Author: rakeeter

Blow off
by rakeeter

It doesn’t seem like this is the most colorful fall we’ve ever had, and maybe not as colorful as normal, not that this part of the world is known for its fall color.   Or maybe the color is just later than some years.  We drove up to Canadian with the Shewberts Friday and there wasn’t any of the cottonwood color we’ve seen there on previous trips, though their cottonwood festival was several weeks ago and may there was more of a show then.  There is a restaurant in Canadian in an old bank building that is worth the drive.  Their menu is fairly extensive and not cheap but everything we’ve had there has been very good.  They have some scrumptious rolls and they serve a complimentary bread pudding dessert made from yesterday’s leftover rolls.  I highly recommend it next time you are in Canadian. Continue reading “Blow off” →

Set point
by rakeeter

Tuesday evening we got to enjoy one of the best volleyball matches we’ve watched since Abigail started playing.  The opponent was Lubbock Coronado and the match was played in Tascosa’s Old Main (original) gym.  The Mustangs took the first game 25-16 and the Rebels had to work hard to get it that close.  The Mustangs didn’t play with a lot of power but it was difficult to get anything past them.  They just made fewer mistakes the first game.  The second game the two teams played neck and neck until Coronado started to pull away.  Chloe went on a run with her serve and the rest of the girls started backing her up.  Chloe, if she gets going, can dismantle a lot of teams but not this one.  She was hitting zingers but they were digging them out so it was a team effort to win the point.  The Rebels pulled back even and then away for a solid win.  It came down to the third game and neither team had any quit in it.  It went back and forth until the Rebels opened a lead and got to 24.  The Mustangs had a hitter of their own and she got her team to 22 before the Rebels put them away.  Fittingly it was an Abigail set for a Chloe smash that finally sealed the win.  They had been running that successfully throughout the match, in fact all season.  Abigail had several smashes of her own.  She’s learning to use her height to good effect.  Since one of their teammates was called up to the A team, Abigail doesn’t come out of the game and I think that is helping her to improve.  She’s getting pretty good in all phases of the game. Continue reading “Set point” →

Drip
by rakeeter

Although it dripped quite a bit this week, it did rain at time for the place to accumulate nearly two inches of much needed moisture.  Combined with the cool temperatures, it was a beneficial wet spell.  There was speculation over the last six or more weeks of dry weather whether the grass would green up again if it got some rain.  The answer is yes, yes it did.  I think I’ll mow in the coming week.  The grass in most places is tall enough.  Maybe that will be it for the season. Continue reading “Drip” →

October tramp
by rakeeter

As busy summer turned to less frenetic fall, the road beckoned me and I was off on a tramp.  My wandering brought me to Great Sand Dunes National Park (first eight photos above) and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado.  Last year Gary and Phyllis took us to the Dunes Park when we visited them in Red River.  Until then I didn’t know it existed.  Our visit was little more than a drive by and I wanted to go back and do a little exploring, which I did.  I didn’t do the park justice but I did scramble up the dunes which would have tuckered out better men than me.  Spending the night there, I got to try out for the first time the tent I bought.  It is designed to go on the back end of an SUV such as the Pathfinder, with the rear door up.  When I camped out in the Pathfinder last year in Big Bend, I found the back of the Pathfinder a little cramped.  When I found this SUV tent, I thought it might give me just enough extra room so I could stretch out.  It did, but the wind got up during the night and made me think I’d made a mistake.  I backed into my space in the campground so the vehicle rear end wasn’t facing other campers.  The afternoon and evening were calm but the wind picked up during the night.  The prevailing south winds form the dunes as they blow sand up the San Luis valley and dump it when they encounter the little Sangre De Cristo mountains cul de sac.  My tent was facing the mountains but the wind kicked up out of the east blasting down the mountain side directly at the tent.  I probably didn’t secure the bottom part of the tent that goes under the rear bumper as well as I should have and the wind, which didn’t blow steadily but came in terrific gusts, would pull the tent bottom up and join me.  I could have tolerated the wind whipping around the inside of the Pathfinder, snug as I was in my sleeping bag, but the loosened tent flapped around all to be damned creating a lot of noise and I finally had to get up, take the tent down and button up in the cramped Pathfinder.  I had no such problem on the next three nights, though, and found that the tent performed as I had hoped.  It also allowed me to get better ventilation when I tied back the solid outer flaps and just zipped up the inner mesh insect screen. Continue reading “October tramp” →

Rain, finally
by rakeeter

We have been dry as a bone on SA for going on two months, but that changed Saturday afternoon, thanks to Kari.  It always rains when she tries to have a party, especially a birthday party.  It was Li’l r’s birthday party that triggered the deluge.  Six or seven little girls showed up anyway and the puppy-themed party, originally planned for outdoors, was confined to the house.  Joyce, Barbara and I were invited and we braved the shrieking for some hotdogs and cake.  I think the little devils, uh, angels enjoyed themselves.  At least it sounded like they did.  Kari was wise to limit the time to 4-6.  When it came time for parents to pick up their children it was raining still so Chris stationed himself at the gate and called Abigail when a parent drove up.    Abigail and I teamed up to escort each little girl under an umbrella so that they were delivered to their parent reasonably dry.  We have learned to avoid letting people drive down to the house, especially when the ground is wet.

Saturday morning Joyce, Barbara and I attended the Wildcat Bluff Nature Center fundraiser.  It was a cooking competition among half a dozen local restaurants.  The chefs were supposed to use at least some ingredients that might be found at the nature center, such as wild plums, prickly pear leaves and/or fruit, lizards and toads, and so on.  The neighbors and the Lopez clan also came so our family had a pretty good showing.  We were expecting small samples but were presented with entrees.  I paced myself to I could visit each booth and sample everything.  The chefs really outdid themselves and their offerings were delicious.  Oh, some appealed to different tastes better than others.  Chris liked the roast dove but I found it too gamey.  There were pork ribs, grits, biscuits, gelato, jalapeño thingies, and some very tasty deserts.  I tried to find out what was in the various dishes but I don’t remember much of what I was told.  I do remember I liked everything I tried.  There was a panel of judges that awarded a trophy to the winner they selected and the attendees also voted on their favorite.  This was the first fund raiser of any kind for the Bluff since the hiatus and the weather was cool and a little rainy.  Nevertheless, we had a good crowd and, hopefully, raised a little money.  I suspect I am not the only one encouraged to visit the restaurants represented there.   I plan to seek out even the establishment serving coffee.  These are people trying to get a coffee shop going and maybe they’ll offer a good alternative to the chain stores.

Joyce and Rebecca weren’t there when I got home Friday evening.  They had gone to fetch some dinner and returned about the time I emerged from a much needed shower.  The rest of the Zbindens were in Lubbock watching Abigail and her mates demolish the Lubbock Coronado team.  I spent the week on a tramp that took me to Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks.  It was a good trip.  Everything fell into place and the attractions met expectations.  I will expand on this in a coming post.