We're Keeping Cool

The heat wave continues out here. We did have a slight reprieve on Sunday and Monday when the highs were only in the mid-90s. Otherwise, we've pretty much stayed with triple digit temps, including a reading of 107 one day.

The heat is certainly taking its toll on the grass and plants. It's taking its toll on us, too. We are not going out and sitting on our patio very much. The heat is really oppressive right now. We'll go out during the afternoon to water the plants on our patio and to see what activity is going on in the neighborhood, but we don't stay out long. We usually go back out right before bedtime, when the evening has cooled things off. Even the early mornings are hot, with night lows sometimes hovering around the 80s. I much prefer walking in the morning when it is 65 or so.

We did get out to San Angelo State Park early one morning, around 6:15 or so. We did our regular 5 mile route out there, and it was pleasant enough. Fortunately, there was a cloud cover, so the sun never really emerged to cook us. We were finished with our walk by 8:00.

To change course a bit here . . . .

I've always been intrigued by how light plays upon natural features. I've posted such pictures over the years. The mountainous desert terrain is one of the best places to observe this. Depending on the time of day and the angle and amount of sunlight available, the same place can take on quite different looks.

For example, note the picture below I snapped of the Colorado River in Laughlin, NV, about 3 years ago. I love how the setting sun lights up the top of the Arizona mountains, while the rest of the landscape is bathed in shade.

The sun sets on the Colorado River in Laughlin, NV.

A few entries ago, I shared some shots of the full moon rising early so that the rooftops of homes were still bathed in sunlight. The other night some clouds were moving through to our south. We didn't get any rain from the movements, but I did enjoy the play of light and dark upon the clouds. Here are some of those pictures.

This view looks southeast, so the sun was behind me, probably just barely above the western horizon.

I zoomed in for this shot of the clouds only.

This shot is from our walk in the park early in the morning. There is a cloud cover above, and the sun has just begun peaking above the horizon in the east. You can see a bit of the lake in the center.

A Couple of Busy Weeks

As a retired guy, I enjoy my freedom. I hate when something horns in on my schedule. After all, I have a lot of nothing to do, and I don't want anything to interrupt my quality loafing time.

As a result, the next two weeks really have me upset. We have lots of medical appointments upcoming. We try to schedule everything at the same time so that we can be done with everything. That way, it is easier to schedule trips and other fun things.

We start the week on Monday with lab work. Later that same day, Donna sees one of her specialists for a test. Donna has another appointment on Wednesday, and we both see our family doctor on Friday. The following Wednesday I see my rheumatologist. We finish the following Monday when Donna has her final appointment. We are then more or less finished with doctors for another 6 months with one or two exceptions.

We seem to be doing well as regards health. Donna especially is doing fine. She's kind of ageless. We see our family doctor together, and he always compliments Donna on the fine shape she is in. Then he turns to me and asks if I have all my affairs in order and if I've made peace with my Maker.

We have some other events coming up soon as well, such as a Lorrie Morgan concert at the San Angelo Performing Arts Campus and a nice dinner at the clubhouse. With hot summer weather on us now, we are thinking about making a run to the mountains to cool off.

I'll leave you with a few pictures I took on recent walks. The quality is not all that good because of the early morning light. Also, I forget to take my real camera when I walk, so I end up using my phone camera instead; I find that it just doesn't zoom as well as my regular camera.

I like this contrast picture. It shows the moon setting in the west in the early morning light. It's still fairly dark out, as evidenced by the street lamp being on. The full moon this month has been beautiful! I also like the glow on the tree from the street light.

I caught this pair of stinkers (extreme left and extreme right) about 6:30 AM a couple of days ago. We really have a skunk infestation here.

Here's another shot of the skunks I took once I got past them. Notice how close they are to houses.

After lunch on Thursday, we drove through Spring Creek Park on Lake Nasworthy and spotted these deer grazing in the edge of the timber.

I don't know what this plant is, but I love the rich vibrant color. It is growing beside a home on my walking route.

Concho Valley Weather Report

It's finally turned West Texas hot our here in the Concho Valley. We really had a pretty mild spring, but summer seems to be arriving in our neck of the woods.

We hit the 100 degree mark last Friday or Saturday. It's been 100+ every day since, and every day for the next week is expected to hit the triple digit mark. The nights aren't getting that cool, either. When I get up for my daily walk, the temps are now in the mid 70s.

When the weather gets like this, I often wish I was full-timing in an RV so that I could hook up and head to the mountains. I better now say that too loud. If Donna hears me, she'll start making plans to make that happen.

I see no chance of rain anywhere in our future, either. The positive effects of our rains from a couple of weeks ago are now disappearing and things are drying out once more. It could be a very long, hot, and dry summer here.

I'll leave you with a few photos I snapped last night of our full moon rising. It is just setting in the west when I go out for my morning walks. I do enjoy walking along with the soothing light of a full moon.

I really like this picture. The moon is centered in the picture. I like the contrast of colors, from the blue sky at top to the green grass at bottom. And I like how the setting sun is just brushing the top of the houses. Finally, I like the white clouds hanging in the sky.

This picture was taken just a minute or two later. The sun atop the houses is quickly disappearing, and more clouds have moved across the sky. 

For a different contrast, I moved to my left to include our little oak tree in this shot. The moon is now directly over the tree in our neighbor's yard, and the setting sun is barely hitting the roof tops now.

In this final shot, the sun has now set pretty low in the western sky behind me. There is a nice hill on our western perimeter, so it blocks the sun quite a bit late in the day. Notice how the clouds are now darkened. 

How to Celebrate an Anniversary

So, in the last post, I mentioned that Donna and I were celebrating our 41st anniversary. So, how does a debonair Don Juan such as myself impress a gal after 41 years?

I woke the old girl early this morning. I needed to allow her plenty of time to get dressed. About 6:45, I loaded her in the car and drove her downtown to the Farmers' Market, which is located just across Oakes Street from historic Fort Concho. We stocked up on some of the fresh produce available there, then returned home.

Our farmers' market as seen from the south end.

As seen from the north end.

Our score from the market. From left to right: banana peppers, basil, eggplant, zucchini, squash, red potatoes, radishes, red onions, and white onions. Yum, fresh from some local farmer's field.

But wait, I wasn't finished yet. I do know how to show a girl a good time. You don't live to be my age without learning a few romantic moves. Next, I drove her about 2 miles away to San Angelo State Park and made her walk almost 5 miles despite the fact that she wasn't feeling well. I really thought the walk would help.

Woodpecker atop a dead tree in the park.

Bison and longhorns in the park. Park staff is feeding them in background. Notice the bison calf front-center.

Good close picture of bison showing how they are losing their winter coats.

Iconic Texas scene: prickly pear cactus, bison, and longhorns.

And if that wasn't enough, I then brought her home and had her cook me a nice lunch.

Now, I know what most of you ladies out there are thinking. "How do I get a guy like this in my life?" Well, I'm sorry, but I'm taken, so you'll have to look elsewhere.

Seriously, our anniversary is today, May 26, but we actually celebrated on Thursday. Since the Memorial Day weekend fell on our anniversary, we really didn't want to try to eat out today, so we went to a nice place on Thursday and had a delightful meal. When we wed 41 years ago, I did not consider that our anniversary would have to compete with Memorial Day for the rest of our lives. And before I start getting hate mail, I must confess it was Donna's idea to go to the farmers' market. She's as romantic as I am, it seems.

Morning is breaking at Rio Concho West. I snapped this shot yesterday morning during my walk. This is at the entrance of our subdivision.

In closing, here is a neighborhood shot of some mountain laurels in bloom.

I'm a Saint: Episode 41

Well, I've been putting up with that old woman for 41 years now. Where's my medal?

It seems like a lifetime ago that we were married in that little chapel of the First United Methodist Church in Donna's hometown of Conroe, Texas. Heck, 41 years is a lifetime for a lot of folks, I suppose. In fact, that church is no longer there. They probably imploded it after they realized what they had done by allowing the two of us to be married there. I think it has been replaced by county offices of some sort.

We had a small wedding with only family and a few friends. We didn't have any money then; heck, we still don't have any money. We honeymooned a few days in our beloved Texas Hill Country. That area of the state has always been special to us; we still like to spend a few days there whenever we can.

I had just completed my student teaching assignment in Palestine, Texas. In the fall, I would begin work on my Master's degree while teaching freshman English courses at Sam Houston State University on their fellowship program. Donna worked for a local dentist. She made a lot more money than I did back then. Still, those were great times. I wish I could return to those days. We didn't have much. In fact, we lived in a little efficiency cabin in the woods a few miles out of town. We froze in the winter and cooked in the summer because the heating and cooling systems were inadequate, but we had some good times there.

Two years later, I completed work on my Master's and we moved to West Texas. Seems we've been moving ever since. We've lived mostly in West Texas, but we have spent a few years in East Texas as well as the Middle East. It's been a good ride. I think we still have a few more miles in us.

I'm still waiting for that medal, though.

A Storm's a Comin'

As I write this, a storm is developing about 2 hours to the north. It will begin moving this way shortly after noon. It is more dangerous and more deadly than the storms we faced earlier this week. This storm is being fueled by grandsons Camden and Jensen.

Yep, those little terrorists-in-training will soon be heading our way. They've been honing their skills the past couple of months, and I'm sure they have new horrors to inflict upon their poor old grandpa.

This is grandson Xander's last day of school. Doesn't that seem early to you for school to be letting out? It is, after all, only May 18. But he gets out at 12:00 today. Then he and his gang of cutthroats will ramble down US 87, cross Cannibal Draw, then make the final approach towards their objective -- Grandpa's House. I've been trying to secure my perimeter, but those little devils always seem to be able to breach my defenses.

If you don't hear from me again, you'll know I lost this battle.

Break in the Weather

We enjoyed a break in the weather last night. Yes, we had threatening clouds roll in, and some pretty impressive ones at that, but we didn't get high winds, hail, or even a drop of rain. It was nice to watch.

Below are an assortment of pictures of not only the clouds, but some other things from around the neighborhood.

The darkening clouds moved in from the west and covered the entire northern portion of the sky.

The wall of clouds was pretty ominous.

These clouds to the south looked somewhat like snow capped mountains.

And this is what it looked like to the northeast.

And now, on to other things . . . .

While inspecting the bur oak in our front yard, I noticed it was putting out a new crop of acorns.

I left Donna's fingers in the photo to get a sense of size. When mature, these bur acorns will be as large  as or larger than a ping pong ball.

I espied this century plant in a neighbor's back bard. The electric pole to the right will give you a sense of just how tall these plants get. I'll be watching for it to bloom. Hopefully, I'll get a good picture then.

On my walk this morning, I heard the turkeys and finally found them in a neighbor's yard. The one on the right is in full form.