Unusual Pictures for San Angelo

It's been an unusual day for San Angelo. We have had more than an inch of rain at our house. Some areas in the north part of the city have received as much as 1.5 inches of rain. That is so great.

To go along with the rain, we've had another unusual event -- cold weather. After setting high temps the past 3 out of 4 days, it was nice to get a change. The temp has dropped throughout the day, and as I write this at sundown, the temp is 41 and still dropping. We expect it to get down to the mid to low 30s tonight.

I snapped this just a short time before writing this entry. You can see that there is just over 1 inch.

Here's a sight we haven't seen in a while -- water coming out of the rain spout.

Most of the rain today was just slow and steady, though we did have two brief, rather heavy downpours. Regardless, right now any rain is good rain.

This is taken from our front patio looking north. The system moved from the west to the east. The light drizzle at this time put a light veil over the hill at the center of the picture, making it barely visible.

The entire day looked more or less like this. This picture looks southeast. The deer we see nightly usually come out of the tall light-colored grass just to the right of the stop sign and move left through our back lawn.

This picture looks almost due south. When the deer get this far, they usually cross the street and work their way down the draw in the center of the picture, then move around the club house, which is the large building in the center-left of the picture.

Overall, it was a dreary day, as this picture of the side entrance to the club house shows. But we loved it!

Any time I start thinking I'd like to full-time in an RV again, I remember what it is like when you have weather like this. Now, most of the time, you try to travel to places where the weather is good, but you are always going to run into cold, wet days like this. And that is when I'm so glad I have a nice, dry, warm house with a garage.

Hot Time in the Old Town

What an unusual autumn we are having here in San Angelo. In the past week, we have set several new records for high temperatures. Each day, we seem to creep over that 90 degree mark, and our nights are only getting down to the upper 60s. But a cool front will start working its way through tomorrow, and we should enjoy more seasonal weather soon.

I've mentioned before that I'm something of a genealogist. Back in June 2013, I wrote an entry called "Digging Up Bones" in which I detailed some of my favorite online tools. I recently submitted a DNA test, which led to my making contact with a before-unknown cousin on my mother's side of the family. This lady has even written a wonderful book on our families. I've been reading through it lately.

I've used Family Search and Find a Grave extensively over the years, so I've been trying to give back lately. In recent months, I've volunteered for transcription projects with Family Search, and this week I've started trying to help folks who have requested pictures of tombstones of family members through Find a Grave. I printed a list of photo requests for our largest local cemetery -- Fairmont -- and then printed a map showing the blocks of the large cemetery. Donna and I went out this afternoon and could not find a single grave listed on the requests. I guess the locations on Find a Grave did not match the map. Well, perhaps I need to start with something smaller. I'm looking at some of the smaller cemeteries in the area, and I'll try one of those later this week or in the near future.

We have really enjoyed the wildlife in our neighborhood lately. We see turkeys everyday that we drive through the neighborhood. Each night, we set out just before dark and watch a parade of deer wander through our back yard. When I woke this morning, 2 does were bedded down just beyond our back patio. On my walk this morning, I encountered deer on at least 3 occasions. We do enjoy watching the wildlife out here.

We have a new H.E.B. store less than a mile from our home. We really like H.E.B. We had hoped this would be one of their super stores, but it isn't. It is a very nice store, but not that much different from the old store that has been here for years. Still, it's nice to have an H.E.B. so close. In an age when there are very few locally owned grocery stores, we try to shop as much as possible at H.E.B. since it is at least a Texas-owned company.

Chicken Farm Art Center

On the first Saturday of each month, the Chicken Farm Art Center is an interesting place to visit. Vendors set up around the grounds, musicians play throughout the day, and there is usually a place to get a good burger or some other interesting food. Donna and I do not go out here often simply because we don't need to buy the things that are on sale our there, but we still think it is a pretty neat place to visit from time to time.

I won't attempt to tell you what the Chicken Farm is -- the website does a much better job of that. But I will share some pictures I snapped on our visit earlier today. And I need to make clear that the Chicken Farm is open throughout the year, not just on first Saturdays of each month. If you get a chance, stop by this little community of free spirits.

Here's Donna standing just inside the entrance. You can see a few of the vendor tents located direction ahead. To the left is a row of shops where local artists make pottery and other goods. 

Here are a couple of ladies doing a bit of weaving.

This is a fun place, as evidenced by the potter above.

A couple of musicians were playing some old folk songs for the crowd.

The Chicken Farm has grown over the years. Since there doesn't appear to be any master plan, walkways and new shops just pop up where there is room. The open door on the right leads to a soap shop. 

Here's Donna again. She's always trying to get in the pictures. 

Interesting corner of the Chicken Farm.

Since this is the Chicken Farm, I expected to see chickens.

Interior of a stone ware shop.

Another section of the Chicken Farm near the front. I'm not sure what the lady on the right of the picture is dressed for.

Lake Levels

We're about halfway through autumn, and we've not had the good rains we sometimes get this time of year. I look forward to such rains to help replenish our lakes, but that just isn't happening this year. As a result, our lake levels are on the decline.

Below is a snapshot from our local paper, the San Angelo Standard Times. On the last page of the first section of the paper, they publish these and other stats daily. I watch them religiously. The first half of the picture shows lake levels of area lakes. San Angelo gets most of its water from Lake O. H. Ivie, which is about 60 miles east of here. It also uses water in some way from Nasworthy, O.C. Fisher, and Twin Buttes, all on the west side of the city. Spence is north of here and does not contribute to San Angelo, and Amistad is on the Rio Grande near Del Rio. It also does not contribute to our local water supply.

When O. H. Ivie's level reaches 20%, I start getting concerned, especially this time of year. The lake level will continue to decline into the spring, for our chances of getting sustained rains now are diminishing until then. If we do not get the good rains in the spring, then the high temperatures and not winds next summer will quickly cause our lake levels to lower. The "Month to date" precipitation above is for the moth of October. No, we did not get much rain at all this past month.

Below is a map showing our lakes. The serpent-shaped lake on the far right is O. H. Ivie. I wrote about this lake in August in "Back Roads Tour: Lake O. H. Ivie". O. H. Ivie is formed by the Colorado River, fed largely by Elm Creek just south of Ballinger, and the Concho River, which comes in from the west.

The lake on the upper-left side of San Angelo is O. C. Fisher, which is part of San Angle State Park. The larger lake to the lower-left of San Angelo is Twin Buttes, while the smaller one just to its right is Nasworthy. O. C. Fisher is formed by the North Concho River, while Twin Buttes is formed by the Middle Concho, Spring Creek, Dove Creek, and the South Concho River. All of these streams come together to form Nasworthy. In fact, water is pumped from Twin Buttes to maintain a steady level in Nasworthy, where boat races and other activities are regularly held. The Middle Concho and South Concho Rivers merge in Nasworthy, and then this combined stream merges with the North Concho just east of downtown San Angelo.

Hopefully, we'll get some good rains this winter or in the spring. If not, we'll be looking at a long, hot summer in 2018.

A Movie, A Parade, and a Few Other Things

Life has been good for us this week. We continue to feel fortunate with our lives and where we live.

Earlier in the week, we went to the movies. There are quite a few playing right now we'd like to see, so I hope to make a couple next week as well. This week, we saw American Made starring Tom Cruise. This movie was loosely based on the events leading up to the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. Of course, Hollywood made loose and free with the facts to make the movie more entertaining and dramatic. I can't say this is a movie I would recommend, but I think it does demonstrate fairly accurately how our government often bungles its support for foreign entities and then ends up regretting its actions.

After the movie, we went to What Da Pho for lunch. This little place is quickly becoming one of our favorite eateries in San Angelo. It is located at 3315 Sherwood Way behind the old H.E.B. What Da Pho is one of those places that does not maintain a true website; instead, it relies on a Facebook presence. It is places like this that caused me to join Facebook. But I won't hold that against What Da Pho. If you don't use Facebook, you can view a copy of their menu at Menu Runners. We've been to What Da Pho several times now, and I've ordered something different each time. The first trip, I tried the Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) with chicken breast. We ordered the monstrous regular size and really enjoyed it. In fact, that is all that Donna has ever ordered there. On our next trip, I tried the Spicy Lemongrass Chicken. This was fine, but I probably won't order it again. On our last trip, I ordered the regular shrimp pho, and this will probably become my standard order. We also always order spring rolls; I love that peanut dipping sauce.

This morning, we decided to venture out into the cold to watch the Angelo State University (ASU) homecoming parade. It's not a big parade, featuring mainly organizations from ASU. It began with the marching band, following by the cheerleaders, fraternity/sorority floats, and other organizations. After the parade, we walked down to where the Brews, Ewes, and BBQ competition was going on. This is the second year for this event, and it seems to be popular, so it will probably grow over the years.

We finished our day with a late lunch at Olive Garden, where I ordered my favorite ravioli de portabella, while Donna enjoyed the salad. It was a pleasant way to end our day.

Below are some pictures I snapped of the parade and area.

The parade announcers from a local radio station perched themselves on the balcony of an older building overlooking Chadbourne Street.

Here comes the ASU marching band.

The ASU cheerleaders showed good sense by not wearing skimpy outfits in the cold.

I believe these lovely young ladies represent a local dance troupe called San Angelo Ballet Folklorico Azteca.

There was a petting zoo near the Brews, Ewes, and BBQ competition. That is the historic old Cactus Hotel in the background.

One of the beautiful murals that decorate our downtown area. We really have a beautiful city.

There are numerous old historic buildings downtown. We passed this one on our way to our car, so I decided to snap a photo. I love the balconies on these old buildings.

No Rest for the Wicked

It's been busy for us lately.

Last Thursday, we attended an appreciation hamburger supper at the clubhouse. There's nothing like hamburgers cooked fresh on an open grill. We were able to visit old friends here at RCW and make a few new ones. They even treated us to a few games of free bingo with cash prizes. You can't beat that!

We rose early Friday morning and hit the road once again for East Texas. This was not a pleasure trip. Donna suffered a loss in her family, so we made the long trek to the piney woods to pay our respects. Family is important, and I always enjoy seeing family, whether it's Donna's family or mine. I just hate when the event is a sad one.

We always try to make the best of a bad situation, so we spent our first night in Fairfield, my hometown. And when we are in Fairfield, we usually eat at Sam's BBQ, and we did this time as well. I really love that BBQ, the potato salad, the homemade bread, and everything else they serve. I grew up on that stuff, so it is more or less my standard. Now, I understand true BBQ aficionados might find some things to nitpick about the BBQ at Sam's, but I like it.

On our way home Sunday, we stopped in Brownwood for lunch at Prima Pasta. That has become one of our favorite Italian places, and we stop for lunch there when we pass through. The facility is nice, the service good, the prices reasonable, and the food quite good. We've yet to have a bad meal or experience there.

Seems like every time we go to East Texas, we end up driving in the rain. And not just any rain, mind you, but pouring down drown a cat rain. When we left Conroe Sunday morning, the sky opened and just dumped all its water on us. It was pretty bad until we got north of Madisonville. We were glad to get back west of I-35.

I hope we are home for a while now. I need to get back into my walking routine. It's been sort of hit and miss the past month with our trip to Colorado and our 2 trips to East Texas. I feel better when I'm able to walk on a regular basis.

Last night, I stepped out back to look around, as is my normal habit around dark. I always see something, usually deer. Last night, a buck scampered through our yard as I watched. Then a few moments later, I saw a pair of wings glide in low from my right and then light on the corner of the neighbor's house. At first, I thought it was a hawk. But then I looked more closely and saw that it was an owl. I called Donna outside for a look, and we got a kick watching it twist its head around. Pretty soon, it flew off low across the neighbor's yard, then down the street toward a clump of trees 4 or 5 houses down. In all my years of working outside, living outside, camping, hiking, and such, this was my first sighting of an owl in the wild. Pretty neat!

I love autumn!

Jury Duty

About 2 months ago, I received a summons for jury duty. Well, no one likes serving on a jury. Heck, I resent this intrusion on my busy schedule of doing nothing. But it is our duty to serve. I've been on 3 juries before, 2 criminal and 1 civil. I really don't mind. I find them interesting. In fact, Donna and I have even been thinking about attending a trial just for something to do.

Anyway, I showed up on the appointed day. We were to be there at 9:00, and by 9:05 everyone seemed to be in place. All in all, I roughly counted about 45 or more potential jurors. I also saw court staff in their places, as well as what I thought were 2 attorneys, but very friendly with each other. I figured they must work together.

Then we waited, and waited, and waited.

I was surprised by this, as in all my previous experiences, things run pretty well according to daily schedules in the courts. Yeah, I know about the back logs and stuff, but the daily schedule always seems to work well in my experience.

Finally, about 9:35 or so, the judge appeared. It appears the 2 attorneys I saw represented the state. There was a young man, the defendant, sitting all alone at the defense table. It seems his lawyer did not appear for today's session. The judge was none too happy. He apologized to all of us for wasting our time and thanked us for our service. He then went on to explain that in his long career, something like this had never happened before. He informed the court of actions to take regarding the missing lawyer, then dismissed the jury. I wouldn't want to be that lawyer. Heck, I wouldn't want to be any lawyer -- I have morals!

That was the easiest $6 I ever made.