Thunder only happens when it's raining

Or that's what Stevie Nicks says, anyway. I always thought, "Well, that's not so", so maybe she's saying the opposite of what she means, like in that song where the guy sings "God don't make little green apples, and it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer", but then she says "Players only love you when they're playing" and that sounds probable. I surmise that I don't know what Stevie Nicks is talking about.

I do know that I like the sound of thunder and we're hearing it this morning. I pulled the latest radar photo off Lubbock's KBCD Channel 11 website. Looking at radars can be like playing with a Magic 8 Ball. When a scary storm comes up, I look at a radar that only shows where it's raining intensely. When it's dry, like now, I look for a radar that shows every particle of moisture that may be in the atmosphere from here to the moon (such as the one I've shown here).

My favorite radars are KTXS in Abilene; NOAA, the Texas radar; The Weather Channel, a very cool looking radar; KBCD, Lubbock, as above; and GOES, another page on the NOAA website, that shows water vapor in motion. I gotta keep my mind occupied when a bad cloud comes up.

The Perpetual Easter Egg Hunt

One of the things I do to make a living is sell gourds. Yes, the little round gourds that grow in every ditch across West Texas. I have to admit, hunting gourds has become more than a way to make some money. I'm addicted.

My mom always told me, "It's not the having, it's the getting," and if you saw what gourd prices are right now, you would say that's accurate. I'm not making diddly on gourds, but, man, do I like to look for them.

I'm especially excited this week because the state has mowed right-of-ways and I can safely see and pluck gourds instead of tentatively stepping off into a bar-ditch filled with 7-foot high Johnson Grass. I saw a rattlesnake a couple of weeks ago, and I tell you, I was motivated to jump very high, practically back into the front seat of my pick-up.

If you're thinking the photo of the gourd I posted looks odd, it has had the shell peeled away leaving the fibrous inside that is filled with seeds. It almost looks like a loofah, you know, those Louisiana gourds that you dry and peel to use for scrubbing, but they aren't quite as sturdy.

Anyway, if you see some lady jumping around in the ditches with a red bucket, you'll know you've spotted me, getting the eternal thrill of finding the little round orbs.

Here's the rundown on the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance issue for July 17, 2008:

• Fisher County Hospital receives grant from Meadows Foundation
• Foursquare Church in Rotan has new co-pastors (photo)
• New handicapped ramp installed at courthouse in Roby (photo)
• Roby CISD hires Judson Oppegard as new ag teacher (photo)
• Domestic shooting still under investigation
• Obituaries for Corilla Adelle Turnbow (photo) and Louise Driver Parham
  
• Teenagers and summer jobs
• FCAA holds regular meeting, next meeting to be August 11, 6 p.m. at the Rotan Lions Cub building (photo)
  
• Results from July 4 golf tournament
• Sheriff's sale August 5, 9 a.m, 1994 Mercury 4-door Grand Marquis LS
• Rosie Dry celebrates birthday 103 at Home Place Manor (photo)
  
• Newsbriefs: Rotan Athletic Booster Club meeting
• Fisher County Sheriff's report
• Engagement announcements for Jessica Lynn Porter to Cody Matthew Fulton; Stacy Morrow to Steven Holliman (photos)
• Commissioners Court fields reports, holds executive session
• Rotan City Council adopts curfew ordinance, sets new rule for swimming pool
• Local children attend Texas Lions Camp (photo)
  
• Eyes of Texas on copper theft
• Rotan man arrested for manufacturing and delivery of controlled substance
• TxDOT urges motorists to be on the look-out for motorcyclists
• Fisher County Roundup
• Save money at the grocery store
• West Central Texas rainfall totals - National Weather Service report
• Tumbleweed Smith: Two-wheeling in the mountains

Try to keep cool, we're in the part of summer where all you can do is hunker down and hope for a renegade thunder storm. Or go to the beach.

Can you smell that smell?

There's nothing like the smell of a rain storm on a hot July day. We know we're at summer's apex when the cotton is a certain height and the cicadas are working overtime. I was watering my mother's flowers yesterday and wondered what it was about the smell of water on dry, hot dirt that's so exciting. I posed this same question to Fred while we were watching the rain gauge fill up last night (.8, by the way). Maybe it's because it's so rare around here. I guess if we lived in Seattle, a little thunder shower might not be so exciting.

Today's photo is of marigolds in my garden. I was going to show a photo of the whole thing, but what I'm so proud of probably looks like a mismanaged weed plot to others. If you want to see a class act garden, go by Anson Martin's place at Camp Springs. We cruise by real slow while oohing and aahing his wonderful garden and orchard. The man's got lots of talent. And a water well. That's imperative. I gave up watering when I realized I was growing a $25 cucumber.

Here's the rundown on the July 10, 2008 issue of the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance:

• Bee call in Rotan (photo)
• Roby City Council meets with Kay Howard of HOWCO, discusses & tables animal ordinance
• Kent Ruffin new superintendent Rotan ISD (photo)
• David Ritchie new athletic director, head football coach Rotan ISD (photo)
• Accident results in DWI arrest (photo)
• Riley Barnett named new Fisher County Extension Agent (photo)
  
• Obituaries for Dorothy Mary Blackwelder and Jack McClure (photos)
• 2008 Softball tourney results
• Velma Moore Smith celebrates birthday 95
• email Rosemary at rosemary@rotanadvance.com
• Fisher County sheriff's report
• Tumbleweed Smith: Waiting for a Train
• Local student qualifies to compete at world's largest rodeo (photo)
• Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
• Pool Safety by Lisa Donham
• Randy's Roundup by Congressman Randy Neugebauer
• Fisher County Historical Commission meets

Also, there will be a meeting of the Frank Cockrell Art Association Monday night.

Have a good Sunday. It's still overcast here, so we're off to a good start!

Town hall meeting tonight, 6:30 p.m.

PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING CURFEW ORDINANCE FOR THE CITY OF ROTAN TO BE HELD TONIGHT, JULY 8, 6:30 P.M. AT ROTAN CITY HALL

Hey, ya'll! Been a while, hadn't it? Hope your holiday was good.

I saw this pretty little fella(or gal) on the floor the other day and I just had to take a picture of him(her). I love the designs that are on the crunchy critters I find around our place. I think that designers and artists have been getting their creative ideas from bugs since the beginning of time. Probably some engineers, too. Check out more at A&M's entomology page and at Tom Murray's Beetle Gallery. Just lovely!

I've been trying to pick up the pace on my home menu by using recipes from the Old Farmer's Almanac. I like it because I can search by keyword, in other words, I can look in my freezer and use the name of whatever I have in there to find a recipe. I really, really like it because I can find a recipe with ingredients that I already stock and recognize. I made braised pork chops yesterday and they came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Okay, here's the rundown for the July 3, 2008 Rotan Advance / Roby Star Record issue:

• Lion Buckner named Vice-District Governor (photo)
• 30-year employee retires from Big Country Electric Co-op
• Sano Upshaw retirement reception held June 30 (photo)
• Rotan FFA Officers attend camp (photo)
• Obituary for Thomas Rodriguez Yanez
• Rotan ISD Board hires teachers, new athletic director
• Roby students attend health camp (photos)
• Sheriff's report
• Engagements announced for Sara Ramos & Josh Yearwood, Rusty Goodwin & Keri Robertson (photos)
• Birth announcement for Miller Sims Cave
• Tumbleweed Smith: Adventures in Oakland, California
• Joanna Lee of Rotan named to Dean's List

Have a good week, hopefully some raindrops will fall today!

Roby items on ebay

I was looking around on ebay this morning and found a couple of interesting Roby items. A postcard of the First Methodist Church, pictured here, and a 1957 Tumbleweed yearbook. Couldn't find anything for Hobbs or Rotan. I guess I need to look up Camp Springs and a couple of surrounding areas. Be sure to look up round gourds, too. That's my specialty item!