Valley Time!

We've had a good winter here in the Rio Grande Valley. The weather has been far better than the last two years. Those years we couldn't string together five days of decent weather. Now our "cold fronts" that come through bring mid-70's temps, so we are good to go. We have had some hot days and one that rumored to hit the 100 degree mark. I saw 95* myself.

We try to walk every day. We do it early in the morning before it gets too hot. We walk about 2.2 miles. Then we try to ride bikes every afternoon, but it has been really windy for several days rights now, so we haven't ridden much. Every day we walk past Tigger's house. Tigger is this huge cat that loves people. If he is in the back of the lot and I call him, he meows and comes running. I always pet him if he's out. Many other walkers do the same. Some feed him treats, but Tigger doesn't need anymore, so I just pet him. He is pretty cool for a cat.

We have been going to some shows down here. They have "Wintertainers." There has only been one we went to that was pretty lousy. The singer wasn't bad, but the people playing with her were out of tune and terrible, so we left during the break of that one. One we really enjoyed was Adam Pope. He is "rockabilly" and really good. His material is all original and he talks a bit about his music. We saw him twice, at our park and a neighboring park.

Our friends, Danny and Sandy, returned this winter and Danny has been playing at some of the jams in the area. Rock and  roll jams that is. He is really good and has a rock band back in Illinois. We may go see his band this summer.

There is also another couple who arrived last month across the street from us and we have enjoyed visiting with them. They are all coming back next year as well. We are going to be having quite a few new people in the park next year. After several years of properties for sale and not selling, we have enjoyed a period of increased sales. It will be good to have some new people in the park.

Butterscotch, our white Scottish Terrier, has had a rough year. She has bladder issues, but we finally found a vet down here who is interested in finding her problems and getting to the bottom of it. We believe he has found what's ailing her, but there isn't a great prognosis. She develops bladder stones, so we changed her diet. She has a malformation in her genital tract which makes it difficult and slow emptying her bladder. That by itself can cause infection to develop, so she will probably have to remain on antibiotics for the rest of her life. The good news is there wasn't any evidence of cancer, so we are thankful for that. She just doesn't have any energy though and doesn't want to walk, etc. She sleeps a lot. She goes back Friday for another cystoscopy to see if there are any visible changes. Wish us luck. We love her and her sister so much.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rio Grande Valley!

We made it down to our lot in the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday. We spent the night in Edinburg, Texas, at a park that is good for an overnight. That way, we only had 39 miles to drive in the morning, would arrived before noon, and be able to clean up the pad a bit before backing in. The pigeons love crapping all over the concrete. Not as much this year as in years before, but they hit the Texas Room worse this time. We are settled in and working a little bit each day to brighten up the place.

We had to start by whacking back our cacti. I love cactus, but I am continually reminded that they are actually a weed and thereby don't play by all the rules. My aloe plants are taking over and threaten to pierce the other cactus on the front, so I think I will be removing one of those. The prickly pear type  we planted is growing so fast. They had to be trimmed before we could back in. I will have to start picking up the leaves. I bought new leather gloves just to do that with, so hopefully I can save my hands. It is a fact that cactus grow the most during the hottest, driest parts of the the summer. They don't grow or bloom much in the winter. That is curious.

This morning we went to Quinta Mazatlan, an adobe home that is one of the largest adobe homes in Texas. It is run by the city of McAllen as a historical site. It was a single family dwelling owned by two different families until it was taken over by the city. The gardens around it attract a lot of native birds and insects. It is a lovely place and very well kept now.

Tomorrow is Pulga day, which is the Mexican flea market. We like to go there. It's just across the street and there are always lots of fruits and vegetables to buy.

We have all winter to get our work done. :-)

Till next time. . .

Dale