There is “an involuntary hunger for greenness which lies at the heart of all desert-lovers,” novelist Lawrence Durrell claimed. He saw it in North African Bedouins. It's true in West Texas, too.

In our area, there's no better cure for that hunger than an outing with Alpine's Patty Manning. Manning moved here from Dallas in 1991. She had a master's in art, and a lawn business in her hometown, but, in a classic Big Bend country narrative, she needed a new start. She became an expert in West Texas botany, and she's making important contributions in understanding and preserving our native flora.

“I just love a limestone habitat, by God,” Manning says.

It's a rainy June day, aft... Hosted by for KRTS