The Porcupine Hunters

Miss Donna and I went to our nearby state park again this morning for another walk. This one was for 4.91 miles.

But the best part of the walk, at least for me, occurred within the first quarter mile or so. 

As we were ambling slowly along trying to loosen our legs up before Miss Donna shifted into high gear -- which she usually does and then leaves me behind -- I heard a rustling just off the road to our right. I quickly turned and spotted a good sized brown ball with spikes moving about in the brush. I quickly got my camera and began shooting.

I guess this butterball porcupine was afraid of us for he headed for a tree and began climbing. He didn't waste much time and he was soon about 10 feet up the tree. Below are the shots I captured as we watched. The first 4 pictures are zoomed in, but the last is not.

As soon as he spotted us, he headed for a tree.

In no time at all, he was about eye level.

This chubby rascal hasn't missed many meals, has he?

He's almost where he wants to be.

He's now snug and safe from Miss Donna, who likes her porcupine medium rare. Since this photo is not zoomed, it shows just how close we were to the little fellow.

Immediately after this, several deer crossed the road in front of us, but I couldn't get a good picture. About a half mile farther down the road, we saw several white tails -- and basically only the white tails -- disappear into some heavy brush. 

I love a good walk in the park.

New Month and a New Moon

Boy, the weather has been great around here lately. Now, we haven't had any rain since our big downfall several weeks ago -- and we could always use some -- but the temps have been truly delightful.

When I start my walk in the morning, it is light jacket weather. A couple of mornings, I've even had to bundle a bit and use my winter cap to cover my ears. But after walking for a mile or so, I usually warm up. 

We have really enjoyed sitting out in the evenings. We usually hit the back porch about 7:00. Within 15 minutes or so, a herd of deer usually scampers across the new emergency road to our south. They are always fun to watch. For quite a while, we had turkeys visiting us regularly, even arrogantly strolling through the yard while we sat and talked to them. But they have been MIA the last few evenings. Was it something we said? 

I hope you've had a chance to see the beautiful moon. Each night, it rises just a little later. The good news, though, is that it hangs around in the early morning just a little longer. For the last two mornings, it has shone on me for my entire walk. It just hangs up there in the western sky, like a giant orb.

Moon rising above a neighbor's house to the east.

Morning moon setting in the west, waiting for me to start my walk.

We're slowing down on putting puzzles together. Donna seems to be losing some interest. I really rely on her to tackle the difficult parts of a puzzle. She pulls out her hammer and utility knife and can really make progress on a puzzle when the going gets tough. Donna don't play!

"Island Time", our latest puzzle masterpiece.

As always, be smart and stay safe. We hope to see you on the other side.

Autumn is Teasing Us

I stepped out onto our front patio this morning about 6:40 to slip on my walking shoes and head out for my walk. As usual, I had checked the weather forecast before going to bed last night and saw the expected temp was predicted in the low to mid-60s. That's good walking weather. So, I was wearing my shorts and a short-sleeved shirt when I stepped out the front door. Low 60s is a bit cool, I admit, but normally after a half mile or so of walking briskly, my body warms up and then it's just about perfect.

Yellow bells on our front patio. Nice color!

But this morning, there was a chilly north wind blowing almost 20 mph. I sat down and began putting on my shoes, but it was just too cool. I went back inside, put on big-boy pants, slipped on a windbreaker, and returned to the patio to put on my shoes. It was still cool when walking into the wind. It took about a mile or more before I really got comfortable.

Blooming sage in neighbor's yard.

Most of this week should have highs in the 80s with lows dipping into the mid 40s one night. Autumn just can't decide if it wants to come or go.

I don't know what kind of tree this is, but it may be showing some of the first fall color in the neighborhood. If you look closely at its lower-right side, you can see that a few leaves have begun turning.

This is another tree I can't identify. This one is in the front yard of our neighbors on the north, but our neighbors on the south have one in their back yard as well. There is a little color here, but I'm not sure those are leaves turning or some sort of berry. I can't see that well anymore.

Take a Walk With Us

Donna and I returned to San Angelo State Park on Friday morning for another walk there. We arrived shortly after 8:00 AM and it was still a bit cool, probably in the high 50s. 

We basically followed the same route we did earlier in the week, but this time I snapped more pictures. I thought you might like to see a bit of the route we often walk at the park. We've probably done this same route 40 or 50 times over the years, so it is one we are very familiar with. The map below will help you follow us.

Our starting point was the playground area parking lot shown at center of map with blue. From there, we headed southwest towards the entrance, then in a clockwise rotation, staying on either paved or gravel roads.

We had not walked 100 yards when 4 deer sprinted across the road in front of us. I did not even have time to pull the camera from my pocket. What a good way to start the walk.

We headed southwest along one of the main park roads towards the entrance and park headquarters building. It is about three-eighths of a mile from our parking spot to the headquarters.

Park headquarters and entrance, as seen from within the park.

At the headquarters, we turned west on the main park road. We immediately encountered a group of buzzards gathered in a dead tree off to our left. I think they were expecting us.

Buzzards starting their day with a little meeting.

Along the roadway in front of the buzzards was the remains of this deer carcass. Is this why they were gathered in this area?

From the headquarters to our turnoff, the road is something like a roller-coaster. It consists of some gentle hills with a few curves. Along the way, the Tasajillo Trail crosses the road.

Tasajillo Trail heading north towards the lake.

As we neared the 1 mile mark of our walk, we spotted our turnoff ahead. It once was a paved road, but over time the pavement has deteriorated and the park service has removed any slabs of pavement that remained. Today it is all gravel. It starts out heading northeasterly towards the lake, then swivels along the base of some low lying hills. In the past, we have spotted foxes in this area, but we have not seen any in the last couple of years.

Our turnoff is on the right ahead. We have now traveled about a mile. The park road continues on towards Pulliam Ridge.

We follow this gravel road for about 1 mile. At the hill in the distance, the road curves left towards the lake, then back to the right and heads towards the Chaparral Pavilion.

After almost 1 mile (making our walk thus far 2 miles), we hit pavement again just before reaching the Chaparral Pavilion, which is a group day use area. Lots of activities are held here throughout the year.

At the end of our second mile, we get back to the pavement. You can see the top of the Chaparral Center at upper right. The little white building in right-center background is a restroom with shower.

At this point, we were actually within sight of our car. So, if the weather turned bad or we were just having trouble with our walk, we could have returned to our car rather quickly and clocked about 2½ miles and gone home. But on this day, all systems were go and we continued on.

Technically, we were now in the Red Arroyo Campground area. The camping area extends from where our car was parked on down the road for over a mile. During this time, we walked by several RVs. We always enjoy watching folks camping in their RVs. It reminds us so much of our RVing days, and it always makes us want to go out and do it again. But now is not the time for that.

At the 3¼ mile mark, we left the newly paved surface and entered on an older road which -- like the previous one -- is slowly deteriorating. We stayed on this road for about half a mile.

At the end of the camping area, there is a large circular turn around. But the road does continue, albeit on a paved surface that is not nearly as good. That is the O.C. Fisher dam in the background. You can also walk on it.

You can see sections of the old road breaking up in the foreground of this picture. Right after I snapped this picture and put my camera in my pocket, 2 deer skirted across the road in front of us.

This old section of road connects with the main park road that passes below the dam. When we hit this road, we turned back towards the headquarters. At this point, we had walked about 3¾ miles.

Where we rejoined the main park road. That is a bicyclist on the road coming towards us. He stayed on the main road.

Roadrunner Trail. This 3 mile loop trail parallels the main park road for almost a mile.

If you want to see bison, this is the section of the walk to do so. In fact, I spotted some in the distance. In the picture below, you will see their dark shapes in the bottom half of the picture as they grazed about.

Our home is actually just a little bit beyond this water tower, so you can see why we come out here so much. Can you see the bison in the center of the lower half of the picture?

Buzzard sunning himself in the warm morning sun.

This paved road took us all the way back to the park headquarters, where we turned right to return to our car. Just after turning at the HQ, I saw movement to my left. As I turned, I saw 2 white tails reach for the sky as 2 deer dashed away into the thick brush. For the day, that was a total of 8 deer I saw, but I failed to get a single picture.

Total distance for this walk was 4.93 miles. That's a pretty good morning walk for some old geezers.

As the weather continues to cool and we shift our walking time from early morning to later in the day, we will probably be visiting the park often to walk this route as well as others. Donna suggested that we head to the north gate soon as we have not walked that section of the park in at least a couple of years. Sounds like a plan!

A Walk in the Park

In an attempt to break out of the monotony of our pandemic lives, we decided to visit San Angelo State Park this past Monday for a walk. Our original plan was to hit the park shortly after it opened at 8:00 AM, but we got a little rain that morning. So we gladly postponed our walk until after lunch. Let me emphasize at this point that this was a walk, not a hike. For the entire distance, we stayed on either paved or gravel roads.

Our favorite walk out there begins at the restroom and playground area near Red Arroyo Campground. We then head back towards the park headquarters and take the main road west for about half a mile. We then follow an old gravel road for about a mile back past the Chapparal group area near our starting point, but continue on through the Red Arroyo camping areas. At the end of the paved road, we continue on around by way of a gravel road back to the main park road, then back to our starting area. The route can vary by as much as half a mile depending on any shortcuts or detours we happen to take, but today the total distance was about 4.6 miles. It's a good workout for a couple of geezers.

Obligatory bison picture. State law requires that you take a picture of either the bison and/or longhorns while visiting San Angelo State Park. Those neglecting to do so will be trampled by said bison and/or longhorns.

The sun came out for a while, and during that time it got pretty warm. Overall, though, it wasn't a bad afternoon hike. We plan to go back this Friday, but we hope to get out there early while it is cool. There were probably no more than 10 campsites in use, so there is lots of room available for campers.

The sage in our subdivision has been lovely lately. I love those brilliant purple blooms. 

Blooming sage in a neighbor's yard.

We've finished another puzzle. They help keep us entertained, but I'd rather be traveling or hiking someplace.

"Root Beer Break at the Butterfield's"

We made it to autumn! What a great time of year; it has always been my favorite. Our daily highs have stayed below 90 since the rains a couple of weeks ago, but they should go up this weekend and into next week. 

I hope the weather where you are is pleasant, and I hope you are safe and happy.

The Weather Has Been Delightful

Since my last post just after our wonderful rain, the weather has been great! I do not think the daily highs have reached 90, so we've had a great time sitting out on our back patio watching the Rio Concho West world going by. Turkeys graze through our yard, even when we are sitting there just feet from them, and deer cross the road at the end of the street. Buzzards circle high in the sky keeping an eye on us, and every once in a while, they swoop low over us just to let us know that they are patiently waiting for us to provide them a good meal. The hummingbirds have really been fighting each other for control of Donna's feeders, and it's been fun watching them. It's a good life.

Another beautiful West Texas sunrise

Nightly lows have been in the lower 60s, even dipping once or twice into the upper 50s. When I start my walk in the early morning, it's a bit cool. After a mile or so, I've warmed up. In a few more weeks, though, I may have to put my big-boy pants on and maybe even a light jacket. By November or so, I'll probably shift my walking routine to later in the morning or even the early afternoon. I'll be thankful for the sun then.

Turkeys grazing through our yard after a recent shower.

When summer officially began around June 21 or so, I was able to walk out of the house at 5:45 in the morning with the sun beginning to peek over the eastern horizon. Now I'm leaving at 6:40 or so, and it is still dark out. I finally have good light about 7:00 or a little after. This old world just keeps on revolving, doesn't it?

It's about time for flu shots. We've debated when and where to get our shots. Shannon Hospital, which we use extensively, is providing several days of a drive-through flue shot arrangement. That seems as safe a way as any to get a shot, so we may use it. Donna will call our primary care physician's office and make sure of details. We've been getting our shots at our pharmacy for the last 10 years or so, but we are trying to stay away from people this year as much as possible, so the drive-through looks tempting.

Our latest puzzle is "Ethel the Gourmet"

If our Covid numbers rise as a result of activity around the Labor Day weekend, I expect to see those numbers next week or so. Gosh, it would be great to see them fall instead of shoot up. Regardless, the old woman and I will just keep doing what we are currently doing.

I hope all of you are safe and happy . . . we are.

And the Rain Fell

The local weather people predicted over 2 inches of rain for the week and highs on Wednesday and Thursday around 70 degrees or so. They underestimated things, and I'm glad they did.

Donna and I sat out late Tuesday and watched the clouds moving into the area. To the east, we could see a storm system moving from south to north and a clear line of rain falling. We hoped this was an omen of good things to come, and it must have been.

On Tuesday, clouds began building. About halfway between the light pole and the left edge of the picture, you can see the vertical rain line. From there to the right (south), someone is getting rain, perhaps the farming community of Wall.

Wednesday morning about 2:00 AM, the rain began to fall, sometimes rather heavily. Rain fell steadily all morning and into the early afternoon before stopping. At that time, I measured almost 2¾ inches of rain (see pic below). What a true blessing for this dry country. The high for the day never got above 55 degrees that I was aware of.

Rain gauge showing almost 2.75 inches of rain

Donna and I put on jackets and sat on our back patio for a very long time enjoying the cool weather and the soaking rain. For those of you who live in climates that receive lots of rain, you must think we are odd. But long, soaking rains are a true rarity in this parched land. It's a real treat when we get so much rain.

When we awoke Thursday morning, the temperature was in the low 50s, but it was dry. However, just before 8:00 AM, the rain began again. It seemed to rain throughout the rest of the day and into Thursday night. When I woke this morning (Friday), the streets were wet, and my rain gauge measured about 1¾ inches. Add that to the previous day and we have a total of about 4½ inches of rain. Gosh, that is about a fourth of our total annual rainfall in a little more than 2 days. I wish the folks along the Pacific coast could get this rain to put out those fires.

As the week started, the weather folks predicted less than 3 inches of precipitation for San Angelo, so they were almost 2 inches off there; they predicted highs around 70 each day, but I was never aware of the temperature rising above 55 or so. Does that upset me that they missed the forecast? Not one bit. We loved it. We turned the AC completely off, and the indoor temp never dropped below 73, even with a window or two open.

I'll be watching area lake totals over the next few days to see how they improve, and I'm sure there will be some good improvement. The little town of Robert Lee just to our north received about 7 inches of rain, while Eldorado to our south received about the same amount. Both of those areas are in watersheds that feed area lakes, so I'm optimistic that lake levels will rise impressively.

In addition to the above, Donna celebrated another birthday. I'd tell you her age, but I lost count years ago. I really never learned to count that high. Courtney and her husband gave her an Amazon Prime membership, so we are going to be exploring the possibilities in that soon. Thanks, Courtney and Michael, for the thoughtful and very useful gift; it's perfect for the times are we currently living in.

Be safe out there.