2011 - Day Two Hundred Twelve; Sunday...

OKAY THIS IS GETTING SERIOUS. This is the 47th day this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. Today is day two hundred twelve (and I will understand if you get that confused with the temperature today). As I write this, our nuclear atomic clock weather stations (we have two) report the temperature to be 104 degrees (those gauges are in the shade, too) and they are within .3 degrees of each other. NOW, the reason I am reporting that this is more serious today than on any of the other days is, we saw our first dead cow today in what had once been a stock tank. I think owner mistreatment of the animal is much more to blame for the death than the weather, but the weather has certainly played a role. We took the boy dog for a ride this morning, and we saw the bull laying in the bottom of the tank, and remarked that it looked like it was dead. Several hours later (when we were on our way to Georgetown) I wanted to go back and check on the bull, and indeed it was dead. There was plenty of grass around for it to graze on, but I could see no evidence of any water. COW ABUSE, but I will have to give part of the blame to the drought. And no, I did not record the visual evidence for documentation purposes.

This is a photo of the sunset from last night. I took this picture when I was on my way out to the chicken coop to put the girls to bed. As I was going out to the coop, I felt 13 or 14 drops of rain on my head. It was scary enough that I went back inside to tell Jody about the phenomenon, and while I was in the coop, he came outside and reported seven or eight drops on his head. But, it was an interesting experience. I am not kidding, there were only several drops of rain, not even enough to count as sprinkles.

We have gone through plenty of water today. I have begun watering the slab as well as watering plants. I think I can at least keep the slab from buckling if I water around the edges of the house on a weekly basis. Not sure if I will be able to keep the plants alive, but I will be able to save some of them. We are (I am pretty sure) in the second phase of water restrictions here, and we need to watch the water usage carefully. The cattle are going through good bit of water also, and I just went out to the pastures to make sure their troughs were full of water. No need for them to suffer any more than they already are.

Jody is really a wizard when it comes to orchids. He has the touch, and this is another one of his orchids that is blooming again. The windows in the den and the breakfast room are perfect for orchids and African violets. Bright light but no direct or hot sunlight. Perfect for these beautiful blooming plants.

This will be a busy week ahead of me, and who can really comprehend the fact that it is the first week of August already? Where is the year going? When will the heat end? When will we have rain? Where have all the flowers gone? When did we become annexed by southern California?

Whatever...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, DEAD CATTLE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Eleven; Saturday...

The day started off nicely enough, as is evidenced by this lovely sunrise. I wonder if record setting temperatures is the cause of very nice sunrises for about the last week or ten days. BUT, I am no longer fooled by these miracles of nature. Fool me once, shame on me, etc. Now I am aware that there is and will never again be a chance of rain in our forecasts. IT IS NEVER GOING TO RAIN AGAIN, for all practical purposes. NOW...I DARE Mother Nature to prove me wrong. I DOUBLE DOG DARE HER in fact. Let's see now, if she will take the bait.

I stayed in bed a good long while this morning, but I was still the first one up. I went out and fed the bees and did my 'in the dark' chores. Jody got up, we had coffee and read the newspaper, and then I went outside and started watering plants (I continue on my every other day schedule). We are in the mode to survive, not to thrive. We are just trying to keep most of the stuff around the house alive. ANYWAY, as I was watering (and pulling a weed here and there) I got a call from my friend Dolise who was about to go and jump out of an airplane with a friend of hers to celebrate the milestone birthday of a friend.

So, I had known Dolise was going to do this for at least a couple weeks, and since the place they were jumping from was just about ten miles from the house, we decided to go and watch. When we got there, we were surprised to see a few other friends of ours there, particularly John and Susan. WELL, it turns out the birthday girl was John's mother Darcy. I had heard Darcy's name mentioned, but I had no idea she was John's mother, so that was quite a surprise. Bottom line, it was really interesting and everyone made it back to terra-firma with no issues. It is, however, giving me ideas about my birthday celebration in just a few months. We shall see. This is a photo of Dolise pre-take off. That parachute material is SO 1980's however...

After the jump, Jody and I came back home for a few minutes, and then we reassembled for a trip into Georgetown. We made a few stops (including to HEB where I picked up wine and bagels, all the important stuff) and then we headed to the Dairy Queen. Jody had a 'nutter butter' Blizzard, and I went with the Hot Fudge Sundae. I have never been as adventurous in the culinary arena as Jody; once I find something I like, I pretty much stick with it.

We came home and we both went down for naps, and I felt like I weighed about a thousand pounds in my big blue chair in the den. I think I was out for at least a couple hours. I was finally able to get up and go out and let the new chicks loose in the enclosed pen. I had tried several times to let them loose, but every time I went out there, there was one of the big girls sitting in the nesting boxes. I finally seized on the chance, and they were not at all hesitant in going outside and even climbing up on the outside roost. Well, at least two of them contemplated the climb, and at least one was successful. They are growing up quickly, and in another couple weeks, they will be 'free-range' girls with their big sisters.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SKY-DIVING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Ten; Friday...

What a loser Tropical Storm this one is. Here I go with my disclaimer; I hope there is no property damage or loss of life from this storm, BUT the only thing we are getting out of it is some wind and that makes leaves in the pool. What a bummer. I hope we get a little bit of rain from it at least.

I worked from the house today, we had some service folks out and I wanted to be here. I did manage to get quite a bit of work done, so that was nice. After everyone left, Jody and I had some errands to run, and as long as we were in Georgetown anyway, we stopped off and had hot fudge sundaes at the DQ. Wonderful. I just love weekends!

One of my new clients is moving from her home and she was selling this wicker furniture. It is not anywhere close to new, but it was a deal so we could not pass it up. I think we will probably stain it or seal it in the spring, but for now it makes an inviting addition to our front yard.

I let the little chicks run in the enclosed pen for several hours today, and they like that very much. I a couple more weeks, they will be out running in the yard, and I hope they are smart enough to be wary of predators. I hope so anyway.

NEWS FLASH: The broody girl is no longer broody, and she was even roosting last night. I wonder if it was the fan I put out there in the coop? Whatever it was, it was like turning off a light switch. One second you could not get her out of the nesting box, the next minute she was up and gone and acting like a chicken again.

Interesting!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NO RAIN HERE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Nine; Thursday...

Do not judge a book by its' cover, and do not judge a day by its' sunrise. Although the day was a really good one all things considered, it was still HOT and MUGGY and nothing at all like you would have imagined if you were to judge the day by its' sunrise. BUT, that said, it was not a terrible day.

Made it to the Travis County Court House in time for my 9 o'clock call. I am the court appointed receiver for a property in an estate with MANY heirs, and the hearing went well, and I am learning this niche of the business as I go. I hope that this will be a nice market for me, but the risks and liabilities of these types of transactions are somewhat higher than the ordinary practice of real estate. Care and caution are the norm here, but I hope to be a quick learner.

After the court hearing, I was back in the office for a few minutes, and then I headed out to the Austin Chapter of the Women's Council of REALTORS for the monthly meeting. I attended an new member orientation that covered the history of the Chapter and then there was the luncheon and the election of the Chapter Officers for the coming year. One of our agents (Chris) was elected the position of Chairman Elect, and he will take the reins of Chair for the Austin Chapter in 2013. Congratulations to Chris for all his hard work.

Back to the office to do some power real estate, and then I was headed home by about 4:30. Once I got home, I did a chicken check, and all is well with ALL of the chickens. Afterwards, Jody and I took a dip in the pool, and we sat out on the patio for a while. Both of the Vera's came and joined us, and they are both big on being petted. Chickens as pets was a totally unknown concept to me, and I would probably not have believed it if I had not experienced it for myself. I am not sure if the new chicks will be this 'pet-like' but it will be nice if they are. One of the new chicks (as you can see in this photo) is almost snow white. Maybe her new name. Was Snow Whites name Snow What? Did she have a real name? HELP ME!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MORE HEAT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Eight; Wednesday...

Okay, I will get right to the disclaimer here before I get too far. I hope I do not regret these words, but here goes...

OOOOOOOOOO! Tropical Storm Don. I am shaking in my pink knock-off Crocs. Doesn't the name 'Tropical Storm Don' just set your heart to pounding with anticipation of devastation and destruction? TROPICAL STORM DON. It is kind of like naming a vampire Maurice; you are supposed to be afraid, but really, Maurice? Humpf. BUT,that is their story and they are sticking to it. Right now, we have a 30% chance of rain over the weekend, and it is all on account of TROPICAL STORM DON. Well I say BRING IT ON! We are waiting for you. I will believe it when I see a couple inches of rain in my rain gauge. Blah, blah, blah, big whoop! Whatever.

Okay, now having said that, I will go on to discuss the fact that we are having Jody (the other Jody) work on our tanks in the back (digging a new tank and cleaning out the other one), and because of that, a Tropical Storm named Don has just the impetus of dumping 15 or 20 inches of rain on a very localized area (about the size of two tanks) in a very localized locale, namely JB Acres. It will not surprise me a bit if we get a lot of rain and the bull dozer gets stuck up to its' axles in mud. And if you have ever lived through Blackland Prairie Mud, you know that will take some time to undo.

I expect my next big project will be to install an air conditioner in the chicken coop. The little chicks have always had a fan on them in this extreme heat, I think today is day 43 over 100 degrees. This evening, I put a nice oscillating fan in the big girls coop, and the next step (logical enough) will be to put in an air conditioner. I will try my very best to resist that temptation. The little girls got another opportunity to play in the screened in area this afternoon, and pretty much drove the broody big girl out of her nest and into exile. I do not think there will be too much trouble with the big girls pecking at the little girls if today was any indication. Only time will tell. This is another picture of the little girls, and you can see more clearly my favorite (the black and white one) even though there is no such thing as favorites. I care for all the girls equally. BUT, it interesting that I tend to favor black and white cattle so I naturally favor black and white chickens.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, REALLY, DON?, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Seven; Tuesday...

The official high temperature in Austin today was (officially) 'Who Give a Sh*t'. No one cares what the high temperatures are anymore. Who Gives a Sh*t? The thermometer in my car said 108 degrees, and all I really know is (depending on your definition of the word 'is' is) is that it IS TOO FREAKING HOT! I am tired of these idyllic sunrises that look like something out of a fairy tale. IT IS TOO HOT! Today was our 42nd day of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees this year, BUT WHO IS COUNTING? Oh, that would be me. Sorry... We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming. As you were...

I did not leave the office today except to go see why the alarm on my car was going off (no reason I can tell) and to check the mail (nothing really interesting. Otherwise, I spent the day procrastinating (I have taken a vow to make progress on my 2010 Income Taxes), and I will do ALMOST ANYTHING to keep from doing that. I did make good progress on my package for a designation I have worked a couple years towards, and I will be getting that information in the mail in a week or so. Otherwise, I checked my e-mail about a thousand times, and checked FaceBook a couple hundred times. Mix in with that two conference calls and a late afternoon appointment, and you have the makings on my day.

After I got home this afternoon, I went out and checked on the chickens. They have pretty much stayed incognito this afternoon, I finally was able to get a good count on them early this evening. I was a little bitty bit afraid they might have also succumbed to the heat, but they are all accounted for. I am thinking of installing a fan in the coop to give them a little reprieve from the heat. It can't hurt. We have pretty much quit keeping track of the egg production, because it is pretty much down to nothing. A couple eggs a day are what we are getting. The new little chicks are doing really nicely, and this is a photo I took of them this afternoon. My favorite one (although I have no favorites) is the black and white one on the left side. It is really interesting to watch how their foliage is coming out, not at all what I would have expected when they were just a few days old. A couple of them look like pheasants, one is solid white, one is kind of yellow, and then there is the black and white one. Very interesting.

Jody (the other Jody) arrived today to work on the stock tanks. I have confidence that it will rain again in Texas before Hell freezes over. Of course, Hell could easily freeze over in Texas sometime between now and September, stranger things have happened. BUT, Jody is working to build us a new stock tank in the east pasture, and he is going to clean out the tank in the west pasture. He is also going to doze down the berm that is between the house and the pastures, and see if he can get the water from the 'natural seep' to drain into the new tank. It is a pretty ambitious project, and it shows we Texans have faith that it will actually rain again in our lifetime. At least once.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NEW TANKS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Six; Monday...

High temperature today in Austin was officially 105 degrees, and it looks like there is no relief in site. On another note, electric usage and consumption of natural gas has decreased sharply since it is no longer necessary to use either of those fuels for cooking of heating water. It was also reported today, that between Hell and Austin there is nothing but a wire fence, and it is down. We are sending a crew to cover that breaking news story, and we expect to have video and reaction for you on our ten o'clock broadcast. Now, back to you in the studio...

Okay, so this is our 41st day of temperatures over 100 degrees this year. The highest I saw it in my car today was 107; Jody said the highest he saw on our nuclear weather station was 106. My friend Vanessa posted a picture on her FaceBook page that the thermometer in her car read 117 degrees. WTF? CMAO! Enough already!

You would not even suspect by looking at the sunrise this morning that it was going to be another scorcher here in central Texas, but it was. I took this photo of the beautiful sunrise KNOWING that it was just a ruse to get me to let down my guard and think it would be a nice day, but nooooo...

Anyway...

Today was a day full of meetings, and all things considered, it was a pretty darned nice day. I got an incredible amount of work done and that is always a good thing. The chickens are all doing well, the cattle seem to be coping with the heat, it is just miserable outside. BUT, we will all survive this, and go on to complaining about rain and cold weather before you know it. BRING IT ON!

When I was out skimming the pool this afternoon, I skimmed up this little egg that was floating on the surface. We do not know what it is (not one of our chicken eggs that is for sure), but we suspect it is one of the little swallows eggs that hang all around the house. Precious little egg...

Interestingly as well, we think the heat is turning the chickens into meat eaters. We were having dinner tonight in the breakfast area, and one of the Vera's had a dead bird in its mouth. We doubt that she actually killed the bird, but she most likely found it and made the best of a bad situation. The heat is taking a large toll on all the animal life around here.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, WIRE FENCES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Five; Sunday...

I can think of very little redeeming qualities of the continued heat (and no rain) that we are succumbing to here in central Texas. The high temperature in Austin today was 105 degrees, and that makes the 40th day this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. The only thing I can think of that is a good thing about the heat and no rain is that the grass has not needed to be cut in quite some time. The weeds are doing wonderfully well, but the grass and the cultivated plants are desperate for a good general rain. I am still not convinced that my attempts to keep things watered are going to be triumphant. I still think I am losing the battle, and the evidence is growing not only by the day, but also by the degree.

Some things are doing well with the watering I am giving them, like the purslane. I absolutely adore purslane, and it seems to thrive with nothing more than water and sun. The four o'clocks are wilting and puny, the roses we planted are either not getting enough water or I am drowning them (can't really tell which), I think I drowned the New Guinea Impatiens, but the geraniums seem to be doing nicely. The gardenia has new blooms on it today, and the lab-lab bean (hyacinth bean) is doing wonderfully well. The grapes for the most part, are doing well and are beginning to climb. As reported a few weeks ago, all the peaches are gone (trees are surviving, just the fruit has been robbed) and we now suspect raccoons. We have it on good authority that it was most likely raccoons. Bless their hearts... Whatever...

It was really much too hot to do much of anything today, but it seems I got a lot done in spite of that. Cattle fed, fresh hay taken out to them, unloaded the truck of eleven bags of feed and two molasses buckets (200 pounds each). Fed chickens and chicks, and let the chicks loose in the chicken coop and covered pen. They seemed to like that very much, and a couple of the big girls paid attention to them and did not seem too aggressive with them. I will keep this introduction to the outside going for another couple weekends, and then they will be pretty much on their own. Within three weeks, they will be integrated with the big girls, and roam free during the days. My little ones are growing up!

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

2011 - Day Two Hundred Four; Saturday...

Official high temperature in Austin today was 104 degrees, and that makes it 39 days so far this year with temperatures over 100 degrees. There is a move going on that everyone will be moving to Colorado in the near future. Actually, that would solve a lot of problems for a lot of people; if everyone moves, then those of us who stay here will have enough water, and plenty of room on the expressways. Good plan is what I am saying. GO!

I was in bed until almost 7 o'clock this morning. Got up, suited up and went out and fed the bees and did a few chores around the house. We had a 10 o'clock appointment, and I needed to get cattle feed in Taylor, so I left just a little after 8 o'clock, and made it home by a little after 9 o'clock. I came back with two molasses buckets, 11 sacks of cattle feed, a sack of bird food and two bags of salt for the water softener. Taylor was once a major railroad hub (not as big as Temple, but still a hub) and there is still evidence that it is still a train center. Whenever I go to the feed store in Taylor, I enjoy looking at the activity in the rail yard. This is a photo I took of a couple engines sitting in the yard, waiting for something to do.

Eventually we headed into Georgetown which is a pretty expected thing for us to do on the weekends. We made a couple stops before we ended up at the Dairy Queen. I forgot to take either my cell phone OR the camera, and that is something I never do. It was kind of an odd feeling to be without both of those, and this is a 'do-it-yourself' photo. There were a couple things I could have photographed while we were out (including about 150 motorcycles parked at Dale's Essenhaus in Walburg), but since I failed to take the camera, you just need to use your imagination.

I evicted all of the chickens (including the broody one) from the coop and their pen this morning for about three or four hours, to give the new chicks a chance to explore. I did not see any of the chicks on the outside of the coop but I did see a couple of them exploring the coop. I will do that again tomorrow and see if any of them venture outside. The broody girl was anxious to get back onto her nest (for whatever reason) and when I was checking out the chicks she was looking in the window watching us. Jody thinks she might be protective of the chicks, since she is sitting on the nest all the time. Who knows?

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HIGH TEMPS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Three; Friday...

Years and years ago, when I had a much shorter commute to and from work, I would listen to 'The Sam and Bob Show' in the mornings. Yep, it really was a long time ago. BUT, every Friday at about 7 o'clock, they would play a Friday Song (not really sure what the name of the song is) and I liked it a lot. I tried finding it on the Internet with no luck. It seems some crazy woman got her fifteen minutes of fame with another version of a Friday Song, and she has ruined it for old geezers like me. But, I can remember some of it, and I will find it eventually, most likely when I am not interested in finding it. Needless to say, IT'S FRIDAY, and I am doing a little IT'S FRIDAY HAPPY DANCE here while I author this journal entry. ENJOY!

A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou. Can you pass me a little bit more thou, please. Today, it is more like 'A glass of wine, a piece of pie, and the chickens'! I just went out to check on the chickens, and everything seems to be going nicely. We got four eggs today, so that is a big day since it has been so hot. And the little chicks are not so little anymore. I think I will actually be able to tell these chicks apart from one another, which means I will be needing to come up with six chick names in the near future. They are all really pretty, and in this photo you can see that their legs are a blue/green color. They are a little over five weeks old right now (we have had them for five weeks and a day), but we have no idea how old they were when we got them. We expect they were three to four days old when we got them. I cannot wait to see what their eggs look like, they are supposed to be a really pretty blue color. BUT, there is no alternative but to wait. I have big plans for the chicks over the weekend, and I will let you know how that all goes.

REALLY - REALLY? This is all bordering on the ridiculous! On my way home this afternoon, the outside temperature was registering 107 degrees. The official high temperature in Austin today was a breezy 103 degrees. This is our 37th day this year over 100 degrees, which put us in line for breaking a record of about 70 days over 100 degrees (set back in the previous century sometime). Two or three years ago we missed the record by one day, but this year it looks like we may surpass it. We are really keeping our eyes on the tropics, because that is seemingly our only hope for rain in the near future. And that is not so near, really.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BLUE LEGGED CHICKS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred Two; Thursday...

Getting a jump-start on my blog today, because I am heading off to the Dell Diamond this afternoon to watch the Round Rock Express DEFEAT (remember Dewey and Truman) the New Orleans Zephyrs. It is REALTOR night tonight, and a benefit for TREPAC. If you do not know what I am talking about, ask me!

Nice day today in the office, spent catching up with stuff that did not get caught up on earlier in the week. I did get out to do my Meals-On-Wheels route late this morning, and that was great. My route has been pretty consistent for the last several months; eight clients on the same street, one in a single family home, two in one apartment complex and five in another complex. Pretty much an easy route, and I have been delivering to them for a good while, which makes it nice. It is nice to get to know the clients.

Still no rain, but there is a small chance every day this week. The wind is blowing nicely right now, and it is kind of cloudy, but it is really hot. Maybe it will rain tonight at the ball park, that will be perfect! If that is the case, I will just let it be.

WELL...there was no rain at the game tonight, and when I left the hometown team was losing 6 zip. As soon as I got into the parking lot, there was a huge and prolonged roar, so I think our team was up to something good, just not sure what it was. I will check out the score tomorrow morning in the paper, and report back to you.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BALL GAMES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred One; Wednesday...

Have I put it into words lately that I am the luckiest man in the world? The most fortunate, luckiest, happiest guy around? Lots of people think THEY are the luckiest, but I know better. All you need to do (and you can do this with me sometime if you want to) is to pick up a six pack on the way home (consumption at one sitting is not required), change clothes, go feed the cattle, sit in the big-middle of the pasture and enjoy life. There are LOTS of things that contribute to me being the luckiest man in the world, and I have to tell you, the sum of the parts is much greater than the parts individually. Appreciation is key. We are all in control of our own destinies, and there are no excuses for the good and/or the bad that befalls us. We are all in control (unless we are not). Whatever...

I am also, as you probably know, a big believer in seeing beautiful things all around me. Like clouds. When is the last time you took a minute and stopped to really appreciate a cloud. I know most of us just wonder if there is any rain in those clouds lately, but clouds are miracles in and of themselves. This is what the clouds looked like last night by the time I got a hold of my camera to make proper documentation. There was pretty much a pink sky everywhere; 360 degrees of pinkness. That is a lot of pink. And it was ever changing. You have to pay careful attention.

AND, there were more clouds today. Beautiful, billowing clouds all around. I remember when I was a kid, I wondered how the angels stayed up there, why didn't they fall to earth? Of course, I also used to believe that, when Marshall Dillon shot someone on the television, I thought they were really dead. No one had taken the time to talk with me about 'acting', I just thought their time had come. No one had ever really told me what it meant to die, either, but I knew it was not a good thing. BUT, then again, I never asked anyone about it either. I just 'went along'. Now, I ask questions. Kind of making up for lost time.

I got the cattle fed and put out a fresh bale of hay for them this afternoon. I also went out and made sure the chickens and chicks had plenty of feed and water. My friend Sharon gave me a call today to tell my about electrolytes you can add to the chickens water in the summer to help them stay hydrated. She said her chickens love it, she calls is 'chicken kool-aid'. Really, I can see it now, here chick-chick-chick, want some kool-aid. I think they have the number for the ASPCA on speed dial. BUT, Sharon is going to pick me us some and I will let you know how it all plays out.

One of the little chicks was being a smart aleck today and showing me how she can fly and get up on the concrete block wall that is supposed to be containing them. Those chicks are getting a little bit too big for their britches if you ask me. AND they are going to have a chick adventure this weekend. More about that later in the week.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LUCKY GUY-NESS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day Two Hundred; Tuesday...

WOW! Day Two Hundred already.

A pretty typical day all things considered. I did a lot of power real estate this morning, and then I headed out to the monthly NARPM luncheon. My friend and colleague Brian Birdy from San Antonio was the guest speaker, and he spoke with us about how to grow your businesses. He has done an amazing job growing his business in just four short years. A lot of good information was gleaned from his talk. Always a pleasure to speak with and visit with Brian.

Then it was on to an Ombudsman training program at the Board. I have volunteered as an Ombudsman for the Austin Board and the Texas Board for several years, and I really enjoy it. Good information was shared there as well.

Let's get down to the serious stuff. Since I missed the pies from Hutto yesterday, I was on a mission today to get pie. I had decided that I did not want one whole pie, but I was going to try for a pie made up of individual slices. The Texan Cafe and Pie Kitchen in Hutto would have no part of that, so I ended up with two slices of four different kinds of pie; S'Mores, Peanut Butter, Key Lime and Chocolate Toffee. We will just have to make do for a couple days. We will not suffer I am sure, but someone will have to eat all that pie. The sacrifices we make...

When I had earlier left the Board of Realtors, it actually smelled like rain outside. As I was going down the Interstate, you could see the rain off in the distance. I called Jody and asked if it was raining at the house, and he said the terrace was kind of damp, but no real rain. I spoke with some folks in Jarrell later on the way home, and they said it rained for about ten minutes at their house. BUT, by the time I got home, everything was dried up. Still a little chance of rain but I am probably not going to bet money on it.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PIES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Nine; Monday...

At 4:30 this morning, the day was off to a good start; things went down hill from there. Another (slight) case of over-scheduling, but nothing I could not handle. I had a couple nice appointments this morning, and really got a lot of things checked off my 'To Done' list. Then things started to head south. Nothing really that I can talk too much about, but really, would a REASONABLE person really think those things could possibly happen or be taken seriously? That is just the way it went.

I think it must be something LUNAR, or (more likely) my moon is In Uranus. Either way, it was not a particularly productive afternoon. Those things happen though, and when they do, it is just (really) best not to comment. BUT that would be so unlike me, so I have to stir the flames and act all incredulous that folks can be so (ummm) interesting? Whatever...

On top of everything else, I went to Hutto this afternoon to pick up a couple parts that had been ordered for my car, and I was FULLY intending to go to the Texan Cafe and pick up a chocolate pie to bring home, ONLY to discover that the Texan Cafe is closed on Monday, so I totally outsmarted myself on that one. Whatever...

Since I took no photos today, I was doing a search of the Internet and could not find any really interesting photos. I did find a photo of seven of the moons on Uranus (did you know Uranus has 27 moons?), and I found an interesting photo of a man in the moon (see above), and then I started looking for some type of LUNATIC illustration. Maybe another day.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, URANUS (bleahhh), Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Eight; Sunday...

There is a downside to not stepping foot in the outdoors (or so it seems) for almost a week. Well, actually, for the last week, I have only been outside for a few hours a day, and ALL of that (practically) was in the dark. So, it seems my body totally forgot how hot is was, and I was totally unprepared for the heat today. AND, it was not even that hot. Not sure that it OFFICIALLY reached 100 degrees today (both of our nuclear weather stations at the house registered just over 103 degrees), but it felt REALLY hot, and I got really tired out before too long.

Jody and I had some errands to run in Austin, so when we finished that stuff, there was very little motivation from me. I had earlier worked the bees a little bit, fed the chickens, given everyone fresh water, and watered all the plants and even the trees. I am still not sure that I will be successful in maintaining the life of all the plant life, but I will keep trying. I did manage to get in a nap in the afternoon, and then I pretty much settled in to watch a couple programs on the tube and catch up with the news of the world. Nothing much has changed there in the last week, that is for sure!

There are some clouds visible but I doubt they will produce any rainfall. Everything is burning up, it is crazy. We are worried about the bees, hopefully we will not lose all the hives, that would be a real disaster. Jody said he had seen Konrad (from Round Rock Honey) on one of the local news stations last week reporting that all the local bee hives are stressed and none of them are producing honey like they normally would be. I hate that.

We went to Denny's for dinner tonight, and for the second time in my life, I ordered off the Senior Menu. I guess that is it, I am officially a senior, even though I have been a member of AARP for almost ten years. I had every intention of showing you what I was having for dinner (remember, the hotter it gets, the worser the photos on the blog become), but I did not remember that until I finished my meal. I am not only getting old, I am also becoming forgetful! As you can tell, I did not care that much for the dinner.

This will be an interesting week coming up. Hopefully it will not be nearly as over scheduled as I was last week, and will be able to make a few accomplishments. I am also going to be attending a Round Rock Express baseball game on Thursday evening, a TREPAC Realtor* Night Out function. I think that will be a lot of fun, and I have really enjoyed going to the ball game last year. BIG FUN!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HEAT STROKE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Seven; Saturday...

Okay, this is how deliriously crazy I was this morning when I woke up. I got up, made coffee, collected the bee juice and went out into the garage. I was opening the door to the garage (my usual method of egress) and noticed that the pavement looked dark, and there were things that looked like 'puddles' where 'puddles' would normally form if there had been a little bit of rain. BUT, since I had really no opportunity to see news or weather forecasts in almost a week, I could not get the concept that we had participated in a precipitation event into my mind. I just could not grasp the concept that it could have, and indeed still was, raining. So, I did figure it out, and proceeded to go on about my chores, 'damn the torpedoes' and proceeded to get wet while I went out and tended the bees and chickens. We MIGHT have received a quarter-inch of rain, not more than that, but it did remove the need to water the plants this morning. Very nice. No more rain since that I am aware of, but you can never tell.

I got the the Board this morning around 8:15, and my class started at 9. One of the attendees stopped and brought us cinnamon rolls from Upper Crust and they were YUMMY GOOD! Thanks Alexis.

This is one of my more traditional photos of the classes I teach at the Board. Taking photos this way, I can post the photos on the blog and no one is identifiable, therefore I do not think it is necessary to have permission to post the photo. I hope that is an accurate assessment. WHATEVER. Anyway, it was a great six days of class, and I learned things during the instruction (both in reviewing for the class and during the class) I also learned that communication at times is ambiguous, and we all need to work on better communication; both written and verbal (or oral).

Thanks to the Texas Association of REALTORS for the opportunity to participate in this new pre-licensing venture. Lots of hard work going into this series by a lot of people. Everyone is in it together!

I made it home before dark, I hardly know how to act! Jody had a nice pork chop ready, with sweet potatoes and some asparagus. I laid down and tried to take a nap, but could not get comfortable. I think I will go and try to concentrate on going to sleep.

I hope to call it an early night tonight, and get some extra sleep in the morning. It would be wonderful if there was a nice, slow gentle rain overnight.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GOOD CLASSES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Six; Friday...

As I suspected, there will be no happy dance today, but the good news is, there is no sad dance either.

I was able to sleep in this morning, until about 5:30, and then in addition to all the other stuff, I got the cattle fed and took a fresh bale of hay out to them. As I was watering the plants outside, I spied this little frog (probably about the size of a dollar bill folded in half) on the side of the little terra-cotta fountain out by the pool. Usually I go NOWHERE without my camera, but I had to go and retrieve it from inside the house, and when I returned, the little guy remained calm as i took a series of photographs, ever closer and at different angels. No panic on the part of the little frog, and he was really a very BRIGHT green. Looked like something that should be in a more tropical climate, not in the middle of parched and dry central Texas.

ANYWAY, the cattle were surprised to see me. I try to keep the element of surprise working on my side when I feed them, since I am now feeding them in the corral I built them. I lock them out of the corral, put the feed in their troughs and then open the corral. That pretty much keeps them distracted while I take fresh hay out to them. I do not like them messing with me (Mr. Speckles in particular) while I am trying to put out fresh hay. Mr. Speckles thinks (and rightly so) that he is the boss, and if it is anywhere within his reach, it belongs to him. So, bragging that I am smarter than a cow is not really something that I will be putting on my resume, but it still works for me.

I got a good bit of work done in the office today, and made some revisions to the instruction plan that I will be implementing tonight and tomorrow. All Good! Interestingly, several weeks ago, a former Board Chairman was speaking at a luncheon, and he mentioned that his mother had painted a picture and presented it to the Board when he was chairman. He asked if anyone knew where the picture was, and someone replied that it was hanging in the women's restroom. SO, last night before I started my class, I asked Susan to take me into the women's restroom. Lynn was in residence, so we needed to wait on her, but then they let me in, and this is a copy of the painting. VERY PRETTY...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BATHROOM ART, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Five; Thursday...

Today is Thursday, the odds that I will do my Friday dance tomorrow are greatly diminished by the fact that I will be getting up at (pretty much) my usual time on Saturday to conduct the last day of class for the Texas Association of REALTORS Agency Pre-Licensing class. It has really been a lot of fun, and I am instructing a great bunch of people.

A nice day today, although I really would like to get a few more hours of sleep. It ha been a busy day, and got another property under contract, so that is TERRIFIC! Very happy about that. This real estate gig just might work out after all!

I had to get duplicate keys made this afternoon for a couple properties, and I prefer using the self-serve lanes if I can. This happened to be at the Home Depot at Mueller, so not only could I check out quickly, I could also check my image in the camera. Why do we need a camera at the self-serve check-out? Maybe it is a bin of thieves working there or people are putting things in the bags that they are not properly scanning. I am sure whatever the case is, it is most likely very interesting. I would like it if they would share, or maybe just provide me with a couple 5 x 7's and a dozen wallet size. Whatever...

Everything was in pretty good shape this morning. I made sure the chickens (and the chicks) had plenty of feed and fresh water. Then everything got a good watering (not the chickens), and then I got a good watering. My plan is to sleep in an extra couple hours tomorrow morning and feed the cattle and take them a fresh bale of hay before I leave. I think I can do all that and still leave the house about 9 AM.

Deeds, Actions, Changes,SLEEP DEPRIVATION, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Four; Wednesday...

It's what's for LUNNER. Since I am getting home late in the evenings, I am trying to just have one nice meal, so I have decided to call it 'Lunner'. Lunner is enjoyed much later than Brunch, and it is not nearly as sophisticated as that. But, until I come up with something better, Lunner will have to do. I also considered 'Linner' but Lunner was much more awkward and difficult to say, so that was the end of that.

I did have the luxury of staying in bed a couple extra hours this morning, going directly to the Board for a meeting that began at about 9:30. The extra couple hours of sleep was quite lovely, thank you very much.

Tomorrow will kind of be my hump day. I will be teaching classes at night the rest of this week, and all day Saturday, and then I will get caught up on stuff.

I am looking forward to delivering my Meals-On-Wheels route tomorrow, always a nice and rewarding experience for me.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LUNNER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Three; Tuesday...

The busier I get, the worser the picture pickin's become. I am too busy at this time to stop and smell the roses, let alone to stop and take a picture of myself smelling said roses. Be careful what you ask for, you may just get it.

This is just a sampling of a wreck that Chris and I encountered on the way back to the office from a listing appointment we went on this afternoon. There was not supposed to be that much traffic on MoPac at 2:30 in the afternoon, so we were surprised. AND, the wreck had obviously JUST HAPPENED because the fire truck passed us on the way to the 'scene' and there were no cops. AND, there were other vehicles spread out over about a quarter mile area of the scene. It did not look like anyone was hurt, but you shoulda seen the other vehicles...much worse that this one!

As I said, it was a busy day, and there were peaks and valleys to the business. Right now I am pacing myself, getting ready to start the second day of pre-licensing Agency class for the Texas Association of REALTORS. Kind of enjoying the quiet time.

I ordered a sandwich from Jimmy John's or delivery, since I had not had a chance to eat today, and the delivery guy was giving me attitude. Sorry, I thought they offered delivery, but he only wanted to give curb service. He called on my cell phone and said he was outside at the curb, I asked him to come in. He practically threw the sandwich at me, and did not even wait for a tip. Sorry about that.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HAPPY SAMMICHES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety Two; Monday

It has been a busy day, but it has been (for the most part) a nice and quiet day. Got the last of my class reviewed for the TAR Pre-Licensing Agency Class, now we will all see how it is going to flow. Don't really expect too many (if any) challenges. This is a photo of the empty classroom. The class does not start for another hour, so it will soon start filling with eager participants. We hope.

This is a photo of the chicks that I took last night, they are really getting big, and they are exploring their new space in the barn. Another month and I will integrate them onto the roost with the big girls.

I hope THAT all works out okay.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NEW CLASSES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety One; Sunday...

Okay, it has been a really long but very productive day. I made an nice egg loaf this morning, and then headed out to work. In the heat of the edge of nowhere. To water plants (that I think might end up being futile) and to pull weeds and to feed cattle and set our molasses buckets for them, along with fresh hay, some creep feed (it's a cow thing) and some fresh salt licks and mineral licks. Then it was on to enlarging the newest chicks space next to the chicken coop, watering trees and this and that. Incredibly productive. I would not gotten a third of this done if Michael and Lorenzo had not been here to help me out. Sundays are generally 'work around the homestead' days.

Parts of Austin are getting rain, as reported on the news and by many of my FaceBook friends, but nothing here. The wind has come up, but no rain. Another 100 degree day, and the heat is killing off all the good plants and only the weeds are thriving. There are still three or four months of summer to go, and I doubt there will be enough water to keep this up.

Jody made pork chops for dinner, and the temperature has gone down by about 15 degrees and it is not even 7 o'clock yet. It has been over 90 degrees the past week at 9 o'clock at night, and when I get up in the mornings, it is in the mid-70's. Very comfortable actually, too bad it is too dark to enjoy it.

I am going to go out an make sure all the chickens and chicks have everything they need for overnight. All is well out here in the country.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HARD WORK, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Ninety; Saturday...

We had out first chicken catastrophe today, and I think it was a result of the heat and nothing else. Took a toll on one of the Ruby's, so we now are down to five laying hens and we have had the little chicks for about a month. A very sad day. Poor little girl. I knew the day would come, but I figured it would be from coyotes or hawks or owls, not from heat. You never know.

Jody and I moved the cattle to the other pasture this morning, but there is really no green grass on that side either. What we really need is some rain so we can get a little bit of relief from this heat and some grasses to grow for the cattle.

I got finished prepping for my classes next week, right on schedule. It will all be god.

More tomorrow...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, RIP MS RUBY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Eighty Nine; Friday...

It's Friday, it's Friday, nyah nyah nyah... I like Fridays a lot. I would say (maybe) that I LOVE Friday's, but that would probably be an overstatement of fact, maybe even too much information.

Gonna sleep in a little extra tomorrow, too. Whatever...

This is a photo of me taken yesterday morning with my new hat that Carrie gave me. She got it for me because it is really dark outside when I go out to work the bees (actually to feed the bees) and check on the chickens etc when I wake up. It really is dark at O-DARK-30, so this hat is really appreciated. So, this photo was taken when I was inside the front barn checking on the little chicks to make sure everything was good for them. IT WAS JUST A FEW MINUTES BEFORE I went out to feed the bees, and they obviously thought I was the second coming of something and all that talk of 'walk towards the light' got them a little spooked, so I got stung three times before I gave up and turned off the headlight. Not that great of a start to the morning. ANYWAY, I went out again this morning with the hat on, and there were no issues. These bees can be really crabby at times, I do not know where they get it from!

I have been encountering charging station traffic jams on a more regular basis too. At the parking garage at the Board of REALTORS it have seen the other Volt on three different occasions using MY electrical plug, and at Whole Foods yesterday there was another Volt (a really pretty red one) just sitting in the parking space not charging) and a little plug in scooter and me. It is gonna get worse before it gets better, we really need to be working on the infrastructure.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CHARGING JAMS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

Day One Hundred Eighty Eight; Thursday...

Using keys to get into houses are for wimps...not big tough strong real estate professionals like me. Okay, like me and Chris...someone had to hold the window up for me. Whatever...

Another day of ordinary things and for that I am really happy. Making good progress, and that is a good thing.

The chickens are happy, and miraculously the broody girl was not in her nest when I went out there this evening, and they were all in their coops before 9 o'clock. Something must be going on. AND the little chicks are really getting big and there are really getting to be beautiful young ladies. They have beautiful feathers and markings, and their legs are turning soft blue and green colors. Very interesting.

It is hard to cram five days into four, but by the end of the day tomorrow I will have accomplished exactly that.

Next week will be an interesting week, but first I have to finish this one.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HAPPY CHICKS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Eighty Seven; Wednesday...

Not sure how it happened, but I thought yesterday was Monday, so I had two Mondays on the journal, no Tuesday, and this is Wednesday. So, I fixed that, and we are all set to go. Whatever...

This photo pretty much sums it all up. There was really nothing special about today, but I was glad I was here (for the most part) to enjoy it. Honestly, I think more restaurants should offer 'fill-in-the-blank' specials in order to increase their discretionary traffic and to build good will. It is not (probably) all that accurate, but many of my days are not that special, but I glory in all the ordinariness that is my wonderful life. AND, I expect there are millions of people in the world that would happily change places with me right now, and they would not complain about a single thing! Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Hot and dry here. Nothing new there, but it is really becoming tiresome. I wonder if we could request that we be declared a national disaster because NOTHING is happening around here. Just the same old same old. Hot and dry. Nothing special about that!

Still working to get ready for my classes next week. Making good progress, and according to the schedule I have set for myself, everything should work out just fine.

I am suspicious that we may have another broody chicken. Maybe it is just the heat that is causing that. I know the heat has lessened the egg production, and the eggs are even smaller than they used to be. Even the bees are crabby. OFGS!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NOTHING SPECIAL, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - day one hundred eighty six; tuesday...

i had too much work to do today to do anything exciting. too much work to do to take any photographs of anything exciting or interesting. too much work to do to even think about completing this blog entry. too much work to do to do anything except be crazy busy, and try to survive.

it is that time, too much work, not enough hours in the whole day to get everything done, and just about the time i am hitting my stride, i think it is time to go to bed and go to sleep so I can start the whole thing over again in the morning.

lots of stuff accomplished at the office, including three meetings; 10 o'clock, 11:15and a 1 o'clock. i did not leave the office until after four, even though i made several half-hearted attempts to get out of the place. and once i left, i had a few more errands to run and a few more things to do, so i did not even make it home strait-away.

i am on cd #23 of 24, so i expect i will finish this book on cd tomorrow. pretty interesting book by ken follet called 'fall of giants', about pre-and-post world war one. really interesting.

three eggs from the girls today, but i really think the eggs are getting smaller. i would be be the least surprised about that with the heat we are experiencing. i wonder if we could experiment in packaging pre-cooked omelette's? i wonder if there is a market for that? i think so...

typing with no capital letters is not as easy as i have made out. it takes a considerable amount of attention to override years and years of habits you have developed in front of an ibm, all the way up to (now) just a little lap top computer. the instinct to capitalize is the second or third strongest instinct we share as humans, right after getting in the wrong line at the bank, and wondering who it was that invented buttons to be placed on men's boxer shorts. i mean, really, who thought that one up?

whatever...

deeds, actions, changes, buttons in all the wrong places, kindnesses, whirled peas, fun!

2011 - Day One Hundred Eighty Five; Monday...

It is the Fourth of July. I want to make sure everyone that has had a part in our continuing freedom has been properly recognized. All of you, please stand up so we can all salute you! THANKS!

I am tired right now...I have been working all day long. Not physical work, but all mental work. Exhausting. I am not used to using my pea-brain!

This is a photo of the sunset last night. I took it while I was putting the girls to bed and taking the trash can out to the street. You never know, out here in the country they might just come out on a Holiday to collect the trash. ANYWAY, there are lots of opportunities to see sunsets, sunrises and other beautiful sights in the sky. As you can see from the photo, there is not that much around here to block the views, so there are lots of opportunities.

While I was watering the plants this morning, I noticed the gardenia is blooming again. It is one of the plants that benefits from all the watering I have been doing, so it is thriving. There is really not much of anything else out here that is thriving. I cannot decide if I am watering some things too much, or some things not enough. It is hard to say. I can tell you that everything is suffering from the heat and the lack of rain. We need some relief and we need it pretty darned quick.

Can you tell what this tree is? Suddenly this tree has some sort of fruit on it. This is our third summer here, and we have never seen this tree with fruit on it before. It is out by the road, and Jody pointed it out to me the other day. It looks like some kind of apple, but the fruit looks like it is 'girdled' or something. It looks interesting, and I am dieing to try one, but I don't want to poison myself, either. Any thoughts you have on the subject will be appreciated.

The newest baby chickens are really getting big. We will have them three weeks the day after tomorrow, and I think they were several days old when we got them, so they are close to a month old. They have really had a growth spurt this week!

I got gas in the car today, and I am pretty sure I set a new record. I went over 1,300 miles on this tank of gas and used 8.5 gallons of gas to do it, so that comes to almost 155 miles per gallon (right about 154.89 if you want exact numbers). Every time I achieve a personal best, I doubt that I will be able to surpass it, and every time I do. It is all about learning how to get the most bang for the buck, when and where to find a charging station, all that stuff. I enjoy it!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MENTAL EXHAUSTION, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Eighty Four; Sunday...

This chicken was seen last night, loitering around the chicken coop. It was relatively calm, made no sudden moves, and had little of nothing to say (squawk). The same chicken was sighted this morning and this afternoon, in much the same spot. When questioned, the chicken (obviously a rooster) clammed up and made no comments. The girls have all (seemingly) paid little or no attention to him, it is almost as if he is not even there. I will keep my eyes open to make sure he does not have any ulterior motives. You never know about these silent types.

I stayed in bed until about 6 o'clock this morning, and it is just oppressively HOT. The chickens are fatigued, the plants are desperate for water, and there is no relief in sight. The Sage are blooming all over this area, and ours are blooming nicely as well. Generally that is an indication that we will get some rain, but nothing so far. The high-dollar prognosticators and not giving us any chance of precipitation, but I would prefer to rely on the natural forecasts of the Sage. Hope so anyway.

We cut the cantaloupe this morning after letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight. It had a very delicate hint of cantaloupe flavor. That is really just another way of saying it had no taste. Jody chose not to even eat his, and contributed it to the chickens. I put some salt on mine and ate it, not wanting all that effort to go totally to waste. I do not understand how a viney plant, growing in the middle of a literal gravel bed, with very little water provided to it during its development, can produce a fruit that is moist and watery. Where does it get the water? Can anyone answer that question for me? Or is the fact that it had very little water in its development cycle result in the lack of cantaloupe flavor? Just wondering. NOTE: I did save the seeds (most of them) so I will plant them next spring. That is, of course, assuming I will remember where I put them next year.

I have been wanting to use something as a weed control, and I was hesitant to use Round-Up, just on general principals. I was worried that the chemical would harm the bees and the chickens. So I did an Internet search, and found a recipe using vinegar, salt and dish detergent. I will know better tomorrow how it worked, but I used a gallon of vinegar (9% solution was the best I could find) and covered very little territory. If it worked at all, I will try to get more vinegar tomorrow.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, WEED WEAPONS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!