, because the water typically fills up underground holes and drives the animals up, he will receive a lot more calls to relocate snakes. Other weeks are quiet. During the active season, it’s normal for him to get about five calls a week, he said.

Herman estimates over the last five years

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31

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he’s relocated more than 250 snakes from Rancho Sienna alone. He said where he relocates the snakes depends on the species.

Some people ask for him to bring rat snakes or others that are good at rodent control to their ranches, while others he relocates safely away from people.

“Snakes don’t have a real wide territory, so I try to keep them close to where they are captured, but at the same time my goal is to give them a better shot and limit human interaction, so I put them in natural areas or undeveloped land, where there are several hundred acres of raw land,” he said.

“That’s a natural place for them to have a chance to do their thing and not run into people, and not have somebody get bit and end up in the hospital.”

Herman has seen a wide variety of different snakes over the years, with the Western or Texas rat snake being the most common. He also frequently sees ribbon

The Western Rat Snake is among the most common snakes in the area.

snakes and rattlesnakes. One snake he said is common for the Liberty Hill area is the eastern hognose, but he’s only ever caught one. He also has yet to see a copperhead, even though Liberty Hill has the right habitat for that species.

“Normally people know what a rattlesnake is, but I’ve also had a lot of calls where they’ll say it’s a rattlesnake and it’s not,” he said.

“People panic about that, and I understand, so I just say if you don’t know what it is, don’t pick it up. The most common reason people get snake bites is because they are messing with them. Don’t catch them, play with them or try to kill them.”

Herman said in the Liberty Hill area, it’s best practice to bring a flashlight anytime you go into your yard in the dark.

“Even if you know your yard well, the most likely time to get bit is if you accidentally step on one,” he said. “The best thing to do is to give them distance. If there’s a snake in your yard and you can’t get a hold of someone like me, one of the best ways to get rid of them without hurting them is to just use a hose.

They don’t like it and they’ll leave quickly but it won’t injure them. Snakes do not like interactions like that and odds are they will not come back to your yard.”

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Happy Hour To Go

Happy Hour SPECIALTY LIBATIONS RAISING SPIRITS STORY BY RAC HEL M ADISON | PHOTOS BY STACY COAL E

Get a taste of the best beverages you can take home Happy Hour, 5’o Clock Somewhere, Beer Thirty – whatever you might call it, many would argue it’s one of the best parts of the day. And in and around Liberty Hill, there’s no shortage of local wineries, distilleries, breweries and restaurants where you can find unique drinks to take home and enjoy at your discretion. From bottles of wine to growlers of beer to sealed mixed drinks, check out the delicious libations available in our hometown.

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widespread favorite is Hell or Highwater’s German-style kolsch, Float the River.

THIRSTY MULE WINERY At Thirsty Mule Winery, everything is made on site, including the winery’s most popular wine — Sparkling Peach. Light and crisp with a sweet fruity finish, it’s the perfect wine to drink on a hot day, said Allison Parish, taste and bar manager.

Thirsty Mule’s grapes are grown nearby in Milam County and brought to Liberty Hill for production. The winery offers about 20 different wines to tempt every taste, from reds and whites to sweet and sparkling.

Drinks can be enjoyed onsite, or bottles can be taken home.

KFIRE WINERY The tasting room at KFire Winery & Vineyard in Bertram is open year-round for guests to sample delicious wines. Wines can also be purchased to enjoy onsite or to take home.

Each of the winery’s 11 different wines have been given firefighter-style names, like the First Responder merlot and Spotted Dog red blend, to reflect the décor of the winery.

Award-winning wines to try include the Rescue rose and the Engine 12 white table wine.

DECADENT SAINT Originally started in Colorado, Decadent Saint in Bertram is a unique type of winery.

Considered a “bottle revolution,” cocktails of any kind can be made Decadent Saint wines, which are 100 percent real fruit, wine-based mixers. Each bottle is infused with wine, fruit and spices to create a variety of different flavors for unique cocktails. The wines can be mixed with spirits, water and sodas. Popular flavors include passionfruit, raspberry and spiced black currant. Decadent Saint is open on weekends for tastings and purchases.

Breweries

SAN GABRIEL RIVER BREWERY At San Gabriel River Brewery, beer is king.

The brewery serves pints and tastings on site, and offers growler fills, six-packs and kegs for purchase to take home. The brewery’s beers can also be found locally at Parker’s Market, Malted Grains, Farm to Fork and H-E-B. Favorite options at this brewery include the San Gabriel IPA, which is an Englishstyle IPA with a hoppy bitterness at the front and malt notes at the back, and the Anytime Pilsner, which offers a slightly fruity flavor from the calypso and lotus hops used.

Seasonal fall beers are in full swing as well, like the San Gabriel Oktoberfest and the San Gabriel Christmas Ale, which has flavors of cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla.

BULL CREEK BREWING Affectionately called the “hillbilly brewery” by its employees, Bull Creek Brewing is best known for its Longhorn Blonde, a golden ale, and its Iron Balls, an imperial style stout. These beers, along with many others, are sold on site, as well as at Parker’s Market, Twin Liquors and Dahlia Cafe.

“Our ‘swampus original’ beers are our flagship beers, which are the ones we bottle and distribute,” said bartender Stephanie Brown. “On our taps, we feature seasonal beers with different flavors. We are doing our fall beers right now, like pumpkin spice (pictured at left), as well as flavored stouts and porters.”

Draft beer can be purchased to drink onsite or take home. Customers can bring in their own growler or purchase one from Bull Creek Brewing.

HELL OR HIGHWATER BREWING

SCHITZ CREEK

Hell or Highwater is a production brewery and brewpub complete with a full kitchen and bar in downtown Liberty Hill. A variety of different beers are made in house and can be taken home by the can or growler.

Popular craft choices include the Bucket O’ Nails, which is an Irish stout, and Festivus Pole, which is considered a winter warmer. A more

Bourbon, whiskey and vodka are the top trio at Schitz Creek Distillery— located inside Thirsty Mule Winery—and can be purchased by the bottle to take home. The best mixed drink from Schitz Creek is the Dan’s Old Fashioned (pictured above), said Allison

Parish, taste and bar manager, which can be recreated at home.

“We do our Old Fashioned a little different,” she said. “We infuse everything into an ice ball. A traditional old fashioned calls for a pack of sugar and simple syrup, but we replace that with maple whiskey we make on site. Then we add the citrus and zest from an orange rind, the orange rind itself, luxardo cherries and bitters, and then freeze it all together. Then we pour whatever liquor you want over the top.”

FLANIGAN’S DISTILLERY At Flanigan’s Distillery in Bertram, the spirits have entertaining names such as “The Creature,” an Irish-style moonshine, and “The Patriot,” a corn-based sipping whiskey aged in American oak barrels.

These drinks can be sipped on their own, or made into different cocktails, like the popular Bloody Mary, which includes “The Creature,” tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, lemon juice, celery salt, green olive, black pepper and paprika. The distillery also serves as a winery and offers a variety of wine options.

FIRE OAK DISTILLERY Tanya and Guy Endsley know a thing or two about spirits. Both spirits they distill at Fire Oak Distillery in Liberty Hill have won awards in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

“That is the largest competition there is for spirits, and just a little distillery in Liberty Hill came in and our vodka got double gold and our bourbon took gold,” said Tanya. “Both our vodka and our bourbon are designed for sipping but can be mixed as well.”

If you’re taking home a bottle of bourbon, Tanya suggests trying it neat and experiencing the warm spice at the front, the hint of oak barrel as it travels back and the sweet finish of caramel and vanilla notes. Then she suggests trying it on the rocks for a totally different flavor experience.

The vodka can be sipped on its own as well, but if a mixed drink is more your style, try the Spicy Uncle Doyle—a lemonade and grape juice blend infused with habanero and jalapeno peppers.

Enjoy this cocktail onsite or recreate your own at home.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

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Happy Hour to go CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37

Restaurants

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Thanks to a new state law, local restaurants are permanently allowed to sell alcohol-to-go, as long as customers also purchase food. Around Liberty Hill, there’s plenty of delicious options to bring home with your meal to enjoy at home.

At Dahlia Cafe, half gallons of sangria and margaritas are available, and if you’re feeling wild, you can even get a half gallon of sangrita, which is a mix of the two.

At Jardin Corona, it’s hard to beat the house margarita (pictured above) on the rocks or frozen, as it will compliment any meal.

The same goes for Margarita’s and Elena’s, where margaritas, Mexican martinis and pina coladas are all good to-go options.

If mixed drinks aren’t for you, both Malted Grains and Liberty Hill Beer Market offer wide selections of bottled beer and wines to go.

Coming Soon!

THIRSTY PENGUIN

A drive-thru daquiri shop and beer barn will be opening at 14751 SH 29 in Liberty Hill by the end of November.

“We are ready to go, and the inside of the building is ready to go,” said owner Brent Cloyd. “We are just waiting on the equipment to arrive, mainly the daquiri machines.”

Cloyd said one side of Thirsty Penguin will be focused on the daquiris—with 12 flavors on rotation—and the other side will be for beer.

“I think we’ll offer Whitestone and Hell or Highwater beers on tap, as well as some unique stuff you can’t get locally,” said Cloyd.

A patio on the backside of the building will be open for customers to stay and enjoy their beverages.

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A second location for Whitestone Brewery will open by the end of 2021, at 15390 SH 29.

The original Whitestone Brewery is in Cedar Park. The new building will include a mix of production and taproom in its 13,500 square feet, said owner Ryan Anglen.

“This facility will be majority production; however, we’re planning to open a roughly 2,000-square-foot taproom serving all Whitestone beers with third party wines, ciders and meads,” Anglen said. “We’ll also have our current food trucks, Van’s Damn Tasty Tacos and Ronburguesas, permanently stationed at this location. In addition, we’ll have a large outdoor covered seating area, which will be pet friendly.”

Anglen said Liberty Hill was the natural choice for Whitestone’s second location as its warehouse has been in the community for almost a year.

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LIVING | TO EAT

Jeremy Archer, pitmaster at Agape BBQ, says smoking meat “low and slow” is the key to delicious barbecue.

Low & Slow Local experts share their secrets to barbecue success STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT AKANEWICH

B

arbecue in Texas is more than a meal. In fact, one could even say the warm, welcoming smell of a wood-burning smoker represents far more than simply a sit-down. Poignantly put, it’s a culture and a way of life for those who labor for hours upon hours in the quest for the perfect piece of beef, chicken or pork.

TEMPERATURE AND TIME

Hill, there’s one very important rule of thumb when it comes to having the proper mentality in producing mouth-watering meat.

“Anytime you’re talking about Texas barbecue, you need to remember one thing,” said Archer. “Low and slow.”

As in temperature and time, respectively, that is. He uses a meat thermometer to gauge internal temperature, but many times he can tell if a piece of meat is done simply by its appearance – a skill that only comes from his 18 years of experience of hovering over smokers.

“You need to be on top of it during the entire process,” he said.

“Constantly checking the temperature.”

Ideal internal temperature for a properly-cooked brisket is approximately 201-203 degrees, but it all depends on what a pitmaster is comfortable with in declaring his meat done.

Usually, the rule of thumb as far as cook time for a brisket is approximately one hour per pound, so settle in for a long day of monitoring your meat through the various stages.

Perhaps the most critical part of the cook is known as the “stall,” – a stage at which the meat’s internal temperature plateaus – usually at around 165 degrees – and will remain the same for a period of time, a phenomenon that is the result of evaporative cooling until any moisture in the meat is gone.

Patience is required to wait until the stall is over and the meat continues to cook and rise in temperature once again – something that can take several hours.

Archer uses an internal thermometer to measure temperature, but after years of experience, he said he can clearly tell when a cut of beef is done.

“I can tell just by the appearance on the outside,” he said. “But, the bottom line is a brisket is done when it’s done.”

USING THE RIGHT WOOD

Behind the Agape BBQ restaurant located just west of downtown STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 Liberty Hill on RM 1869 is a trailer L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

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LIVING | TO EAT that houses the smokers Archer uses to work his magic.

A single smoke stack rises up from the roof until it almost reaches the branches of the ancient oak trees that form a canopy over the outdoor seating area, serving as a signal to Archer as to whether or not all is right at a given point in the process.

“As soon as I walk out the door, I can tell by the color of the smoke,” he said. “If it’s light blue, I know it’s good.”

Agape uses wood to provide the heat over which to cook their fare, but not just any wood – as the type chosen has a profound influence on the finished product, said Archer.

“We use post oak, which we get from just east of here,” he said. “The kind of wood you use definitely affects the flavor.”

There are over a dozen different kinds of wood commonly used for barbecue, but the post oak Archer prefers provides the bold, classic smoked Texas flavor that pleases the taste buds more than any other.

“Way back, people would use whatever wood was available where they were,” said Archer. “Around Liberty Hill, there’s mostly shin oak.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41

SEASONING

When it comes to what to use to spice up the proceedings, that is up to the pitmaster and can range from a wide variety of different spices, rubs and marinades with the goal to bring as much flavor as possible to a piece of meat.

Archer prefers to keep things simple.

“All I use is salt and pepper,” he said. “I think that brings out more of the natural flavor from the meat as opposed to some people who will use a concoction to mask the true flavor.”

CUT OF MEAT

Of course, no amount of doctoring or pitmaster magic can make up for a poor cut of meat, of which there are three main cuts of beef – prime, choice and select.

“You have to start with quality to get the best results,” Archer said. “So, I always go with prime.”

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After 19 years experience smoking meats, Jordan Melchor (center), son of Mo Melchor of the Smoky Mo’s restaurant chain, says a critical element is the amount of care devoted to the process. Today, Melchor is owner/operator of Texas Taco Kitchen, but served as business director for Smoky Mo’s. At left, is Michael Cody, and Matthew Melchor (right) previously employed by Smoky Mo’s.

(Courtesy Photos)

What prime cuts of meat have going for them is a higher degree of marbling, which is the spider-web like intramuscular fat that runs through a cut of beef and makes the meat juicier with the ability to hold more flavor compared to lesser cuts.

In fact, American Wagyu is perhaps the best grade of beef for barbecue due to as much as a 30 percent fat content, making it perfect to capture and retain all the taste a good brisket is supposed to have.

Size also matters when choosing a cut of beef, and a good roundabout weight for a brisket is 17 pounds — one that is cut evenly from end to end and tapering slightly down to one end or the other.

TAILGATE CULTURE

Setting up barbecue outside the gates of a football stadium is a bit different from your typical restaurant or backyard set-up, but it’s an art the Panther Pit Crew has down to a science.

The Pit Crew is a group of 40 Liberty Hill parents who share a pair of passions – Panthers football and good craft barbecue.

They can be found set up in the parking lot at Panther Stadium before every home game, offering delectable delights off the grill and out of the smoker absolutely free of charge.

However, when time is of the essence, menu items must be chosen appropriately, said Zach Frank, a member of the Crew for

six years.

“A lot of planning goes into what we put on the menu on a given week,” he said.

“Over the years, we’ve done a lot of different things, but usually what we come up with on game day is a culmination of what guys like to cook at home with a mixture of ideas from a handful of us who are pitmasters.”

CARE AND CAMARADERIE

Jordan Melchor, son of Mo Melchor of the Smokey Mo’s chain of restaurants, knows good barbecue and what it takes to achieve the right results after 19 years of experience in the business of smoking and grilling.

According to Melchor, who owns Texas Taco Kitchen in Liberty Hill, the most critical element is the amount of care one puts into what ends up on the plate.

“I think it’s really a matter of how much love someone wants to put into it,” said Melchor. “Things like sourcing proper ingredients is important, but you need to be passionate about what you’re doing.”

Melchor added the social aspect of barbecue is what makes it so special.

“Barbecue is inherently a gathering,” he said. “You cook a mess of food for a whole lot of people.”

Agape BBQ general manager Brandon Reinoehl said there should always be a certain feeling associated with the craft.

“Barbecue is really meant to be a backyard, down-home thing,” he said.

“Being with your family and friends.”

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PHOTO CREDIT

Garry Goerdel has been painting since childhood, and enjoys working in every genre from abstract to impressionism.

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L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

Big Level on Fall Creek, 2010 Northwest Passage, 2020

L O C A L PA I N T E R U S E S L I F E E X P E R I E N C E S T O C R E AT E W O R K S O F A R T

F

B Y R A C H E L M A D I S O N | P H O T O S B Y S TA C Y C O A L E

rom spending his childhood summers learning the ropes on a working cattle ranch to reminiscing about beautiful places he has happened upon over the years, Garry Goerdel has a gallery filled with dozens of paintings he created from memories.

“I can give you a story for almost every painting,” the Liberty Hill artist said. “I don’t ever just pull something out of the air. I’m motivated by my past experiences.”

Goerdel has been painting for as long as he can remember, but among his earliest beginnings was he won third place in an art competition at the age of 8.

“I could draw a stick figure pretty good back then,” he said. “I just kept going from there.”

Goerdel painted frequently as a young man while attending college and earning a degree in art education from Stephen F. Austin State CONTINUED ON PAGE 48 L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

47

Garry Geordel shows one of his watercolor paintings from his “uncle Joe” series, which are based on a humor column his grandfather wrote for the Pflugerville Press in the 1920s and 1930s.

University and starting a family with his wife, Nancy. He spent much of his career working as a staff artist for the Texas Water Commission in Austin, where he designed everything from magazine covers to slide presentations. Following his 21-year stretch there, Goerdel became a creative partner in a Texas-inspired t-shirt. He retired in 1996 and spent some time doing freelance work for various organizations, designing book covers, brochures and more. But once he officially exited the working world, he returned to his original passion -- oil painting.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing oil painting, but I got so busy with life and my family it dropped to the wayside,” he said. “The work I did professionally was with watercolor or acrylic paints. Since I got back into my studio, I’ve done a lot of work in oil paints.”

Goerdel doesn’t limit himself to just one style of painting, though. While his medium remains mostly the same, he likes to paint in a variety of different styles so he never gets bored. If he works on a particularly tedious piece with several small details, then he likes to do something more colorful and fluid for his next piece. He’s also known to use gesso, a paint primer, to add texture to his works of art and give them a 3D-like effect, he said.

“A lot of artists can be put into a category of what they’re known for, but I enjoy working in all areas,” he said. “The contemporary CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47

Garry Goerdel has a lifetime of memories he keeps in his own art gallery displayed in the form of oil paintings. and abstract I enjoy doing as much as landscapes. My paintings are not truly photographic; they are more impressionism.”

One of Goerdel’s favorite paintings, called “Men Only” features men in a bar after work. This painting comes straight from one of his memories.

“My wife and I used to like to get food from this bar in Round Rock in the ‘70s, but they had a sign outside that said, ‘Men Only,’” Goerdel said. “I used to tease Nancy that she couldn’t go in to get the food, so she’d wait in the car while I went in to pick it up.”

While oil paints are his favorite medium, Goerdel does pull out his watercolors for special projects, like his “Uncle Joe” series.

Men Only, 1978

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L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

In the 1920s and 30s, his grandfather, A.W. Goerdel, gained popularity writing a column for the Pflugerville Press.

The column was called “Uncle Joe’s Short Snorts” and reflected the tongue-in-cheek humor of the time. Goerdel was inspired by his grandfather’s writings and humor, and created a series of watercolor designs based on those writings.

“I didn’t know my grandfather had this sense of humor until I started reading all his old columns,” Goerdel said.

Because he’s been painting for decades, Goerdel has a lot of paintings in his arsenal. So many, in fact, that last year his wife suggested they build an art

gallery on their property in Liberty Hill for him to display his work. They fittingly named it Gallery on a Hill, and it turned out to be just the right decision for Goerdel, as he was able to utilize the gallery and his attached studio to stay busy during the pandemic. Now, he can share his art with the community.

Goerdel hosted his first gallery showing in September.

He plans on hosting regular showings by invitation only a couple of times a year, where he will change out his work to showcase the different styles he uses. He also offers private showings at Gallery on a Hill for those interested.

Goerdel said he loves sharing his art, but ultimately, his creations are just his way of preserving life’s most poignant memories.

“What I do today is what I want to do, and I do it for me,” he said. “I don’t do it for anyone else.”

For more information on Gallery on a Hill or to schedule a private showing, visit garrygoerdelart.com or email glgoerdel@gmail.com.

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THE D CE LOCAL HOBBYISTS EXPLORE DIFFERENT WORLDS THROUGH BOARD GAMES STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT

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L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

Susan and Ed Rozmiarek keep their extensive game collection in six floor-to-ceiling bookcases spread around their home.

E

d and Susan Rozmiarek have been rolling the dice, building decks, and gathering items on visits to outer space and fantastical places since they met at Texas A&M University as students in the early 1980s.

Today, their Liberty Hill home holds an extensive collection of board games that allows the Rozmiareks to get lost in different worlds while socializing with others on game days.

“I counted them, and without counting expansions, we have about 1,200 games,” said Ed, a software engineer. “If you add expansions, it’s closer to 2,000.”

The Rozmiareks keep their impressive game collection in six floor-to-ceiling bookcases spread out around the house.

“We try to host a game day once a month or so with friends,” said Ed. “We play games all afternoon and into the late evening. It’s very relaxing and casual with people coming and going all day. Everyone brings food and drinks to share so we always have tons to eat.

At any given time we usually have about a dozen or so people playing games on different tables spread out around our house.”

“We have several friends that have collections just like ours. When we all get together, they all have the game that they want to try, so we’ll play that,” said Susan, adding

that she and her husband are so accustomed to playing board games, that she views hims as “just another player” on game days.

For the Rozmiareks, the hobby has helped form and cultivate long-term relationships that have outlasted children, jobs and other interests.

In the early 1990s when their children were young, game nights were opportunities for the Rozmiareks to socialize with other adults without requiring a sitter for the kids.

“It was a social outlet for something to do with the kids,” Susan said. “The kids were there, but this was something we could do with adults without getting a babysitter.”

“I used to have a lunchtime game group at work,” said Ed. “We had games that we could play in 45 minutes, and eat and play. I left IBM about 11 years ago and started moving around different companies and losing those connections. (Board games) have been a way to keep the friendships going and seeing people on a fairly regular basis to keep in touch.”

In addition to playing with local friends, attending gaming conventions through the years has helped the couple create remote friendships.

“We’ve been going to this convention in the summer for about 15 years now,” said Ed. “We’ve met some great ‘internet friends’ that we love to see during the summer. We get

together, and that’s turned more into a social event than a convention.”

Most board games have excellent replay value, which can change depending on cards, characters, or scenarios chosen during play.

Another way to get more out of an existing game is by purchasing expansions. These add-ons can add more players, game areas, characters, extended storylines, weapons, objects, or mechanics of the game, among other things.

The ability to acquire new games has changed exponentially since Ed and Susan would play in their college dorms.

“Back in the late ‘90s early 2000s, we had to place our orders from Germany,” said Ed. “We would get like four or five of us together and place an order. We had to find the English (equivalent), and we would have to go through and paste them into the cards of the game. The hobby has become more globalized since then.”

As board gaming has become increasingly popular, many games are now available at more retail STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 54 L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

53

The Rozmiareks’

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53

stores, sometimes with exclusive content or editions.

“We used to wish that Wal-Mart and Target would carry the games, and they were never interested,” said Susan. “You could only order them online or go to a hobby store and pay a lot of money. Now they have sections devoted just to those games. They seem to have buyers that know the board game world.”

Ed and Susan had different hobbies earlier in their marriage as Ed enjoyed building computers and Susan was into horses. Ed said they would keep each other’s spending in check until their mutual love for board games changed that.

“Then we found this shared interest, and all of a sudden he’s like ‘I want to order some games’, and I’d be like ‘okay, let me add these 10 more’,” Susan said.

Susan recommends finding a game night before figuring out which of the hundreds of thousands of games will be the right fit.

“It’s good to meet people like us and try games,” she said. “You get to try games and find out what you like first. If you’re starting out, get a game like ‘Ticket to Ride’ and play that. If you go ‘oh that’s kind of interesting, but I want more,’ then you can delve into other games.”

Susan uses her love of board games to volunteer for informal classes at The University of Texas. She teaches board games to adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

“The games have been very good for students with Down syndrome and Autism,” she said. “Games offer a structured setting for people to socialize. You’re social without having to think of things to say.”

FAVORITE GAMES “I like a variety of types of games, but tend to favor deck building, racing and shorter Euro-games,” said Ed Rozmiarek.

“My favorite games are tactical in nature where each turn feels like a puzzle,” said Susan Rozmiarek. “I like when there are many different ways to score points so there is always something productive to do on your turn. One of my favorite game designers is Stefan Feld who designs lots of games like this including an older favorite, ‘Castles of Burgundy’ and a newer game called ‘Kokopelli’.”

Board games can be divided into deck-building, workerplacement, social deduction, roll-and-move, push-yourluck, and other categories. Most players separate games into casual or hardcore games. Casual games have simple rules and can be completed in 15 minutes to two hours, while hardcore games take extensive setup and require up to six hours to complete, if not longer.

Ed Rozmiarek, a software engineer, prefers deck building, raching and shorter Euro-games.

Before spending too much money on a game, search for a game group aon apps like Meetup to learn about the different types of games available. Other sites like www.boardgamegeek.com and

YouTube also offer plenty of tutorials and lists of new or classic board games.

54

L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

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LIVING | HEALTHY

Radish sprouts share the taste of their grown counterparts with a slightly spicy kick and have the most available nutrients just two weeks after germinating.

They’re small, but pack a punch - of nutrients that is STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT

W

hat if you could get the nutrients of 40 cups of broccoli by eating a handful of sprouts?

With microgreens, you can.

Nutrients for Living grower and owner Wendy Pearson says you can get more out of plants as they germinate.

“Once it sprouts and grows a little bit, that is the healthiest time,” she said. “It can have 40 times the nutrition of the grown plant.

All the nutrition starts in that seed. Once they grow, they start depending on the soil and fertilizer for their nutrition. Since soil is more depleted, they lose that.”

The most common available microgreens are broccoli, sunflowers, radishes, sweet peas and wheatgrass. Pearson said adding just a handful to our regular diet can drastically increase the intake of all the plant’s goodness.

“They taste good, and you can punch up your nutrition,” said Pearson. “I have a teenager, and he doesn’t like green food. As a mom, if I can get a handful of microgreens on a taco for this boy, I know nutritionally, he got about 40 cups of broccoli. That’s always a win in motherhood.”

Pearson’s passion for microgreens grew from years of juicing and a 56

L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

love for gardening.

“I started studying market gardening and small high-intensity farming,” she said. “I have this dream of moving to a piece of land my father left me and have a garden big enough to supply my own juicing habits. I had been trying to find wheatgrass in the area and could never find it, so I decided to grow my own.”

Before starting her own grow, Pearson said she hadn’t tried the sunflower sprouts, which quickly became her favorite.

“They’re amazing and delicious,” she said. “I’m addicted. I just sit there and eat them. I can dice up some strawberries and just munch on them like finger food all day long.”

Each sprout comes from a single seed that grows about 7 inches allowing people to grow microgreens without depending on a lot of land. Pearson keeps a seven-foot rack with her microgreens in the middle of her living room, where she can harvest them every 7-14 days.

“The seed contains enough energy and nutrients that you can harvest them twice,” she said, adding that the second round is less nutritious. “I just harvest them once and recycle the soil into a compost out back. There’s a movement towards small high-intensity agriculture instead of this great, big agriculture that is killing our soil

Wendy Pearson sells her microgreens at area farmers markets.

and using all these chemicals.”

Pearson said the number of microgreens people could use in their diet varies but she recommends using at least a handful on every meal.

“A serving size is whatever you want it to be,” she said.

“Some people mix them all up and make a salad. Some people just put them on tacos, wraps, stir fry, or make soups with them. It’s better to eat them raw. Once you add heat, things tend to break down.”

Sulforaphane has been linked to health benefits, such as improved heart health and digestion, and even cancer.

Pearson said broccoli and sunflower microgreens are very rich in the nutrient.

“It targets all cancer, but it’s shown great results for lung and breast cancer,” she said. “I don’t remember the exact milligrams recommended, but I worked it out to be two, two-ounce containers every day to help patients fight cancer.”

Pearson usually sells microgreens in 2-ounce and 10-ounce containers — for $5 and $20 respectively — at various farmers markets in the area, including the Market at Indian Mound Ranch in Liberty Hill.

Subscriptions for weekly delivery in Leander and Liberty Hill can be found at nutrientsforliving.com.

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VETERANS DAY CEREMONY November 11th, 10 am

VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK 1013 Loop 332 | Downtown LHTX Join the City as we honor our veterans!

VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK BRICK PROJECT Pay tribute to honorably discharged post-service veterans with ties to Liberty Hill by donating a brick or wall inscription to be placed at Veterans Memorial Park.

WALL INSCRIPTION

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Visit ExperienceLHTX.com for more information.

th December 11 DOWNTOWN LHTX Festival 10am-3pm | Lighted Parade 6pm

CHRISTMAS PARADE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Sign up at https://experiencelhtx.com/christmas-festival

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LIVING | FOR FUN PFLAME Agape BBQ 3610 RM 1869, Liberty Hill 7-9 p.m.

(512) 548-6230

Oct. 5

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT Liberty Hill Middle School 13125 SH 29, Liberty Hill 6-8 p.m.

Oct. 16

LIBERTY HILL BEER FESTIVAL San Gabriel River Brewery 500 Chaparral Drive, Liberty Hill 12-6 p.m. $25 - $50 (512) 778-4100

Oct. 8

FLO RIDA HEB Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park 7 p.m.

Adults $63 / Children 2+ $43 HEBcenter.com Tusk

CANDLEBOX WITH THE DEADS Haute Spot 1501 E. New Hope Drive, Cedar Park 6-11 p.m. $30 - $56 / (512) 986-7411 www.hautespotvenue.com SECOND HAND ROSE BAND Hometown Watering Hole 3317 E. SH 29, Bertram 8 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Adults (age 21+) $10 (512) 355-7377

Oct. 22 Oct. 9

TUSK - 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY Agape BBQ 3610 RM 1869, Liberty Hill 7:00-9:30 p.m.

(512) 548-6230

Oct. 13

JUDAS PRIEST HEB Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park 7:30 p.m. $49.50 - $89.50 HEBcenter.com

Oct. 15

CRAIG MORGAN AND ROOTS & BOOTS FEATURING AARON TIPPIN, SAMMY KERSHAW & COLLIN RAYE HEB Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park 7:30 p.m. $35 - $85 HEBcenter.com 60

L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O CT O B E R 2 0 2 1

DEPARTURE ATX DANCING UNDER THE STARS Shooting Star Ranch 1704 CR 285, Liberty Hill Gates Open 6:30pm | Music 8pm Adults $15/$20, Children $5 Proceeds benefit L4 Cares www.L4Cares.org Costumes Encouraged FUSION ATX Hometown Watering Hole 3317 E. SH 29, Bertram 8 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Adults (age 21+) $10 (512) 355-7377

Oct. 23

TRUNK OR TREAT RockPointe Church 170 CR 214, Liberty Hill 5-7 p.m. rockpointechurch.com

CHASE GASSAWAY Fire Oak Distillery 4600 CR 207, Liberty Hill 3-6 p.m.

(512) 515-6611

Oct. 29

OATMEAL SOUND CO. Agape BBQ 3610 RM 1869, Liberty Hill 7-9 p.m.

(512) 548-6230 Oatmeal Sound Co.

November Nov. 5

FIRST FRIDAY IN FLORENCE THANKFUL FOR OUR VETERANS MUSIC, SNACKS & SIPS Downtown Florence Shops open until 8 p.m.

STEVE WARINER WITH JOHN STORK Haute Spot 1501 E. New Hope Drive, Cedar Park 6-11 p.m.

18+ Only $30 - $85 / (512) 986-7411 www.hautespotvenue.com

Nov. 6

Nov. 26

ALABAMA 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR HEB Center 2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park 7 p.m.

Adults $129 / Children 2+ $35 HEBcenter.com

KARAOKE WITH DJ TEXAS RENEGADE Every Friday Hometown Watering Hole 3317 E. SH 29, Bertram 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Adults (age 21+) $10 (512) 355-7377

December

Liberty Hill Christmas Festival

Dec. 3

Dale Watson

Nov. 13

DALE WATSON The Globe Theatre 132 W. Vaughan Street, Bertram 8-11 p.m.

18+ $20 - $30 www.globetheatretx.com JASON KANE WHITE Fire Oak Distillery 4600 CR 207, Liberty Hill 3-6 p.m.

(512) 515-6611 FAMILY SHILOH Agape BBQ 3610 RM 1869, Liberty Hill 7-9 p.m.

(512) 548-6230

FIRST FRIDAY IN FLORENCE Christmas Holidays Music, Snacks & Sips Downtown Florence Shops open until 8 p.m.

Dec. 4

3RD ANNUAL BERTRAM COUNTRY CHRISTMAS Downtown Bertram / Vaughan Street 10-4 Vendors, food, wine, beer, live music, photos with Santa, Bertram Giving Tree, children’s activities, bounce house and more!

(254) 368-0246 www.facebook.com/BertramCountry Christmas Bertram Country Christmas

LIBERTY HILL CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL Downtown Liberty Hill ExperienceLHTX.com In mid-December each year, the entire town gathers for the Christmas Festival. The highlight of the evening includes the lighted parade through downtown. Floats from the community provide the magic and sparkle, and the families stationed along the street provide the child-like wonder as everyone oohs and aahs while each float passes.

Nov. 20

JESS LOPEZ Y LOS FUNKY MONKEYS Hometown Watering Hole 3317 E. SH 29, Bertram 8 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Adults (age 21+) $10 (512) 355-7377 Jess Lopez Y Los Funky Monkeys

Dec. 11

JASON KANE WHITE AND THE LONESOME Hometown Watering Hole 3317 E. SH 29, Bertram Adults (age 21+) $10 8 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

(512) 355-7377

CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL - 10AM – 3PM Downtown Liberty Hill LIGHTED PARADE - 6PM Route from Noble Elementary to Liberty Hill Elementary on Loop 332 REGISTER FOR THE PARADE https://experiencelhtx.com/christmasfestival

L I B E RT Y H I L L L I V I N G | O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1

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