Mango Mania at Los Fresnos

By Mary Karish Contributing Writer Ed Pechacek, a mango lover, did not know a chance encounter would change his life. It started with a longan tree (Dimocarpus longan). Pechacek had received a call from a woman who wanted to see the longan tree he grew…

Backyard Overhaul: Second Time Around

By William Scheick Contributing Editor This was our situation. After several years of record-setting drought and triple-digit temperatures, our tree-canopied backyard in Central Texas had begun to revert to its original Mars-like stony terrain, where barely even weeds could grow. It wasn’t just our years-deep…