Dire situation

Tuesday:  It was time to water the few planters I keep on my porch, just to have a spot of life and color to cheer us up. This malabar spinach climbed around an ornament and caught my attention. So pretty! But the background revealed the lack of green vegetation in my yard. Because of the extreme drought, there's plenty of brown dust and dirt, as well as leaves that are drying on the trees. Can you believe that 106-108 degrees is forcast for each day this week? It's kind of  "the nail in the coffin" for the last of our water and pasture. I decided to photograph the situation.

The tank has about 3 weeks of water left in it.

Lack of rain, 105 plus degrees, and the hot wind = dying catfish.

At first, I tried adding fresh water but soon figured out that it was a losing battle. So Mike got his big bait net and for the next 4 hours, we caught and cleaned as many fish as we could.

My freezer is full of fish and we are exhausted. I feel good that these fish were not wasted, but I'm really sad that today there are at least 20 dead fish in the tank. I'm afraid that's the last of them. Now I am worried about all the other animals finding a water source. Our tank was one of the last ones around here to have water. I'm thinking of buying some children's swimming pools and keeping them full of water in the edge of the woods. I pray that the heat breaks and the rains come. In the meantime, I will do what I can to feed and water the other living creatures.

Foto Friday: April Showers (oh how I wish)

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I can't show you any April rain....

I can't show you any May flowers..

but I can show some different creatures who come to the water dishes and bird feeders that I keep out.

I like to provide extra water and food for the animals in drought conditions like Texas is experiencing.

A fairly large lizard....

A copperhead that came a little too close for my comfort...

A beautiful painted bunting...

As a matter of fact, one of my favorite things in the whole world is to watch a bird bathe in the bird bath. I love how they splash the water over their backs and preen their feathers. I also love to turn the sprinkler on low and watch from a distance as the birds fly through it.

Deer and bobcats come regularly to my tank, as do the wild pigs. My only problem is trying to keep my eye on my little dog Amos. I don't want him to suddenly disappear. I just want to help the animals who are looking for water, it's getting hard to find. Maybe we will get May showers.....soon.....


Dear Rebecca, I'm sorry that you are sick of the rain. I know how you feel. I remember one year that it rained almost every day and I felt stuck with 2 kids under 3 years old. We made a game of putting on rain boots and going to throw rocks into the many huge puddles. I kind of miss that right now. Hope you get a break soon.

Eagerly waiting

Here are some of the "girls" and their calves. Waiting. As you can see, there isn't much grass because of the drought. It looks pretty and green under the trees but the green is mostly weeds (or cactus like in the pictures in the last post). They are waiting for some extra feed. They respond to any vehicle that comes by. I'm sorry, but I was just riding around taking pictures.  My brother-in-law came later to feed them. The cows are still in good shape but they will require extra hay and range cubes through the summer...since there is little grass.

A few years ago, the farmers and ranchers had a hard time getting enough hay. The hay is usually baled in the Spring and Summer and saved for the Winter. But in the extreme drought, not much hay was produced. And with little pasture, what hay that was saved had to be used in the summer. Some hay had to be brought in from other states. Looks like we will be in that situation again. At least our area hasn't had the huge wildfires that burn for days. But that is a worry in the next few months.

Foto Friday challenge: WHITE

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Perhaps it was the idea of the 92 degree temperature forcast for today, or just because I was sweating during the large amount of cooking I did this morning. But, the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the theme for today's  WHITE photo challenge was: snow.

We actually have had  two or three good snow days in the last 2 years here in my part of Texas. That is unheard of!

We put out a lot of bird seed during this snow in February. Look at all the tiny little prints that remained after the feast. I remember how quiet, still and clean it was when I took my afternoon walk. The air was so cold and the ground was mostly an undisturbed field of crisp white snow. Everything felt and looked so fresh and pure. It was a joy to experience....so much white.

Things to do when it's too cold....#2

Photograph birds...through the window...without scaring them

They were so excited by all the extra birdseed that they stopped paying attention to me, so I just sat and watched.  The male cardinals tend to "rule" and run off the littler birds. The cardinals are very protective of their females and sometimes they fight their own reflections in the window. I watched this scene a long time, marveling in how fluffed up the birds were, and feeling very thankful that we could put out some feed for them.

The Extraordinary Light of the Morning Sun

Very ordinary things become beautifully illuminated and extraordinary in the first burst of morning sunlight.

Wild, native Persimmons



Johnson Grass with full seeded heads.





A broad Mesquite tree on the fenceline




Perennial, beautiful purple native Liatris




Native grass in full seed that is my lawn

The morning colors are vivid and the shadows are intense. The first sun hits the tops of the trees, leaving the rest in dark coolness.  

Texas morning, at 50 degrees!

  Mist over the water...

Sunrise lighting the top of the trees....


I'm totally unprepared for a little cool weather. I step out at 7:15, notice how pretty things are, and go back inside for my camera. I am chilled so I grab a beach towel and wrap it around my shoulders. It isn't easy to hold the towel and take pictures at the same time. I guess I will have to get out some robes and long sleeve shirts. I am surprised every year, when it actually does cool off after our 100 degree summer days.
Surprised, but very excited!

A morning gift

Misty dawn, lilac sky,

Weary spirits look up high.

Early morn, brand new day,

Rising sunlight brightens our way.

Misty dawn, lilac sky,

Each day your beauty magnified.

All the world is in its prime,

Each horizon yields a new springtime.

Misty dawn, lilac sky,

Puffy white clouds float on by.

Across the heavens eagles soar,

While far below the oceans roar.

Misty dawn, lilac sky,

All the earth must comply.

Amber light, coming sunshine,

Time to sing praises to the Divine.

   

Gil Saenz

Joy in the snow

Mike, Ky and Amos love the snow from Kerrie Griffin on Vimeo.



Here's my family having a little fun in the snow.

The best snow we've seen in 20 years

The snow begins to fall 

It begins to collect on the ground. 

In about an hour, everything is covered. 

We are warm inside, Amos perches on the couch-a little confused. 

The snow falls thickly and is very beautiful.

The lines "lovely, dark and deep" come to mind. 

We venture out, have a snowball fight, and build a cute little snowman. He has a carrot nose, penny eyes, M&M teeth, and a rope necktie. The M&Ms fall out and leave him with a tie dyed smile. We all feel very happy.

A scene from our icy days

Mike shows us the ice from Kerrie Griffin on Vimeo.

Mike enjoyed a few rare days of icy weather recently but ventured out just a little too far...

It is cold-even here!

Is is very cold here, at least by our standards here in central Texas. It got down to 18 degrees the last few nights. Needless to say, I haven't spent much time outside. It is good weather for cooking though. We are having a farewell luncheon for our former Pastor at church today and we decorated with a snowflake theme. I thought that making these little cake ball snowmen would be appropriate for dessert. I got the idea from Bakerella http://bakerella.com/snowman-cake-pops/ . I dipped the cake balls and my daughter decorated them.

Yesterday morning we discovered that our tank had frozen over for the first time since we made it, about 15 years ago. I tested the middle, where it is the deepest, by throwing some sticks out there. They just hit and bounced, then skidded. It was frozen all the way across. Mike broke the surface of ice so the animals could drink. This morning it was frozen again.

Morning sun

We had a cool front that came in on Saturday afternoon and the temperature this morning was about 55 degrees. Beautiful! The morning sun was shining through the trees and onto the deck.

The sun lit up this pretty purple thistle-deepening and brightening up the colors.

Almost gone

The cool front came in Sunday morning and I think we have a pretty good chance of rain soon. That would be great because my poor tank is almost dry. We did have catfish in there but I haven't seen any in a long while. The big cranes are able to walk all the way across now and they come daily to eat the fish. We need about 3 or 4 inches of hard rain to put some water back in the tank.
Since the cool air came, my mood is much better and I apologize to those coping with ice. Also, I know that there are places in the world without any water. Things are back in perspective for me, I hope. The house is closed up again and my first priority is getting rid of the flies! White chicken chili for supper.

Texas Brown

I know it is January now and I know that tomorrow it is supposed to get down into the 40's, but for today it is 80 degrees and so dry. The house is hot and I am not turning on the air conditioner. I am just going to be cranky for a while. Most everything is brown and brittle. This pasture across the road should have some kind of winter grass growing but it is too dry. I do feel for those who are in drastic cold right now or are snowbound and I should be glad that I am in short sleeves, with the house wide open and that I was just outside sitting in the sun. If there weren't so many flies, maybe I wouldn't be so cranky. Or maybe, if I just looked around outside some more, or sat on the deck and watched Mike BBQ some chicken wings, I would stop being irritable. I'm done complaining. I just looked at the weather forecast and Monday is supposed to be really cold with a good chance of rain. I'm going out to enjoy this while it lasts.

Gentle Southern breeze

The weather is warm and there is a wonderful Southern breeze. I have the house completely open. My bedroom is painted a dark, deep blue because my Husband needs to sleep late after working a night shift and it is a treat to have the window open-letting the fresh air blow through. A cold front is on the way, though, so tomorrow will be very different. Typical Texas weather.

Sunrise after the storm

Hurricane Ike

We missed hurricane force winds by about 10 miles. We had brief, hard gusts of wind and 3 1/2 inches of rain. We were so fortunate! My prayers go out to those who were affected by the full force of this huge storm. What did hurt us was missing our niece's wedding. We had to stay here because Mike is one of the authorities who oversee the evacuation routes and, on top of that, we thought our home would be directly in the path-and it almost was.

The day after Ike, the sun came out and a cool front blew in. It is so beautiful where I live, but nine miles away, the town is without electricity-possibly for weeks. The authorities handed out water and ice yesterday, and today food. The schools are closed and the jail is running on a generator. Even with that problem, there was no structural damage, just a lack of electricity due to Entergy from Houston being damaged.

Nothing felt better than than the sun, and knowing the physical danger had passed.