MARCH-08--2010

I guess the wet weather has taken a toll on me to some degree--my neck-arms-shoulders and back of my head to my fingers are hurting to the point of making me sick--really a nauseating sick--
That doesn't bother me--and knowing each day I grown older--that doesn't bother me---but to me , it is sad to see my little dog--My little faithful- loyal, loving Princess is growing old with me--I love her so much--she is my life--When she goes -I will have such a huge void that will never be filled--
I can see that her hearing is getting bad and her eye sight is starting to fail---This really disturbs me ---I am sorry for the depressed post but that's just the way it is and how I feel tonight--But on a happy note her and I still have many days together and I will make sure she knows she is loved so much ---I might even take her storm chasing with me--might I say

March 2010

It is hard for me to believe that 2010 is here--Specially when most of my life has been spent in the 1900's--Well I made it to the 2000's and 10 years into it--

The first day of March came in with heavy soaking rain --cold and miserable--I spent most of the day waiting for 2 ladies to call me back about their pets --never heard from them--
In the mean time I did work on my dishelved room and made it look pretty nice--And I spent a lot of time cleaning my books and shelves--I have way too many books--all types and then a few more----I think I will leave this as an on going project for the whole month and add to it as the days roll by--The news at this time is mostly about the huge earthquake in Chili and Obama's obession to push his health bill through--last night a quake hit some Japanese islands and the east coast is gearing up for still another snow event--Floods in Europe have killed scores of people--Texas has just had its record snow fall for the winter months--Oklahoma has had a record ice storm--Will our storm season be severe --?
I usually keep plenty of gas in my car-truck --etc so during the storm season I can head into the front and storm and chase one system or another--Last year unknowing I chased the Lone Grove storm --it hit Lone Grove Oklahoma and killed several people--I got as far as Waurika Okla and had to turn back because of high winds -lightening and hail--I logged over 200 miles on this chase--the rest of the storm season for this area was mild

The 2010 month of February

Just a few more days and we will put this month behind us--It has been the coldest -wettest-muddiest February I have seen in all my 39 years--well 59--well OK- 66 years--Here I sit at 5 in the morning doing a blog that has no practical purpose and is just what I said of these blogs--Ramblings--I mean, like who is really going to read this ?---I do miss one of my lady friends a lot but there is no looking back --I hope in some ways she will miss our friendship as I do--Life goes on-and on as it did when I lost my first pet and the next and on and on --then my parents--my sister --Mr. Tate--Pat Hobert--It all stings and is painful but life and time does its thing and pushes forward and waits on no one-Time is celesterial and has no end-it pauses not , even for a fleeting moment--So we have to take each day and live it to the fullest and enjoy what God has gave us--
Pat Hobert died in February while driving a tractor--His death will haunt me forever--Why did that happen --what went so terribly wrong on that day that took him and the tractor off that canal bridge ?
This has been a financial bad month also but that's only money and all of that will right it self--Feb-25Th--3 days left and hopefully Spring will sprang on us in warmth and bloom--I am an outside person and love to grow anything--I have great plans for a garden and landscaping --Hopefully they will be more than just great plans
March will usher in a clean new slate-hopefully dryer and we can do a lot of Spring clean up around here-Tree trimming yard work and house cleaning--painting-fixing up and repairing different things

Febuary--2010

This has been an unusual weather month which has ran the gaumlet of different types of weather--We have had icing-wind-freezing rain -a couple of snow falls-rainbows--bitter cold-- freezing fog-- rain--cold fronts and a colder than normal Feb.--with a few pretty days thrown in--I haven't made any great accomplishments this month aside from getting a new camera and bonding with it--I am saying bye to 2 of my lady friends although they don"t know it yet--I am the kind of person that once you step on my toes a few times I will just say to myself --OK --that's alright but at some point it will be the last time --I can also say good bye and never look back--I hope March offers a little more excitement than Feb has had--I did enjoy the Eagle trip even though it was cold and near the water--I ate out too many times and the little Burk Dinner served up the best Chicken Fried Steak I do believe I have ever had--I ate at MT'S--I-Hop--Sports Bar--McBride's-Kathy's Korner in Kadane Corner-Pioneer 3--among a few other places

I am excited about the changing of the seasons and have seen the first wave of the migration season--The Robins are coming in and the Geese have started their migration early--some of them ---lots of signs that Spring isn't to far ahead--There are also signs all across the USA that we have very unstable weather patterns going into to Spring and we may have a violent " Storm Season " I hope this isn't the case--

I woke up early Sunday morning with peals of thunder rolling off to the North signaling a approaching Cold Front--As the thunder got louder and closer I bundled up and put Lick up in her shed--I was pelted by hail and soaking rain and the lightening was getting way to close--So I had a very cold -wet and exciting early morning --Exciting or scary I guess would best describe it because of walking around with lightening striking all around isn't something I like to do-My phobia is lightening and there is a reason for it but that's another story--So I came back in and settled down with a hot cup of coffee and after seeing the front pass I went back to bed for a couple of hours before Church--I enjoyed Church and came home and just crashed for a good part of the day--Too cold and wet to do anything else---

Roland,Nadine and I left Wichita and drove up to Post Oak Road between Indiahoma and Cache Oklahoma -picked up Nancy and drove out to the refuge and got on the Eagle tour bus--
The tour was pretty good -the guide humorous at times and we did get to see a beautiful Bald Eagle--The weather was really cold and we were on the shore line of Lawtonka and the breeze off the lake dropped the temperatures by 3-4 degrees--The tree damage in this area in Oklahoma is unbelievable--It will take years to clean up all the broken branches and trees --We ate at a quaint restaurant in Cache--Quaint is a nice word--I had an Indian Taco and Indian fry bread, Nancy went with chicken fried steak-Nadine had French toast and hash browns and Roland elected pan cakes and bacon--huge stack of them--After the bus tour we headed out on our own and drove past Meers and turned west but then we became aware of the time and decided it was time to head back to Texas--All in all I enjoyed the trip and I think they did too---

Roland and I joined the Friends of the Refuge for 20.00 and we will get more involved in the Mountains and the refuge as time goes on--The only draw back to our trip was that it was just too cold but we had reservations so we kept them

I put the coffee on and settled back to weigh my daily options and commitments and decided I had a free day-- [So far ]--Then I decide to drive to Oklahoma and check on Nancy--As I got to the Red River bridge the roads were clear and in good shape and I didn't see any ice--As I crossed over and climbed the plateau to Oklahoma the ice started--As I drove on North the ice gradually thickened--By the time I got to the toll gate it was really looking bad--When I drove into Lawton I couldn't believe my eyes--It was like something out of a science fiction movie--
In all my years I had never seen an ice storm like this--Lawton and Oklahoma will be feeling this storm for a long time and the tree loss will be devastating--I got into Cache and found only one store operating--They had the store going on a generator---Everything else was dark and cold in this small town as well as many towns all over the state--I found Nancy warm and in fairly good spirits--She had candles and a lantern and had been reading a Louis L'Amour Western--The trailer was warm , almost to warm from burners on a propane cook stove in the kitchen
The Emergency Center had transferred over to the Comanche tribe and they were giving out hot meals--After I got back I called Susan Numuhooska a Comanche lady in charge of the Center and she put Nancy on the meal deliveries--The tribe is doing a great job for everyone--Many stories from so many families will come from this Great Ice Storm of 2010

We have missed the ice storm that has crippled Oklahoma and Nancy a friend who I have seen a couple of times is in the area of downed power lines and closed roads--I am sitting here trying to make up my mind to go up there and see if she is ok--She lives alone with her 2 dogs and has no other friends or relatives to check on her---I am afraid she is in the cold with no power or heat--They are saying do not go into this area--Maybe if I drive slow--the roads are dangerously iced over--I just saw a phone number for aid flash across the tv for the Cache area--I am going to call it now--

I called the number and they sent the Cache Police out to check on her--They called me back and said she was ok---Maybe tomorrow it will be better--The Emergency Center Officer told me not to try it today --it was 5 miles an hour going and too dangerous at that speed--The whole area is a mess of downed trees and poles--The entire state of Oklahoma has been proclaimed a diaster area

Jan-27-28-29 Storm

I was awake last night around 2:30 when the rain came in---And all day it has been just that --a cold miserable rain--To the north of us across the Red River they must be getting the blunt of it--I cant reach Nancy and her screen name has never been on today on the internet and it is always on . I may drive the 60 miles and check on her tomorrow if I havent heard anything .
I believe the area news media jumped the gun as far as the prediction for Wichita Falls . They had told us to be prepared for a bad ice storm with wide area power outages--It hasnt happened today and looks like we might miss it--Which is good but this cold wet rain is bad enough--As of 7:30 pm the temperture is still hovering around 33---I am cooking a roast/stew/soup type meal in the crock pot and the fireplace is blazing --So all is well here for the time being--As they say --Tomorrow is another day--

Waggoner Ranch

I often get calls to go to Vernon and I often opt to drive the back road going up there--It takes me across open range roads and it is like going back in time--With open range you need to be very aware of your speed and be watchful for cattle in the middle of the road--The thing I enjoy the most is you dont meet a car for 40 miles--Deer -wild hogs-turkey and coyotes are often spotted since no one shoots on this wide open ranch--My last trip across the Waggoner was nice because a lone coyote crossed the road and stopped and just looked at us --My son G-Man hollered at it if it wanted some potato chips--lol---
Then we came across about 6 deer right next to the road and they stood and watched us for a few minutes --As I raised my camera they took off--I was to slow in getting their picture---
There is a small water fall close to the road and it always has water flowing over it--There is one lone church on this stretch and it is at a spot in the road called Grayback--I guess the Waggoner Cowboys attend this church--who else would ?

Benjamin

I am up early ,getting ready for a meeting with Ronnie Hamilton and his wife and we will eat at the Rock Inn Cafe in Seymour and then on to Benjamin where we will meet with Wyman Meinzer the Official State Photographer of Texas--We should have an interesting day--I love the quaint little town of Benjamin---I lived in Benjamin and Dad had the Hill or was it the Hazel Cafe there---My first big crush was a 3rd grader -Nelda Kilgore--She and I were voted for and were the 3rd grade King and Queen at the Halloween Carnival--Ronnie and I met at the Sunset Drive Inn between Munday and Knox City--the movie was "The Invaders From Mars"--We were swinging and playing at the playground before the movie started--We told our parents about meeting and later we all met at the picnic tables at the Narrows Rest Stop--We became life time friends--Ronnie's Dad had Hamiltons Grocery Store--Benjamin has always had a special place in my heart and I love the rugged break country --Often called the Benjamin Breaks--The Bad Lands--Cedar Breaks---More on our meeting later

As the day broke I woke to a call from a pet owner and rain---I didnt see rain in the forcast but then this is Texas---I went to Bowie Texas with some friends and we ate at the Longhorn Cafe ---I do believe the chicken fried steaks were 5 stars--Some of the best I have ever had and the price was only 6.95 with a trip to the salad bar---We had tempertures in the 70's but windy--
I will give the Longhorn Cafe 4 stars over all---And we really liked the fluffy chocolate pudding---So now that I am awake and I need some coffee--oh oh out of coffee--Ok got to get around and see what this day brings----

Rebel XT

Today marks the advent of a new Rebel -Canon camera--It is a Canon Rebel XT SLR DOS---So I will begin serious photography

Ramblings of a Texas Photographer

I take a lot of photos and they are anything from micro to landscaped-portraits--just about anything and I do an alternate web site for my Texomacowboychurch.com--My site is on the bottom as a blue link of the Contact Us page--A history of sorts of our beginnings --from events/rodeos/celebrations/progress of new building to just random shots of members on any given Sundays--
I maintain a Web site for Storm Chases-Animals-Indians--specially the Comanches-Kiowas--Wichita Wildlife Refuge--and other albums--I plain on doing serious photography of Comanche people and other related subjects this coming Spring and Summer with my new Rebel Canon camera--I just did a phot shoot of the Wichita Mountains 2 weeks ago--It was a different trip but very interesting--This is my first blog and I will see how it goes--I created this to follow Matt Read--The young man who is hiking the perimeter of Texas--I think he is now in Wichita Falls