What a Difference a Day Makes!!

Hello to all. Tis Tuesday afternoon, Feb 27 and the weather is beautiful, but you should have been here on Saturday. DFW Airport recorded wind gusts of 56mph. It was blowing so strong that going outside into it was oppressive. Needless to say, it blew more shingles off my roof. Early in the afternoon, I looked out to the western horizon and I could see Lubbock topsoil coming my way. I took some pictures of it once it arrived. I had seen worse, but this was a pretty good one. The next day, it had calmed down and I took a picture looking off to the west. What a difference! I had picked up my 30 pine seedlings on Friday from the Wise County Soil Conservation District and I also bought 4 grape vines. I tried grapevines last year but they succombed to the drought at an early age. This year I intend to also plant blackberries along my neighbors nice fence. Ha! I tried that last year but they too succombed. Anyway, I planted the four grapevines and about 12 of the thirty trees. When I awoke on Monday, and drug my tired/sore and fat ass out of the rack, I remembered why I do the N-Work on Saturday instead of Sunday. Anyway, I'll be finishing up the tree planting this coming Saturday. I have a few Bluebonnets coming along and I'm looking forward to their beautiful hue toward the last of March. Last fall I sowed Indian Paint Brushes and a wildflower mix. Hopefully I'll be rewareded this spring. The Bubba Tub collapsed in the wind. The inflatable tub that ran around the top cracked in the cold, releasing the air. On Saturday the wind started the water lapping over the side and a lap became a river and eventually most all of the water drained overboard. I'm skeptical that the inner tube can be patched after two years of UV, Heat an Cold. Anyway, I'm posting some pictures. Older Whiskey...

More Pictures From The Wandering Winos!!

Hello all, Well, it is now Thursday evening and the weather is beautiful outside in the 8o's. Since it is Thursday, McBeefy will not be dragging me to the park to walk as he has class this evening and we walk on MWF. Although the weather is beautiful the drought seems to coming back as it has been two weeks now since we've had any real precip. Maybe some this weekend though. Tomorrow morning I go to the Wise County Soil and Water Conservation Facility to pick up my 30 replacement pine seedlings. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend. I have a wild hare and I'm looking at web sites and thinking about raising Quail on my back 40. There is a place in Kentucky that sells eggs and baby birds. I'm probably crazy for thinking about it but Quail don't really live around here. I guess it is too dry or something. Dove, on the other hand, are very prolific. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to raise them and release them into the wild. We have a few Jack Rabbits that come into the yard occassionally but I think they are on the endangered list. We had a family of 4 about two years ago but I've not seen any for a while. Skunks, Possums, Coons and Armadillos however manage well with the encroachment of man on their habitat. I'm also wanting to put out some grape vines. I planted four last year but the drought sent them to the promised land. Anyway, hopefully these pictures will post. Some of them are from the Wildflower Seed Farm just east of Fredericksbug. Not the huge wind chime. Enough for now. Older Whiskey...

Tales of the Winos

Hello to one and all. Tis Monday, Feb. 19th. around 6 pm and I have some new pictures to post. Elizabeth and I took a long weekend this weekend and went to Fredericksburg. We had a great time, touring the wineries, feasting on German food, and just kickin' back. The weather co-operated with lots of sunshine and mild (60s) temperature. They were having the Texas Wine Trail thing going on so we toured about 6 wieneries, tasting and buying at all of them. Our favorite is by far The Fredericksburg Winery, located in downtown Fredericksburg. It is the only place where we tasted the wines and liked them all. Anyway, we saw some neat and historic places and I am enclosing pictures. Some of the pictures, taken inside of the Luchenbach store/post office show products that have been on the shelf, I know, at least 40 years. It is really a quaint place. Although Waylon and Willie made it famous with the song in the late 70s, My first recollection of it was on the first Album cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's, circa 1972/73. There were a lot of people there camping out. The wineries come in every fashion, from very expensive construction to very low-budget converted houses. I have finally learned enough about wine to tell what I like or don't like. It's definintely a work in progress. The most unique was The Sister Creek Winery located in an old cotten gin at Sister Creek, just about 15 miles south of Luchenbach. That's where the pictures of me and the kegs are from. The wine industry is really taking off and the numbers of the wineries are growing every year. I doubt that it will ever overtake the Napa Valley, but they are making great strides. Just within the last year, The Texoma Viticultural District was established in North Texas, including the area where I live. There are easily a dozen wineries around DFW. Oh well, it gives the wife and I something to do on weekends. Anyway, I'll try to post some pictures. Salut!!!!

Onion Planting Time / See-Saw Weather

Hello to all my fan club. I know that it has been a while since I've posted but I've been pretty busy and my camera has been out of place. I have lived in Texas for 37 years now and I will never get used to how drastically the friggin weather can change. It got up to 63 here yesterday but has been in the 40's all day today. Last week, on Tuesday, it got up to 68. On Wednesday, it got up to 76. On Thursday it struggled to get out of the 30s. Crazy Stuff, but it has always been like that in the winter time. What it lacks in consistency in winter, it makes up for in summer as you can always count on it being HOT!! The Elder Son, McBeefy, and I went for a walk last Thursday. Some of the pictures are from our walking trail. On Saturday I planted Onions and on Sunday I planted garlic. The dead plant in the picture is our beautiful Creeping Rosemary plant. We planted it the first year we moved in and it has been a phenominal plant. I call it our galloping rosemary. Anyway, it has always survived the winters just fine but for some reason, this year, it forze its' ass off. I think it may have to do with the fact that it had been so dry here and it was blooming like crazy all through November and up into December. I think that all the new growth was just too tender to survive the heavy freeze we got in December. Anyway, I'm going to have to cut it way back and let it come back when it warms up. We have another Rosemary in the yard, not a creeper, and it is doing just fine. As a matter of fact, this last weekend as I was planting oinons, I noticed that it is blooming. Well, today is the anniversary for Liz and me. 7 years of a good marriage. We are going to Fredericksburg for the weekend, leaving Friday morning. We'll be sampling the wines at the Hill Country Wineries and will probably stop at Luchenbach. Anyway, enough for now. I hope to post the pictures ok.