Got Ice? / Legion / Pepper

The Legion was out of ice today and from what I hear the whole area was out. The Grub Shack was closed so that was out and I didn't want to make a trip South just to find out there was none there either. I saw it coming so ate two of the last four hot dogs that were in the cooler (ice Chest) yesterday and gave the other two to Pepper. That took care of the perishables in there. I will make a trip in to SB tomorrow to see if the rumor is correct because I have other business there that I couldn't have taken care of today. Hopefully there will be some! Since I figured I'd need at least something cool to drink around here I decided to use the old school method of keeping stuff cool. In this case its a 1 gallon jug of lemonade RN brought on his last visit. I went to the storage part of the dungeon and found the ShamWow knock offs I'd bought at Harbor Freight about a year ago and added some water to the mixing bowl then wet the towel and put the jug in it and wrapped it around the jug. It did help a lot, but only to the point of keeping the lemonade half way cool. (considerably better than it would have been.) My grandmother had told me they used to keep butter and eggs fresh like this and OGT has posted something about this on his blog lately.

For those who want to know this Friday the legion will start selling prepared food again. I'm pretty sure it will be the same as before. (Darned good burgers, Nachos and Hot Dogs), but I hear they will also have Pizza. (One of my requests) Hope that goes over good because there is no other place to get pizza around here!


I went to the Legion earlier and had a few cool ones and used the computer there and while there I noticed a small brown dog crossing 118 and going up beside the Legion. I asked Dave the bar manager if he knew who it belonged to, but he said no.  About an hour ago I heard some growling out behind the dungeon and Pepper had the same small dog cornered by the shower. It was snarling and growling as I walked up and when it did the same at me I picked up a piece of tubing in case it tried to bite me. Well it bolted and Pepper was in hot pursuit!  I kept yelling at Pepper to get back here (Despite that causing my ribs to hurt), but it was to no avail. She chased it for quiet some time and I lost sight of it a few times so don't know if there was any biting or not? Pepper finally returned and I don't see any bite marks on here. Don't know about the small dog? Could have been rabid the way it was acting so I sure hope the vaccine Dale got pepper works!

If any of you in the area are reading this and know who the dog belongs to you might want to let them know the area it was in. Looked like a mix between a miniature doxin and and something else.




And the BUDWISER KID SAYS It never rains in Terlingua.

Top 500 Count Down.

There was a time. (many Times over the years) where most of the grandkids would converge on the house in Plano for a Top 500 Countdown Party for Memorial Day. It was always to listen to the Top 500 Countdown of KLUV radio in the DFW area and the girls always had to dance to the music. On special songs the eX and I would join in and times were great  back then. Times change though.

For many years Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers always came out #1 and that was our favorite song to dance to, but the girls like to dance to about everything. It was really great to watch the girls dance and everyone had a blast. In the last couple of years the station got a new GM and as far as I'm concerned it went to the dogs. They moved the time frame of music we liked from the 60s and 70s to the 70s and 80s. The Beatles seemed to take over and none of us were Beatles fans!

Oh well I've been listening to back to backs on my Zune and don't have any granddaughters to watch or anyone to dance with, but at least I can scratch songs I don't like.

Looks like we may get more storms here....

The New Me / Memorial Day

I was getting sick and tired of the beard and scroungy hair so yesterday afternoon I got out my clippers and went to work. Seems that the beard alone was enough to do in the clippers because when I got started on my head they weren't cutting worth a darn. It was a real mess but nothing I could do with it,but went to the legion and one of the member's girlfriend took pity on me and went home for her clippers. She couldn't find them so returned with scissors and was able to do a good job in straightening out the mess. Sure is a lot cooler, but I guess I'd better be careful not to get a sun burned face where the beard was and also the top of my head and neck! I kept the mustache because I've had one since I got out of the Army.

On another note they are having a Memorial day deal at the Legion today and I was asked to help out by slopping beans or something like that so will HOPEFULLY remember to take the camera and post pictures of that tonight.  Some of the local musicians are supposed to play so it should be fun and also get a meal out of the deal.

Went back and the entertainment was top notch.

By the time the entertainment got started most of the crowd had left and a few bikers showed up to take up the slack.

MC & OGT probably know who this is.
 Sunny

Bad Spill

RN made a care run down here Sunday and brought some brisket and other stuff from my sister's anniversary party. I was going to empty the ashes out of my grill so we could heat up the brisket and picked it up, took a couple of steps and snagged my foot on one of the guy wires for the clothesline. I went down fast and hard and didn't have time to brace for the fall so my chest hit the rim of the aluminum car wheel grill. Bunged up my left knee and my left arm wound up in a brier type bush so had numerous cuts and scratches on it. Where my chest hit the grill was just below my neck and at the top of my chest and from the pain level at the time and STILL now I'd figure I broke something in my chest. Breathing has to be pretty shallow or it hurts like hell and coughing feels like getting kicked in the chest by a mule. I cough a lot to. :(  Now I have a smiley face bruise on my chest, but its nothing to smile about!)

Wasn't a few days back I screwed up my left shoulder trying to put a seven gallon jug of water on top of the water tank and when I was trying to get the laundry basket full of dirty clothes off of the top shelf in the back of the dungeon I screwed the same shoulder up and didn't help my chest either so I've been in pretty bad pain so far this morning. Fortunately Bill and Caren had given me a bunch of Advil and that has helped some.

Finally made use of the rat trap Dale brought down here and caught a huge rat that has been hanging out under the dungeon and making a lot of noise chewing on aluminum cans it kept dragging under there. I guess it is either alcoholic or likes coke and sprite real well?

The only thing I've accomplished lately is getting the ladder build for the top bunk so guest don't have such a hard time getting up there. I tried it out and it worked good for me and then RN used it and said it was MUCH easier to get up there now. I did however use up the warped 2x4 they gave me at McCoy's last time we were there. Guess I'll come up with something else for a jig if and when I start on the S-Rotor generator or wind powered refrigeration gizmo.

Last nights storm.

 Pepper's new Hangout

For Dizzy-Dick

Bill & Caron's Place / Tornados & More

Went to brunch at Bill & Caren's place this morning and not only got a good meal out of the deal, but had a good visit and took the above pictures from their back porch. The pictures don't do it justice though. That's one of those places you would have to see first hand to get the full beauty of it. Its real hazy today as well as humid. The haze didn't help the pictures any and the humidity isn't helping the evap much either. The dungeon is staying some cooler with the shade tarp on it despite less cooling from the evap.

The Below pictures were taken by my neighbor Robert Dawson on the night of the barn collapse. They sure appear to show some tornado activity to me and him both. Looks like some small parental tornadoes.

And some more flower shots by him to.

And finally a small rattler that got caught by one of his rat traps.

Neighbor's Pant update

Just an update on my neighbor Robert Dawson's plants. Sure look good! Not much other news for now. Maybe later and if so hopefully it will be good news instead of more bad news.

Cone Nosed Beetle

Found this blood sucker here in the dungeon tonight. Glad I found it before it found me after I went to sleep! And here I'd read where they mostly hung out in adobe buildings. I guess not!

Where'd It Go?

This morning in the area where the red square is in the above picture there was a large pole barn. This evening it was GONE! That was after some really high straight line winds came through during some storms around here. The barn has been around for years and I was over looking at it just a few days ago because it was abandoned and there were materials that could be scavenged. I have a feeling now they are between that place and Study Butte 18 miles away. I was out in this storm trying to contain all of the loose stuff around here because it was blowing everywhere!

What's left of the guest house foundation. There was a pretty good bit of HEAVY stuff on it and the tarp was ripped up and pulled away from steel stakes buried in solid rock.

At one time I was wrestling the flipper barrel trying to keep it up against the dungeon and had to give up. I was also out rounding up stuff that has blown out down the south valley that just shouldn't have been able to blow away.

The wind genny going in to Helli mode! Got a lot more that way than this picture shows.

Curtain rod and some screws pulled out with the flap thrown up and over in to the shower. The complex survived though.

A mobile home in the distance looks like it may have been rolled over, but I'll have to investigate that tomorrow.

Just before this all hit one BIG whirlwind came through in front of the dungeon and scarred Pepper so bad that she was making trails down the road in front. I had to yell at her to get her to stop running and finally got her back here and in the dungeon. She was cowering in the back corner after that.