Prairie Dog Town

It was nice out this morning when I left for my walk around 6:35 or so. At the time, it was 69 degrees, and the sky was clear, allowing me to see the stars in the sky just before the sun popped over the horizon to start lighting the day.

About 8:00 last night, I snapped this picture of a sunset.

After snapping the first picture, I waited a while, then zoomed in and snapped this photo. It almost looks like a grass fire is raging in the background, but it's just the sunset.

I had only passed a few houses before I encountered a neighbor standing in her drive. "I'm waiting for the paper," she informed me. A few houses farther up the hill, I came across another neighbor doing the same thing. By the time I had finished my walk more than an hour later, I had come across a dozen or more lost souls wandering dazed around their yards, looking under cars and under bushes for their papers.

Old people are funny. They get into routines, and they don't like those routines altered at all. If I happen to be outside when the mail carrier makes his rounds, it's fun to watch all the old folks come out and head to their mail boxes before the mailman is even pulling away. I guess it's the big event of the day for some of them. The same is true with the paper. They look forward to that cup of coffee and paper when they wake up, and they are lost when that routine is disrupted. They remind me of meerkats or prairie dogs emerging from their dens looking around. Boy, I'm glad I'm not an old person.

"Have you seen my paper?"

"I thought I saw that mail man go by, but my mailbox is empty"

Tomorrow is Labor Day. Of course, the Labor Day weekend began on Friday, or even on Thursday for some. That worries me. I'm concerned that there will be another surge in COVID cases. I know that several events have been scheduled in our area. Lots of folks from all over West Texas usually show up in town to enjoy Lake Nasworthy at this time. I'm sure there will be little social distancing or common sense at any event. If there is a spike, we should see it begin in about 2 weeks or so.

I've more or less given up hope that the folks in this country will learn how to behave. We seem to put greater value on having fun than almost anything else. Our only hope now, I think, is an effective vaccine. We just don't seem to be able to make the sacrifices we need to bring this pandemic under control.

I'm Confused . . . So What Else Is New?

One of the side effects of this pandemic -- at least for me -- is that I lose track of time. Normally, Donna and I have our regular days for doing certain things. For example, we like to eat out on Mondays and Thursdays. We also normally try to do all of our running around during the week and then stay in our neighborhood on the weekends, when people are more likely to be off work and kids are our of school. We normally play bingo at the clubhouse on Saturday, and Donna has her specific days when she plays other games at the clubhouse. 

So, normally we pretty much know what day it is.

Hummer feeding on our patio.

That's no longer true. I seldom know what day it is now. We haven't been in a restaurant since early March, though we have done a drive-thru about half a dozen times since then. And the clubhouse has essentially been closed for most purposes since the pandemic began. We can still go over and check out puzzles and books, but it is not open for much of anything else.

So now on most days when I awake, I spend the first 5 or 10 minutes trying to figure out what day of the week it is. When that fails, then I pick up my smart phone and check the calendar.

Of course, some of you out there -- namely my daughter and eldest grandson, for example -- are probably thinking, "Well, you're just an old man who's losing his mind. Don't blame the pandemic for your mental failures." Okay, I admit that may be a part of it, but I still think this whole alter-normal pandemic bares the bulk of the blame.

There is a bit of a cooling trend going on now. It isn't much, mind you, but it has taken a bit of the edge off the heat. There are no triple digit highs predicted for the foreseeable future, and the early mornings are becoming pleasant for walkers like me. We are still looking for rain, but I just don't see anything moving our way.

Here is our latest puzzle, "Canoe Lake". Wow, I'd like to be there right now. Donna would be out scaring the fish, and I'd be settled into one of those red Adirondack chairs on the pier with a good cup of coffee, or perhaps something a bit stronger, just enjoying the sights and sounds and smells. Perhaps we need to get another RV.

"Canoe Lake"

Before the storm I wrote about in the previous entry, the purple sage in the neighborhood was really pretty. Below is a picture of a couple of plants across the street from us. 

Brilliant purple sage in our neighbor's yard.

It's peaceful at home right now. The holy terror has gone out to the lake to terrorize the fish out there. She was able to get a new license the other day, so she's legal for another year.

Be safe and smart.

Lively Storm

Clouds began moving in about 6:30 or 7:00 last night (Monday). It was 102 degrees when they approached us, and pretty soon the temperature began dipping. The last time I checked, it had dropped to 88, and I'm sure it went a bit lower. We also had some pretty high winds. Online sources said some winds were 55 mph or above. About 10 days ago, we had winds in San Angelo in excess of 85, and quite a bit of damage was done. Fortunately, our neighborhood did not see any winds at that speed.

We enjoyed watching the clouds dance across the sky as day began to give way to night. A bit south of due east, the moon -- almost full -- began rising. After 45 minutes or so, the clouds fell enough and the moon rose enough that it disappeared into them.

We were sure we'd get a good rain out of this, but we received less than a tenth of an inch at our house. But we are supposed to have a repeat tonight. Perhaps we'll get a good soaking, but I'm just not very optimistic. We need something to break this moderate drought.

Below are some pictures I snapped. 

This is the very first picture I snapped. You can see the moon bottom center, dwarfed by all those menacing clouds. It would eventually merge with the clouds above it.

This shot is towards the north east. You can see our clubhouse below the clouds. The street lights are normally not on this time of day.

I moved around front to snap a few pictures facing west/northwest. That's an interesting cloud just above the line of houses.

It didn't take long for things to get dark in this direction.

Meanwhile, back on the east side of the house, the moon was starting to rise towards the clouds.

In a few minutes, the clouds ate up the moon. Will it return tonight?

Turkeys Everywhere

We're nearing the end of August, with September and Labor Day right around the corner. Since we retired, this has normally been one of our favorite times of the year. Normally, kids are returning to school, which means going out and shopping and eating and going to movies during the week is very pleasant. And normally at this time, we take off for a nice trip, someplace like Cripple Creek, Colorado, or Santa Fe, New Mexico. But this year is anything but normal. 

But, we have to play the cards we're dealt, so we continue to make the best of the situation.

We looked out our den window a few days ago, which overlooks the patio, and saw these little visitors.

For the past week or so, we had some rather decent weather. Temps stayed just below 100 during the day, and nights dipped to the low 70s and even into the upper 60s a time or two. The mornings were crisp and fresh, and walking was pleasant. But a day or two ago, the triple digits returned, and the foreseeable forecast for the area shows daily highs above 100. The start of autumn is a little more than 3 weeks away, so these high temps won't go on forever. I'm ready for the crisp days of fall, and I would love some rain. As fall approaches, I long for the first cool spell, ideally with a day long soaking rain. It's a good time to put on a pot of soup and enjoy the change.

As I finished my walk this morning, these turkeys were visiting my neighbor's yard. They pretty much make themselves at home. They roost on houses at times, and just graze through all the yards. They're fun to watch.

Speaking of rain, the Gulf Coast had an unusual event with the 2 storms this week. Donna still has a lot of family in the Houston/Conroe area, so we always keep a close eye on these storms as they move through. We also always hope we might pick up some rain from the storms, but that seldom pans out.

COVID cases are definitely on the decline in the area. We are now hovering around 20 new cases a day. I worry about kids starting school; I hope we don't have a new outbreak. I like what I'm seeing in our local district, so I'm hopeful. We continue to do curbside shopping for our needs. I'm grateful we have this service. I feel so fortunate in so many ways.

This is our latest puzzle, "Autumn Porch". Puts me in the mood for autumn.

I'm debating when to get my annual flu shot. I hate to get it too early, but with the situation we are in today, I'm wondering if early might be better. I just don't know. I'll decide soon.

I hope all of you are doing well, that you are safe and healthy. Be smart!

Adios, Pepe

We were pleasantly surprised by an unexpected rain last Saturday night. About 9:00 PM, a shower roared through, dropping about half an inch of rain. The ground was so parched that it slurped up every drop. Now, 5 days later, I can't tell that the rain had any positive effect, though I'm sure it did. That's just how dry it is out here now.

And our temps have been just a shade cooler. We have only broken the 100 degree mark a couple of times recently. The mornings have been very nice, with lows hovering about 70 and with a refreshing breeze. It's been pretty good walking weather in the mornings. I'm looking forward to the start of autumn in about one month.

Good color in a neighbor's yard.

Our local schools started this week. I don't know all the details, but the local district is offering both in-person and remote access. I hope things go well, but we've seen some disturbing things around the country the past couple of weeks -- at both the K-12 level and the collegiate level -- so I just don't know.

Our COVID numbers have been improving recently; I hope that they don't shoot up again with schools reopening. I guess we'll know in 2 to 4 weeks.

A Facebook friend posted something recently that I really like: "I don't like being in a pandemic with y'all. It's like being on silent lunch, but we keep getting days added on because y'all won't shut up." I feel pretty much the same way. Donna and I are behaving ourselves and doing our part to get over this pandemic, but all the covidiots out there keep going to Sturgis or street parties or beach parties or rallies and keep spreading this thing around.

I've mentioned our skunk problem before. The crews out here have been setting out traps and have been catching some of the critters recently. On my walk a few days ago, I came across this little Pepe Le Pew towards the front of our subdivision. I guess he has a new home by now.

Trapped skunk

Donna went out to Lake Nasworthy yesterday morning to scare the fish. She says she caught 4 or 5 good sized crappie, but you know how those fish stories go. She'll probably go once or twice more this month, as her license expires at the end of this month. I stayed home and had a relaxed and peaceful  morning off.

We continue to put puzzles together. Here is our latest masterpiece.

"On Golden Shores"

I caught another pretty good sunrise the other morning. Here it is rising between two oak trees.

Sunrise

And that is pretty much all the excitement that has happened around here.

Be safe and smart.

Recycle Day

One of our recycling bins was full, so it was time to take a load to our local recycling center.

Now, we really no longer have a true recycling center in San Angelo. For years, the San Angelo Friends of the Environment (S.A.F.E.) operated a full-scale recycling center where we were able to take almost everything that was recyclable. However, when the city began curbside pickup, the recycling center no longer received enough items to maintain itself, so it closed in 2018. In our little community, the maintenance department collects our garbage, so we do not have curbside service provided by the city. As a result, if we want to recycle, we have to find a way on our own.

Since S.A.F.E. closed 2 years ago, we have taken our items to Butts Recycling at 615 West 11th Street. Now, they don't recycle as many items as S.A.F.E. did, but they recycle quite a bit. This morning, I took tin cans, aluminum cans (mostly Donna's beer cans), No. 1 plastic, No. 2 plastic, and cardboard. Most of our items are plastic and cardboard. We do not know of a local place to recycle glass, so we try to avoid anything sold in that type of container.

Mission accomplished, so we're good for another month or so.

These are 4 of our recycling bins. From left to right, they are tin, aluminum, no. 1 plastic, and no. 2 plastic. We keep these bins at the front of the garage so they are convenient to the kitchen door, barely visible at left.

I have to put the back seat down in the RAV4 to get everything in. The blue tub contains cardboard.

Some of the clearly labeled bins at Butts recycling. For those of you in the area, these are located conveniently inside the gate on our left.

More bins. That is the entrance at left.

By the way, the temp hit 109 degrees on this day. It is hot out there.

The Broken Record Keeps on Spinning

You can probably gather from the title that life is the same for us. The temperatures are hot -- exceeding 100 degrees essentially every day -- and we continue to spend most of our time at home.

I snapped this picture the same morning as the sunrise photos in my previous post. You can see some color in the sky in the background. Can you see the little hummer coming in for some food?

Here's a zoomed in version of the little hummer as he approaches his breakfast.

We did get out a bit last week. One morning, we ventured the half mile from our front gate to pick up curbside groceries at our H.E.B. After we brought our groceries home, we then needed to run out to pick up some prescriptions at our pharmacy. It was then that I noticed the warning light on our car  indicating that at least one of our tires was low. I parked at the pharmacy and checked all the tires and discovered that our right-rear tire was a few pounds low. I slowly inched forward while Donna watched the tire to see if she could detect anything in it. Sure enough, old eagle-eyes spotted a nail or screw.

I really didn't want to go to a regular tire shop to fix the tire because I just wasn't confident that any of them would be observing the necessary COVID precautions. So, I decided to just go to our Toyota dealer, and I'm glad I did. I buy Toyota because the cars are well made and the service departments are very reliable. I've not been disappointed yet with the service I've received at any Toyota dealer.

I pulled up to the service department and a masked service rep came out and processed me. An employee immediately came out, put a cover over the driver's seat and disposable mat in the floorboard, and took the car in to work on it. Donna and I did not want to wait in the customer area, so we strolled the lot looking at cars and deciding which one we'd buy next. We were even entertained for a while watching a truck unload some new cars. I had always wondered exactly how that process worked -- moving ramps from top level to lower level -- and we were able to see the procedure in full. Pretty interesting.

When the tire was fixed, the car was brought to us, the seat cover and floor mat removed, and we were ready to go. I asked how much I owed and was told there was no charge. I do love being a Toyota customer.

And that was the highlight of our week. Oh, we did complete another puzzle. One piece was missing, but that's alright. It was fun. We've started another one, and I guess we'll keep on putting them together until this pandemic thing is over. 

Our latest puzzle. Note the missing piece near upper-left corner.