What's moving in Hill Country business.

For Hill Country businesses that depend on land, livestock, water, or agricultural supply chains, drought isn't a background condition — it's a balance sheet problem that compounds quietly until a hard season makes it visible all at once. Hay costs rise when pasture production falls. Livestock owners reduce stocking rates, which means fewer animals to sell at any price. Water costs increase for any operation drawing from the Edwards or Trinity aquifer systems. Downstream, the effects spread: feed stores see changed buying patterns, veterinary demand shifts, and rural banks see different loan compositions.

What's new this summer is the screwworm layer. A confirmed Gillespie County detection means Hill Country livestock operations now need to factor inspection protocols and potential movement restrictions into their planning. Mandatory restrictions are currently in effect in La Salle, Uvalde, Webb, and Zavala Counties, and Gillespie County's confirmation puts the Hill Country on high alert. Call TAHC at (800) 550-8242 for current guidance for your county.

A practical checklist for any Hill Country operation this summer: review your hay supply situation before July, since prices don't tend to improve late in the season; assess your water storage capacity; review business continuity and crop or livestock insurance coverage before the August renewal window; and if you run livestock, put a weekly wound inspection protocol in place now. It's a lot of items — but the operations that handle a hard summer best are almost always the ones that started preparing before it arrived.

On the cattle market itself: the headline numbers are genuinely good, with choice boxed beef at $392.32 and select at $378.21 per hundredweight for the week of June 8 — both down slightly week over week, but still near the best levels in decades, with supply expected to stay tight through summer.

There's also a quieter piece of good news for small businesses. Texas raised its franchise tax exemption threshold to $2.65 million in annualized revenue, effective January 1, 2026 — up from $2.47 million. Many Hill Country small businesses that were just over the old threshold are now exempt. If you haven't revisited your franchise tax filing with your accountant since the change, this summer is a good time to do it. The broader outlook remains positive too: 80% of Texas small business owners surveyed expect 2026 sales growth despite ongoing federal tariff uncertainty, and tourism-adjacent businesses in the Hill Country should be well positioned heading into fall, with lodging reservations ahead of 2025 pace in October and November.

Watering wisely — your yard and yourself.

When to let things go brown — and why that's not giving up.

Three priorities. Trees first, every time. A live oak or pecan that's been in the ground twenty years takes twenty years to replace. Water your trees deeply — slow and long, once a week — before anything else. Second, your vegetable garden if you're growing one: it's producing food, and it can't go dormant the way ornamentals can. Third, anything in containers: they dry out fastest and go from stressed to dead quickly.

Everything else? Let it rest. Bermuda grass goes dormant. It looks dead. It is not dead. It will come back. So will most of your native plantings, the cedar, the yaupon — they've been through this before. You have not failed them. You are letting them use their own drought strategy, which is better than yours. One more thing: water yourself before you're thirsty. By the time you feel thirsty, you're already behind. Drink a full glass before you go outside, and another when you come back in. The yard can manage. You have to manage, too.

There's a particular kind of grief that comes in July when the yard that was green in April is brown and you're standing there with a hose wondering what went wrong. Nothing went wrong. The land is just being honest with you. The plants that survive Hill Country drought aren't the ones that were coddled through it — they're the ones that learned to reach deeper for water that's still there, below the surface, even when the surface tells a different story. Letting something go brown isn't defeat. It's a collaboration. You're saying: I trust you to know what you're doing. And the ones that have been here long enough — they do know.

The live oak in July doesn't panic. It drops a few leaves, pulls its resources inward, and waits. It's done this before. So has the land. So, probably, have you. Hazel Mae is right about the trees. And she's right about the water. Drink it. The world looks different when you're hydrated, I promise. July makes more sense when you're not half a glass behind on everything.

Got a question for Hazel Mae & Fern? Write to hey@thetownie.ai.

Meet Pumpkin.

A Red Heeler mix, almost two, looking for her person.

Photo: Second Chance Mason Animal Rescue

Pumpkin arrived at Second Chance Mason Animal Rescue the way the best stories start — with a kind neighbor and a best friend named Cookie. Nobody knows much about her past, but her personality has filled in the blanks quickly. She's a Red Heeler in her prime: nearly two years old, athletic, smart, and buzzing with what can only be described as constructive energy.

She's in active leash training, which she's picking up faster than most. She genuinely loves learning new things, and she loves even more the person doing the teaching. What Pumpkin wants most is attention and praise. What she gives back is complete enthusiasm and the specific loyalty heelers are known for.

Smart dogs take more of your energy than easy dogs — and they give back more, too. If you've got the space, the time, and the patience to invest in a brilliant dog who will invest right back in you, Pumpkin is ready to go.

"My best friend Cookie and I were picked up together by a kind neighbor, and honestly? Best thing that ever happened to me. I don't know a lot about what came before, but I know exactly who I am now: someone who learns fast, loves hard, and has some very strong opinions about how walks should go. I'm in leash training — going great, thank you. I'm athletic and energetic and I will be the most interesting thing in your house. I'm almost two, which is exactly the right age to start over somewhere new. Red Heeler energy. Loving heart. Ready to commit. Call or email — I already love you."