2011 - Day One Hundred Thirty Six; Monday...

I was back in the office today for the first time in 10 days. There was quite a bit to catch up on. This was also the first time in 10 days that I was up at 4 o'clock in the morning, doing stuff. On my way into the office, there was a pretty sunrise, but as we all know, the sun rises int he east and I was heading west. So this was the theme of a few photos several months back, and it has taken until now to have something to look at in my rear view mirror. Not the best but something interesting anyway.

I was BUSY BUSY BUSY all day long, but I did get a pretty good amount of work done. I don't want to bore you with details, but the market is picking up, and we are just on the cusp of the summer season, and that is a hot time, especially for leasing and property management business. We are seeing nice increases in rental rates, sometimes $300 or $400 over the last rental rate. SWEET. Our Landlords think we are heroes, but we are just responding to the market. Lots of folks are moving to Austin, and they are not all ready to buy a property right now, so they will lease first.

Once I got home, I decided to make a batch of bee juice, so I will have something for the ladies tomorrow. I refer to the bees as ladies (because they can sting) and the chickens as girls (because they can't). So, make a note of that for future reference. We are going through about seven pounds of sugar a day (A DAY) to keep the bees in simple syrup. When you go to HEB with a basket full of four pound sugar bags, they make for a good conversation starter. The syrup is four pounds of sugar to two quarts of water. Stir well, dissolve, pour into quart jars.

After dinner, I had to make a call to a client prospect in San Diego, so I did not get to sit out on the porch for a very long time, but it was a good call, and I hope it will have a good result. Once I did get out on the porch, Mini Vera (the mean girl...maybe aggressive is a better word) was up on the porch, and she very frequently gives the dog a hard time. She likes to sneak up on him and peck at him, and the dog pretty much freaks out. He gets disciplined if he is aggressive towards the chickens, but he claims self-defense, and who could blame him? Anyway, Mini Vera was bothering the dog, and I banished her to the yard. This is a chicken-cam photo of her looking at me like I am an idiot, and she is probably not too far off.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HOT MARKETS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!