Goodbye July

July 31

Sad day. My sidekick Abigail goes back to Lubbock today. It will be hard to get used to going through the workweek without her, and a little daunting. We accomplished a lot this summer and I am grateful for her help.

We got a little rain last night to close out the month. It had begun to get pretty dry and we wound up nearly half an inch below our July average but it seemed like the rain was timely when it did come and was spread out enough so that, except about the middle of June, we haven’t gotten brown-grass dry. There is rain in the forecast for the next day or two so here’s hoping.

July 25

Funny thing happened when we were in Red River. Recently, Abigail played poker with a friend and his family. She had never played before and thought it would be good to know more about the game, such as the value of the various hands, to be better prepared next time she played. So we took a deck of cards and a rule book with us to Red River and spent happy hour each afternoon learning stud and draw poker. We started with five-card stud. After reviewing the rules, I shuffled the cards and dealt a hand. I had been brushing up on my shuffling and between that and the pre-deal shuffle, the deck had probably been shuffled over 20 times. Mark that. The first hand I dealt, Abigail got a queen-high straight flush. Remember, we were playing five-card stud so there was no draw, just the five cards she was dealt. The Official Rules of Card Games 82nd edition states: “You should not expect to be dealt a straight flush more than once in 65,000 hands.” She wasn’t sure of the value of her hand and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I guess it will be a while before Abigail gets another one.

It has turned hot and dry again. We are watering regularly. The place is still green but that will begin to fade soon if we don’t get rain, and none is forecast, we’ll have start watering everything. We are caught up on the mowing, which is good since next week will be Abigail’s last week. She will return to Lubbock to continue her education and I will have plenty to keep me busy.

July 18

Yesterday morning we watched Rebecca’s singles match at the Randal High School tennis facility against a girl from Canyon. Rebecca won 6-3, 6-2, but the match was more competitive than the score would indicate. I’m told Rebecca will start two-a-days early next month as a member of the Amarillo High tennis team. She has played a tournament nearly every weekend this summer but things are going to get really serious soon. She isn’t eligible to play varsity because she is a transfer (Tascosa to Amarillo High) but may still be able to travel with the team. I think that is the way it goes; I may be wrong.

I wish to correct an error. I was told the Wylies would leave for Branson, MO last Sunday but now I’m told they didn’t leave till Wednesday. Either way we hope they had a pleasant trip. I don’t know the status of Dave’s car. Seems all three girls made a sports team: Kaylee and Sophia are playing soccer; Vivian is playing volleyball. If that is not correct, please leave a correction in the comments. Sophia and Kaylee will participate in band camp soon. Their school will start earlier than Rebecca’s.

We got about a half inch rain yesterday evening and were gratified. That relieved us having to water this morning. I could cut and paste much of the July 2020 post and it would be just as current. The purslane in the old orchard area burst out as it did last year. Because of our efforts last year there was less of it this year. Abigail and I were able to get it all pulled in our early morning weed-pulling time. There has been a strong goathead outbreak this year and we’ve been trying to stay on top of that. Mowing, trimming and weed spraying take up most of our mornings Monday through Thursday.

July 11

There was barely any green left in the grass a couple of weeks before the 3rd of July, which was when we celebrated the 4th here on SA. It had been the practice since 2003 for our family and Joyce’s sister, brother and their children’s families to congregate here on SA in celebration of Independence Day. Two years ago, though, we were rained out and last year, well, we know what happened last year so there was some question whether we would revive the tradition this year. Some of us are getting rather long of tooth. We did, though, and were blessed with enough rain before the 3rd to green the place up nicely. It was a nice day, as well, and there were no biting insects to trouble us, which is more than I can say about just a day or two later. We were still able to have a volleyball game, which everyone who played seemed to enjoy. I didn’t think I would be able to answer the bell. The night before about 10 o’clock Jill got a call from Dave whose car had quit on him and he was stranded at a truckstop south of Vernon. Joyce rousted me out of bed and made me go with Jill and Kaylee to rescue him. I hoped I wouldn’t be needed but knew if I didn’t go and they ran into trouble I would never hear the last of it, so I went. Dave spent the whole night trying to get a towtruck to come and tow his car to Wichita Falls while Jill, Kaylee and I tried to sleep in the car. We were amazed to find out it is common for people to stop and sleep at truckstops for awhile before resuming their journey. Cars came and went all night long. The towtruck finally showed up between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. after which we drove back to Amarillo.

As it turned out, Dave spent the week in Amarillo while we were in Red River. His car is a Mini Cooper and the shop in Wichita Falls that works on that make was so backed up they still hadn’t gotten to it when we got back home. Dave had brought their dog and left their cat at home with ample provisions for his being gone two or three days. By the end of the week there was great concern that kitty might be in dire straits, so Wylies hit the road from home within a couple hours of getting back from Red River. I’m told they left today for a planned vacation in Branson, MO. Maybe Dave’s car will be ready when they get back.

Speaking of Red River, we had an excellent week there. The weather was nice and the facilities where we stayed were all open. The girls took full advantage of the pool. Jill, Abigail and I played poker at happy hour and, of course, we watched a movie and ate ice cream every evening. There wasn’t much fishing done and no catching but that just allowed for extra time in the pool and some hikes here and there.

While we were gone we got another inch and a half of rain and the place is lush and badly in need of mowing. Abigail will be around for three more weeks before heading back to Lubbock, plenty of time to get the place mowed up good. Gosh, I’m going to miss her.