The Odd Essay

Just Another Day on the Farm

2012-03-08T19:04:00.000-06:00

Wait a minute... we left the farm years ago...

I think that's what we used to say when nothing unusual happened... and you know... old habits...

The day started early... 4am. I woke up hearing a dog barking. That's not really unusual here, except at 4am to have a dog bark continually is a bit out of the ordinary. I think I dozed, but kept hearing the dog. I got up before 5am... got my shower... Bill got up... got his shower... it's 5:30am... dog is still barking. It's 70 degrees... the warmest night we've had for months. No heater last night! I have on shorts and sandals... go out in the pitch black to the car and drive out to the road... trying to pinpoint where the dog is. It doesn't sound in pain... just keeps barking. When I get out to the road I stop and listen.... hmmm.... closer to the house. (our daughter's house is a few hundred feet from our motorhome).... I drive back down the drive... stop... listen. Go back to the house and tell Bill that the barking is close to a storage shed. I change to "real" shoes... we get flashlights and head out on foot. The barking stops.... silence..... we aim our flashlights into the brush... AND... there's Rylee, our daughter's dog... apparently either stuck in the brambles or confused and unable to get out of the low branches of a huge cedar tree. When he sees my flashlight, and me, he worms his way through the underbrush and comes to me... and... as only Rylee can do... he crawls on his belly the last foot or so. (Rylee is a rescue dog... who knows what kind of a life he had 3 years ago....).... Anyway, I pick him up (he's tiny... a Benjy type dog) and we take him to the house. Celeste is getting ready for work... the door is locked... we finally get her attention... put Rylee in the house... and head back to our rig. We won't know until our daughter comes home how all this came about... by 6am we're back in our rig, having breakfast and catching up on our computers.

The day turned cloudy, overcast, windy... and cold. Now, at 6pm it's 45 degrees. What happened to Spring?

Anyway, aside from a short drive into Glen Rose to the bank, PO and library, we've been home all day. Mostly inside.

Bill tried to make our airline reservations with Spirit online last evening... got error codes... ARG! So today he called .... twice.... I have no idea where the operators were located, but we definitely had a language barrier trying to get this done. It should have been easy... 2 round trip tickets from DFW to San Jose, Costa Rica... leaving on the 6am flight on March 28th, returning on the 12:30pm flight on April 30th.... 2 checked bags, 1 carryon. So Simple... Right? Well, after about an hour on the phone we did finally have a confirmation number... but... we had the phone on "speaker" and by the end of the whole thing I was spouting 4 letter words, my BP was probably sky high, and I took a long walk in the windy, cold outdoors just to chill out. Bill takes it all in stride.... Anyway, we do have our flight scheduled now.

It was really mostly an indoor kind of day... I picked up a G.M. Ford book from the library (Nameless Night) and hunkered down with that most of the afternoon.

I had plucked a couple of wildflowers blooming at the library and in the yard here... tried my darnest to ID them... Got out my Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (circa 1977... from a biology class WAY back then!).... but... really didn't have much luck. Somewhere I have a Peterson's Field Guide to Texas Wildflowers... maybe I can find it and do better.

But, come dinnertime... it's time to be productive again. Well, all good blogs have photos... right? So... here's dinner...

Pan fried trout and a medly of (sort of) stir fried veggies....

I wanted to try some of this...

Corn Truffle... which is really a fungus that grows on corn kernals.... But... see the nice light colored stuff on the label?

This is what was inside the can... Is it good? I don't know... I guess it tasted okay, but I was kind of leary to add it to the veggies.... I put the can in the fridge to decide its fate later.

But... I did add...

The can of zucchini flowers.

So... Dinner came out really nice...

Okay... I KNOW those are really big servings... I guess I never did learn how to cook for tiny appetites....

Add to that a glass of cold, white wine...

Not a bad day considering.......

That's All for Today....

Remember That Bucket List?

2012-03-06T17:44:00.000-06:00

Well, we are constantly adding new "must see/do/have" things to that list. For maybe 3 years or so now Bill and I have driven past drilling sites (oil, gas, water?) and seen those "guard" RVs parked at the entrance. We keep sayin to each other "We could do that".... "That looks like something we'd like to do..."...... stuff like that.....

We have listed all the things that appeal to us... the remoteness, and (for Bill) seeing all the equipment that's brought in and used, and just the process of the job itself.

In another life or two ago, Bill drilled wells, did well maintenance, and drove a lot of that heavy equipment. He still has his CDL and still is in demand at National Wildlife Refuges for all kinds of jobs, so just being around this kind of life would come second nature to him.

We had no idea how to even look into such a prospect... but... since I started this blog a couple of months ago I put out some feelers, and my good blogging friends headed us in the right direction.

Chappy Trails ... bloggers who are now doing exactly what we want to do... have been very helpful by sending me info about their jobs and how they manage those strange shifts. (Thank You)

We found that first off, you have to (at least in Texas) get a Level 2 Security Guard license. Of course I googled that and got some info...

Then a week or so ago we were driving back from Cleburne and saw a new drilling site set up... AND... a guard trailer sitting at the entrance. We drove past... kind of looked at each other... and I did a 3 point in the road and drove back to talk to the guard.

Paydirt! This young man told us he works 12 hour shifts, doesn't live on site, and that the company he works for is the Red Horse Security Co. out of Ft Worth. He gave Bill sketchy directions of their location.

Yesterday we headed into Ft Worth... easily (well, somewhat easily) found the company and talked with the manager. Now... her first name is "Trick"... there's no way we could go wrong dealing with a woman whose name is Trick!.... She was very helpful... told us how to go about getting licensed.

Can you believe (of course you can!) that RIGHT NEXT DOOR there's a company that trains people to fill security guard positions (at all levels)... and so...

We went next door... found that Mary Jane gives classes 3 days a week. We could have stayed and done it then, but... (and here's where my years working in a very structured organizaion come in)... I thought maybe we'd better get there when the class started... not an hour or so into it.

Soooooo... Bill & I went back today for the training class.

Training is hardly the word I'd use. We got there at 8:30... Mary Jane took us, and one other guy, into a room, handed us a 20 page booklet (printing on both sides)... AND a 50 question answer sheet.... AND... a test booklet. She said that all the answsers to the questions were in the book, but not in the order as the questions were asked... it was an open-book test and we had as long as we wanted to complete it..... and she left the room, closing the door.

She went out to conduct her Level 3 Security class.... (Level 3s carry firearms... Level 2s don't ) Bill & I looked through the book, looked at each other... and I truly could not make heads nor tails of a thing. The voices from the classroom next to us kept me from even thinking! I got totally frustrated.

Well, after getting myself calmed down, I finally got to work on the test. Since I had never in my life even read anything about being a security guard or levels of confrontation (CONFRONTATION? Hey! I'm not signing up for the military... all I want to do is record license numbers of trucks bumping over the damned cattle guard!!!)... And worst of all, the questions would jump around and question #3 would be about bomb threats, question #4 about citizen arrests... and maybe question #42 back to bomb threats.

Like I said, I like structure... I like reason.... I like order.....

I kept telling myself that a Level 2 guard position wasn't just to man a drilling site... heck, it could be a Wal-Mart security person... AND ... we ALL know what kind of people THEY have to deal with! You might need some intensive training to deal with some of those "People at Wal-Mart" videos type of people. So suck it up and finish the test!

Anyway, to get on with this saga... Bill and I and the 3rd person all finished about the same time. (10:30am) Bill and I compared answers (well, it WAS an open-book test)... and went back into the other room.

Mary Jane graded the papers... As usual, there were a few "trick" questions... (actually, Bill & I "discussed" the answers to 2 of those very questions... but... we came to the wrong conclusion)... and the 3rd question we missed had one little word that screwed us over... ) So we both got a 94% passing the test quite nicely. The other guy, who, when we "discussed" some answers, kept insisting that the type of fire extinguisher you use for an electrical fire would ruin a computer got 92%.... Frankly, if my laptop were smoking I'd just figure I'd used too many 4 letter words.

So..... all this long, drawn out narrative is just to show you this....

Hey Folks! We Passed!

Even has the Star of Texas making it official!

Now, we won't actually be persuring this type of work until this coming fall, so until we actually get hired on with some company, we won't get licensed. But... Trick, at Red Horse, told us that her company is interested in folks like us...

At least the test part is out of the way!

That's All For Today.....

A Drop in the Bucket

2012-03-03T13:05:00.000-06:00

Years ago, long before I had ever heard the term “bucketlist”, I kept a list of things I wantedto accomplish and places I wanted to see. I wish I’d kept that list, but I still remember many of the items on it.

I was working as payroll manager at the local hospital, Billand I had a small farm and we sold goat cheese, veggies, flowers and jams andjellies at the local farmer’s market, and we also owned some rentals thatrequired a certain amount of time and maintenance. We were busy people!

The list as I remember went something like this:

1)     Take and Pass CPP (Certified PayrollProfessional) test.
2)     Takecannery class at Ohio State and get license to make and sell processed foods.
3)     See Northern Lights
4)     See Mount Rushmore
5)     See Southern Cross
6)     Take Hot Air Balloon Ride
7)     Take Helicopter Ride
8)     Ride a mule down the Grand Canyon
9)       See a Moose

I don’t remember what else that first list consisted of, butbefore I retired in 1997 I had acquired my CPP and also my cannerylicense.

As the years passed I’d add things, and I’d draw a linethrough the ones that were realized. Ithink 1999 was a banner year… mydaughter and I spent 2 weeks in New Zealand. Each night the weather would be cloudy and overcast… no night sky! Finally, the last 2 nights we were there we saw the Southern Cross. I probably have pictures of it stashed somewhere, but that was before digital days. It probably sounds odd to want to see aconstellation, but then… maybe this blog, The Odd Essay, is aptly named.

Me.. at the Grand Canyon - 2007

When I was in third grade, one of my classmates took a tripOUT WEST. I don’t know how long thevacation was, but I do know she brought back pictures and souvenirs to share with the class. We played The Grand Canyon Suite every time we looked at her pictures, and I knewthen that I wanted to ride a mule down that canyon. My sister and I took a vacation in the early90’s and I stood and looked into the canyon and could hear the rainstorm andthe sun coming out again… And my brotherand I took a vacation in 1999… and… werode mules down into the canyon… clippity clop, clippity clop…… a big drop in the bucket!
The above picture was taken on April 7, 2007. One of the several times Bill & I have visited the Grand Canyon. Guess I can cross through that entry , but I never tire of visiting there.

Bill and I started our RVing adventure in early 2001... we headed for Alaska.

Finally... Finally... Finally.....

I saw a moose!

In fact, we saw moose fairly often during our stay on the Kenai. Since then we've spent several summers in Maine where moose (and bear and porcupine) are plentiful with almost daily sightings. I still get excited whenever I see these guys and always carry my camera with me. (By the way, this photo won a laptop and binoculars for me in a photo contest)

I'm scared of heights... but still have a few "high altitude" items on my list. Riding in a hot air balloon was right at the top. My brother and I were on the schedule for the 2nd flight of the day at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque one year. We were on the chase crew for the first flight... and wouldn't you know? That balloon crashed into a huge cottonwood tree, just missing some high power lines, and ripped the whole side out of balloon. So much for THAT ride!

A few years later Bill & I were in Colorado Springs....

That's me in the gondola wearing the red headband. The picture on the right is our shadow as we float over the countryside. Pike's Peak is in the background.

Another line crossed off my bucket list!

As long as I'm writing about getting high.... I've always wanted to take a helicopter ride.

We were in Churchill, Manitoba on a Tundra Buggy.... a company was offering helicopter rides out over the frozen tundra to see the polar bears. The upper left picture is of me when the ride was over. If I look like I have a silly grin on my face, I really do! The lower right picture is one of many I took while up in the whirlybird.

Another Drop in the Bucket!

Not all of my bucket list takes me off the ground... a few things on my list took us over water....

Who hasn't wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge?

I think I sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" until Bill would gladly have gagged me. But seeing THE BRIDGE and riding a cable car had been on that list a LONG time.

By the way, that's an Adventure Caravan jacket and cap Bill is wearing. We were on one of their tours and I highly recommend that company.

Before I retired, a person I worked with told me that her husband had worked on the Mackinac Bridge up in Michigan. I was fascinated by her stories of that job.

Yep! That got added to my list way back then. I'm always glad it's Bill who's driving the rig at times like this!!!!

I used to subscribe to National Geographic. One article that has always stayed with me was of the monarch butterflies migration to Mexico. For years and years their destination was a mystery. I can still see the cover of that particular magazine although I have no idea what year that was.

Naturally, THAT place went on my list! In 2009, we cut short our winter in Mexico and headed back to the Valley. We had some time on our hands before heading north again and just happened on to a travel agency offering the butterfly tour. The bus trip was a week-long tour of parts of Mexico that we'd never seen. But the highlight for me was seeing these thousands of Monarchs in their winter habitat... a sight I'll NEVER forget!

Another Drop in the Bucket!

How close have you been to a whale?

Maybe I should ask instead... is seeing a whale close up on YOUR bucket list? It was on mine, and we were so close I could have reached out and touched the barnacles on her back. This was in Guerreo Negro, in Baja Sur.

Bill loves to go parasailing. He's had the opportunity to do just that a few times in Mexico or along some beach in the Caribbean. I've stood on the ground, watching (and praying) and taking pictures. I REALLY wanted to do that... I REALLY did....

But... just couldn't get up the nerve.

We were in Michigan a few years ago and saw a parasail company that offered ....

TANDEM RIDES!

YES!!! I could do that!

And I did!

It was tons of fun and I could do it again.... IF I'm in a harness with that guy in the picture on the right. Doesn't he look like he's having fun?

Not all my bucket list is on the water or in the air...

Another item from Waaaaaay back... grade school, I'm sure...

was to see...

OLD FAITHFUL!

We spent a couple of weeks checking out Yellowstone... don't think we saw even one bear. But, by gosh, we counted down the minutes until Old Faithful blew again!

As time went on and I realized I could add the most outlandish items to my list if I wanted to, I added stuff like...

Riding in a Gondola in Venice, Italy....

and

Seeing some ruins in Greece....

Traveling isn't the only thing on my list, but I'd never been out of Ohio until I was fifteen years old, so it's no wonder I've added so many things to see.

I wish I still had a copy of that original list... just as a reminder that you can wish for anything you want.... and nothing is too outrageous to attain if you really want it.

My bucket list has been filled many times. And that's the thing about it... that bucket will keep

filling up with ideas as long as I live.

That's All for Today....

I See Costa Rica in the Crystal Ball....

2012-03-01T12:42:00.000-06:00

My husband works wonders! On Monday he got a clean bill of health and we started thinking seriously about leaving Texas. On Tuesday he posted an "ad" on a Costa Rica forum that he's on. The ad read something like this:

We are planning to visit Costa Rica for a month... possibly longer. We would like to rent a small apartment or a place with a kitchen and a bath. We do not want to be based in a large city, but would like to be within walking distance to a market. Swimming pool not necessary, but internet is.

I know this isn't exact, but it pretty much says it all.

That evening he got an e-mail from .... of all people... Sharon Wallace. No kidding! How ironic that that is my name as well! The e-mail had a link that showed pictures of the house they have for rent. The house is in Cuidad Colon, which is just west of San Jose. It comes completely furnished, including dishes, cookware, and linens. Also, it is close to a market... as well as a public bus line.

A few e-mails back and forth on Wednesday... about cost, availability, amenities.....

Today, Thursday, we drove to the nearest Bank of America to deposit one month's rent into the "landlord's" account!

The earliest it will be available is April 1st... but that's fine with us. Now we have to make our flight arrangements out of DFW. And figure out how we can pack binoculars, cameras, lenses, field guides, travel books, laptops... and a few articles of clothing ;-) into whatever luggage the airlines allows us these days.

Thirty+ years ago Bill said something like "Stick with me, sweetie, and we'll go places" .... Boy! Does he ever keep his promises!

Well, blogs should have at least one picture... so... here's my offer of the day...

The Sandhill Cranes are leaving Texas and heading back to Nebraska, Idaho, or wherever they will go for their summer home. I took these pictures standing outside our rig. There are huge flocks of them WAY up in the sky... trying to catch a thermal to make their flight easier. They talk to each other, and.... way down here, we can hear their "conversations". They are sometimes so high that I can see them without binoculars only if their wings catch the sun. We haven't volunteered near crane habitat for a couple years... so I always feel nostalgic when I see them winging overhead.

That's All For Today....

P.S. The "mom" in me can just imagine what all that crane talking is about.... Will you PLEASE stop bothering your sister. Stay on your own side of the flock. No, we're NOT going to stop at that cornfield, you just ate. Didn't I TELL you go go before we left home?

Costa Rica info?

2012-02-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I posted that we were thinking of what we'd do for the rest of the winter. Now that the health issues are settled, we might go back to Plan A of last fall. That was to spend the winter, or at least part of the winter in Costa Rica....

As you can see, this is something we've been thinking about for about a year now... but "real" life seems to keep getting in the way to delay this trip.

We'd like to stay a month or so... NOT stay in a large city, but to rent a place in a small town or village that has a kitchen and bath. A pool isn't necessary, but internet is.... walking distance to a market would be desirable.

No, we wouldn't be driving down, but flying out of DFW to San Jose..... taking public transportation or renting a vehicle once there.

We've never been real interested in taking a "birding" tour... while we're both avid birders, neither of us are fanatics. Seeing and living the "local" life has been higher on our priorities, but... hey, we'll takes what we gets. ;-)

So... if any of you who may be reading this have spent time in Costa Rica, or know of any contacts from whom we could glean some information.... we'd be grateful for any help we can get.

I changed my "header" picture this morning. Just a word about that... Daffodils are my favorite flower (and maybe our daughter, Donna's as well). I planted tons of bulbs around my place in Ohio when I was first married in 1961. While that marriage didn't work, the bulbs thrived. I dug them up and replanted them on the farm in 1982 when Bill & I got together. There are daffodils everywhere there now! Last year, Bill dug a bunch of them up and brought them here to Texas. He planted them here at our daughter, Celeste's house. There are 4 blooming as I write. That picture, with our rig showing in the background, is very special to me.... kind of a reminder that life goes on... no matter what our plans might have been.

By the way, I wish I could come up with some outrageous outfit to wear and have my picture taken in, but.... we don't even have our Lazy Boy recliners anymore, let alone anything but the basics in attire.... my jeans have barbed wire tears in them, my shirts are all permanently stained with various things... I haven't changed out my earrings in at least 3 years... Boy! Are we boring!

All for Today.....

Who Let the Ducks Out?

2012-02-27T17:54:00.000-06:00

Bill and I were heading back from Ft Worth today and what should appear before our very eyes?

Oh No! The Good Luck Duck !

Can it be? Did they give up traveling and go into the used car business? Tell me it isn't so!

I mean... this thing is HUGE! Maybe it flew clear over to Ft Worth from the other side of Texas... I bet if it IS the Good Luck Duck it will come to its senses real fast and head for warmer weather.

I know my family won't have a clue about what THAT'S all about, but if any blogging friends read this, they'll know ;-)

Now... the reason we were in Ft Worth was for Bill's appointment with the cardio doctor. I'm sure you all know the hoops we have to jump through to get doctor appointments, lab tests etc. In December our family doctor heard a slight heart murmur, and the subsequent EKG showed an irregular heartbeat. Bill couldn't get to see the cardio doc until late January, so we left Glen Rose and stayed a few weeks in the Valley... enjoying the birding and all the other things the Valley has to offer.

Back to Glen Rose for the cardio doc... then another few weeks until the stress test and echo sonagram. Then another couple of weeks before the cardio doc could see him with the results.

I will add here that this was not an emergency ... Bill has had no indication of any problems. And, finally, today, after waiting over an hour to see the doctor, the doc spent less than 10 minutes telling Bill that everything is fine. He's probably had the murmur forever and we all have stuff go on in our bodies that are normal for us.

So, while we weren't really worried about this, we both wanted to rule out any problems. Which has been done.... and I am thankful.

NOW... we're where most of you bloggers were last November. Where will we go and how will we spend the winter? I know that March is upon us, but we don't have to be in Maine until June (talked with Kirk today... they got 18" snow... expecting more tonight) so we have March, April and May to play around.... somewhere.

We have a few ideas... guess we'll see what we come up with.

That's All For Today....

Windy Friday

2012-02-24T12:56:00.001-06:00

Hmmmm... not sure if I mean the weather outside or my wordy blogs... but the beautiful warm day (tee shirt and sandals!!!) of yesterday is still beautiful today, but very windy and cold. The sun is shining, though, and that makes a world of difference.

As I've written before, I have a couple of game cameras at various locations on our daughter's property. I never know what will show up in the pictures the next day... We've been visited pretty regularly by this fellow....

This grey fox comes around 8:00 in the evening, and makes another round through the yard around midnight. He isn't interested in the deer feed or corn... I have a feeling he's more interested in the rabbits and other critters who do come to feed. Since the cameras record the time each photo is taken, I've noticed that the cottontails and the fox's visits are farily close together. Guess Brer Rabbit better be on the lookout!

Deer come around day or night. There can be as many as 16 around the feeders at a time.

The "daytime" photos are nice if you want to see detail...

BUT....

The "nighttime" pictures show the drama. Don't you just love the expression on that doe? I had no idea that these different species would chow down so close together....

Another thing I like about my game cameras is when they catch birds in flight...

Although this isn't terribly clear, it shows details of the feathers that usually I just don't catch

The camera caught these two cardinals having a bit of a skirmish.

I know we see sights such as this every day, but I'm seldom quick enough with my camera to actually snap a picture of the action.

I haven't even seen a spotted towhee nor a brown thrasher since we've been here, so when the camera caught these guys, I know I should be getting out more to see what else is here.

I saw this the other day....

I don't have a cactus field guide and don't know what species it is... but it's almost flat to the ground... It was actually quite beautiful... this one measured about 8" across. I see a new field guide in my future....

Well, we finally got our last 1099 in yesterday's mail... and today we got our tax stuff sent off to our CPA back in Ohio. It's always a relief to get that out of the way. Guess it's really not over until we send it to the IRS...

And when the IRS is the big news of the day, I KNOW it's time to close !!!!

That's All for Today....

Material Things

2012-02-23T14:02:00.000-06:00

I usually get up during the night and use the bathroom. We have a Class C motorhome... only 27' long; no slide-outs... so it's a short walk from the bed, which is over the cab, to the bathroom at the other end of the rig. No need to turn on any lights as we seem to have an extraordinary amount of various lights dotting the way from one end of the rig to the other. Small lights... red, yellow... sometimes blue. It probably looks like a minature run-way for radio controlled airplanes.

This got me to thinking (here, Bill always says "Oh, No" and rolls his eyes) about the "things" we have acquired over the years.

When we started planning to travel we bought our first cell phone. It was a little Nokia. We signed up with AT&T... had to sign a one year agreement in order to get cheaper service. It took us a year to find the right motorhome, make our own house "rentable", and to do our research on how to live on the road. (There were lots of "how-to" books, even 12 years ago.. but looking back, I think some of that advice just hilarious!... that could be a whole nother blog!)

We both had our own PCs, but thought that one laptop would do us both.

Off we drove.... 2001.... one laptop, one cellphone, and a small camera that used film. We had one pair of binoculars, and an excessive amount of Field Guides to about everything.

Many places we were, we had no cell phone service. It wasn't just AT&T, back then even Verizon and the others were sporadic, to say the least. So we used the computers at libraries for e-mail so we could stay in touch with family. After a year or so, we learned about Pocketmail and purchased one. I'd type in my messages, and when we'd get to a payphone, we'd dial a toll-free number and transmit and receive any messages. This had its limitations... I'd send short messages and beg my friends and family to NOT send me any jokes, photos, or other lengthy epistles. (I wonder if Pocketmails are still in use... how often to you see a workable pay phone these days?)

I think maybe we bought better binoculars (a pair for each of us!) and even bought a spotting scope next. Both necessary items for amatuer birders....

I can't remember whether it was the XM Radio or the GPS Street Pilot that were our next acquistions. We were way up in North Dakota... radio stations hard to find and harder to hang on to when traveling. Since we didn't have a TV we did rely on a radio for news... and I really wanted PBS ... Car Talk and Prairie Home Companion were hard to live without. Since XM and Cirius have merged, we sometimes have trouble keeping track of what we can find where... but the radio was a great enhancement.

Along came the Garmin Street Pilot. As much as I rant and rave at that bossy woman in there, she's gotten us out of many a mess.

Not too long after that we started geocaching... I just had to have a hand-held GPS. We do use them (after I had the first one a couple of years we upgraded to a more sophisticated model) for other things. Hey... you can even find your car in a parking lot... if you remember to put in the coordinates before you leave ;-)

We're at the end of 2005 now... it's no longer practical to share the laptop. Time to get a second one. At this time we have had it with Pocketmail and depending on libraries for internet. We sign on with Hughes and buy a satellite dish. Ours is the kind you put on a tripod outside your rig. Bill is the foreman of this job... and the laborer... and the maintenance man. I know I need to learn how it all works but right now, all I do is get out my trusty GPS and give him the coordinates of our location. He finds the azimuth, elevation etc and does all the setting up.

With the satellite dish we had to buy a modem and a router.

Actually, at this point, we had to buy a tow vehicle to carry all this stuff. Bill calls our little Scion our "Storage Shed". (It's also my wine cellar, my bird seed bin and has various other uses besides getting me to the grocery store)

Somewhere in here AT&T told us we either had to get an updated phone or they would discontinue our service. Enter.... the I Phone.

I think Bill has something else that he uses, but I can't remember what it is...

In 2004 I dropped my camera in a pond... while this was definitely an accident, that incident began my experience with digital cameras. And bigger lenses.....

I like games, so bought a Nintendo... lots of fun while you're waiting around with nothing to read. I needed a better exercise program so we got a Wii... had to buy a TV since we didn't have one. We went ahead and bought a DVD player on the chance we'd want to watch movies... So far the TV has been used only as a monitor for the Wii.

We needed external memory for our laptop... Oh yes, we bought a printer/scanner somewhere in there.

We have antennas on the roof of the rig... we have antennas along the cab (the rig came with a CB radio)....

Now it's 2012. It sounds like we buy everything coming and going in the electronic field... but keep in mind that this has been over an eleven year period.

Nearly all those "material things" that are listed in the above use.... batteries! And it doesn't make any difference whether the batteries are external and need charged or you just plug in the whole device.... walking through our rig at night is an experience of its own. This charger has a red light... that one a yellow... the modem has 5 blue lights.... the cell phone glows.... one battery charger starts winking at you when the batteries are charged.

Heck, even the refrigerator has a tiny light to let you know its on... so does the water pump and the hot water heater....

When we started out we had just "the basics"..... But, as time goes on, the basics seem to be complicated. We could probably do without lots of our "material things", but when I walk through our rig at night, it comes home to me just how many conveniences we've acquired.

That's all for Today......

Glen Rose, Texas

2012-02-22T09:50:00.000-06:00

First of all, I want to welcome my followers. I'm still not sure exactly how to reply... maybe just e-mail? In fact, I want to follow some other blogs myself and there are some that require more know-how than I have. So... thank you for taking the time to read my "Essays"... and special thanks to those who wish Bill well on his tests.

I can only say this... so far he hasn't been glowing in the dark or turning green or anything. We go back to Ft Worth next Monday... I'll update y'all then. Thanks!

Because we now do our "doctorin" in Granbury, and this time our medical stuff is taking longer, we've been at our daughter's place near Glen Rose for quite a while. Glen Rose is the county seat of Somervell County.

Texas has a total of 254 counties! Somervell County is the 3rd smallest county consisting of a total of 192 square miles. In the 2010 census, the county had a population of 8,490. Glen Rose, the largest city in the county has a population of 2,444. It became the county seat in 1875, when the county was formed.

The Courthouse, was built in 1894. As in many western town, the courthouse is in the center of a plaza, or town square. This one is no exception... the area where it's located is nicely landscaped and has several statues and war memorials.

This statue depicts the earliest settlers here.

Around the town square are historic buildings, most have been restored to look as they did, but now accomodate modern-day businesses.

This is an antique shop... one of many in the area.

A trendy boutique in an historic setting....

There is a small museum right on the town square. It houses clothing, tools, and other artifacts of days gone by. Those panels at the top right are the collection of different barbed wire fencing once used in Texas.

Just outside the museum is Glen Rose's "claim to fame". Dinosaur prints were discovered nearby in 1908, following the tragic Paluxy River Flood.

Since then other prints have been discovered. Just outside of Glen Rose today is the Dinosaur State Park and also the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

In fact, if you stop at the Visitor Center as you enter Glen Rose on Rt 67, this is what you'll see....

There are all kinds of dinosaur and fossil related businesses in the area.

Back to the town square... this was the town's first post office....

A far cry from today's post office located just on the edge of town.

Also, just at the edge of the court house parking area is..

The Farmer's Market area. Still today, this is the area where local farmer's bring their produce to sell during warmer weather.

Just off the town square is something, that to me is quite unique...

There's a small bird sanctuary, tucked away between two business buildings... a small creek runs through it and there are lots of bird feeders, bird houses and other bird attractions. This is easy to miss because it's the width of a normal building, right on the main street.

There are several parks and other attractions within walking distance of the town square. Big Rocks Park is right on the Paluxy River. I didn't get a picture of that but it looks exactly like its name... HUGE rocks to climb on or hike around. Also a playground and picnic area.

Just east of the town square is another park...

Again, it's just a short walk to it from downtown... but besides a playground and picnic area is also is a historic site...

There are restored buildings of days gone by... Each building is marked with a plaque citing its purpose and history.

There are also a fair number of Bed and Breakfasts, Country Inns, and even large retreats and unique inns.

This Lodge is located just a short distance from the square. There are several such businesses in the area.

Moving outside the town square, Glen Rose is much like other small towns...

The Somervell Library is near the complex of school buildings. By the way, the school campus is huge! Houses all grade levels in various buildings, and it looks like a beautiful new convocation center is just being completed.

I am amazed at how many banks there are in this town... I'm sure they are all branch banks of some larger institution. Someday I'll take the time to count them all!

This is where we opened an account... the main office is in Stephenville, about 30 miles south of here, but this one has what we need.

Also, there are lots of churches of all denominations here...

This is St Rose of Lima, where I go. It's quite small and I believe the pastors come from St Francis Cabrini, in Granbury for the services here.

So you can see that Glen Rose has many similarities to other small towns in Texas. But there's one BIG difference. The reason the roads are so good; the reason the schools are so modern; and probably one of the reasons that there are so many banks...

The Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant Generating Station

Located just about 5 miles west of Glen Rose, and almost on the Somervell/Hood County lines, this is one of two nuclear plower plants in Texas. It's been operating since the mid 1970's and is the employer of over 1,000 people. I'm sure the tax money it generates for the county make a huge difference.

The city of Granbury (Hood County) is located about 20 miles away... the whole town square is now on the Historical Record. It brings in a lot of tourists from Ft Worth and other places. When reading about small Texas towns to visit, Granbury is probably near the top. BUT... just down the road is Glen Rose... well worth your time to stop by and check out. It has a lot more than I've noted here and I seem to find something new each time I wander the streets.

Hope you've enjoyed your city tour... it's been my pleasure!

All for Today....

Bad Day at Black Rock

2012-02-20T20:04:00.000-06:00

Okay... truth is... NO mysterious stranger came to town... It's just that the last 3 days have been kind of crappy. (That's NOT the word I use around the house... those that know me KNOW that)...

Started Friday... the drive to Ft Worth wasn't bad... we found the medical ctr with no problem. Got there... they said... You're 3 hours late... no time to do the tests. WHAT!!! Bill dragged out the stuff he got in the mail. (He's SO efficient! No kidding! He really is, and that's a good thing)... They figured out that whoever sent all the paperwork saying what you do/don't do before a stress test made a whopper of a mistake and told us the wrong time.

Let me make it perfectly clear here.... it's BILL who's having the stress test... I'M the one who's spazzing out due to the inefficiency of the >*&^%% office person.

Anyway, they worked in the echosonogram... but .... Bless their hearts... (see, I've learned a few Southern terms since leaving Ohio... (you wanna know what I'd'a said back then?)..... they rescheduled him for Monday (today) for the stress test.

Let's back up a little... all this really isn't about me... Bill had an annual check-up and after at least 10 years of an irregular heart-beat our new doctor thinks this bears checking out. Well, no s... , hey, I want to keep him around a LONG time and we'll do whatever it takes. We changed from our Ohio doctors (what can you do when 1 retires and the other one dies?)... to doctors here in Texas. Our daughter lives near Ft Worth and we're here at least a few weeks of each year... the perfect place to get "relocated".

And actually we have found a family doctor in Granbury that we both like (I'm partial to osteopaths).... and... he has a clinic where he has specialists from Ft Worth for those quirky things that go wrong with us.

So... enter the cardiologist. I don't think either of us are really concerned over this... if you ever watched Bill working with a shovel... or a backhoe... or really everything he does almost every day, you'd know he could put a guy 30 years younger than him to shame.

Anyway... his EKG does show up some irregularities... bears checking out. We both strongly believe in preventative medicine...

So... Friday we do the Ft Worth thing... but let's return back to Glen Rose. We're at our daughter's house... her husband is in the oil/gas business... works abroad several months of the year. He's been home for the holidays and is about to return to his foreign job.

The weekend is kind of bittersweet...... too much to do before he goes... his kids visit.... we're all kind of on overwhelm. Our daughter is handling it all very well... but let's face it... it's hard.

Come Monday... Bill & I head back to Ft Worth... he does the 4 hour stress test thing. (okay, so I go geocaching while he's doing that ;-)..... He gets done about noon today... I ask him how it went. Neither of us had a clue about what to expect...   He tells me he had about 15 minutes of actual testing... but... he can't get through an airport check-in for 3days because now he's radioactive. WHAT???   Okay, we really aren't planning on going anywhere, but what the heck is THIS about?   They really did give him a card to give to airport security if he's flying anywhere to explain about him being shot full of radioactive stuff for the test.

I'm trying real hard not to laugh my you know what off at this point....

We go to a Barnes & Noble... I get my book fix (bought "The Help") and we headed home. (books and reading are my answer to all kinds of problems)

Oops... forgot... stopped at the H.E.B. and bought some sushi for dinner... that and a glass of wine was dinner tonight.

Now... do you understand why the last three day haven't been the greatest? Maybe tomorrow I'll do that great blog on the history of Glen Rose that I had planned... it really is worth writing about... honest!   I'll even include pictures....

All for Today....

What's In a Town?

2012-02-18T22:09:00.001-06:00

My new blog friend Donna recently had a post "What's In A Name?" and that got me to thinking (for God only knows what reason) about "what's in a town". We've been on the road for over 11 years now. In the beginning we seemed to be on the road more, but even then, we'd stay at a place about 3 months, usually volunteering, before moving on.

You (or at least we did) get pretty much settled in if you stay in an area for 3 months. You learn the area.... the roads, the best stores to shop, the places to eat... you get to know the "locals" some... and, if you're like me, you even start to pick up some of the local dialect. (When the heck did I start saying "y'all"?)

So I got to thinking about what's important to us when we arrive at a brand new area.

Well, for the first 5 years or so we didn't have a tow vehicle. So our bicycles were our main mode of transportation to get around. This pretty much meant that most errands could be done on a daily basis if they were within a 5 mile distance. We could have ridden further, but somehow this was about the limit.

Back then we had Pocketmail... we had to find a pay phone to send e-mails to friends for family. We belong to Escapees, so getting our mail once a week, or even once a month, became the normal.

We had our cell phone but since we were often way out in the boonies, we were totally away from any cell tower and phone service was limited.

Enter... "What's In A Town?"....

From the beginning of our travels libraries have been important. Not only as a source of reading material (we haven't had a TV for over 30 years)... but .... INTERNET!.... Everything from on-line banking to keeping in touch with friends and family. Monthly reconcililation of credit cards... bank statements... all that stuff.

I have probably a dozen or more library cards from all over the country.... I cherish every one as my love of libraries goes WAY back... I have wonderful memories of when I was quite young and the BookMobile came around ..... I can't remember when books were not a part of my life.

Now we carry around our satellite dish... not for TV, but for internet service. While we no longer need a library for internet use, I can't imagine not being able to "borrow" books as both of us read voraciously! Maybe this is why E-books hasn't appealed to me....

The local bank... again, probably not a major issue these days. We do have on-line banking services. But... we've found that having an account in a "local" bank makes life a lot easier. Especially a bank like Wells Fargo that is throughout the west. We don't have a big balance in any local bank, but even a small amount allows easier cashing of checks, using a notary public, or other services banks offer.

Knowing where the local post office is.... Again, we use Escapees Mail Service. And most of the time now we do have a physical address to have our mail sent to. But dropping in to mail birthday cards and other stuff gives me the opportunity to get to know the postal employees in small post offices. It's amazing how far a friendly hello goes these days. I've had postal emplyees hold mail that they could easily have sent back... just because they remembered me.

Church... this is a personal choice. I love going to different churches. I'm particularly fond of bilingual mass. Hey... when I was a kid, it was all in Latin... what's the big deal? I go to one church that is TRI-LINGUAL... some in English, some in Spanish, some in Latin! I LOVE it! Listening to the sermons... listening to (and trying to participate in) the songs! Different areas of the USA have different customs... I don't care what the"Church" says... it may be the same, but it's different.

Grocery Stores... Ah... my favorite subject! I love grocery shopping. I love regional foods! I love to shop, I love to cook... I love to eat! The "Mom and Pop" stores are fun... the IGA is LOCAL... you can go to Wal-Mart and get plenty of food, but go to the local stores... watch the people who shop there... ask questions if you don't know what something is.... or how to fix it. Most people (women especially) LOVE to tell you how to fix a cut of meat or some fruit or veggie you've never heard of. I know this is pretty much a Big Box store, but here in Texas, the H.E.B. groceries are fantastic! Go to one... you'll see what I mean.

Let's see... what have I left out.... bank, church, PO, grocery, library.... ????

I closed this... then remembered an important place.... the Laundromat! I don't know how many of you have traveled on a Greyhound Bus, but the local laundromat kind of reminds me of that. You meet the most interesting people with the most interesting stories. Everyone from the wealthy lady whose washer broke and she had to come here to the young mom with an infant, a toddler and an obnoxious 4 year old... who had to scrape together enough coins just to get the diapers done. Laundromats kind of bring together people of all walks of life.

To me, this is what traveling is all about... whether we're in the USA or another country.... each place is a a new adventure.... Getting to know the local customs and surroundings is a wonderful experience.

No pictures this time.... just words. Of why and how I love the places we live.

That's all for Today...

An Honest Answer...

2012-02-17T15:02:00.000-06:00

Our youngest grandchild Natalie, is 19 years old. Due to various circumstances she's never had a job. Recently she started her journey out into the "real world" and began looking for a real, honest-to-goodness paying job. The area where she lives is about 50 miles from any city of size, but there are the usual fast-food, big box, hardware stores about 20 miles from her home.

We've all been through the routine.... get the application, fill it out as honestly as you can, write a resume and send or take it all over town. Then... hope you get an interview.

Natalie's mom coached her by asking her the kinds of questions that companies ask... and she impressed on her to be honest and open in her answers.

Yesterday, Natalie had a job interview with Lowe's Hardware & Lumber... the interview was at 10am.

Bill & I have our motorhome parked at the edge of Natalie's family (our daughter & son-in-law) yard and are here most of the day.

We know when the interview is and are kind of antsy about Natalie's return.

Early afternoon she pulls in... and she comes over to our rig. I'm asking her how the interview went and what kinds of stuff they asked....

She said they asked her if she had any retail experience.

And she said... "Well, I sold Girl Scout Cookies".

Natalie starts work next week.

They loved her sense of humor.... Best Wishes, Natalie on your new job!

Third Finger, Left Hand

2012-02-15T15:33:00.000-06:00

What the heck is THIS all about?

There was a song (by Martha & the Vandellas) popular in 1967 with that name.... I don't remember it at all... probably too busy raising kids at the time.

There was a movie, in fact a classic movie, by that name out in 1940, starring Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas. Don't remember that one either... wasn't born yet...

So... Why the picture of my hand with a wedding ring?

In July of 1991, the hospital where I worked was on strike. I was the payroll person there, so while I was salaried, I really wasn't "management" as such... so I was working.

It was a Tuesday... we paid on Friday... and I had just got the payroll updated, ready to pull checks the next day. Bill and I had a small organic farm where we grew veggies for the local farmer's market. I left work as usual, went home... and as always happens on a farm... things needed done. Tonight the strawberries needed picked.

We had put a netting over the strawberry patch to keep the birds out of the ripe berries. I rolled back the net, got down on my knees and proceded to pick berries. I don't remember exactly how far along the row I got but I know I was bracing myself with my left hand while moving along. Suddenly I had the most excrutiating pain in my hand... it felt like someone had taken a pair of those funny shaped pliers and had the web between my ring and pinky fingers in their grasp and was squeezing with all their might.

I lifted up my hand... and... a very angry copperhead snake was hanging on, no doubt injecting venom for all he was worth. I shook him loose and started screaming for Bill. We lived about 7 miles from the hospital but I doubt if it took Bill long to get us there.

We went zooming through the picket line.... but since I knew most of those employees, when they saw the terror on my face, they didn't say a word.

Now... a lot of the nursing staff were out on strike... this meant that a lot of management was working the ER. I don't remember what doctor was on duty, but I seem to remember a few phone calls to that center for poison control down in Atlanta.

One thing I'll NEVER forget... I asked (jokingly... yeah... right)... "I'm not going to die, am I?". Lil, one of the management's best (?)... hesitated... (way too long)... and said... "I don't think so). (Shall we discuss "bedside manner" here?)

The "treatment" was interesting... they put my hand in a pan of saline solution. Every so many minutes they'd use a ball point pen and mark the line of swelling on my arm... and the time. I guess they were seeing how quickly the poison was going up my arm... and to my heart! Yikes!

I did not get the anti-venon serum... but I was given something for pain and I suppose an antibiotic. I was admitted... and within a short time looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. In fact, the lab girls couldn't find a vein for an IV and they had to use my ankle.

As it happened, I was allergic to whatever pain stuff they gave me and the reaction to that was so bad I wasn't released for 3 days. AND... Bill had to bring me loose sweats to wear home because nothing I had would fit. It took me over 2 weeks to finally get rid of the water retention.

That was in 1991. For years the nerve damage in my pinky and ring finger of my left hand created problems. Even slightly cold weather would cause my hand to feel like it was frozen. I had some problems with dexterity. And.... I couldn't wear rings. Just the slightest pressure was too much.

Every now and then I'd try on my wedding ring.... and put it back away. This went on for... let's see.... almost 21 years.

Bill and I celeberated our 30th anniversary in January. Out came the ring... hmmmm... I'll be darned...

I'm healed!!!!

That's All for Today...

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Gloom of Night....

2012-02-14T09:25:00.000-06:00

Wait a minute! That's the US Postal System slogan, isn't it? (Actually, that's not an official slogan but don't we always think it is?)... Anyway... here about 50 miles SW of Ft Worth, that's exactly what the weather is... snow and rain and gloom... did I forget fog?

This is what it looked like Sunday evening. Enough snow flakes to look like Christmas Eve! Seems like we left Ohio 11 years ago just because of scenes like this....

We drove the rig into Granbury yesterday morning... You can see snow on top of these huge hay bales. There wasn't any accumulation, mostly just patches of snow on leaves or other vegetation.

This pile of gravel still had enough snow that if I wanted to make a snowball, I could have. Probably not enough for a whole snowman, though. No snow angels either...

We drove the rig into Granbury yesterday... we use more propane when the temps are low.

They put 11.9 gallons of LP in the 17 gallon tank... but 14 gallons is the maximum you can fill it with. However, the last fill-up was on December 16, 2011, so that's not bad. Propane here is $3.10 a gallon. Gasoline was $3.43 a gallon....

We also use a lot more bird seed when the temps are low. I have 4 feeders just a few feet from our rig. I've had my motion sensor camera set up to catch the activity and am amazed at some of the shots it captures.

When I first looked at this one, I thought I had a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned hawk ready to swoop down for a birdy snack. And I wondered why those goldfinch weren't flying away. A closer look made me realize that it was just another goldfinch... but the angle and depth perception to the camera was deceiving.

We have some other visitors to the feeders....

This acrobatic squirrel just wouldn't give up. He made several attempts to climp up that skinny, wrought iron post... sliding down, climbing up.... Finally he did manage to get high enough to jump onto the bird feeder. I don't know why he bothered... there is enough seed on the ground to feed a whole herd of squirrels.

The weather today is wet, foggy and gloomy. But at 43 degrees at 9am that isn't too bad. I wrote earlier in this that we left Ohio partly to get out of the snow zone. Well... here is an except from a daily log I keep:

May 3, 2001

After 3 days and nights on a ferry, we landed in Skagway on Monday PM. We drove through Whitehorse and Yukon. I had a reaction to the transderm (motion sickness meds) and I've been sick 3 days on land. We drove to Tok... spent night at Moose Creek. Weather turned bad... it takes us 3 hours to drive the 30 miles to Anchorage. We stay at Potter Creek for 3 days because the road on down to the Kenai is closed to traffic. The huge overhead "road conditions" signs are turned off for the season as this snow/ice storm is unexpected. Even the toll-free number for weather conditions now has a recording..."thanks for visiting Alaska, have a great summer"

And we did!

So... neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night will keep a true RVer from enjoying every minute of their latest adventure.

That's All for Today....

The Learning Curve is Becoming a Topo Map

2012-02-12T15:24:00.000-06:00

Donna K, another Blogger (I have to put initials here because I know 2 ... or maybe 3 "Donna" bloggers... AND... my daughter is also a Donna) recently published a really great post on collages. I've been wanting to learn how to do this since I've seen some real nice presentations of groups of photos on other blogs.

I probably didn't do one thing that Donna said to do because I still haven't learned how to print out a blog .... BUT.... with Bill's help, we downloaded "Picasa" today. (Bill checked to see how much memory it would suck up... decided it was okay... and now... VOILA!... I have Picasa on my laptop).

So for the past couple of hours I've been checking out this program. First of all, as you may guess, I take thousands of photos. I have my "big" camera with the big, heavy lenses, and I have a Canon Powershot that will fit in my pocket. Okay... truth is... I have 2 of these. I dropped one a couple of months ago and some of the functions don't work anymore, but I can still use it for a back-up. Then... I have 2 game (motion sensitive) cameras that take pictures on on their own. If I there is a weed blowing in the wind right in front of the lens, I have had a whole 4GB memory card be totally full ... over a thousand pictures of that stupid weed. Since I use at least 3 of these cameras every day I am on "photo overload".

My problem is that I'm too possessive. I keep WAY too many pictures. I'm not sure why... maybe I know there's a moose behind that tree... so what if you can only see his hiney?

But... back to the collage thing. So much of the time I'd like to group pictures together to tell a story... guess I'm an organizer at heart...

Since all 456 folders (with ALL their various pictures in each folder) downloaded into Picasa, I thought I'd give this a shot.

Attempt #1

OKAY!!!! This took me about a half hour to figure out how to get it from Picasa into this blog. I should have written down what I was doing as I went, except there were so many false attempts that might have been pointless.

I took these pictures at Santa Ana NWR, near McAllen, Texas last month. By the way... (clockwise) that's a green jay, a chachalaca, then there's Bill standing on a bridge that was a Boy Scout Project in 2002/2003. Bill helped with the initial layout and early construction. Next picture is of the completed bridge . And, finally an armadillo nosing around in the brush.

Attempt #2

This is the demolition of an old power plant near Caribou, Maine. This time I used borders between the pictures.

Attempt #3

A clean-up of an environmental incident, also in Maine. Drums of roofing tar had been dumped in an old gravel quarry.... All kinds of agencies got involved before this was over. Unfortunately the persons who dumped it were not found. This has several more pictures, but all that does is reduce the size of the photos... doesn't make the collage any bigger....

Looking at the clock, I see I've been at this just under 3 hours. I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm sort of like Jack, the bulldog..... tenacious! Hang in there with me... I'll do better!

By the way, it was 29 degrees when we got up this morning... it's all the way up to 43 degrees at 3pm. No sunshine at all today... I swear it looks like it could snow! In Texas?

The learning curve continues... but... All for Today....

A Friday Drive

2012-02-10T14:56:00.000-06:00

We woke up to another overcast day... in fact, I heard rain on our roof a couple of times during the night. Not hard rain... just a scattering of raindrops not lasting any time at all. But it was cold and looking pretty dreary.

I guess the deer found the feeder very inviting this morning. I believe there are 10 or more in this picture... all having breakfast.

Bill was ready to take a break from working outside. One thing we've both been interested in doing is working as a "guard". Here in the west (probably elsewhere as well), you'll see RVs parked at the entrance to drilling sites, construction jobs and such places that vandalism or unauthorized folks might like to check out. When we were in Cleburne a few weeks ago we saw a sign advertising a company that provides this service.

The only "paying" job we've had since we've been on the road was in 2003 and we worked at the Indianapolis Speedway. While it may not have been the "job from hell", we must surely have been in purgatory that whole month.

While we love volunteering at National Wildlife Refuges, we are ready for a different kind of adventure and wanted to check this out.

The office was closed but we have a phone number and will contact them later. Have any of my fellow bloggers done this kind of work? Let me know....

After stopping at the gate service place it was still early. We weren't in any hurry to get home so decided to take a "scenic route" back. A scenic route to us means anything from getting lost and going miles out of our way to... well... a real scenic route.

This road would take us to Cleburne State Park...

Now, remember we're in Texas... scenic here doesn't mean mountains and bubbling brooks. But, my! you can just about see forever! There is some farmland, but most of what you see is range... cattle grazing on practically nothing. I don't know how many cows an acre of land can support, but I have a feeling that (especially during drought) it just ain't many!

I did manage to get a shot of this roadrunner. Usually these wily critters (and you thought the coyote was the ony wily one, didn't you?) are too fast for me to get their picture. AHA! Got this one!

We stopped at the Cleburne State Park... thought we'd check out their campgrounds. There was an entry fee of $5 a person...

I asked the attendant if we could just go for a look... he was kind enough to give us a half hour permit for free.

Obviously we didn't have time to take a lot of pictures, but what we saw was very attractive. There were several campgrounds - mostly close to the water, but still somewhat remote. As we turned in our permit when we leaving, Bill overheard the attendant, who was on the phone, say that there was an opening for tonight, but the rest of the weekend was totally booked. Since we have a perfect spot at Celeste's, it isn't likely we'd stay, but ... one never knows....

After leaving the State Park, we happened upon this....

HUGE operation.....

And This...

All those trees and the ground are coated with white dust!!!

What's going on here?

It's the Texas Lime Company. I'll have to Google this because we don't know a thing about it. I can only say that the operation is humongus... and that we see many, many trucks on the road that are probably carrying this product. After looking at those trees covered in that white dust I couldn't help but think of emphysema, white lung, and various other respiratory ailments.

Moving right along....

We came across this plaque...

"This cluster of oaks has weathered hundreds of years of lightning strikes... strong winds... dry spells, followed by wet spells and cattle rustlers once hanging on a rope from its limbs and yet still stands like a silent sentinel to the early pioneers who blazed this historic trail."

And behind the plaque...

Are what remains of those mighty oaks. I should have asked Bill to stand beside them as they are MUCH larger than they appear. Unfortunately, they got some kind of disease a couple of years ago that has all but destroyed them. Soon they will be no more than a heap of rotted wood.

But one can see how magnificent they must have been...

The morning was nearly past... the sky had cleared up... the sun was even shining. We hadn't packed a lunch so headed on home.

There is just SO much to see... even in a few hour's drive into the countryside.

Oh yes... that motion sensor camera... It doesn't just pick up deer and rabbits and the such... it picks up whatever moves...

Just in case you're interested, Victor and Bill were setting the pole for the purple martin house at 3:41pm yesterday afternoon. The temperature was 56 degrees... and the moon phase looks about half....

One has to be careful about what one does when they think they're alone in the great outdoors.

:-)

That's All for Today...

My I.P.O. ... otherwise known as " My Coming Out Party"

2012-02-09T13:01:00.000-06:00

After several weeks of struggling with the develpment of my blog, finally, yesterday, I felt it was far enough along to let my family and friends in on my little secret.

So... I wrote one of my "blanket coverage" letters and told them all how to view my newest endeavor.

Well, wouldn't you just know? I typed the address wrong and almost immediately got an e-mail from our daughter in PA telling me she couldn't access it. Okay... out went the second e-mail... This time I got it right. YES!

Now Folks... it's official... my private enterprise has now been released ... the Initial Public Offering has been launched! I've come out in the open and while I never expect to post daily, I do hope to post often about where we're at, what we're doing and stuff like that. I hope you find it interesting enough to stay tuned. Please feel free to leave comments... (that way I'll know y'all really are out there ;-)

I read other people's blogs. I LOVE reading other people's blogs! One topic that seems to be of interest to several bloggers now is how to get enough exercise when the weather's bad. A couple of years ago I heard about the Wii. Since we didn't have a TV at first I didn't give it much consideration. But Bill figured out how to suspend a TV under an overhead bin, and we found a (fairly) flat-screen TV that would work for us....

The Wii system we bought came with a "balance board" ... (maybe they all do, I don't know)

This is me... working out on the Wii/balance board in our "living room". This is rather a euphemism when you live in a 26.5' motorhome that has no slide-outs...

BUT...

I usually work out in 1 hour increments.... walk, jog, steps... and never leave my (approximate) 3' square. I can step to the side... I can step to the back.... And it doesn't matter what the weather is outside, nor the time of day. For me the only requirement is electricity .... and I have been known to use the generator for my hour of excercise.

I'm not a rigid about using the Wii... in fact, I'd rather be doing something active outside... but I really don't have any excuse not to get my 10,000 steps in each day.

As an added note... that TV has never been used for anything except my Wii. We bought a DVD player thinking we'd use it for movies, but that was 2 years ago and we haven't gotten around to that yet.

Another thing I've noticed about most of the blogs that I read is that you all have pets. Usually dogs, but there's the occasional cat. K.C., our last cat, died 3 days before we started this big adventure. Truth is, she was 19 years old, never been off the farm, and so we rented our house specifically to have someone who would take care of her. She would have hated living in a confined space and at the time, we thought we'd be gone only a few months. So it was really a bit of a blessing that she passed when she did. Our lifestyle since then really isn't conducive to having a pet. We're in and out of various countries, we leave our motorhome for as much as month at a time to pursue other travels... and when we volunteer we're often away from our rig for long hours.

So I've kind of gotten the reputation for not liking dogs. That's not true... but I will have to admit that there have been plenty of dog owners that I felt didn't deserve their four-footed companion.

I've fallen in love with a few dogs in our travels. My favorite was "Peep", a Great Pyrenees that I met up with in the desert of Utah. Maybe that's why I'm so taken with Snowy, the dog who takes care of the goats across the road.

Snowy has started to watch for me when I walk out to the mailbox or walk over to look at the baby goats. She had puppies when we were here last year, but since then, I think the owners had her spayed. So her main duty is to keep predators away from all those goats. I think all the baby goats might be the reason she's taken to hanging out on the outside of their pen. Would you want all those kids clammoring all over you all day? But then, it might have something to do with that huge box of milk bones I keep in our car ;-)

Celeste and Victor have dogs...

We've all heard the expression... "the tenacity of a bulldog"... well, Jack is probably the bulldog where that expression came from. He loves to play. Bill throws Jack's various toys... Jack retrieves them... but refuses to give them up, even though he wants Bill to coninue playing. I'll say one thing about Jack... he sure has strong teeth and jaws to hang onto things while Bill's swinging him around!

The otherhousehold dog is Rylee...

Doesn't he look angelic? HAH! See that white spot on his nose? He'd checked out the boards was painting the other day. White paint of course! Rylee is kind of the instigator... he's the one who runs off when the opportunity comes along. He's just a tiny little "Benjy" type dog, but he's just full of it!

Okay... enough about the dog population....

About Bill's genealogy. He uses "The Master Genealogist" software to keep his records. I think he's used a few other programs in the past, but likes this one best. The owner of Wholly Genes, the software company, is Bob Velke. He's the man who arranges the genealogy cruises we go on each year. Bill has been working on his family history for at least 25 years.... but I guess that's another whole blog in itself.

That's all for today....

Another Sunless Day Here in Texas

2012-02-07T15:24:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've made a lot of progress in the past couple of days with this blogging thing. (no, that's NOT a substitute for a popular adjective... I really mean "this blogging thing"). I still see other people's blogs that I admire... nice headers that look like they're in a picture frame.... nice use of colors for background and type... different fonts.... Just a lot of stuff that I hope to fine-tune on this one.

Another thing I have no clue about... Blog Etiquette.

If a person comments on your blog should you reply? If so, do you do that personally or privately.

And... speaking of such... I am happy to see that I have some followers! Yes! Donna K and her husband have signed on for the duration! Thank You.... Donna has been helpful to me... especially with her encouragement to keep at it. My very first follower was my faithful husband Bill. He became a follower before I even knew how to add that button to my page.

Today is kind of overcast and dreary.... Bill's hard at it outside again... maybe clearing brush, maybe fixing the deer feeder... I'm not sure. But I knew I wanted to get out of the rig for a few hours. As usual, when I want to see the countryside, I go Geocaching.

I go loaded for bear! I have my street pilot Nuvi to find my way around, and my Garmin 60CS to find the cache. I'll just say this before anyone points it out... Yes, I was driving at 40mph when I took this picture.... but even you can see that there's no traffic ;-)

I had my maps and pretty much knew where I was headed... except for the George's Creek cache. Turned out it was the hardest... not to find the location, but to retrieve the cache box from the other side of the fence. The others I found are part of an intense, almost power trail, of caches (nearly 200 in all) located along the backroads about 20 miles fromhere. Most of the ones I've found are hidden at the entry gates of gas/oil sites. They can rage from itty-bitty ones to ... well, bigger.

My goal was to find 4 caches in all (I found 6) because I wanted our total caches found to be 1,800. So, now that we have 1,802 caches, I'll be chomping at the bit to reach 1,900. I can be a bit obsessive about my caching.

I didn't take any cache pictures today.. most were fairly "ho-hum"... but, I did come across an unsavory character whom I got rather concerned about....

He was moving right along... right towards me at first. He didn't appear rabid or anything (although they can carry rabies without seeming sick)... but while I think he sensed my presence, he apparently didn't think I was a threat. Because... as you can see.... he just kept on walking. (that last picture makes me think of "Travels With Emma".... she often closes with "The End".

I do have a bit of news today. The company that makes the software that Bill uses for his genealogy records has been holding conferences each year on a cruise ship. They choose a cruise that lasts only a week and the ship is at sea 3 of those days so they can have workshops, seminars, etc. but the participants can still enjoy some vacation time.

In the past we've gone to Aruba, the Mexican Riviara, Pueto Rico and other places in the Caribbean. Well... he got the word yesterday... This year the cruise is going to sail the Inside Passage to Alaska! Whoopee!!!

Bill & I took the ferry up the same route in 2001... but, believe me... it was NOT a cruise ship. Don't get me wrong... it was wonderful, and viewing the wildlife and birds from the ship was fantastic. But this will be a whole nother experience! That will be this coming September.

I did go outside and locate Bill...

He likes the BIG toys! Here he is doing what he absolutely loves... playing in the dirt!

That's All For Today......

My Learning Curve is More Like a Spiral...

2012-02-06T15:06:00.001-06:00

I have struggled much more than I'd like to admit to write a blog. Okay... it's NOT the writing that has had me stymied... even the picture part hasn't been THAT bad (but I still want to learn how to make a collage of pictures.....), and while those efforts have been passable, (not perfect... passable), I have been really unhappy with my efforts at the design and layout.

I've had lots of encouragement from the Donnas (thank you)... and I got a comment from Judy, the bird lady a couple of weeks ago about blogs.

Well... it finally clicked what she was said. It just never occurred to me that you couldn't manipulate all the different templates. (hmmm... I guess that's what templates actually are, though)... and then yesterday I went to the "simple" design. Heck... I should have known THAT would be the one for me!

I've had all manner of fun since THAT light bulb went on! I've learned real important terms like "widget" and "gadget".... even words like "Navbar" and "Favicon"... WOW! (okay, I'm really not sure what those last two terms mean... yet)

I don't think I've mastered how to allow people to follow my blog, but give me time.....

I've enjoyed "lurking" (reading other people's blogs sort of incognito) for a couple of months or so, but this blogging thing has finally become fun. Yes!

Just so I won't forget how to insert a photo...

Here's Bill and daughter, Celeste with the birthday fruit cookie she made him.

That's All for Today....

February 5, 2012 Super Sunday

2012-02-05T09:19:00.000-06:00

Neither Bill nor I are sports fans... in fact we don't have a TV.... so... truth is... neither of us is sure whether the Super Bowl is today or not (or who would be playing if it is)... but it's Sunday... and I needed a catchy header for my blog today.

Moving right along...

Bill's birthday was a couple days ago...

Here's the Birthday Boy with his loot. That coffee cup has pictures of him holding his great-grandson, Caleb, in Michigan and his great-granddaughter, Evie, in Ohio. A new edition of the National Geographic field guide to birds just came out... that was a "must have". And... of course, the yellow cake with chocolate icing. My musical candle I'd used for the past 10 years finally gave up trying to play a tune and frankly.. looked like it had been gnawed on. So... no candle to make a wish on this year. Maybe Bill made a wish anyway....

The other day I posted some pictures of a nice buck... taken by the game camera... It's been really humid here and the lens has been fogging up at night, creating some very fuzzy pictures. But occasionally some come out fairly well...

These 3 does were at the feeder early yesterday morning. Sometimes we see over

a dozen deer milling around the feeder at a time. Quite a sight.

I put out the Bushnell game camera yesterday. We have 2 bird feeders right outside the door of our rig and have a multitude of birds feed regularly.

I had no idea we had these critters during the night. I'm glad our feeders are hung on hooks about 4' off the ground (you can see the post of one of the shepherd hooks between these 2 raccoons). I keep my bird seed in a large bin just outside our door and I'm surprised they haven't raided that.

Another night-time critter... Jackrabbits aren't totally nocturnal but tend to be more active at night. He's a pretty big critter.... I wonder how much havoc he wreaks in Celeste's flower gardens during the warmer months?

It's only February 5, but there are already signs of spring here in this part of Texas. Bill planted about a ton of flower bulbs around Celeste's yard in December. He'd dug up daffodils, magic lilies and some peonies from our place in Ohio and brought them here. Already some of them are starting to break through the ground.

Another sure sign of spring is...

Baby Goats!

The place across the road from Victor and Celeste's house is sort of a mini-ranch or farm. They have a couple dozen goats, some chickens and rabbits... maybe some other stuff, it's hard to know. But.. the does are starting to kid. There were 7 kids when Bill I walked over the other day... and that evening when Celeste & I were taking a walk, another doe had just (and I DO mean JUST) had a kid. In fact, it looked like she might still be carrying another, so we didn't stay around so she could deliver without added distraction.

Since Bill & I raised goats for 18 years... and have kept more than one in our kitchen to bottle feed.. we both enjoy the goats across the road. Especially the new-born kids... I'd like to hop the fence and pick one up to cuddle for a while.

One of my favorite activities is to go geocaching. There are several very active geocachers in this area and they have hidden hundreds of caches within a half hour or hour's drive from Celeste's house. I have this area "bookmarked" so if a new cache is hidden and comes up on line, I get an e-mail telling me the GPS coordinates.

A new cache came up last week... It's kind of a competition to see who is "First to Find". Bill & I went out the next day and looked around... but... to no avail.

That evening a local cacher was "first to find"... so, even though we wouldn't have that honor, it still was a cache I wanted to find. The next morning off I went...

Yep! This is it! It's a decoy dove with a camoed bottle attached to it's tail to hold the log book. And it's perched in one of those pesky juniper trees. It's quite a unique cache container and blends in so well that I'm not surprised we didn't find it the first time looking.

Speaking of looking, I'm always checking out whatever's around me. If possible I'll drive home a different route than I went... I look at everything! I'm always reading street and road signs (doesn't keep me from getting lost, but I still read them). How would you like to live on...

CHICKEN GRISTLE ROAD!!!!!

Don't you just kind of wonder who the heck NAMED this road? And WHY??? I didn't drive down it to read the names on the mailboxes... maybe they are every bit as interesting.....

And... how would you like to live here?

Can't you just imagine the teen-age daughter giving her new boyfriend directions on how to pick her up for their first date? Maybe she just says.. "I'll meet you at the mall".

Another place I pass every time I drive into Granbury is this...

Of course my imagination runs wild... I picture the train stopping on the tracks in the road, the engineer hopping out to open the gate... getting back in and getting the train through, closing the gate, and then walking WAY up to the front of the train to get it going again. Afterall, there are no cabooses anymore. Meanwhile, traffic is backed up on the highway, the cattle in the field are all milling around the train... oh yes... my imagination goes crazy.

Now... truth is... this is a seldom used spur that goes to a huge electric power plant. It happens to run through a couple of ranch lands from the mainline to the plant. In all the times we've traveled on this road we've never seen any train activity. But... it's still fun to imagine....

While I wander around the countryside geocaching and stuff like that, what is Bill doing?

Victor built a new garage when we were here last year and it isn't finished yet. He recently had insulation sprayed on the ceiling and upper parts and now the work benches, tool boxes and shelves can be installed. Bill is building shelves that will go in the loft in the back area. I think he finished them yesterday - even the painting - so I'm sure he'll move on to another project soon.

In fact, with spring well on it's way, I think erecting the martin house is next on the list.

But that's for another day...

February 2, 2012 Day Trip to Ft Worth

2012-02-02T19:03:00.001-06:00

Bill has been working nearly every day with Victor on the new garage. I thought it was time to take a break, and since tomorrow's Bill's birthday I wanted to go in to Ft Worth to do some shopping. My Amazon order came yesterday, so I was ready for the big trip.

The new (6th) Edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds was published recently and I knew Bill would like the latest copy..

But as much as he loves this field guide, it CAN be improved...

Same book... only "Before" and "After". When we first purchase the book, we don't even open it until we take it to Kinko's and have the original binding cut off... holes punched in and have it spiral bound. (It is harder to do this on books that have been used as they develop a curve in the spine and it makes them hard to cut evenly)

Now the book can lay flat and stay opened to the page you want. We've had this done to field guides for years and love the convenience. Okay... bring on the birds!

So now you know what Bill got for his birthday present... (don't tell him... but I plan to bake the cake tomorrow...)

The trip to Kinko's was one of my main reasons for the trip to Ft Worth. But also we needed to make a trip to Cabela's. I know a lot of women would give their eye teeth for a trip to a Neiman-Marcus. Nuh-uh... give me a trip to Cabela's anyday!

Cabela's is a fabulous outdoor/sporting goods store. They are based out of Nebraska, but now have stores in about a dozen other states as well. Whenever we are anywhere close to one we always stop; in fact, they are very RV friendly and we've stayed overnight in more than one Cabela parking lot.

I bought our Moultrie Game Camera at the Cabela's in Scarbourgh, Maine. We used it some, but then were on the road until last week. I had it packed away. Got it out... and... nothing. For some reason it just quit working. We knew about the Cabela's store just north of Ft Worth and that we could take it back there for an exchange. They have a great Customer Service Department and all but bend over backwards to have satisfied customers.

Cabela's stores are basically the same... the areas around the store let you know, without a doubt, that you are in an OUTDOORS store...

Actually, each Cabela's store has some piece of sculpture that is indicative of that particular area of the USA. This one has an outdoorsman roping an elk. All around the store's entrance are stacked kayaks, canoes and boatsof all kinds. You might see ATVs or other means to get around in the boonies.

The interior of the stores can vary, but, believe me, if it's ANYTHING that can be used outdoors, they probably have it. Camping equipment, hunting, archery, fishing, clothing, and more than I can even think of. They even have outdoorsy-type furniture for lodges, cabins or if you just want that rustic look.

BUT... the showcase of most Cabela's is...

A HUGE... usually 2 stories high... display of "stuffed" animals in their natural habitat. This is a display worthy of being in a Natural History Museum. Every type of animal native to the USA is showcased. They even have trout pools with live fish.

This moose stands about 6' high (or more) and is part of the display. Each animal (and even the trees and other flora) have plaques telling you what they are.

I liked this black bear robbing a beehive. Those are "bees" all over his head and shoulders. How realistic can you get!

I could post about a hundred pictures or more of various animals, but will move on to another area of the store...

This store has a huge room that is filled with displays of animals either native to Texas or ones that have been introduced for various reason. Hunting is a huge sport here and there are many game preserves that import exotic animals for the sport.

There are numerous diaramas of wildlife... like this bull elk bugle-ing ...

And how about these wild turkeys... and bighorn sheep? I think there's even an orxy in the background (one of those imported critters)..

But one of the most impressive things about this room is...

The TROPHY BUCK displays. This display is of bucks with "unusual" antlers. That buck on the left was killed over 60 years ago... There is a "Boone and Crocket" organization that records the sizes of antlers. These hold the record for being the 6th largest rack in the world. All of the walls are lined with trophies such as these.

Whether you're a hunting avocate or are totally anti, I'd think you'd have to be impressed with the whole store. Some Cabela's have aquariums and fish displays. This one might, but I guess I was too busy looking at everything to check it out.

Living in an RV, we really don't have room to collect and store large items.

What better souvenier to collect than a smashed penny? Cost you 51c (and you get the 1c back... smashed flat)... I love it that all the Cabela's have a smashed penny machine with the penny depicting that particular store.

And... lots of the stores even have a sit-down restaurant. The menu at this restaurant featured elk, bison, or wild boar burgers as well as the usual restaurant food....

That's my elk burger on the left, and Bill's bison burger on the right. We split the french fries ;-) We enjoyed our nice, tasty lunch.

So... I got my camera exchanged... we spent a couple hours wandering around the store, and even had lunch...

I bought one item...

A tee-shirt

If you can't read it I'll tell you... it says...

"I Like It Here"

And then we headed back to Glen Rose.

That's All for Today...

January 31,2012 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers

2012-01-31T15:03:00.002-06:00

I got interested in writing a blog after finding "Blogspot" on the internet and then finding a great daily blog by Judy Bell... "Travels With Emma". We've never met Judy, but know that she's a volunteer with the National Wildlife Refuges, an avid (and very knowledgeable) birder, and that she often writes about places we've either been or know about. I hope our paths actually cross one of these days.

The other day she mentioned... rather off-hand... about some experience with the Red-cockaded woodpecker. This got me to thinking about when Bill & I were volunteering at Carolina Sandhills NWR in the fall of 2003.

Wildlife refuges usually are established to save, or at least help out, an endangered species. There are over 550 refuges in the USA and each one has a focus... a specific plant, animal or habitat that in in danger of becoming extinct. Some refuges have more than one focus... more than one species live there that are in trouble.

Carolina Sandhills, which is located in South Carolina, has the Red-cockaded woodpecker. This little bird will nest only in mature longleaf pines... and these pines exist now only in very scattered patches of managed forest. The Carolinas, Georgia, parts of Florida and some States along the Gulf are the only places this bird lives.

I can't remember all we did while there, but as often is the case, I got involved in the education programs that the refuge offered.

We often had students from colleges and even high schools come to the refuge on field trips to learn how we managed for the continued existence of this bird.

This biologist is showing the kids an artificial nesting box. To encourage birds to nest, the biologists would construct a nesting box, cut out a hole in the pines, insert the box and ... voila! the bird doesn't have to do all the work of constructing a nest. Bill did some of this work while we were here.... but I couldn't find any pictures of him way up on a ladder inserting a nesting box in a tree.

I can't remember what this instrument is for but I think it was to be able to see into the nest while standing on the ground.

We always had kids who were interested in what was going on. The biologist would take the time to explain about prescribed burns and other means of management.

This isn't a really good example, but this is a pine tree with a nest in it. The white stuff oozing down the tree trunk is sap. The bird uses this kind of tree because of the sap. The sticky sap keeps away predators... including insects that could infest the nest.

The white band painted around the trunk of this tree indicates that it is a tree with a nest in it. Not all the trees with paint have an active nest.

This is where my story gets interesting....

Each bird nesting in these woods has been trapped, banded, and released. The above picture is nearly actual size. Each of those pieces of colored plastic is a band that indicates something... sex, age, nest... whatever. The colors are uniform no matter which bird wears the bands on its legs. A bird can have 2 or 3 bands on each leg... each one indicating specific information. They are very light weight and do not deter the bird's habits in any way.

This particular forest had a nice population of birds. The Great Dismal Swarmp refuge was in need of a couple of birds to replenish their breeding stock after a hurricane had destroyed some habitat. The refuges work together on some projects....

Enter Bill and Sharon...

The biologist needed to trap 2 birds for this project. While they are fairly certain which bird lives in which tree, our job was to go into the forest before dusk, sit under a tree and watch a specific tree. We were to watch the bird fly in for the night... and record the colors of bands on each leg. We don't have to do anything about actually capturing the bird... that will come later... so... each night we'd find a cozy spot to sit... and we'd wait for the homeowner to return.

This was the easy part... they even have a distinctive "call" so we'd know when the bird was in the area. Then... quicker than the wink of an eye... that little sucker would zap right into that tiny opening. In for the night...

Bill would say... 2 year old female... bird #1786... or some such thing. I would say... HUH? You actually SAW the bands???? On BOTH legs?????

This went on for the whole week of survellience. I mean, we DID use binoculars and all, but I NEVER saw the bands on those tiny legs.

We (or rather Bill) did gather enough information to determine that the biologist would be okay trapping this particular bird (and that's another story)... and he did... and that bird went off to Virginia to live happily ever after.

I know... I call myself a birder. And I love watching all manner of wildlife... but... I'm not kidding myself. I'll never be an expert. But you know what? The birds I watch don't care... as long as I put out the black oil sunflower seeds.

That's All for Today....

January 30, 2012 What Goes Bump in the Night?

2012-01-30T12:42:00.000-06:00

Bill & I are at Celeste's, here near Glen Rose, Texas. Last year Victor made a "real" RV site for us about 100' from their house. He and Bill put in a waterline, electric box and dump station, and while we were in Maine last summer, Victor had a gravel "pad" put in when he had his driveway graveled.

The weather has been too windy to put out our awning... and too wet to put out our big outside rug. That bin outside the door holds my bags of birdseed... the garbage can at the rear of the rig holds our recyclables.

You can barely see Celeste's house at the right side of the photo.

No matter where we go, if at all possible, we put out bird feeders.

We have 2 of these Shepherd Hooks outside our motorhome that presently hold 4 bird feeders and one bird bath (more like a drinking pan).

Often there are a hundred or more goldfinch feeding. They're in their winter plumage now, so you might not recognize them as goldfinch. We also get house finch, cardinals, chickadees, titmice, and juncos. Wrens and mourning doves come around but neither are interested in the feeders. And lately we've been seeing some Eastern Bluebirds. There are nesting boxes hung in various locations on the property, so they are probably checking those out.

For the past couple of years I've been putting out Game Cameras where ever we are. These are hardy enough to be outside in the weather and they are activated by being motion sensitive. In other words, they only take pictures if they sense movement. Kind of like an outdoor light that comes on when you walk on to the property.

The cameras we use take color photos... and we've programmed them to also record the date and time of day.

This is a daytime picture taken around 3pm yesterday afternoon. They can be programmed to show the temperature, the moon phase and location of the camera. We have both a Bushnell and a Moultrie, and I've worked with Cuddeback and Reconnex. Depending on how many bells and whistles you want, the base price ranges from around $100 to... $500 or $600 on up. We've found that the Bushnell (around $150) is every bit as good as the high end Cuddeback.

There are a lot of deer in this area. We've seen as many as 15 does milling around the deer feeder in the above picture. That particular feeder is battery operated and spins out a measured amount of corn on a programmed schedule. Victor has one in the backyard and this one... which is a couple hundred feet in front of our motorhome.

There is also a washtub full of water they use as a drinker at this location.

I just got around to putting out the camera yesterday and here's what visited the feeder last night:

This nice 8 point buck visited several times during the night. Since this isn't rutting season he'll travel alone now.

Well, I guess he did get some company. This big jackrabbit also visited several times during the night. By the way, the buck is a white-tail deer... the same kind found in the eastern US.

The pictures appear as black and white because they were taken during the night hours.

I felt pretty good about picking up pictures of these critters within the first 24 hours out. It will be fun to see what else goes "bump in the night" as time goes on.

All for Today....

January 27... How High's the Water, Mama?

2012-01-27T09:38:00.000-06:00

This area of Texas has been in a drought situation for along time now. When we were here last year there were wild fires.... in fact, as we were driving back from Granbury one afternoon the smoke on the horizon indicated that there was a wildfire fairly closeby. A state park and a housing area near Mineral Wells were threatened and had damage.

Bill & I have been back in the area a week now. I think it rained at least 3 of those 7 days. It had already been raining 2 days before we bought a rain gauge... and by then we thought the rain had stopped. But Bill set it up and that night we got 1/2" more rain.

On Saturday we took the back way into Glen Rose. Since the water level is often quite low, they don't bother to build bridges across the rivers and creeks on the county roads.

This is a typical river crossing ... it had already been raining the day before so the water was a little higher than usual.

Another crossing... these can be slick with mud, but usually aren't very deep and crossing is fairly easy... even with our little Scion.

It continued to rain... all weekend.... and the rivers and creeks continued to rise...

By the time I took this picture, the water on the Paluxy River (here) had already gone down about two feet. The county had closed the safety gate across the road.

As we drove along the county roads we could see that the farm ponds were full to overflowing. Creeks that we barely knew existed were running full steam... (or full stream?)

This road is about a mile from Celeste's house... what water there usually is would run through a culvert under the road... The creek was so full it was overflowing. You can see the debris on the road where the water had been higher, but had receded by the time we drove through.

Celeste and Victor live on a tract of land about 5 miles from Glen Rose - just far enough in the boonies that they have no traffic, no neighbors, plenty of open land with wildlife... but close enough to make a quick run to the grocery when needed. A creek runs behind their house and although you can't see it unless you take a short walk, you can hear it if it's running high.

Bill & I could easily hear it several minutes before we reached it on our walk the other day. Again, usually it is just puddles of water here and there along the stream bed. After all the rain...

it was moving right along!

Here's Bill standing high on the bank overlooking the stream.

Further downstream, the creek bed becomes even rockier...

Looks like Niagara Falls, doesn't it? I like this picture because it also shows the juniper trees (hardly more than bushes), the oaks, and shrubs indigenous to this area. There is even a prickly pear cactus at the lower left corner.

Looking the other direction, the stream bed narrows again...

and continues it's way to the river.

I think the rain is over for now... the sun is shining brightly and the rivlets of water in the yard are receding. I hope this rain has relieved the drought situation. And I hope it came in time to nurture the beautiful spring wildflowers that need the rain to grow.

That's all for Today....

January 25, 2012 - Pink Flamencos?

2012-01-25T09:20:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Bill & I were down in the Valley doing the usual... buying drugs in Mexico, going birding, visiting old friends... stuff like that... and while in the McAllen area we always pick up the "Winter Texan" to see what's going on in the area.

Fred Renk was putting on a "Bloodless Bullfight" on Sunday and so off we went.

Now, a bloodless bullfight truly is bloodless ... at least for the bull. The matador goes through all the moves with the cape, but he/she doesn't have a weapon. To "kill" the bull, the matador has to grab a bouquet of flowers (velcroed on the bulls back). Maybe another time I'll post pictures of the bullfight, but this post is about the flamenco dancers.

Before the main event, a traditional Flamenco dance was scheduled. We were excited to see this as the last performance of Flamenco dance that we saw left a lot to be desired...

The stands at the bullring were quickly filling up... everyone's talking excitedly about the upcoming events. We couldn't help but overhear conversation of the people behind us.

The guy went on about the last time he'd seen a flamingo dance... and how the flamingo dancers were dressed, how the flamingo dancers were so precise... and on and on.

I'm trying real hard not to laugh out loud, because I can just visualize a pair of bright pink flamingos ... with their long legs... maybe even snapping castenets with their wings... performing this sensual, graceful dance.

The dancers came out on stage and the performance began...

What a great performance! A full half hour of exquisite dancing!

AND...

OF COURSE....

I KNOW THAT...

SOMEWHERE

THERE'S ANOTHER

DANCE

EVENT....

I WANT TICKETS!!!!

A flock of Flamingos ... flambouyantly flouncing their feathers while flapping the Flamenco.

All for Today.....

Two Days On the Road

2012-01-21T07:57:00.000-06:00

Early Thursday morning Bill & I headed out of Falcon Lake State Park. This was our first time staying there and if the opportunity comes along, we would be happy to stay again. Not only did we get to see lots of birds indigenous only to that area, but we met the "rare birds", Donna & Dennis Cave.

Our goal for the day was to drive to the Escapees RV Park near Hondo, Texas. We know that one day we'll have to give up our life on the road and so we check out "retirement" possibilities. We headed over to Laredo to pick up I35...

Lots of construction... not many places for Bill to pull over and let people pass. I think the speed limit was 55, but... you know how antsy people are to pass a motorhome....

As we headed into Laredo we found that we could by-pass it by taking an outer loop.

Most of the traffic on I35 consists of trucks... trucks of all sizes (mostly huge) and transporting all manner of cargo. This is a major artery of international traffic coming in and out of the USA and Mexico.

And, of course... Border Patrol. For the most part it's the trucks they stop and check out. We were only asked if we were US citizens and if anyone else was in our motorhome. Yes.. and No

It's always tempting to make a joke or say something off-the-wall... but... not being real excited about spending time in jail I keep my mouth shut. Also, I'm very discreet about taking photos... not sure what the policy is, but I know at Mexican checkpoints it's a huge no-no.

Got off I 35 onto a State road... then a county road... and finally to the RV park.

We got set up and thought we'd stay a couple of days. We didn't set up our own dish as we were told WiFi was available and free. Bill & I both quickly set up our laptops to catch up on all the news.... nada... nil.... zilch.... nothing....

Not exactly true... just spurts of being on-line. I swear, that's worse than not getting on at all! Just when you're reading the latest... off it goes. After much frustration we finally just decided to pack it in... and pack it up. Instead of staying we left early Friday morning.

The fog was exteme.... it was so heavy that it was almost like rain on the windshield. If you look closely you can see the headlights of a car heading towards us. The fog didn't burn off until after 10:00 and even then there'd be patches of it along the way.

Needless to say, I took very few pictures of the scenery... but I can write that we by-passed San Antonio, picking up Rt 281 again near New Braunfels and continued north.

One picture I did get was of this person standing at a busy intersection playing his guitar. We often see homeless people with their signs.. "Will Work For Food" or something like that... well, this guy had a different approach. We weren't even close to being in the same part of the intersection or I'd probably dropped something in his guitar case ;-)

The terrain changed... seriously into the Hill Country! Our destination was to our daughter's house in Glen Rose, Texas. We arrived around 4pm. Celeste and Victor have an RV site on the side of their yard... full hook-up and dump! They'd even kept my bird feeders filled while we were in the Valley.

It's good to be on the road... but good to be with family again.

I have heard from a few bloggers... thanks so much for writing. There is so much I don't know about but with your help I may get this thing up and running. Believe me, any input is welcome.

It's time to go find a geocache... brand new one out there that hasn't been found yet.... Talk with you later... Sharon

At Falcon State Park

2012-01-19T07:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning Bill & I took a long walk around the campground here at Falcon State Park. The weather, which was warm and wonderful on Tuesday turned chilly and overcast... so we were dressed quite a bit warmer than the day before...

Bill looks like he's having a bad hair day, but actually he has on his crazy "hair-hat". I've no excuse for my wild look....

I haven't read the history of Falcon Lake, but know that the Falcon Dam controls the water on the Rio Grande River in this part of the Valley.

The dam is to the left... that's Mexico across the water.

Bill's geology background surfaced as he told me these rocks contained lots of fossils. Last year the river flooded and we could still see some of the results of the high water.

This park has lots of little, almost hidden, picnic areas. You can see the lake in the background. While our RV site is a bit of distance from a view of the lake, it is relatively private. Not at all like a crowded RV park.

In fact, many people who camp here are birders. Since there is such a variety of birds... some found only in this area of the USA... it's not at all unusual to see lots of bird feeders in areas behind parked RVs.

I didn't think to bring any bird seed, but hung up some oranges shortly after we arrived here. This is a Verdin... small, desert bird. It has a chestnut patch at the upper edge of it's wing, but the string holding the orange kind of hides it.

We've had cardinals, pyrrhuloxia, curved-bill thrasher, orange crown warblers, golden fronted woodpecker, and various other birds visit us here. We've seen lots of deer track... and came across this bunny on our walk...

I'm sure he thought he was well hidden... and he certainly blends right in with the desert floor.

The flora is really interesting here. If we were here for very long I'm sure I'd have to invest in some field guides...

There are at least 4 different bushes in bloom... mostly blues and purples... but others as well. These aren't huge, flashy flowers, but lovely, delicate ones.

And then there's the prickly pear cactus...

Hey Bill... can you stand just a little bit closer?

While on our walk, we came across this...

A Bat Condominium! Bill had to check this out closely as he has built bat houses and put them out in different places. We didn't see any activity... probably the wrong time of day... or wrong time of year.

Today we leave Falcon State Park and head to Hondo, Texas. There is an Escapees RV Park there that we want to check out. We have less than a week before we have to be back to Glen Rose so our mini-vacation is quickly coming to an end. That's all for now...

Day 3 - Trial and Error

2012-01-17T17:56:00.000-06:00

This is the 3rd day I've attempted to blog. Yesterday I discovered that I hadn't been receiving e-mails for a couple of days... nor could I send any. Since I read a lot of mysteries, I knew that there are no such things as coincidences. (see, it does pay to read a lot).....

Of course I didn't know what to do about it (I just read mysteries... I don't solve them)... I asked Bill to check out Thunderbird. He figured out that I'd changed my password... (hey, I didn't know that "blogger" and Thunderbird were both tied into g-mail and "one password fits all"). So... he managed to locate my lost e-mail for me... but I'm not back on Thunderbird yet.

So I'm not sure where, exactly, I am on my learning curve.....

We left Alamo, TX this morning (but not before I found my "geocache de jour"... ) and headed west and on to Falcon Lake State Park.

We stopped in Rio Grande City at the H.E.B..... last minute groceries and gasoline fill-up ($3.199 gal) and arrived at the State Park around 1pm.

Found a site that we liked and set up. Since I've been reading a lot of other blogs in the past few weeks I thought that one of the bloggers were parked here. Took a bit of sleuthing, but we found them... parked just 2 spaces away from us.

Here are Donna & Dennis Cave. Donna writes a blog several days a week. I love her sense of humor and always enjoy reading her blogs. I hope we get to know them better in our short stay here at Falcon St Pk.

When we went to the Mercedes RV show the other day we bought a "stove-top" grill. I used it the other day to grill salmon and smoked up our motorhome terribly. Salmon tasted real good but we had to keep wiping our burning eyes... and could barely see each other across the table because of the smoke.

This evening I fixed yellow fin tuna and a medley of veggies (doesn't THAT sound elegant!). Maybe because the door and all the vents are open, but the smoke alarm didn't even tingle a little bit.

This is the end result... (with a bite or two missing)

This is the stove-top grill. I should have included a picture of the separate components. That bottom thing is a ring with a reservoir to put water, wine... whatever... and the center of the lower ring is open to the flame.

Actually, I think it will work well once I get the hang of it. I already have plans for tomorrow's dinner.

Okay... Day 3 of this blog is done. I'm a slow learner but figure it will come eventually. I really want a nice picture that heads up this thing... maybe of our rig or a fantastic sunset or something. We'll see..... All for today.

Day 2 - Pictures?

2012-01-16T09:18:00.000-06:00

The pictures today will be several months old. I'm learning to insert pictures in my blog. I don't know if changing the resolution will help them load faster.. So... here goes...

Look Closely... See the Snake eating the toad?

On An Outing

Moving Right Along

I'm King of the Woods!

Mama Said to Look Both Ways....

These were some of the pictures I took at Aroostook NWR, near Caribou, Maine. They are at a higher resolution and took a while to download from the original file. I downloaded all five then moved them over to this composition. That part of the process didn't take very long..

The next pictures are at a lower resolution... They didn't take very long to download from the original file.

These didn't turn out at all... took forever to download... only part of the picture is shown. And I lost one picture entirely. Will try again later.

2012-01-15T15:37:00.000-06:00

How does a person begin a blog? I've read lots that other people have written, most are by people like me and Bill... people who live, or want to live, in their RV and travel. Most write about how they spend their days, but also about their problems, their passions, their dreams.

Today, January 15, 2012, happens to be our 30th anniversary. January is a month of anniversaries for us... I retired January 17, 1997; and on January 30, 2001, we took possession of our motorhome and began our life on the road. Our Lazy Daze had 37 miles on the odometer that day...

Today the odometer reads 146, 646 miles. The above picture is of the "At-A-Glance" record books that each day "remember" each day... the mileage, where we were, and (hopefully) other pertinent information. (Bill tells me I should scan these and put them on a CD... another project to think about). But I'm a good record keeper and I can't begin to name the times we've referred to these books for some piece of data. (They are especially great if I've written down names of people we meet... makes us look like we're really sharp if we can go up to a person and call them by name after 8 or 9 years of not seeing them).

But, as an introduction... we are Bill Wethington and Sharon Wallace. We left Ohio in 2001 and headed for Alaska. We rented our house for a year, intending to return. We were lucky (or unlucky... more on that another time) to have an area to store everything we didn't think we'd need for a year.

We had a volunteer position with the Alaska State Parks awaiting us and had a wonderful 4 months there. Decided to volunteer with the Oregon State Parks on our way to a winter volunteer position with Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico. We found that we really loved life on the road and never returned to our "life in Ohio". Our home is still rented... and we have a rental agent who manages our property there.

While on the road Bill does genealogy research when he has the opportunity. In 2005 we began geocaching and I take advantage of our traveling to seek hidden "treasures". We are both amateur birders. We volunteer at National Wildlife Refuges during part of the year and this June plan to return to Aroostook NWR near Caribou, Maine.

We have 4 kids located in TX, OH, PA and NY... grandchildren... and great-grandchildren. We visit all of them at least once a year.

At this time we are in Alamo, Texas. Friday we met up with Chris and Juan (Living and Boondocking in Mexico) for the Mercedes RV show. We've caught up with them in the past in Veracruz, Mexico and here in the valley... Today we visited Carolyn and Wally (Carolyn and Wally's Travels).... both talk about their blogs... so... I guess it's time I threw our hat in the ring and got with the program.

I'm a slow learner about this stuff... but I'll give it a try. All for today...