Normalcy


Things have returned to normal on SA and the Golden Spread, at least for the moment.  We haven’t had rain for a couple of weeks and the grass is not growing like it was.  I’ll still need to mow in the coming week but, if it doesn’t rain, I don’t expect  to have to mow again for a while.  Before June is over I will have spent over 16 hours on the mower and that doesn’t count the push mower, trimmer or edger.   I’m not feeling sorry for myself.  I know there are probably Chinese guys who have no yard to mow,  I won’t mind a little respite, though, especially since there are so many other things around the place that need attention.

Abigail spent last week at Abilene Christian University camp, Rebecca had tennis lessons and helped her grandma with her rat killing, and Kaylee has a birthday.  Jill, too.  I’m not sure what Sophia and Vivian did.  They’ll be here this week so maybe I’ll ask them.  Tomatoes and grapes are doing well, although the moth larvae infestation we had In the grapevines last year is back.  I’ve spent a lot of time trying to beat them back without using insecticide.  The drying out process is also making it easier to steal a march on the weeds.

I’ve been doing battle with the growth along the trails at Wildcat Bluff the last couple of weeks.  I use a DR trimmer which is a cross between a lawnmower and a string trimmer.  Usually the trails are worn down to the dirt, sand and rocks but the vegetation encroaches form both sides and makes the trails uninviting because one can’t see what might be lurking around ones ankles.  The idea is to run the trimmer down both sides to beat back that encroachment and make a more inviting trail.  The first trail I trimmed I experimented with carrying a gas can with me.  I would trim a ways, then walk back and pick up the gas can and bring to where I left the mower.  By this method I calculated I hiked the mile and a half of trail some six times, which was more exercise than I was interested in.  This past week I figured I’d fill the gas tank and mow out and back but I misjudged and ran out of gas before I got back to where I the gas was so I had a little more of mowing and retrieving the gas can.  I can’t push the mower and tote the gas can both.  However, I did keep track of my time and now I have a handle on how long a full tank of gas will last so I ought to be able time it to be back where the gas is before I run out.  We’ll see.

Saturday I spent all morning in a presentation about hummingbirds.  Texas is tied with Arizona for the most species of hummingbirds, 16 out of eighteen, if I remember  correctly, though not the same 16.  Then I spent all afternoon until 6 o’clock down at WT in a lecture about mammals.  Among the things I learned was that someone introduced warthogs to a ranch in South Texas, that they have spread to eight ranches and are, in the estimation of our presenter, 10 times more dangerous and destructive than feral hogs, which are very dangerous and very destructive.  We learned a lot about the mess people have made by introducing invasive species of plants as well as animals, or by eliminating natives.