Day Fifty Nine...

THE TWENTY EIGHTH (AND THE LAST) OF TWENTY EIGHT THINGS I SEE BETWEEN MY HOUSE AND THE HIGHWAY...in no particular order...

We basically moved out to the country because we liked the country life. After 9/11, we bought the original farm in Red Rock, Texas as a place to get away from the City and also as an answer to the "in case of emergency, cover your windows with plastic sheets and duct tape" philosophy that was the rage in certain political circles. Well, one thing led to another. Soon, we were planting rose bushes and fruit trees, we were painting the walls, and the final blow was when I got the cattle. I was originally going to get some bison (why look at ordinary cattle if you can look at bison), but then I discovered there were no fences for ten acres of land that could adequately hold bison. So we settled on Longhorn Cattle. They are beautiful and gentle animals, and they are fun to have. Of course, they need to be fed and paid some attention to. So, just like with the fruit trees, I was going to the farm one day during the week to do chores, and then we started going to the farm from Thursday to Sunday. Finally, we just decided it was time to do the farm thing, and forget about trying to do it part time.

We found this house, and the house and grounds were nice and we did it. In the long run, I think we are both happy with the decision, and now that the condo in town has been sold, we can concentrate on this wonderful place in the country. We interact more with our neighbors here than we did in Austin. A lot more! We know their names, and we see them on a pretty regular basis, if only to wave to as we pass them on the road. We did not really ever see our neighbors in Austin. So, as I wind up this series of things we see between the house and the highway, I have tried to show you the beauty in the everyday things around here. I hope you guys will all take a couple minutes in your days to see the beauty around you. It is there, I promise.

As a matter of fact, the cool/cold front did make its way through here last night. It was one of those 'can't get comfortable temperature wise' evenings. We started out with the windows open (no covers) then the windows closed (no covers) then the windows closed and under the down comforters. The nuclear weather station was reporting the outside temperature to be about 48 degrees when I got up this morning, so that means it is a little bit cooler than that. And there is supposed to be a little bit of a freeze tomorrow morning. All this and for the last two days, it has been near 90 degrees here.

I have an appointment this morning to take the truck in for service, and after that I will stop at the feed store to buy some strawberry plants. I also need to stop and get gas and diesel in the extra tanks. I filled up the Mule and the tractor yesterday, so I will fill those cans up with fuel and we will be ready for the next thing. Cattle will need to be fed today or tomorrow, and then they will be moved to the other pasture next week. One of our neighbors may come by today to give us some prices for fertilizing the pastures and also putting a weed treatment out, so if we ever do get any rain and the grasses start to grow, we can get a good cutting of hay for the cattle and will not have to keep buying hay. Also a couple friends of ours, Carrie and Margaret may come out here today to look at the grounds. Carrie is a master gardener and likes to play in the dirt, and goodness knows there is plenty of dirt to play in out here. That will be fun if they decide to come out.

When I went outside to get the paper this morning, I was surprised at the gale force winds. Usually I can hear the wind from inside the house, but not this morning. The winds were very strong and it was cold...relatively speaking. I went into Hutto to have the truck serviced, and then there were a variety of errands I needed to run, including getting some strawberry plants for the strawberry jar.

By the time I got home, Carrie and Margaret and Margaret's daughter Liz were here working in the flower beds, and they got an awfully lot of work done, so that was a tremendous start to all the grounds-work that needs to be done, and will be an on-going effort to keep up with it. Once we get the routine down, it will most likely not be so bad.

I just went out and turned off the water to the cattle trough, hopefully this will be the last freeze of the season, but you never know. I suggest you contact someone you care about and ask them two questions; Do you need your flower beds weeded, and secondly, is there anything I can do tonight to keep you warm. You might just be surprised at the response you get!