Wondering about wild grapes

Monday, December 31, 2018

Happy New Year you all.

I want to wish all of you out there in blogger land a very happy New Year and hope the new year will bring you nothing but happiness and joy.

It sure is a noisy night here near Cut & Shoot, TX.  There is only two times a year that it is legal to sell (and buy) fireworks, one is the fourth of July and the other is for New Years.  Yep, it sounds like a battle is going on around my place.  Guess there is no use trying to go to bed at a decent hour tonight.

Don't forget now, I want you to have a great year, you hear?

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Can't Remember

Have you ever laid awake at night trying to get to sleep and all these absolutely great ideas of what you could post to make a very interesting blog are going through your head?  And then you wake up in the morning and. . . . nothing.  Couldn't remember a dang thing.  Yep, that was me and last night I had a great blog idea but, puff, it was gone this morning.  So, I don't have a thing to write.  Have a great day, you hear?

Thursday, December 20, 2018

What A Beautiful Sky

This morning I went out to open my gate so the gas man can deliver some propane.  I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the sky was.  I hurried back to the house and got my camera.  Yep, you guessed it, I am going to post a few sky pictures.





Yep, it is a beautiful morning here at Swamp Crest.

Remember that old TV show, Falcon Crest?  Well, that is where I got the idea to call my place Swamp Crest.  Don't you think that would make a wonderful title for a TV show?  Of course, our property really has a large swamp in the middle of it along with two ponds, but we don't have any falcons that I know of.  I am sure some may have flown over and maybe even visited for awhile, but of course, I can't verify that.  If your day is anywhere close to as nice as the one I am having, you better get out and enjoy it, you hear?

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Got Gas?

Got gas?  Well, I need some.  OK, let me explain.  We heat our home with an electric furnace, but my wife prefers to cook with gas.  So, we have a 250 gallon propane tank which lasts us quite a long time but it is time to get it filled up.

That is usually not a problem but it has been pretty wet around here and the heavy propane truck driver should be very careful where he goes.  I wouldn't advise getting off the driveway, but he may have to.  That would depend on how long the hose or hoses are that he carries on his truck.  I will insist that he gets out of his truck and checks it out.  I will also tell him if he thinks it will be a problem, we could wait till it dries up a bit, but this time of year, that may be too long.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Why Did I Say That??

Have you ever heard of that disease that cattle get called hoof and mouth disease?  Well, sometimes I suffer from foot in mouth disease.  That is caused by talking without thinking.  Maybe I should give you some examples.

1.   When someone says "I have been on a diet for months, so how do I look?"  Your comment is "Oh, you have been on a diet?"  Time to extract foot from mouth.

2.   When your wife comes home from shopping and asks how you like her new dress.  You shouldn't say "You bought THAT?".  Quick now, take that dang foot out of your mouth and gargle.

3.   When you meet an old high school buddy and he looks a hundred years old.  You shouldn't say "Wow buddy, you look awful.  You sure must have had a rough life?".  Extract one foot from one mouth.

4.   When you see a drawing and say "It is so bad, I can't figure out what it is."  And then you find out your kid, or your grandkid, or your great grandkid did it just for you.  Oh my, that foot stuck in your mouth really hurts and you try hard to remove it.

That is enough examples.  I am sure you all know what I am trying to say and I am also sure that you have stuck your foot in your mouth more than once.  This is a disease, Foot in Mouth Disease, that I keep getting over and over again, but it does make my life more interesting for sure.  Now, keep your foot out of your mouth and have a great day, you hear?

Monday, December 3, 2018

What Is Silence?

Silence, in this case, is defined as a complete absence of sound.  How many of you have experienced complete absence of sound?  I have never experienced complete silence.  Let me explain.

Many, many years ago when I was a young boy, I was laying in my bed sleeping.  I woke up in the middle of the night and just laid there for a few seconds listing to all the night critters (crickets, katydids, etc.) sing their beautiful songs.  That is, until I realized it was in the middle of winter with over a foot of snow on the ground.  It should be completely silent, but it wasn't.  Yep, the sound was coming from my own ears.

Earlier in my life, I had suffered a lot of ear infections during which caused my eardrums to brake or, if caught in time, lanced.  That had left me with a constant sound, which I have to this day.  The sound seems to get louder if I am not feeling well, but last night and so far today, the ringing in my ears is quite loud.  I do not feel sick, so maybe this will be my "normal" from now on.

I suppose that it inhibits my hearing to some extent, especially sounds that are of the same or near the same frequency.  I used to wear hearing aids, which did seem to help some, but they wore out and I have never replaced them.  This morning the ringing seems quite loud, but maybe that is because I have been thinking about it and writing about it here on my blog.  Now, I would appreciate it if you all would stop ringing all those bells and just have a great day, you hear?

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Big Cat Spotted Again

Yesterday, we took some stuff down to the flea market to give to a friend to sell.  That way, the friend may be able to make a little bit more money than without it.  We didn't stay to walk around and came back home while it was still early morning.  On the way back, my wife spotted that big cat again in a small opening in the trees along the north side of the road about two miles from our place.

You remember my blog postings telling how we heard it yelling at night and my son got some good pictures of it on his game cameras that he has set up around our place.  I am glad it is still around, adds some spice to our lives.  Did you know that they can have a large territory?  Yep, depending on their food availability, they can have a territory that covers anywhere from 25 to 785 square miles.  Dang, that is large spread from minimum to maximum.  I would imagine that in this area, they would only roam close to the minimum area.  There is a lot of food for them when you consider all the pets and livestock people have around here.  My son has plenty of small livestock to keep them well fed (grin).  Of course, he really doesn't want to use them as feed for the big cat.

I have never seen one in the wild, and envy my wife sighting it yesterday.  Of course I wouldn't mind at all if it decided to move on.  But once one has been here, you just never know when it or another one will come back.  A little excitement in our lives is a welcome thing. . . well, it is for me, my wife, not so much.  Now stay away from the big kitties and have a great day, you hear?