Author: rakeeter

July wrap
by rakeeter

We’ve had a busy month here on SA.  The neighbors got back from Switzerland last Monday evening and all were suffering from jet-lag, though not all would admit it.  Joyce and I held down the fort while they were gone, including administering to Tino the dog.  No small task, that.  Currently Abigail is in Denver at a volleyball camp and is scheduled to return Monday sometime.  School starts August 16th here in Amarillo, I believe, so there will be little respite for her when she gets back.  Tascosa has scheduled VB tryouts for the day she gets back, or maybe it’s the next day.  Then the team plays a tournament in Dallas the weekend after school starts, which is going to take her out of school almost as soon as it begins. Continue reading “July wrap” →

Damp weather
by rakeeter

Last rain we got was on the 4th of July.  Chris claims we got half an inch.  I’ll have to take his word for it since we were in Red River.  Since then, hot and dry.  Changing into work clothes in the shop I already feel damp and that changes to drenched once out in the sun and working.  I particularly like the feel of beads of sweat rolling down my back Continue reading “Damp weather” →

Juvenile hawk
by rakeeter

hawkWhen I drove into the Bluff last week, this fellow was sitting on a bench by the driveway.  It seemed unconcerned even though I was only about fifteen feet from it.  Hawks are usually pretty shy and I was afraid there was something wrong with it.  As I parked I saw it fly from the bench and land on the ground by some bear grass about 50 feet away.  He then started chasing after the numerous grasshoppers around.  Again I thought there must be something wrong with it and it was sustaining itself by eating grasshoppers since it couldn’t do better for whatever reason.

Later I spoke to WCB director Victoria Saker who told me wildlife rehabber Stephanie Oravetz determined that there wasn’t anything wrong with it.  Rather, she speculated that it was a juvenile from a nest observed in the trees west of the Bluff.  It appears to be a Swainson’s hawk.  At least that’s the closest description I found in the field guide.

Drivers Ed
by rakeeter

abigail driving

Sunday Abigail and I drove out to Dick Bivins stadium in the Pathfinder for the first hour of seven hours of behind-the-wheel instruction.  Abigail got her learner’s permit a couple of weeks ago and has completed the seven hours of observation required as Kari carted her around town.  Our session on the stadium parking lot was her first experience driving and we spent most of the hour stopping, starting, and making left and right turns.  We finished up the hour with 15 minutes of trying to park the vehicle in the parking slots without scuffing the imaginary cars around it, then back out, again trying not run into the other cars, no small challenge for a newbie.  I think the Abster was ready to turn the wheel back over to me when our time was up.

 

According to my records going back to 2009, June 2017 was the wettest on record and, totaling 5.45 inches of moisture, well over double the June average of 1.84.  Even June of 2015, the year we doubled our average annual moisture, we only recorded two inches.  So why did if feel like a dry month,  Well, because we got nearly four inches early in the month and the rest last weekend, with nothing in between.   It would have been nice to spread that moisture out over the month but then that wouldn’t have been the Texas Panhandle, now would it?

We’ll assemble for our 4th of July celebration Saturday.  The forecast is for a high of 84º.  That will be a nice change from the 100º temps we’ve been having this week.