SA Times – Page 8 – rakeeter.com

July 2022

July 29

There was .01″ in the rain gauge two days ago, .25″ the next day and 2.93″ in it this morning. It started raining while we enjoyed berries and cream and watched telebision yesterday evening and it was raining pretty good when A&R headed home. I offered to drive them. I invited them to spend the night, but they chose to borrow a golf umbrella and make a run for it. Poor Black Nose the cat. They carried him with them when they came to 1911 and he got stuck on the front porch when it started raining. They tried to carry him back down to 2005 under the umbrella with them but the last I saw of them all three were scampering across the prairie toward high ground.

It having been so dry for so long, seems a miracle we got such a good rain. It didn’t pour down hard like a cow pissing on a flat rock as it frequently does with thunderstorms. It’s frustrating when it rains hard briefly and then stops. As I said, it rained while we were watching television and I wasn’t aware of it. About 10:30 there was a lot of water running in the yard and not just in the dry creek bed. Later in the night I got up and the puddles had mostly disappeared. Then, when I got up this morning, there was water standing in low places around the yard, indicating it had rained enough during the night to saturate the ground. This is a reprieve from watering, at least for a little while and a much-appreciated break.

Abigail heads off to Lubbock next week to get her apartment squared away and handle other business. We’ve had a good summer working together and got a lot done. While there was no mowing necessary, there were plenty of other things to spend our time on. This was Abigail’s fourth summer helping me and she has practically gotten to the point where she gives me direction. It won’t be easy adapting to working by myself again.

July 27

Abigail and I spent this morning working at Wildcat Bluff. Last week, Regina the director asked if we could trim a hedge and Abigail took on that project today. Calling it a hedge might make it sound like something it’s not. It is a series of bushes, but I don’t what kind they are, certainly not something that would typically be used for a hedge. It was overgrown and had needed attention for a long time. Abigail, on her own volition, trimmed one side of it a couple of years ago. I had often thought I should clean it up but there were always things I felt more pressing. It had a buildup of leaves underneath and the odd yucca growing in it. Overall, it looked like a good place to harbor slithery things. I took care of the yucca and helped deposit the trimmings in the dumpster. The trimmer ran out of juice and so did Abigail by the time she had blown all the dirt away that came out with the leaves and other debris, but she got it done.

While Abigail was working on the trimming, I watered the butterfly garden and was rewarded with seeing the first monarch butterfly I’ve seen there. The garden is a designated monarch way station but has long been ineffective due to neglect. We have been trying to make it more hospitable to monarch and other butterflies, so it was gratifying to so one flitting around in the sprinkler apparently enjoying itself.

July 18

We got Parker married off Saturday evening. It was a nice ceremony and well attended, though it was held outside and started at 7 p.m., so it was hotter than the hinges on the door to hell. The bride was lovely and there was a gaggle of maids of honor and some questionable men standing by. Even the dog got in on the action. Terry walked it down the aisle, or maybe it walked Terry. Hard to say. It may have been some stray they grabbed at the last minute. There were several speeches at the reception. My favorite was the best man’s. Essentially, he said he was nervous giving a speech, had known Parker for a long time, yada yada and let it go at that. Jill drove in Friday for the wedding and drove home Sunday.

Abigail drove to Lubbock after the wedding to move into her apartment. Chris followed the next morning with a load of furniture she claimed from the loft above the shop. She got her great-grandmother’s dresser and rocking chair. She also got the chair that goes with the roll-top desk Genna had, which Kari uses. She also took an empty filing cabinet and an end table that went with the 3-piece set but didn’t use because it was too large. She seemed to be happy with her acquisitions.

July 8

We celebrated Abigail’s 21st birthday this week. It was a low-key affair despite being a major milestone in the Abster’s journey.

July 3

We got back in town Friday afternoon and Jill and I went to the Honda shop to retrieve her car. The A/C failed on the drive to Amarillo and, because it was Friday evening when she got here, there was no time to get it repaired before we headed for Red River. Jill took it to the Honda shop Monday morning before we left and drove the Pathfinder on the trip. That worked out well and with any kind of luck, they will have A/C for the trip back to Sachse.

Saturday, we had our 4th of July gathering. Wonder of wonders, it rained on us before we could get all the food out. The storm passed in plenty of time enjoy the late afternoon and evening. The rain had cooled things off nicely and we had a good time playing volleyball, visiting and eating. We had watered the volleyball court and it was nice and green, a contrast with the grass on the rest of the place, and very pleasant to play on. Some of us ate too much ice cream, but it was homemade, and we only get it once a year, so what the heck.

June 2022

by rakeeter

June 30

We spent a pleasant week in good ol’ Red River. As usual, we didn’t do much except watch movies, swim and eat ice cream. We went on a couple of short hikes, strolls, really. Vivian fished for an hour or less, but that was it. It was bone dry and hot when we left Amarillo but raining and chilly when we got to RR. The weather got better as the week progressed, but we didn’t mind the cool and rain. It was a refreshing change from what we were experiencing back home. All good things end, of course, and we eventually made our way back to hot, arid Amarillo.

June 26

This week at the Bluff, Abigail spotted a rattler when we were putting our tools up. She is always on the lookout, and it paid off today because the snake was close to where she was headed. Also, its markings made it blend into the ground well. We alerted the authorities and went on about our business. The rattler slithered under a building.

June 19

There was a dove up against the shop door surrounded by cats. They weren’t molesting it but were very interested. It had an injured wing, maybe inflicted by a cat but also may have been caused by a power line or some other obstruction the bird ran in to. I collected it and put it in a grocery sack. Abigail and I had a load to take to the brush site, so we took the dove with us and dropped it off at the rehab center on the way back. While we were there, we saw a pronghorn fawn(?) they were raising up to return to the wild when it got big enough. They said it follows them around all day and that there is a picture on their website. It was cute.

June 11

And so, the saga of Six Acres continues, though maybe a little less dry. It has rained a couple of times this month. No great quantities, you understand, but not nothing neither. The grass tries to green up, but then it turns hot and windy, and, well, so much for that. I was standing on the front porch, oh, I guess it was Thursday evening about 9:45, watching it rain and enjoying the cool air when lightning struck the south end of SA. Well, it seemed like that’s where it struck but it must have been farther away. The thunder, which sounded like the crack of doom, came on the heels of the flash so it was too close for comfort. The rain that evening added to the rain we got Wednesday morning for a total of .86 of an inch. We avoided any unpleasantness, such a hail and high winds.

Since it was raining Wednesday morning, Abigail and I couldn’t go to the Bluff so we watched a couple of movies down in the cave, trying to make the best of a bad situation. The week before, we took advantage of another inclimate morning to shred the cardboard the neighbors collected the last few months. Kari, Chis and I did that back in the winter but I guess there was more to shred this time because it took Abigail and I an hour and a half just to cut the cardboard into strips so it could be fed into the chipper. We spent another hour and a half Monday morning feeding the strips into the chipper and still didn’t finish. I made the executive decision that it was too much work for too little gain to try to shred the cardboard so the next day we took the remaining strips to a cardboard recycling dumpster. Abigail had managed to step in cat poop before we ran that errand and, though she had attempted to clean her shoe, the air in the cabin of the pickup was rather thick and we were grateful it was a short drive to the dumpster.

May 2022

by rakeeter

May 30

We visited the cemeteries this morning, Kari, Abigail, Rebecca and I. We placed small jars of flowers on Mom’s, Bernice’s and Joyce’s graves. It wasn’t easy to come up with decent bouquets, but we managed. Heat, drought and wind sort of put a damper on the flowers. There was only a gentle breeze this morning when we were making our rounds, which we were grateful for. We were all feeling our loss of the last year, though little was said. I’m told it gets easier as time passes and I suspect that’s true, but I don’t think any of us felt it was much easier yet. Breakfast cheered us some and we’ll get together this afternoon for hotdogs and ice cream, which will help.

Mr Drought continues, though we did get some rain a week ago, the first reasonable amount of moisture since March. It was less than an inch (.82) but the grass still managed to green up just a little. We have possibilities of rain later this week and, if we get anything significant, that might continue the greening process, which would be nice. As Kari and I were walking out of the symphony hall Friday evening we overheard a woman in front of us telling her companions 10 inches of rain fell on Amarillo in 90 minutes back in 1978, causing considerable flooding. That much rain over six months is hard to imagine right now.

Abigail returned from Lubbock week before last and has been helping with the place, though it was too cold and rainy to get much done last Monday and Tuesday. I hadn’t gotten around to changing the oil in the mower so we took care of that, plus a few other little inside jobs. We are taking today off to show proper respect for the holiday and we could get rained out if the forecast is accurate for later in the week, but we sure won’t begrudge the moisture. We’ll take it when we can get it.

Rebecca and I spend some time driving around the neighborhood on Sunday afternoons. She is making good progress and we have only been honked at twice, though the second time was uncalled for, in my opinion.

May 1

It was time to visit Alibates Flint Quarry national monument again. In fact, past time. I’m supposed to visit it each quarter and I never made it out there during the January quarter. You’ll recall I volunteered to keep tabs on AFQ for the Texas Park and Wildlife Great Texas Nature Trail Map. TPW asks the Master Naturalist chapters to monitor trails on the map to verify that the information provided by the map is still accurate. My job is easy since AFP is a national monument and unlikely to change much or fall into disrepair.

I dropped everything and devoted Saturday April 30 to taking care of that bit of business. It so happened that the City Nature Challenge fell on that weekend as well and, since our chapter president asked all members to summit at least one observation, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, not that I killed any birds, which would not be in keeping with the Nature Challenge. People all over the world participate in the challenge by posting observations of flora and fauna to the iNaturalist app or website. Scientists use the data to try to keep tabs on nature around the world. I saw precious little fauna and had to settle for flora, which would at least hold still long enough for me to snap a picture. I made eight or nine observations. The beauty of submitting observations to iNaturalist is that knowledgeable people monitor the site and will help identify what one has submitted, which is nice because I had no idea what the things were I was submitting. I recognized a gourd but did not know it was a coyote gourd. Still don’t, really, because one person called a coyote gourd and another called a buffalo gourd. They get into scientific names but that is a bit much for me.

I have been to the flint quarries several times, most recently last fall so I didn’t see the need of going on another ranger-led hike to them. Instead, I explored some of the side roads that branch off the main road leading to the quarries. They mostly led to gas wells. I had always wondered where the McBride 98 well was. It is far and away the biggest producer among the McBride and Rockwell wells. One of the side roads led to old number 98. I was impressed by the amount of machinery around it, as you can see in the picture. Guess that has something to do with its production.

I also discovered a road that didn’t lead to a well. It is called the Dolomite Point road and it leads to a geological formation formed into a point of caprock (dolomite). At least I think that was the point in question. You can see from the picture it is sort of an odd feature in the river valley. One can drive to the top of it so I did and admired the view from there.

East dolomite point — Maybe this is dolomite point.

The Dolomite Point Road branches off in two directions, one going east and one going west down the river valley. I took the east branch first and that’s where I saw what I believe is the dolomite point that gives the road its name. That road petered out eventually and I retraced my steps to take the west branch. On that road I saw another interesting geological formation. Now that I think about it, maybe that one was the dolomite point in question, only I think of the eastern formation as being a point and the western formation being a miniature Palo Duro Canyon Lighthouse-looking thing. Neither formation has a sign on it so I guess it is up to the individual which one to think of as THE point. Maybe both, in which case they should call it the Dolomite Points road.

Dolomite point west — This may or may not be the geological formation that gave the name to
Dolomite Point Drive in the Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument.

I also hiked along the Mullinaw Trail, which runs along the river, though the river is hard to see because there is tall grass, head high to me, growing on the riverbank. I saw some ducks but couldn’t get close enough to them to get a good look. They seemed to be all black, and, no, they weren’t mud hens. There is a black scoter in the bird book but according to it they don’t visit our part of the country.

It was a nice day for getting out and prowling around. A cold front blew in during the night but by the time I was out on the moor the wind wasn’t strong and what there was felt pretty good whilst I meandered in the sunshine. There are a couple of more trails on the north side of the river, either in Moore or Hutchinson County. The nature challenge requests that observations come from one’s county of residence, Potter County in my case, so I saved those for another day. My next visit will be in the July quarter. Should be plenty warm by then.

April 2022

by rakeeter

Easter granddaughters & Jill
Easter & granddaughters
Easter & granddaughters & moms

April 24

Friday night’s symphony performance included the performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 by 16-year-old Asian chick Harmony Zhu. Seems ol’ Harmony has been performing since she was 8 and, not only is she a world-class pianist, but she is also the world chess champion in her age group. She was lively, to say the least, and I was afraid she was going to fall backwards off the piano bench the way she was bouncing around. Thankfully, she managed not to and delivered an entertaining performance. After Harmony had done her thing and the intermission, conductor George Jackson, contender for the full-time gig of Amarillo Symphony music director, led the orchestra through Elgar’s Enigma Variations. A number of those are easily recognizable since they are often used in movies and stuff. To my tin ear, it was well done, one of the more entertaining after intermission performances. I didn’t even get drowsy.

It blew all to be damned Thursday and Friday and Friday evening there was enough rain to mix with the dust and warm the hearts of carwash owners all over town. There was .04 inches in the gauge Saturday morning. Didn’t inhibit symphony night but let Kari out close to the entrance just to be safe.

April 21

Yesterday I attended an Ogallala Commons playa field day. This one was in Tulia. Ogallala Commons , along with Playa Lake Joint Venture and Texas Parks and Wildlife through their land management program are dedicated to preserving working playas and restoring those that have been altered, where possible. The goal here is to educate the public about the importance of playas in aquifer recharge. About 90% of the water used on the High Plains comes from aquifers, predominantly the Ogallala Aquifer. According to the information the speakers gave us the recharge rate for the Ogallala Aquifer is enough for people but not enough for agriculture. The emphasis by the Ogallala Commons, et al, is to preserve healthy playas to delay running out of water. A landowner with one or more playas on his property can contact the organizations and get help restoring his playas if they need it.

The Ogallala Aquifer extends from the Dakotas down to the south High Plains and Texas has the most playas, although many have been modified, which reduces or eliminates their ability to recharge the acquifer. Many of the playas have been modfied, either by digging a pit to catch water for livestock, or by simply farming through the playa. Often, the pit can be filled in with the dirt that came out of it and TPW pays the landowner so much per acre to restore a playa as well covering the cost of the restoration in return for a 10-year easement on the property. That is, the landowner agrees not to modify or disturb the playa for ten years.

Besides filling in pits and removing berms that inhibit rainwater runoff from reaching the playa, the TPW program also encourages a native grass margin around the playa. This helps to remove sediment and pollutants from the runoff. The use of native grass permits more runoff to the playa as opposed to foreign species, which grow much thicker than the natives. One of the speakers is a biologist and he talked about the problems native upland birds have in dealing with the exotic grasses. Seems chicks can’t get through the grass and predators can hide in it more easily, the better to prey on the chicks.

April 18

Spring advances apace here on SA. Some fruit trees are still in bloom while others have bloomed and leafed out. So far, we have managed to dodge any hard freezes. There is still time, but it gets less likely the fruit trees will get whacked with each passing day. It would be ironic that, in the middle of drought, we get a good fruit crop. Maybe we will even get some for ourselves before the critters get it all.

Last year the daffodils and tulips really showed out, but not this year. There are a few around but nothing like last year. The liriopes on the other hand are showing out, more so than they have any time in the past that I remember. There are weeds that need my attention but nothing like the last few years. If I get them sprayed, maybe they will be less of a problem in wetter years. Looks like the Siberian elms are going to have a crop of seeds. They weren’t too bad last year, but they seem to alternate between lots of seeds one year and not so many the next, then back to lots and so forth. After last year I guess we are due a heavy seeding year.

Much of my time is spent watering. Even though it hasn’t gotten hot yet, it has been windy, and some trees are reaching their limit. I’m having to come up with new ideas to get water to them. The nice snow in March was helpful but that moisture has just about faded away.

March 2022

by rakeeter

March 29

Today is quite a contrast from Tuesday last week. It is warm and windy. I spent Monday and Tuesday morning whittling on the tree in the back yard felled by last week’s snow and wind. So far, all I’ve done is trim off the part that extends across the fence to the east. Luckily, the tree was propped up by the tree across the fence and a couple of stout limbs on the fallen tree so that it didn’t take out portion of the fence, which it very easily could have. In trimming the part on the other side of the fence, I’m trying to reduce the weight, the better to control the trunk so that neither the fence nor I get mashed in the process of getting the trunk on the ground. Next, I’ll trim what I can off the trunk on the backyard side of the fence before I try to trim the limbs that are holding the trunk up. I’m not sure how all that is going to play out. I may just have to keep cutting small pieces of the trunk, small enough that they aren’t likely to damage the fence if they fall on it, until I’m confident the trunk is short enough to miss the fence when I lay it on the ground.

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