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

Part of the problem is that I did not sleep that well last night, and I had too much coffee this morning. SO, i feel like I was pretty manic most of the day; on a mission!

After the property management meeting this morning, I did my Meals-On-Wheels delivery, always a nice experience for me. Pretty much ensconced with the same six clients, only one of which is an original client from when I moved my pick-up location. I may have been delivering from this site for about seven years now, it does not seem like it could possibly have been that long.

After I delivered my route, I broke down and put gas in the car. I could have easily gone another fifty miles (I think, but I am chicken) AND when I went to the Board this afternoon, I found one of the two parking spaces I can take advantage of (close enough to a 110 outlet for me to plug in) available (it was a squeeze) and picked up another charge good for 16 miles. BUT, I wussed out and got gas (I have never EVER run out of gas in a car) just to be on the safe side. AND maybe it will leave me a little bit of room to break this record I have set for myself. I went eleven days between fill-ups, and I went 1162 miles on that tank of gas. A personal best for me! 122.8 miles per gallon, but who is paying attention. I cannot wait until there are more public charging stations around and I can really HYPER-MILE it.

Preparing to get prepared for my trip to DC next week. Trying to make sure I have everything in order. Making lists of stuff to take. We should start a pool on what I will forget that is most important!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, 122.8 MILES PER GALLON, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

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

Another day, another day. But before we get too far down this road, let me mention something about yesterday; all my troubles seemed so far away. No, not that, I just want to share this photo with you, it was kind of interesting to see a little bit of color against the really wonderful blue sky. The contrails of the planes are really interesting. One day, I was coming home via Texas 130 from around the airport, and at one time I think I counted 14 separate contrails. Depending on the elevation of the road I could see more or less but it was interesting. Distracting, but interesting.

How many of you even know (or remember) that we have a cat? When we first moved here to the farm, someone abandoned a wonderful kitten that we took in (or she took us in, we still are not sure about that) and we named her Mischief. Back at that time, in the first year of this journal, I reported quite a bit about the comings and goings of that little kitten and how the QUEEN CAT (the one pictured here) was not at all amused. Long story short, the little kitty was out one day and never came back. We believe a hawk or an owl got her, maybe a coyote (but not really likely). Anyway, last night our girl cat (Missy) was making herself known (she rarely does that, she mostly sleeps) last night and I took a few photos and wanted to share this one. It is really hard to take a good photo of a cat, but this is a pretty good representation.

I was out showing property this morning, and this is a photo of some miniature bamboo that (in my opinion) is maintained by someone who is ever MORE anal retentive than I am. They really put some work into trimming and caring for this bamboo, but the look that is achieved is really interesting, and I was fascinated by it. I have to admit, the area in which I was showing the property was JUST A LITTLE BIT FUSSY, and this example of landscape maintenance was pretty much in keeping with the area. I do believe, however, that this would take the prize if they had a 'FUSSIEST' category. Whatever...

My friend Konrad (the owner of Round Rock Honey) is in DC this week, and attended a meeting at which Prince Charles was the speaker. A one of the things he said were (and I am paraphrasing the good Prince); It is Agri-Culture, not Agri-Business. I think that is a really interesting distinction. AND Konrad got some of the honey from the White House Hives. REALLY COOL!

UPDATE: I have driven OVER 1,000 miles on my most recent tank of gasoline, and I can still make it at least 70 more miles if I push it, probably more depending on my driving needs tomorrow. This will definitely be a personal best for me, and I expect this record will last for a while, not sure if I will ever be able to break it. I am at ALMOST 120 miles per gallon, and I would really like to make it to 125 miles per gallon. My previous personal best was 93 miles per gallon, so I am really happy with this.

I will update this for you tomorrow. I fully expect I will need to stop for gas tomorrow. We shall see...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PERSONAL BESTS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

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

What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in, why it's almost like being in love...

Whatever...

No, really, #1) It has been a great day and #2) I am in love, but that is a whole other story...

I have seen a few of my friends posting their dissatisfaction with the amount of money (or credit limit) that is required to put gasoline (or diesel, and most likely bio-diesel) in the tanks of their cars. So, here is something for you to ponder. I traded the high cost of evaporative gasoline expense for a car payment, even though I had the car on order for years! This photo shows my statistics for the most recent tank of gas I purchased, about ten days ago (maybe less). You can also see that, since I was driving at the incredible speed of 32 miles per hour, I absolutely WAS on IH-35 this morning on the way to work! BUT, I think the statistics for this tank of gas will be a personal best for me. I am hoping to go right at 1,000 miles on this tank of gas (the tank holds 9.2 gallons of PREMIUM gasoline) and I am hoping for somewhere around 125 to 130 miles per gallon. OF COURSE, you have to figure in the electricity cost that I use, which I figure to be somewhere between $1.50 and $2.00 per day. Still, at the end of my money, I have something to look at and sit in. I'm just sayin'...

I would like to make a big SHOUT-OUT to all my NEW (and old) friends at AVALAR AUSTIN REALTY. I went out to speak with them (about TREPAC) at their annual meeting today, along with Leslie and Lindsey from the Texas Association of REALTORS. A wonderful meeting, and they have a great group of folks that really do good word for the clients. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you guys in the future.

Another wreck today outside the office, this is getting to be a normal occurrence. As you may remember, one of our agents (Pat) had a wreck there about three or four weeks ago. I wonder if it true, that someone will have to be killed there before anyone will do anything about it. I really do not believe a traffic light is the answer (that would pretty much mean there should be a traffic light on every corner). But maybe a no left turn sign is what is needed. I make left turns there all the time, and I am also aware of what has happened, so I think I am extra cautious. Okay, who really believes I am extra cautious about anything? Come on, raise your hands. Okay, that is what I thought.

This just in from the chicken-cam...Jody collected four eggs from the girls today and I went outside (to check the bees) and collected two more, which makes one for each of the girls. I love the chicken-cam photos, I think they are fun and the chickens are generally cooperative, and the idea of them being famous does not hurt one bit, either. NOW, the truth is, only five of the six eggs made it into the house today. See below...

This is straight out of the 'I THINK I SAW THAT IN A THREE STOOGES MOVIE' files. This is a photo of a sun-catcher our friend Jeanne brought us last Sunday when we had some friends over. We originally had it in one spot, but we moved it so I would get more action from the sun. Yesterday was really too overcast to pay much attention to it, but today when I got home it was a beautiful sunny day. So, when I was out with the chickens, I put the two eggs in my pants pocket because they were pecking at them. When I squatted down to take this picture, there was a horrible sound emanating from my pants pocket...yeah, well, you really need to picture that. If you don't know what suit I was wearing today, that might be a nice little game for you to play. If you do know what suit I was wearing, I think I got all the egg out of the pocket, and you really can't tell it happened. I will know better in the morning after everything is dried.

Good news is, I have time to take stuff to the cleaners before I leave on Monday for the NAR Mid-Term in DC.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BROKEN EGGS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Twenty Two; Monday...

Another one of those events in history; where were you when you found out Osama Bin Laden was dead?

Speaking of faded glory, Jody mentioned to me yesterday that there was one lone morning glory blooming in the middle of the path. I an here to tell you, if this little morning glory can do it, there are great things planned for the arbor later in the summer and fall.

AND, speaking of Jody, he informed me this afternoon that we have a ghost in the house, and it is a rather mischievous ghost at that. We have been experiencing issues with clocks failing, radios turning off and on and even the television in the den coming on and the satellite receiver coming on and off with no real reason. I am trying to figure out some electrical circuitry explanation for this phenomenon, but I am also good with the ghost theory. It makes for less for me to think about, and as long as the ghost is not malicious or evil, I think it would be just fine to have a resident spook. I will keep you informed about the presence. Several weeks ago, I could not get the theme song from 'Casper the Friendly Ghost' out of my head, and I kept going over the song in my head for hours. CRAZY!

We had some precipitation today; not really enough to call it rain, but it dripped over a wide area for most of the day. I would be surprised if it totalled more that 0.05", but it was cloudy, COLD and wet. Perfect weather for catching a good cold. I really do enjoy these photos of traffic through a wet windshield, though. They are some of my favorites.

I expect a good cold to hit me just any minute now, since I am going out of town a week from today. We shall see...

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

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

Well this has certainly been a day of extremes and STILL no rain. That is NOT how this day was supposed to play out, BUT there is still time. Come on RAIN!

One of the first things I did this morning was to take a fresh bale of hay out to the cattle. We were expecting friends out this afternoon, and the cattle are always an attraction. I had first thought I would take a bale of hay out while our guests were here, but I decided that was TOTALLY impractical. so I went ahead with the bale of hay this morning. Which pretty much baffled the cattle, they are in the routine where they get fed first which pretty much distracts them from messing with me while I take the twine off the hay bale and put the hay ring around the bale. SO, they just pretty much stood around trying to figure out what would happen next, but still did not seem to know where to go. So, this is a photo of the puzzled cattle.

Our guests began arriving about Noon:30 and it was great to have friends and colleagues come out for the afternoon. Good food, good friends and good times. While we were eating lunch (it was hot and humid, probably in the mid-90's) out on the back patio, I felt a rush of COLD air, like the air conditioner was suddenly being vented outside. The turbines swung around (previously from the south now from the north) and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. Right now it is in the middle 60's, and I even lowered the window in the chicken coop. Gonna be much cooler tonight and next week.

Did I mention there has been no rain?

OH, CRAP!

Once everyone left this afternoon, I went out and gathered up one more egg (we had previously collected four) and I cleaned out the chicken coop and gave the chickens fresh water. Everything is pretty much done farm-wise for another week, tomorrow is the start of another 'work' week. Work at the farm is totally different than work at the farm - totally different.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, VISITING FRIENDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day One Hundred Twenty; Saturday...

Busy, busy, busy, but what is a weekend without being busy. I was hitting it by about 7 o'clock this morning, and got a tremendous amount of stuff done. The worst I did first, which was dragging rail road ties that had been used as walkway borders out and putting them with the OTHER rail road ties in the back. I am working on getting things done so I can cut the grass more easily. A little bit here, and a little bit there...

Early this morning these clouds were really angry looking, and we were hoping there might be so rain in some of them. There was thunder (which surprised us all while we were eating breakfast) but no rain. There was something falling out of the sky that was kind of wet, but there were no spots of moisture on the pavement PERIOD. For most of the morning it was cloudy, so that was good, it kept the temperature down a little bit, although there was enough humidity that it was easy to begin glistening.

OH, when I was out first thing this morning, I was giving the girls some fresh water, and there was a SNAKE in the water hydrant thing (we have the hose-bibs under the surface like in a sprinkler control box so they don't freeze in the winter). It was dark, I had my flashlight, but I was not expecting the snake. Probably just another chicken snake, but I was SURPRISED! Did I mention I was surprised? Which usually goes along with me SCREAMING like a GIRL! I'm just sayin... My friend Joe Mac is gonna send me another e-mail about what kind of gun I should have for killing snakes, and I may pay closer attention this time!

Jody and I headed into Georgetown this afternoon and stopped at Dairy Queen (of course) and then we went to HEB to do a little bit of shopping. As we were getting home, we saw the mail man pulling out of the drive way, and I expected that meant our new Queen had arrived. I ordered a new Queen for my weak bee-hive, and they shipped her by Priority Mail. Interesting. I am not sure how many times this mail man has delivered bees, but he did not seem too concerned. This is a photo of the shipping package. I just think it is interesting you can get a bee in an envelope.

After we were home for a while, I was working in the back on the patio and saw this interesting moth. I assume it is a moth, but whatever it is, it has a really interesting pattern on its' body and wings. It did not hang around for too long, but at least I got a picture of it.

I also did some more weed pulling today. I fully understand that for every weed I pull out of the ground by its' roots, there are scores of other weeds laughing (and probably texting their friends) at my un-deserved self-glorification that I am superior to them. There is no way I will ever defeat the weeds. The weeds will be here long after I am gone, long after this house is gone, long after everything we know is gone. Weeds and cockroaches. Probably. Right now I am putting my money on the weeds. Weeds we got, cockroaches we ain't. Knock Wood...

Towards the end of the day, I introduced the new Queen to her hive. I did not introduce her the way she should have been introduced. She was ACCIDENTALLY released by me (it's a long story) instead of being introduced gradually. SO, I hope this all works out the way I want it to. I expect right now there is a LOT of activity in that hive, and there is a LOT of busy-bees in that hive. I hope the two Queens fight it out and that the new Queen is victorious. We will see in a couple weeks.

Tomorrow will be another day, and it will include a fresh batch of weeds.

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

2011 - Day One Hundred Nineteen; Friday...

Attention K-Mart Shoppers; this is my 850th consecutive post. Crazy, right? Who wudda thunk it? Fer shure, not me. Eight Hundred and Fifty Days of posting to this journal, and not a day missed yet. Everytime I reach one of these 'markers' I wonder how long it will be before I miss a day, maybe because I forget (I almost forgot to post one day) or because there is some type of technical issue. I expect that will the real reason for the failure of posting at some point. Due to technical issues, I have come close to missing a post. I figure I have until midnight of any particular day to 'publish' a post, and if I get it done, that is fine. The reality is, I wonder when (not really if) I will miss a deadline?

The sun was rising beautifully this morning when I was heading out of the house to go to the office. Glorious. Can you tell that there are really no neighbors out here, and that we are just out here enjoying the peace and quiet? It is really nice. If more than a half-dozen cars go down the road on any given day (including the mail truck) we make not of it. We have lots of room out here, and we really do enjoy it.

Interesting concept; the end of the month is followed closely by the beginning of the next month. Since we do some property management, about this time of one month (to be followed by another month) folks are either moving out or moving in. Or they are paying their rents (accompanied quite often by a demand for some sort of repair). It is against human nature to pay the rent without complaining about something!

There is a new kid in the neighborhood and he is a BIG ONE. I was very surprised to see a crane lifting this big-boy into place this morning on my way to work. Much bigger than our turbines, probably at least three times as big as ours. On the way home tonight, I stopped at the house and knocked on the door (folks who do energy things expect knocks on the doors) but no one was at home. That's okay, there is always tomorrow. BUT, this turbine is a little different than others I have seen, this one has a vane that is not always in line with the blades, kind of like the old wind mills that pumped water. You could control the blades depending on how you set the vanes, and these vanes were not spinning as fast as I would have expected them. They would probably not spin as fast as our, but they are bigger and get more KwH for the revolution. BUT, I still think there is some fine tuning required, and I will let you know what I find out.

Five eggs from the girls today. Pretty soon, with the days getting longer, the girls are going to have to be putting me to bed instead of the other way around. When the sun does not set until almost 9 o'clock, I am not sure I will be able to stay awake that long.

More blossoms on the cactus in front of the house, but I waited too long to take the picture, the blooms are WAY past their prime.

There is going to be a lot of accomplishments made tomorrow. I have a very long list of things I want to achieve, and I will make some progress. I really do not think I will be able to get everything on the list done, but there will always be another day!

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