Tumbleweeds

We had our first significant T.E. (Tumbleweed Event) of the season last week. It was actually rather mild compared to the springtime varieties, where the prickly beasties have been known to knock semis off the interstate and dig deep gouges in concrete streets*, but it was still good/bad enough to be a topic of conversation… Continue reading Tumbleweeds

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Categorized as West Texas

Snail

We enjoyed on-and-off rain showers all day, and one consequence besides making the trees happy was the appearance of this guy. Or girl. Who knows? Anyway, it was on our back porch and seemed to be begging me to take its picture. So I did. Snails can be very persuasive. In case you’re wondering, the… Continue reading Snail

“Our Desired Future”: Exploring the water dilemma in Texas

Alert Gazette readers may recall this post from almost two years ago, where I tracked down and photographed the elusive flow of Comanche Springs in Fort Stockton. To my knowledge, that was the last time the springs flowed, thanks to a combination of drought and continued heavy irrigation in the Belding Draw area just west… Continue reading “Our Desired Future”: Exploring the water dilemma in Texas

Winter is Coming

No, this isn’t a Game of Thrones post. But we are anticipating our first freezing temperatures of the season this week, so preparations are underway at Casa Fire Ant. It’s slightly ironic that our landscape is looking better than it has all year, just in time for a killing frost. Here’s a sample of some… Continue reading Winter is Coming

“Dread Champion”

Gladiator is one of my favorite movies, a masterfully crafted film with a compelling plot and outstanding performances (proving once more that a well-made movie can make a hero out of an unlikeable actor, but that’s another topic for another day).  The main character, Maximus, is a high-ranking officer in the service of the Roman… Continue reading “Dread Champion”

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Categorized as Faith

The hills are alive…but not necessarily those who ride them

We had just pedaled – very slowly, with agonizing effort – our recumbent tandem up a 650′ section of road with an average slope of 17.2%, and once things finally leveled out a bit, my wife wondered aloud whether we were getting too old for that sort of thing. I wanted to dispute that notion… Continue reading The hills are alive…but not necessarily those who ride them

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Categorized as Cycling