Yep, Autumn Is Here

On Monday, September 20 -- a mere 2 days before the first day of fall -- we hit triple digits again. I guess that is Mother Nature's way of reminding us who is in charge. The next day, our high only reached into the mid 80s. Then, on the second day of autumn, I stepped out for my morning walk just before 7:00 AM and was greeted with a temperature of 44 degrees, which is only 12 degrees above freezing.

That's a pretty good weather roller coaster.

Fallen acorns litter the streets, and they snap, crackle, and pop under my feet as I plod along on my morning walks. Our maintenance people will be quite busy for the next couple of months keeping the streets clean of fallen limbs, acorns, and leaves. It's a never-ending job for them.

And speaking of our maintenance people, one stopped in a few days ago to work on our garbage disposal. While David was here, we asked him about some snake rumors we had been hearing. Our next-door neighbor had told us a few days before about all the snakes that had been spotted in the neighborhood. David verified this, saying he had killed 25 rattlesnakes in recent weeks. He had also been bitten once, and showed us the fang marks still visible on his lower leg. With the nights cooling, those rascals have been seeking warm places to spend the nights, and some have been creeping into garages. 

We took another walk out of the neighborhood a few days ago. It had probably been at least 2 or more years since we had walked on the O.C. Fisher dam, so we decided to visit it again for an early morning walk. It's really a pleasant place to walk because it is level and there is no traffic. But it is also exposed to weather since it is void of trees and brush. We enjoyed the lovely sunrise that morning, and we saw numerous deer. Hard to go wrong when you get to experience those things.

Sunrise over San Angelo. You can see our small collection of downtown buildings along the right horizon.

We used to walk quite frequently at the dam. It's only a 2 or 3 mile drive from our house. The entire length of the dam is about 7 miles, so you can rack up some mileage there if you want. But for every mile you walk out, that is one mile you have to walk back in. The 360 degree views are quite nice. 

We spotted these pretty girls at the base of the dam on our way back in.

Donna went fishing with two friends a couple of days ago. They didn't have many bites, but they seemed to enjoy being outside and visiting. It's a good way to pass the time. 

Our COVID numbers do seem to be improving, but we still have a long way to go. Numbers will drop over a few days, then jump up briefly for a day or two. Overall, there is improvement. Hospital numbers are steadily dropping, but deaths from COVID are holding steady. Almost all deaths are from unvaccinated folks. There are a few deaths from vaccinated folks, but these are almost exclusively among folks in their 60s or older.

We continue to await approval of booster shots for the Moderna vaccine. We'll feel better about things once we get that behind us. We get flu shots next week.

As always, stay safe out there, and get out and enjoy this fall weather. It only comes around once a year, you know.

Cool Mornings

For the past week to 10 days, my morning walks have been very pleasant. The temps when I leave the house have hovered just over 60 degrees. In fact, last Saturday it was 58 when I started my walk. This has been some great walking weather. The extended forecast indicates these temps will remain. On the high end, the highs have been in the lower 90s. This coming week, we should see daily highs drop into the mid to lower 80s according to local weather reports. Yep, autumn is not far away.

Those of you on Facebook saw that Miss Donna enjoyed another birthday. She had lots of cards and electronic messages on her special day. Most people age when they have a birthday, but Miss Donna gets younger. Although we are not going inside restaurants these days, I did treat the old girl to a Whataburger. We took our burgers to Lake Nasworthy and parked along the lake shore under the flight path of incoming planes, and there were lots of planes that day. I guess they were practicing their approaches, because they came in low and slow just over our heads. It's fun to watch them approach across the lake. The temp was in the low 80s at the time, so with our low humidity and a slight breeze and parked in the shade of some mesquites, it was very pleasant. 

One of the many planes that dive-bombed us while we enjoyed lunch.

Donna loves watching planes. From our patio, we can see lots of activity at our regional airport. Goodfellow AFB uses the airport for training, and Angelo State University now offers training out there as well. There is always something in the skies out there to watch. 

After our lunch, I drove the birthday girl through Spring Creek Park, where we spotted a little fox and several deer. We seldom go to this park without seeing wildlife. It's so nice to be able to leave city noises and activity behind in just a few minutes. We do enjoy living here.

This shot is a bit grainy, and I apologize for that. The fox was eating some popcorn someone had dumped out. Notice the deer watching everything that is going on.

A few days later, we rose early and headed to Middle Concho Park for a walk. This park is located on the north bank of the Middle Concho River between the Twin Buttes dam and Lake Nasworthy. It is a good-sized park with plenty of trees. It was just getting light as we arrived, and deer were everywhere. We probably saw 3 or 4 dozen altogether. The water was very smooth, and a light mist rose in places. It was a good walk.

Mist rising from the smooth water of the Middle Concho River in the early morning light.

These ducks are all in-a-row near a boat ramp in the general area where the Middle Concho River and Spring Creek merge before forming Lake Nasworthy.

Foundations from an old railroad trestle that spanned the Middle Concho before the area lakes were developed.

Very large house on a hill across the river from the park. There are several nice homes that sit on that side of the river.

Other than that, things have been peaceful here. The number of our active COVID cases has finally started decreasing. For a while, our daily count was averaging about 150 or close to it, but it is now under 100. We continue to monitor the news for information about booster shots, but right now there seems to be a great deal of confusion about that. We'll just continue to follow CDC guidelines and patiently wait for new developments. We need to get our flu shots.

I hope all of you are safe and sound.

Hello, September

We begin transitioning to autumn this month. I always enjoy this change to cooler weather. Now, don't misunderstand me; I'm not a fan of cold weather. However, I do enjoy crisp days and cool nights. It's one of the things I remember most fondly of our travel trailer days. I always enjoyed those times in state parks huddled about a blazing camp fire. 

We've not been doing much, just doing normal things around the house and trying to stay healthy. Donna goes out and terrorizes the fish at Lake Nasworthy from time to time. We both continue our walks, though Donna is not quite as regular in this exercise as I am. 

The turkeys have been grazing in our back yard quite a bit lately. I snapped this picture of a turkey that just plopped down for a rest beside our little oak tree late one day.

We've been having a few visitors lately, and the type we don't like. In the past few weeks, we've had a number of scorpions in the house. Perhaps it's due to the rain, perhaps the heat. Whatever, they are certainly unwelcome. One day, I noticed a couple of thin rust-colored strands extending from behind a light switch cover plate. They seemed to be blowing in a breeze, perhaps from the ceiling fan or air conditioner. I was curious, so I removed the plate. Well, inside I found a scorpion; it was its pincers that were extending from behind the plate..

On another morning, I went into the kitchen barefoot. Heck, I normally go barefoot in the house during the warmer months. I did not turn on the light this particular morning; I was just making my way around using the early morning light from the window over the sink. I stepped on something, and it felt rather crispy, somewhat like I would expect a thin piece of cardboard to feel. I switched on the light, and there was a scorpion. At first I thought it was dead since it had not stung me, but when I lightly tapped it with a shoe, it began moving. 

I've found a couple more of the little rascals around, but usually they are dead. We have our house treated every 3 months or so; as a result, most of the time we find only dead invaders. Needless to say, we've both been wearing slippers in the house lately. The exterminators are coming this week, thankfully.

Other turkeys grazing in the yard. Notice how green the grass is. That is unusual for this time of year in this part of the state.

We've also had lots of grasshoppers this year. They are all over the porches, hanging on to window screens, and just basically getting into everything. They really aren't a problem, though.

But we have been without some other visitors this year. Ever since we moved in just over 5 years ago, we have battled the martins. Now, I enjoy martins from a gardening perspective. Those little rascals can certainly aid in a gardener's battle against unwanted insects. But from the point of view of a home owner, I don't really care for them. They can make some really nasty nests in the most unlikely places. One of their favorite places to perch is on our patio ceiling fan and drop little bombs around. We retaliate by turning on the fan when we see them.

This is the turkey that was sitting in the top picture above. 

For some reason, this year they have not been a problem. I don't know what is different. We've had a little cooler weather -- but not that much. We've had a little extra rain -- but not that much. And we've had more locusts than normal. Regardless of what is keeping them away, Donna and I are grateful.

Boy, my heart goes out to southern Louisiana. Since Katrina, they have really been pounded by storms. Wildfires out west, hurricanes along the coast, tornadoes all over the place, and flooding all over the east. Wow! I certainly can't complain about our weather when I consider all of these things. Count your blessings!

Be safe out there. 

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.