I Can Feel Autumn Coming

The day after my last post -- Sunday, August 15 to be exact -- we received a very welcome rain. The system moved across our area about sunrise, and it gave is about an inch and a half of rain. Wow, that's a great way to start the day in the Concho Valley. 

Then, a mere 2 days later, it began to rain about 3:30 in the morning. There was a bit of thunder, enough to wake me. Since Donna and I had planned an early morning trip to the farmers' market, I was not going to walk. When we climbed out of bed a couple of hours or so later, it was still raining. By 7:00, we had pretty much given up on the idea of going to the market, as even with fairly light rains, we can have pretty good flooding along certain streets in town.

When the rain let up on our big rain day, Donna and I drove around our neighborhood. This is a low-lying area near the front of the complex. The water stretches from the patio area on one side of the ditch to the patio area on the opposite side.

By 8:30, we had received over 3 inches of rain, and it was still falling. By the end of the day, we had received a grand total of 4½ inches of rain. What a blessing for us. That's a lot of run off that will work its way into our lakes, allowing us a solid water supply for some time.

I don't recall a time in recent history when this area has had such a mild summer with such good rainfall. It has been nice.

Although this resembles the picture above, it is from the other end of the ditch. You can see that the tree in the picture above is healthy and green while there are 2 trees in the top photo. We have 5 areas in the community where water crosses the road, and all 5 were covered with water on this day.

All the little ones are back in school now. Normally, this is when Miss Donna and I would be getting ready to enjoy some traveling. When the kids are in school, we like to travel because the roads and tourist attractions are less busy. But these are not normal times. So, we'll wait and keep busy doing other things for now.

Grandson Xander started his college career this week. I wish that young rascal all the best as he finds himself in this world and decides on a career. I truly hope he enjoys his college career as much as I enjoyed mine. I wish I could do it all again.

I've enjoyed my last few early morning walks. As I sit on the front patio pulling on my shoes, there is a full moon still hanging in the western sky. It has been really pretty, and I do enjoy the light. This morning, it was still up there as I finished my walk.

Some of our comical turkeys have been sitting on the power lines up the street. They really look strange with their huge bodies perched on those thin wires. I love watching the wildlife around here.

Some of our comical turkeys.

I'm Getting a Little Worried About Us

Well, our COVID numbers have certainly spiked since my last post. Right now, we are averaging more than 100 new cases every day. That isn't good for a city our size.

I could rant and rave about all the stupidity out there and the lack of social consideration, but that wouldn't do any good. I know some folks have a good reason for being skeptical about the vaccines that have been developed, but most folks who have refused to get the shot(s) appear to be folks who do not have a social conscience.

So, what can you do? Well, the old woman and I continue to wear our masks when we go out, and we are careful about the places we go. We certainly don't go to places where there are crowds; I would argue that crowded venues such as concerts, Sturgis, and similar events are breeding grounds for this virus, and that is where many -- if not most -- of our infections come from. We pick our times and exercise good sense. We know that even though we have had our shots, we can still catch the virus and we can certainly be carriers. In fact, in the last week or so, 2 people in town who had been vaccinated passed away. The most recent was a gentleman in his 80s. So, it's not enough to be vaccinated, but it certainly is a big help in most cases.

The clubhouse in our community remains open at this time, but we are no longer attending any of the social functions. We do know that there have been COVID cases in our neighborhood, so we are trying to keep ourselves safe.

It's been a long year and a half, and I'm getting just a bit concerned about our mental well being. 

A week or more ago, we were sitting on our back patio enjoying a cool day with a little rainfall. The temperature was just about perfect. As we were sitting there enjoying the breeze and the smell of rain, we heard a clunk on the rain gutter to our left. It sounded as if something had fallen down the gutter. Then I noticed a grasshopper at the base of the gutter, so I though that perhaps it had fallen through the gutter from the eave of the house. 

Well, in a little bit, we noticed the grasshopper had worked its way over to the black pole that holds a hummingbird feeder, and had begun to shimmy its way up the pole. We watched as it painstakingly worked its way up the pole, inch by slow inch. Finally, it reached the top and took quite a while getting turned around and into the exact position it wanted. What it did next surprised Donna and me.

The little rascal jumped from its perch atop the pole to the rain gutter. The only problem is that it did not stick the landing and fell 6 or 7 feet to the ground. The clunk we had heard earlier was this little guy hitting the gutter. I have no idea what it was trying to achieve or where it wanted to end up.

Well, we were fascinated by the little guy, so we continued to watch it. Sure enough, in a few minutes, it was back to the pole and working its way up again. After 20 minutes or so, it was once again atop the pole, where it launched itself once again into the gutter. It really hit hard, and once again fell to the ground. This time, it wasn't moving, and its little body seemed to be a bit disheveled. For a while, I thought it might have knocked itself out. Then, after a rest, it pulled itself together, straightened itself out, and began working its way back towards the pole.

This time, however, it bypassed the black pole and flew itself against the wall, where it was able to secure a foothold on the abrasive surface. It slowly worked its way up the wall and finally reached the area it had been hitting for the past hour or so. It seemed to be happy then and stayed in one place for a long time. We gave up watching and went inside.

On the grasshopper's final trip, it climbed the brick wall rather than the pole. Previously, it climbed to the top of the arch on the pole, then flung itself into the smooth surface of the gutter, but was unable to gain a foothold.

Our last view of the grasshopper saw it above the curve in the gutter just under the eave. The little fellow certainly was persistent.

Yeah, a six-pack of beer and a bug zapper is prime entertainment for us . . . or a six pack and a goofy grasshopper. I'll be glad when this pandemic is over, though, so we can seek entertainment elsewhere.

Summer Is Heating Up

It's been a rather pleasant summer for our area so far this year. 

We've had good rain this June and July, perhaps the most we've seen this time of year since we moved here in 2011. And we've had very few triple digit days. Lawns are quite green for our area for this time of year, and that is a nice change. Usually everything is just about burned up about now.

But we've got quite a bit of summer left -- almost two months, in fact -- so it may heat up and be miserable from here on to fall. Who knows? In fact, our weekly forecast calls for several triple digit days ahead, so things are heating up. But I'm grateful for the pleasant summer we've enjoyed thus far.

And things are heating up in our little community, as well. We seem to be getting back to normal. The activity calendar is almost full again with all sorts of things happening at the clubhouse. This past Thursday night, for example, the residents of our community enjoyed our first birthday dinner in well over a year. We had a good turnout for the event, and there were quite a few faces we did not recognize. A good number of people have moved into RCW during the pandemic. It will be fun to get to know all the newcomers in our little community and make new friends.

In my last entry, I mentioned many of the good things about living here. One of the bad things is the turnover. Our independent living community has a minimum age of 64. As a result, we do get quite a few people moving in and out. As people age, some move on to the next stage, which for many is assisted living. A few just move on to another place, though. And, of course, at our age some of our neighbors pass on to their final reward. So just about every month, one or two folks leave and we get one or two new residents.

A couple we are friendly with will soon be moving to Florida to be closer to two of their children.  They will continue to live independently, which is good. Donna and I would like to get closer to our daughter and her family, but we have not been able to find anything we like in our price range near where they live. So, we'll continue to hang around RCW for a while longer and let Donna pester the folks here.

San Angelo, though with a population of about 100,000, is really something of a small town. We see folks in grocery stores and restaurants that we know, either from RCW or from previous experiences. In fact, we have a rather new maintenance man who joined our community a few months ago. When he was introduced in our local newsletter, I thought I recognized his name. Turns out, he is a former student whom I taught in nearby Ozona in 1991 or so. This past week, he stopped in to change the air filters in our system, and I had a pleasant visit with him. 

Lots of folks from Ozona migrate eventually to Angelo as it is the largest town in the area. Some come here seeking work. especially in the medical community, while others work in retail areas. It's always a pleasant surprise to run into one of them. Many educators from the school system in Ozona retire here, and we see many of them often, as well.

I keep threatening that our lives will get more exciting soon. However, the latest upsurge of COVID cases is making us act cautiously. While our RCW community has a very high rate of vaccinated people, the city as a whole has not done nearly as well. So, Donna and I continue to wear masks anytime we go out. We feel comfortable with our masks and our shots, so we do venture to places we might not have before, such as dining out and the farmers' market, but we still try to be smart about things.

Stay safe out there, and please try to do the right thing.

A Good 5 Years

We moved into our home here at Rio Concho West at the end of June in 2016. It has been a good 5 years for us. I really don't believe I've enjoyed living anywhere as much as I've enjoyed living here.

No place is perfect, and there are certainly things here we can complain about. But overall, I really am quite happy here. All maintenance is provided, so we have nothing to worry about in our house or yard with very few exceptions. I've gotten quite lazy these past 5 years. For example, a couple of days ago, our disposal clogged up. Donna picked up the phone and called the office, and a couple of hours later a polite young man appeared at our door to repair it. And on his way out, he noticed a fire ant bed in our yard, and he treated it as well, without even being asked to. Thanks, David! 

Another lovely West Texas sunrise taken from the mean streets of our little neighborhood.

One of the best things about the neighborhood is the community itself. It is very quiet and peaceful, and we feel very safe here. Our neighbors are great. Walks in the neighborhood are wonderful, as we know almost everyone we encounter on the streets. It's nice to stop and visit folks as we walk around the community. The clubhouse provides us with a place to congregate for dinners, games, and other activities.

Another sunrise. This was taken from the back of the new long term care facility that was recently completed in our neighborhood.

We are located very close to good shopping and restaurants. H.E.B. and Walmart are only a mile or so from our front gate, and Sam's Wholesale is across the street from Walmart. There is also a Lowe's on the other side of Walmart. For eating, we have several fast-food restaurants within a mile of the front gate, such as Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Newk's, Dairy Queen, Taco Bueno, Wendy's, Jimmy John's, and  Firehouse Subs. Just a bit farther, and full-scale restaurants are available, such as Outback, Chili's, and Red Lobster. A couple of urgent care clinics are also within a mile or so of the entrance. A fire station with emergency personnel is behind the Walmart.

You can see some of Donna's flowers in this photo, mostly roses. We walked out a day or two later to discover that deer had eaten every single rose. I guess that's the thanks we get for taking care of that fawn.

True, we do think of leaving from time to time, but that is what we've always done. Donna and I have always been restless; we find it difficult to stay in one place for long. But the longer I stay here, the more reluctant I am to leave. It's a nice feeling to know that if something happened to me, Donna would be living in a safe place among friends.

On to other things . . .

Since last Sunday night, we've had quite a bit of rain. I think it was Sunday night that it rained almost half an inch. A couple of days later, we received almost 2 inches of rain. Then a day or so later, we received just over half an inch, bringing our weekly total thus far to about 3 inches. At 5:00 this morning, it started again and has not let up much. As I write this at 8:15 on a Saturday morning, I'm sure we have received much more than an inch, as it has been coming down quite hard at times. It's nice to know that our reservoirs are filling up. A rainy spell such as this can add enough water to last several years.

We continue to venture out more and more, and we are selectively visiting certain restaurants. It's so liberating to be doing things again. But we still practice proper behavior, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and cleaning our hands, tables, and other items. We never go out without everything we need to feel safe.

As I've said before, Donna and I have always been careful. We've always treated hotel rooms upon arrival (wiping down hard surfaces, spraying beds and chairs, etc.), so this is really not a change for us. But it is disturbing when I'm in a restroom and see men walk out without washing their hands. Have we not learned a single thing over the past year or so? Some of us, I guess, will never learn.

I hope you have a happy July 4th. Be safe out there.

The Fawn

Donna and I were eating lunch earlier this week. Suddenly, from the back patio, there came a screeching that we really didn't recognize. My first response was that we had a cat fight on our patio. 

I went to to the back door and looked out and spotted -- to my utter surprise -- a little fawn. It continued calling, obviously trying to get the attention of its mother. I looked around and saw nothing else unusual.

Donna and I went outside to check things out. The little rascal was very scared, as you might imagine. We knew enough not to touch it, but were concerned why a baby so young was left alone. We watched for a while, and the fawn moved around and found a hiding place on the patio where it felt relatively secure.

The little fawn hid under one of our planter stands while it visited us.

Donna and I eventually moved inside and pondered what to do. I made a couple of phone calls and finally reached our local Texas Parks and Wildlife office. The young lady took my information and said she would contact a game warden. She cautioned me not to touch or feed the fawn, and she told me the mother was probably not far away. Sometimes a young fawn will lie down to rest and the mother will stray away some distance. I guess the baby woke up, could not find its mother, and became distraught. 

Our pretty little day guest.

I can't imagine why the fawn came to our porch. We have lots of deer out here, as you've seen if you've followed my blog. But usually they are settled for the day someplace shortly after sunup. This occurred at lunch, so I can't figure out exactly how this happened. I was concerned that in this heat, the little thing might suffer too much at such a young age.

The fawn thought it was hidden here.

We kept checking on the fawn throughout the day. It never cried out again, but it did stay hunkered down in its hiding place beneath one of our planter stands. The last time I saw it was about 3:45 or so. When I checked about 4:30, it was gone. I guess mama found it; at least, I hope she did.

I was disappointed that no one from TPWD ever contacted me. I guess they don't watch Lone Star Law on television. 

And speaking of deer . . . .

Those scamps have had a good time with our plants this year. We've had several roses start to bloom, but they only last a day or so. The deer find them, and the next day there's nothing left but a stump. Below are some roses just beginning to bloom, but I doubt they will last long. Bambi and its mother will probably stop by for lunch.

These yellow roses are just beginning to bloom. Deer have eaten all the blooms so far this year.

Almost Summer

Summer is quickly approaching. Technically, the solstice occurs at 11:32 PM on June 20, and that marks the official start of summer in the northern hemisphere. It has been getting light around 6:00 AM each morning, depending on your definition of light. Soon, it will be later and later when the sky begins to brighten each morning. I enjoy walking early, so I'll miss those early morning walks. 

We've had some occasional showers, though we are still roughly about 2½ inches below our normal rainfall for this time of year. And even though summer does not start for a few more days, we've had some hot days. In compliance with requests from the electric companies, we've raised our thermostat and turned off any appliances we don't use regularly. We are avoiding the use of high energy appliances during the heat of the day (dryer, oven, etc.), and are eating more "cool" dishes, such as sandwiches. Gosh, a nice bowl of gazpacho sounds good, doesn't it?

We continue to feel more comfortable with the COVID situation. Our numbers are low in this neck of the woods, and I continue to be grateful for that. We still wear our masks when we go out. The main exception to this is when we go to our community clubhouse. Since hospital teams came to us to vaccinate our community, we feel good when we are around our neighbors.

I'll leave you with a few pictures I've taken recently. Stay safe, everyone!

We recently had an early morning storm. We sat on the back patio and watched it move through. We found this cloud formation to be interesting, especially the thin horizontal thread above the darkened portion of cloud in the center of the picture. The wind was really kicking up, and the clouds were moving quite fast.

The sun was just rising as I approached the entrance to our community on a recent walk. I like this picture, with the colors of the sunrise and the attractive street lamps lining the street.

I snapped this photo just a few moments later. I love West Texas sunrises and sunsets.

I came across this rascal on the curb during a walk. I tried scooting my shoe closer so I could zoom in more, but I frightened him and he darted away with amazing speed.

Getting Back to Normal

We are slowly getting back to normal here. We've done some things in the last couple of weeks or so that we had not done in a long time.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Donna and I went to her hometown of Conroe to see her 3 brothers. This occurred the weekend of May 7th, almost one month ago. We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights, and we ate in a restaurant for the first time in well over a year. The group decided to eat at Rudy's BBQ in the Lake Conroe area. It was a good choice. The place is very open, and we felt comfortable there. To top it off, the brisket was great!

We attended grandson Xander's graduation on May 20th. That was difficult for me, as there were so many people there. It's going to take a while for me to get used to being in a crowd; I never have cared for crowds, though.  But we couldn't miss his graduation. He's off to conquer the world now. One down, two to go. Hope we're around when Camden and Jensen graduate.

Donna and I celebrated our 44th anniversary last week. We had been discussing whether or not to eat out. For weeks, we had been watching Red Lobster. We'd drive by while running errands at various times of the day and noticed the parking lot was never very full. We decided it was a safe choice because it is so roomy inside. We got there for a late lunch, sometime after 2:00 PM. Only a few people were there as they were only using a few tables. We had to wait for 10 minutes or so, then were seated. Only about 4 or 5 other tables/booths were occupied at the time. 

We've always liked our Red Lobster. The environment is nice, service is usually very good, the salads are great -- I especially like the Caesar salad -- and the biscuits are wonderful. The only thing about Red Lobster we really aren't crazy about is the seafood. But it's certainly adequate. We had a nice meal and we felt safe.

This past Saturday, we went to the clubhouse for bingo. The clubhouse has gradually been reopening the past few weeks, and local activities are re-starting. I'm not sure how many people in our community have been vaccinated, but I feel that a large number have. I know on the days we went for our 2 shots, quite a few people were there, and we were scheduled in alphabetical order. It was nice to see old friends again. Donna returned to the clubhouse earlier this week to play cards.

And we have trips planned soon. We will probably take a couple of trips this summer. If things continue to improve, then we will schedule more trips for the fall.

It's nice to be getting back to something resembling normalcy. 

In closing, we've had scant rainfall in town this spring; in fact, on the news last night, it was reported that we were over 4 inches below our norm. Now, when you don't get much rain to begin with, 4 inches is substantial. Areas around us have had good rain. Fortunately, most farms in the area have received rain. It just seemed that we weren't getting much rain in town.

Late yesterday, a storm began moving into the area. However, it just grazed the northern part of town and moved on. I thought we were missing out again. Then, sometime after midnight this morning, a storm moved in and seemed to settle in the area. I think I even heard some light hail, but it must have been very small. This has been a good rain. I checked the gauge about 7:45 this morning, and it registered a little more than an inch. I had hoped for more, but I'm thankful for this much. After all, beggars can't be choosers.

Stay safe out there.