I Can Feel Autumn Coming

The day after my last post -- Sunday, August 15 to be exact -- we received a very welcome rain. The system moved across our area about sunrise, and it gave is about an inch and a half of rain. Wow, that's a great way to start the day in the Concho Valley. 

Then, a mere 2 days later, it began to rain about 3:30 in the morning. There was a bit of thunder, enough to wake me. Since Donna and I had planned an early morning trip to the farmers' market, I was not going to walk. When we climbed out of bed a couple of hours or so later, it was still raining. By 7:00, we had pretty much given up on the idea of going to the market, as even with fairly light rains, we can have pretty good flooding along certain streets in town.

When the rain let up on our big rain day, Donna and I drove around our neighborhood. This is a low-lying area near the front of the complex. The water stretches from the patio area on one side of the ditch to the patio area on the opposite side.

By 8:30, we had received over 3 inches of rain, and it was still falling. By the end of the day, we had received a grand total of 4½ inches of rain. What a blessing for us. That's a lot of run off that will work its way into our lakes, allowing us a solid water supply for some time.

I don't recall a time in recent history when this area has had such a mild summer with such good rainfall. It has been nice.

Although this resembles the picture above, it is from the other end of the ditch. You can see that the tree in the picture above is healthy and green while there are 2 trees in the top photo. We have 5 areas in the community where water crosses the road, and all 5 were covered with water on this day.

All the little ones are back in school now. Normally, this is when Miss Donna and I would be getting ready to enjoy some traveling. When the kids are in school, we like to travel because the roads and tourist attractions are less busy. But these are not normal times. So, we'll wait and keep busy doing other things for now.

Grandson Xander started his college career this week. I wish that young rascal all the best as he finds himself in this world and decides on a career. I truly hope he enjoys his college career as much as I enjoyed mine. I wish I could do it all again.

I've enjoyed my last few early morning walks. As I sit on the front patio pulling on my shoes, there is a full moon still hanging in the western sky. It has been really pretty, and I do enjoy the light. This morning, it was still up there as I finished my walk.

Some of our comical turkeys have been sitting on the power lines up the street. They really look strange with their huge bodies perched on those thin wires. I love watching the wildlife around here.

Some of our comical turkeys.

I'm Getting a Little Worried About Us

Well, our COVID numbers have certainly spiked since my last post. Right now, we are averaging more than 100 new cases every day. That isn't good for a city our size.

I could rant and rave about all the stupidity out there and the lack of social consideration, but that wouldn't do any good. I know some folks have a good reason for being skeptical about the vaccines that have been developed, but most folks who have refused to get the shot(s) appear to be folks who do not have a social conscience.

So, what can you do? Well, the old woman and I continue to wear our masks when we go out, and we are careful about the places we go. We certainly don't go to places where there are crowds; I would argue that crowded venues such as concerts, Sturgis, and similar events are breeding grounds for this virus, and that is where many -- if not most -- of our infections come from. We pick our times and exercise good sense. We know that even though we have had our shots, we can still catch the virus and we can certainly be carriers. In fact, in the last week or so, 2 people in town who had been vaccinated passed away. The most recent was a gentleman in his 80s. So, it's not enough to be vaccinated, but it certainly is a big help in most cases.

The clubhouse in our community remains open at this time, but we are no longer attending any of the social functions. We do know that there have been COVID cases in our neighborhood, so we are trying to keep ourselves safe.

It's been a long year and a half, and I'm getting just a bit concerned about our mental well being. 

A week or more ago, we were sitting on our back patio enjoying a cool day with a little rainfall. The temperature was just about perfect. As we were sitting there enjoying the breeze and the smell of rain, we heard a clunk on the rain gutter to our left. It sounded as if something had fallen down the gutter. Then I noticed a grasshopper at the base of the gutter, so I though that perhaps it had fallen through the gutter from the eave of the house. 

Well, in a little bit, we noticed the grasshopper had worked its way over to the black pole that holds a hummingbird feeder, and had begun to shimmy its way up the pole. We watched as it painstakingly worked its way up the pole, inch by slow inch. Finally, it reached the top and took quite a while getting turned around and into the exact position it wanted. What it did next surprised Donna and me.

The little rascal jumped from its perch atop the pole to the rain gutter. The only problem is that it did not stick the landing and fell 6 or 7 feet to the ground. The clunk we had heard earlier was this little guy hitting the gutter. I have no idea what it was trying to achieve or where it wanted to end up.

Well, we were fascinated by the little guy, so we continued to watch it. Sure enough, in a few minutes, it was back to the pole and working its way up again. After 20 minutes or so, it was once again atop the pole, where it launched itself once again into the gutter. It really hit hard, and once again fell to the ground. This time, it wasn't moving, and its little body seemed to be a bit disheveled. For a while, I thought it might have knocked itself out. Then, after a rest, it pulled itself together, straightened itself out, and began working its way back towards the pole.

This time, however, it bypassed the black pole and flew itself against the wall, where it was able to secure a foothold on the abrasive surface. It slowly worked its way up the wall and finally reached the area it had been hitting for the past hour or so. It seemed to be happy then and stayed in one place for a long time. We gave up watching and went inside.

On the grasshopper's final trip, it climbed the brick wall rather than the pole. Previously, it climbed to the top of the arch on the pole, then flung itself into the smooth surface of the gutter, but was unable to gain a foothold.

Our last view of the grasshopper saw it above the curve in the gutter just under the eave. The little fellow certainly was persistent.

Yeah, a six-pack of beer and a bug zapper is prime entertainment for us . . . or a six pack and a goofy grasshopper. I'll be glad when this pandemic is over, though, so we can seek entertainment elsewhere.