Spring Is Coming

The Texas weather is warming up, and the landscape is greening.  So it is time to work in the yard.  In the photo at the right Lee moves fill dirt to a low spot in the front yard with his favorite toy, a 23 HP Kubota diesel tractor.  He has moved three dump truck loads of dirt with the tractor and front end loader.

We are building two raised beds for a vegetable garden, and we are planting trees.  We have planted a key lime and a orange and will be planting a pear as well as 10 evergreens to block the nearby campground from view.

Cec is taking the Master Gardener course in Walker County, and we are benefitting from her new knowledge.  We have also joined the Walker County Beekeeers and will probably also put in two bee hives.

February Campout

In February Lee and Cec went on their monthly campout to Goodrich, Texas (near Livingston) with the Luf2Go Sams.  The group is big on pot luck dinners and cookouts.  The highlight of the Goodrich campout was a barbecue brisket.  The photo at the left shows Charles finishing up with the brisket and some sausage on the campground's horizontal smoker.

In the afternoon and evenings, we played a domino game called Mexican Train.

The smoker is a home brew affair and features a 1970 Chevrolet axle and differential as a brace connecting the front legs.

Scooting at 90

In February Lee and Cec visited their friend Johnny in Marble Falls, Texas.  Johnny is 90 years old, and believe it or not he bought a motor scooter several months ago.  It is a Chinese-made 49cc scooter, and it cost less than $1000.  Scooters with that size engine do not require a special motorcycle license.  

Johnny enjoys riding the scooter around his condo complex and the adjacent neighborhood.  He does not ride in on the highway or into the downtown area.  In the adjacent photo Johnny gets Lee geared up for a ride on the scooter. 

What a guy!

Colorful Sunrise

In early January Lee caught this colorful sunrise over Bethy Creek Bay from his back porch.

Brutal Texas Winter

In early December we had a rare snowfall in Riverside.  The adjacent photo shows snow accumulation on Lee's Jeep and a few patches of snow on ground.  The weather warmed, however, and the snow quickly disappeared.  

Unfortunately, Lee did not get to see the snow since he was on a business trip to California.  The snow melted before his return.

Deer Everywhere!

Our Christmas campout with the Luf2Go Sams was at an old Boy Scout camp at Garrison, Texas.  Late in the afternoon I was startled to see several deer wander by our camper.  I grabbed my camera and followed them around to the campground maintenance area.  There were even more deer there than I had seen earlier.  

I discovered that it was no accident that the deer were in the campground.  The owner feeds them ever day, and they are almost tame.  One would even eat from his hand.  The buck was very wary, though, and kept his distance.