Back down south...
Today, I helped Ruben roll a big giant round bale of hay off the trailer. Those suckers are big and heavy. Then, I got to drive over to this guy's place and pick up two bales of alfalfa hay. Much smaller and more manageable. It sort of looked like a bale of marijuana and sort of smelled that way too... but not really... more like cut lawn than pot. Not that I really know what a bale of marijuana looks or smells like... Anyway... I stepped in a cow patty (but it was sort of more dry than wet... thank God! I had on sandals! I really should invest in some boots.) and sweated because it was 102 in the shade today, and this was all going on at about 1:00 pm. And I got to admire the 13 calves that are going to the sale soon. They are very unhappy to be separated from their mamas, though. By Tuesday, I understand they will really be hollering. They are hollering now some. I didn't understand why we had to buy these two tiny little bales of alfalfa. It was explained to me that you take the alfalfa and mix it in the big bale to entice the calves to eat the hay. Sort of like bovine chocolate, or like when you mix baby food peaches in something you want your baby/toddler to eat that they may not have had before, I guess... What do I know about cows and their eating habits?? Not much, but I guess I'll have to learn. :)
I fixed mashed potatoes and some fried steak and fried chicken strips. Mama made the gravy. It turned out well and Auntie ate pretty good. She really has a hard time eating much. I guess between her naturally peculiar and picky eating habits and the cancer, she has very little appetite. And she is so thin. I made a pig of myself and am continuing with a big bowl of a mixture of vanilla and chocolate blue bell ice cream. I'll hate myself tomorrow, but not today.
I read "The Help" recently. Wanted to get that read before the movie comes out. It's good, I think. I recommend it, if you are looking for something to read. Not sure what I'll be reading next.
Well, that's about it for today. Trying to adjust to the slower pace and missing my old way of life and my friends. Reno on my little casasita is going slow, so I am still sleeping on the twin bed on the back "porch" and living out of a suitcase. Am looking forward to my visit back home to "civilization" on Tuesday!! :) later... rp
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
I already don't know what day it is
Hi,
Ok, been here about a week, and I don't know what day it is. All I do know is that it's hotter than hell and the air conditioners (window units) of which there are 4 in the entire house, are giving it their all and it ain't enough. The one in Madre's room seems to have finally gasped its' last breath of cold air. The one on the porch (aka my bedroom) is barely hangin' on. The one in the kitchen is working ok, but if I find myself int he kitchen, I'm either cooking or eating. Of course, auntie's AC is working fine, but her particularly peculiar sensitivity to cold means that her AC is hardly ever on. I'll go by the room from time to time to find the small space heater turned on HI, with her under a blanket and a quilt... Madre and I are sipping ice tea and taking two cool showers a day, and she's using the heater. Go figure.
Another interesting (and I do use this term loosely) thing is the dogs that have taken a fancy to the cows and the new calves, and not in a good way. They like to chase the cows and some will bite their tail, using it sort of like a ski rope while the cow tries to run away from the dog while it's holding on for dear life. The weight difference between the two critters means the cow is frantically trying to escape while the pesty dog seems to be having a grand time, much to the amusement of it's other dog friends who are barking with glee, egging the cow ski-ing dog along...this is all fine and good, except that it usually means I'm going to be summoned to try to yell at the dogs and offer them bribes of dog biscuits to return to the yard. Invariably, this summons is delivered by mother calling me in a loud voice, usually something to the effect of "Rhonda, the dogs are in the cow pens again. Go see what they're doing, the little shits..." And, I've usually just sat down in the comfy recliner in my bedroom/porch to a snack that I've snagged when I was in the coolest room in the house - the kitchen... What we are concerned with is that some of these dogs are documented cat killers, and on occasion have shown some aggression to their own kind. The fear that they might hurt some of the smaller calves, which is really not a good thing at all. so, maybe the "little shits" moniker isn't so far off the mark after all...
Ok, been here about a week, and I don't know what day it is. All I do know is that it's hotter than hell and the air conditioners (window units) of which there are 4 in the entire house, are giving it their all and it ain't enough. The one in Madre's room seems to have finally gasped its' last breath of cold air. The one on the porch (aka my bedroom) is barely hangin' on. The one in the kitchen is working ok, but if I find myself int he kitchen, I'm either cooking or eating. Of course, auntie's AC is working fine, but her particularly peculiar sensitivity to cold means that her AC is hardly ever on. I'll go by the room from time to time to find the small space heater turned on HI, with her under a blanket and a quilt... Madre and I are sipping ice tea and taking two cool showers a day, and she's using the heater. Go figure.
Another interesting (and I do use this term loosely) thing is the dogs that have taken a fancy to the cows and the new calves, and not in a good way. They like to chase the cows and some will bite their tail, using it sort of like a ski rope while the cow tries to run away from the dog while it's holding on for dear life. The weight difference between the two critters means the cow is frantically trying to escape while the pesty dog seems to be having a grand time, much to the amusement of it's other dog friends who are barking with glee, egging the cow ski-ing dog along...this is all fine and good, except that it usually means I'm going to be summoned to try to yell at the dogs and offer them bribes of dog biscuits to return to the yard. Invariably, this summons is delivered by mother calling me in a loud voice, usually something to the effect of "Rhonda, the dogs are in the cow pens again. Go see what they're doing, the little shits..." And, I've usually just sat down in the comfy recliner in my bedroom/porch to a snack that I've snagged when I was in the coolest room in the house - the kitchen... What we are concerned with is that some of these dogs are documented cat killers, and on occasion have shown some aggression to their own kind. The fear that they might hurt some of the smaller calves, which is really not a good thing at all. so, maybe the "little shits" moniker isn't so far off the mark after all...
Saturday, July 9, 2011
surfing lizards
Hi,
Well, I'm back down in South Texas. Been here about a week. I've driven madre to the doctor, and run errands for her... HEB, Wal-Mart, etc.. Nothing too exciting. It's hot and dry here. The cicadas are making noise in the yard. I can hear them from inside the house. Sometimes the noise is deafening. And that's just one of the many bugs we have around here... chiggers, june bugs, ants of many sizes and colors, spiders and more spiders, ticks, fleas, wasps, dirt dabbers, and bees. We also have scorpians and tarantulas, but I haven't run into any of them yet.
I had a funny thing happen the other day on the way back to the farm on one of the HEB grocery store run... Got in the SUV and started on my way home, when I noticed a passenger. You know those little green lizards that change colors? We typically call them cameleon lizards, but they are actually a green anole lizard... I think thayt's the name of them. Anyway, on the hood of the car, where the windshield wipers are housed, was one of these little lizards. It had turned an ugly shade of brown/gray, I assume to blend in with the charcoal gray Ford Escape of my mom's. Well, this lizard looked like it was hood surfing.. remember when we were in high school, somebody, usually male, would think it was funny to get on the hood of the car and pretend to surf while one of his buddies, usually drunk, would drive around a parking lot, hitting the speed bumps and trying to knock his friend off??? That's the hood surfing to which I'm referring... anyway, this lizard calmly walked around the hood of the car, hanging on with it's tiny little toenails, surfing the hood... Me, not being male or drunk, was driving carefully because I did not want to it to fall off and hurt it's little head and suffer traumatic brain injury. So, we made it safely home, and to my knowledge, the little surfing lizard is hanging ten ( how many toes does a lizard actually have??) with someone else. So, that's my exciting news from South Texas. More later...
Well, I'm back down in South Texas. Been here about a week. I've driven madre to the doctor, and run errands for her... HEB, Wal-Mart, etc.. Nothing too exciting. It's hot and dry here. The cicadas are making noise in the yard. I can hear them from inside the house. Sometimes the noise is deafening. And that's just one of the many bugs we have around here... chiggers, june bugs, ants of many sizes and colors, spiders and more spiders, ticks, fleas, wasps, dirt dabbers, and bees. We also have scorpians and tarantulas, but I haven't run into any of them yet.
I had a funny thing happen the other day on the way back to the farm on one of the HEB grocery store run... Got in the SUV and started on my way home, when I noticed a passenger. You know those little green lizards that change colors? We typically call them cameleon lizards, but they are actually a green anole lizard... I think thayt's the name of them. Anyway, on the hood of the car, where the windshield wipers are housed, was one of these little lizards. It had turned an ugly shade of brown/gray, I assume to blend in with the charcoal gray Ford Escape of my mom's. Well, this lizard looked like it was hood surfing.. remember when we were in high school, somebody, usually male, would think it was funny to get on the hood of the car and pretend to surf while one of his buddies, usually drunk, would drive around a parking lot, hitting the speed bumps and trying to knock his friend off??? That's the hood surfing to which I'm referring... anyway, this lizard calmly walked around the hood of the car, hanging on with it's tiny little toenails, surfing the hood... Me, not being male or drunk, was driving carefully because I did not want to it to fall off and hurt it's little head and suffer traumatic brain injury. So, we made it safely home, and to my knowledge, the little surfing lizard is hanging ten ( how many toes does a lizard actually have??) with someone else. So, that's my exciting news from South Texas. More later...
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