Watching the Colts

One of the things we enjoy about San Angelo is being able to go out to Foster Field and watch the San Angelo Colts, the local professional baseball team. The Colts belong to the South Division of the North American Baseball League, but they are NOT affiliated with either major league baseball or minor league baseball.

The Colts' season began May 23 with a 16-6 victory over the McAllen Thunder. Regular season ends September 3. During this time, they will play 95 games (if I count correctly) against the following opponents:

• McAllen Thunder
• Abilene Prairie Dogs
• Fort Worth Cats
• Edinburg Roadrunners
• Rio Grande Valley White Wings

Last year, the Colts won their division, but were unable to advance further.

We attended last night's game, which was a "$2 Tuesday" night. This means that general admission, hot dogs, and beer are all $2 each. That's a pretty good deal. It allows us to sit out and enjoy a West Texas evening and watch some pretty good baseball. And there is always plenty to watch when teams change the fields, as local promotions and games are always entertaining.

It was windy last night, and we had to hold onto our hats. We thought we were arriving early, but the top half of the first inning was just finishing when we reached our seats. We later learned that the game on the previous night was cancelled due to bad weather, so they were playing a double-header tonight.

The Colts jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the game, but they were soon tied by the Fort Worth Cats. The Cats then had a big 4 run inning to take the lead for good. The Colts managed to get 2 runs late in the game, but they eventually lost 4-6. We did not stay for the second game.

Taking Some Pounds Off

I mentioned in my recent post on Panera Bread that I was dieting. On a visit to my doctor on May 3, he indicated that I didn't need to be so well-fed, then he recommended a book for me: The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet, by Barbara Rolls, PhD. It's a good book.

Since starting the diet, I've officially dropped 19.6 pounds, but I've probably dropped more like 21 or 22 pounds, for I did not start tracking my weight until a few days into the diet.

I've never done well on diets. Sure, they might work for a short time, but I always seem to return to the weight I started with. The same might happen with this diet; however, I really think this time I'll do better.

I'm really watching the calories on everything I eat. If we eat out, we try to plan our meals by going online and checking the menus for nutritional information. Most of the chain establishments now offer that feature. My goal is to stay under 1500 calories a day, and I've been pretty successful so far. A man my age and size needs about 2,000 to 2,200 calories to sustain his present weight, so I try to stay comfortably below that intake in order to lose.

And it has worked well without much suffering. Sure, I'd love a good old fashioned cheeseburger right now, but we've had some good meals while dieting (yeah, Donna is using the same diet). One of the great features of this book is that it provides a number of low calorie recipes, and we've found them to be very tasty. Donna also combed some back issues of Southern Homes and Gardens cookbooks she has collected over the years and found a section in some for low-calorie eating.

We have dropped off the diet a few times, but we've always been able to hop right back on. On our recent trip to Conroe, for example, we enjoyed some high calorie BBQ, but we immediately resumed the diet the next day without any setbacks.

So, I hope to stay on this diet and lose another 20 pounds. I'll keep you posted on my progress -- that is, of course, unless I fall off and start putting the pounds back on.

Water Conservation

Although we've had good rain so far in 2012 for the San Angelo area, the lakes we depend on for water have not been replenished. In fact, our main water source, O.H. Ivie Reservoir about 60 miles to our east, is only at 16% capacity with about 90,000 acre feet. To make matters worse, we share that water source with other area communities, including Midland, Texas.

Water has become one of our most precious commodities. I hate to see it wasted.

How many times have you driven through a neighborhood during a rain storm only to see the sprinkler system at a house watering the lawn? The problem, of course, is that many -- probably most -- people set their sprinkler systems and then forget about them; this is especially true, I think, with businesses. Another example of this is when an area has enjoyed good rains recently, as Angelo did a few weeks back; then, a couple of days after the rains stop, you see sprinklers watering lawns. If you've enjoyed an inch or more of rain, your lawn probably does not need watering for a week or more, depending on the temperature, wind, and other conditions. Again, this is a result of sprinklers being set and forgotten about.

Another form of wasting water on lawns is the time of day when we water our lawns. All watering really should be done early in the morning, probably before 9:00 AM. When lawns are watered during the heat of the day, some of that water is lost to evaporation. Many people prefer watering in the evening; the problem with watering at the end of the day is that the lawn stays wet overnight, and this could encourage disease, especially if your nights get cool.

Watering when it is windy also wastes water. I always cringe when I see water from sprinklers being carried away by the wind. In windy places like West Texas, more water can be carried away than eventually reaches the ground.

I keep my sprinkler system set, but turned off. When my lawn needs watering, I turn the system on the night before. I also watch weather forecasts; if rain is predicted, I keep my sprinklers turned off. After all, I'd much rather have good rain water with its high nitrogen content on my grass rather than city water. At this time, San Angelo and the surrounding area have a chance of rain for the next 2 or 3 days. My sprinkler system is off and will remain off until all chance of rain has passed. Then, if my lawn needs watering -- and it probably will -- I'll turn them on one night so that they run early the next morning.

Newer sprinkler systems have a rain sensor that can detect when it is raining and shut your sprinkler system off. My sprinkler system has this. Still, what if you had a good rain at 6:00 AM and your sprinkler system is set to go off 2 hours later? Again, you're watering a lawn that doesn't need watering.


Another thing I do when watering is try to prevent runoff. Standard practice is to turn on a sprinkler system and let it run for a set time. The problem with this is that after a while, water begins to puddle and runoff into the street. The ground needs more water, but since the water is coming so fast at one time, the ground cannot absorb all of it and this runoff occurs. Fortunately, on my sprinkler system, I'm able to set multiple run times. So, I have my sprinkler system water for a very short time -- about 8 minutes or so -- at 5:00 AM and then for the same amount of time again at 6:00 AM. Overall, I may use the same amount of water as someone else, but more of my water is being absorbed by the ground and is being used more fully.

There are lots of things we can do to conserve water and use it more wisely.

Good Eats: Panera Bread

One of Donna's favorite places to eat when visiting Conroe is Panera Bread. I'm not crazy about the place because it's so busy. During rush time, it's often hard to find a clean table. But I have to admit the food there is good.

Panera Bread serves for the most part coffee, salads, sandwiches, and soups. What I like about the place is the online menu. The menu provides nutritional information, and you can figure out exactly what you want before you go. Donna and I have been watching our weight lately, so we're counting calories. The "Nutrition Calculator" on the Panera site allows you to specify exactly what you want to eat. For example, I knew that I wanted a salad for lunch that day, so I pulled up the list of salads available. The one that caught my eye was Thai Chopped Chicken, but when I ran the data on it, I saw it was 470 calories, and that is a lot for a salad. I'm trying to stay below 1500 calories a day, and I really like it when I stay under 1000 (I've lost over 15 pounds so far), so that many calories for a salad seemed a bit much.

The neat feature on the calculator, though, shows the individual calorie count for each item in the salad. I reviewed it and saw that crispy wonton strips added 130 calories. Well, I figured I could sacrifice those strips without sacrificing taste, and that would reduce the total calorie count to a manageable 340 calories. Now we're talking!

And the salad was good! It had that alive flavor I was looking for. The chicken slices were beautiful, and the Low Fat Thai Chili Vinaigrette combined with the Thai Style Peanut Sauce created a rich tasting meal. I loved it. I can't wait to return.


And salads at Panera are served in real bowls with real utensils. I get so tired of plastic.


So, Panera is the place for me whether I'm watching my weight or not.

Good Eats: Smokey Mo's BBQ

On a recent visit to Conroe, I was craving barbeque. Although Donna is not a big BBQ fan, there are some items on most BBQ menus that she enjoys, so it didn't take a lot of arm twisting to persuade her to join me.

I wanted to try Smokey Mo's, a place I had never visited before. There is a location at Interstate 45 and Teas Nursery Road (FM 3083) on the northern edge of Conroe, and we stopped in there.

Smokey Mo's is an Austin-based chain; actually, the original restaurant is located in Cedar Park. There are currently 11 locations, and all are in the Austin/San Antonio area except for 1 in Willis and 1 in Conroe.

I enjoyed my meal. I ordered the brisket/sausage combo with sides of pinto beans and cole slaw. The brisket was good meat and fell apart on my plate. The sausage was the Central Texas German style, with a touch of heat, but certainly not overbearing. It is my favorite type if sausage. Both sides were tasty. Donna ordered half a chicken, and the meat was juicy and tasty. A condiments bar provided onions, jalapenos, and pickle slices.

Best of all, prices were reasonable. My combo was $8.95 while Donna's chicken plate was $7.95.

The place is certainly on my radar now, and I'll stop in again.

Omega Farms

Donna's family lives in Conroe, so we recently visited the area for a few days. While there, we stayed at Omega Farms, an RV park located just outside of Willis, Texas, and a few minutes north of Conroe.

The park has some nice sites, but it also has many undesirable spots. Unfortunately, we were assigned a pull-thru spot somewhere in the middle. We had no shade, no table, no fire ring, and very little space on the side of the trailer where our awning is located.

Tight spots in the center area where the pull-thru sites are located. There wasn't even enough room to fully extend the awning, and not enough room to comfortably sit outside.

Although the park is surrounded by large trees, the center areas are nearly void of any shade. If you go, get a site around the perimeter of the park. Interior roads and sites are gravel, so there is a little dust. Residents do a good job of keeping speeds down, though.

Again, there are shady spots with tables and fire rings in the park -- we just didn't get one. There is also no cable TV, and the WiFi is very slow and is not secured.

Omega Farms RV Park

The laundry room was located near us. 3 small private bathrooms -- each with toilet, sink, and shower -- are also located in the same building as the laundry facilities.

Laundry room and bath house. 2 washers, 2 dryers, and 3 private bathrooms. Facilities are good, but probably the poorest maintained of any parks we've stayed in recently.

Donna did enjoy fishing in the private pond on the property, and she managed to catch several fish including a couple of large bass and some catfish, as well as numerous perch.

The pond. Donna enjoyed fishing here, and caught more fish than she has caught in a long, long time. It is well-stocked.

We probably won't return to Omega Farms. It's a decent place, especially if your stay is brief, but it does not provide the type of setting we prefer.

Lake Whitney State Park

I really don't like pulling a trailer; about 5 or 6 hours a day is about all I care to do. So on a recent long trip, we decided to break the trip up by stopping early one day at Lake Whitney State Park.

Lake Whitney State Park is located just west of Whitney, Texas, which is about 30 miles or so north of Waco. Lake Whitney, covering 37 square miles, was formed in 1951 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a dam on the Brazos River.

Since we were just stopping for one night, we did not even unhook the trailer. We did as little as possible to make things comfortable for the night. After getting set up, we then took a walk around the loop road, which is probably about 3 miles.

The park is pretty, and is covered by live oak, blackjack oak, and post oak. We saw numerous deer on our walk, and we were also visited by 2 deer who approached our camp site. We even had a snake cross the road in front of us.

The park offers various recreational opportunities, including boating, swimming, fishing, and hiking.

Below are some pictures we took while on our walk.

Our campsite. Even though we did not unhitch the trailer from the truck, we did hook up water and electricity and raise the antennae. We wanted to make an early start next morning.

Star View campground for tent campers

Shelters, with a bit of the lake visible in the background between the oaks

Wildflowers in an open prairie area

Trail Head to the hiking trail

View of the lake from the boat ramp. The boat ramp is located on a feeder creek, not the main body of the lake.