No clothes on the line today

- Pins -

It's been a cold weekend, and just when I thought it was over, The Weather Channel informs me that another round is coming in the morning. I've got my truck all thawed out and the road here in front of the house looks clear, so if I can just get to work before it hits tomorrow, I'll be good.

The road actually seemed better this morning, after all the freezing rain last night, than it did Saturday morning, after just a bit of drizzle that froze on the pavement. Ice is such an unpredictable element.

Keep up to date with the weather on the NOAA website, and, in particular, scroll down and read the Forecast Discussion. That seems to be the best bet.

Cotton stripping in high gear, seismographers arrive

- Busy Deeres -

The constant grinding of cotton strippers can be heard day and night, with dots of lights moving back and forth over fields in the dark. This is the prelude to winter, and ginning will go on well into the coldest part of the season.

Coming down Camp Springs road last night, I thought there was a wreck because I saw some orange and red blinking lights in the distance, but when I came upon them, they were signaling three seismograph vehicles lined up in a row, with a crew working all around them. I took photos, but as you can see in my Twitter feed to the right, they did not turn out well.

I'm trying some new technology, well, old mixed with new. I just purchased a dial-up modem that has a usb port attached to it, which I'm going to plug into a wireless router. I've found a place online where I can sign up for ten free hours of dial-up internet. It may not be a solution, but I want to have as many alternatives as possible.

According to the Texas Public Notices page on the Texas Press Association site, Circle C in Rotan has submitted an application for a wine and beer permit, so it looks like Fisher County will soon be collecting proceeds from the first legal sales of alcohol since local option was enforced after the repeal of prohibition.

I don't actually know if that is true. I can't figure out if Fisher County was ever wet. An article I found on the Texas State Historical Association site is interesting and explains a few things, but doesn't pinpoint the events in this county.

Read more about Texas History here. The word solon used in the article means statesman.

Sendero in town, Kelly Spinks next weekend

- Sendero vehicle -

Sendero Oil Company has been noticeably present down around Camp Springs this week. They've been clearing brush and making a path with a big tree eating machine, something that looks kinda like a loader with a big maw attached to the front. Could they be cutting back in anticipation of doodle-bugging? If it's for surveying, they sure have cut some swirly roads. There's always a man sitting in one of the pick-ups outside the area that's being worked. It would be so easy to stop and ask one of them what's going on, but I'm never one to let real knowledge impede upon the thoughts in my head.

I'm hearing the old-timers saying it's going to be a hard winter because the mesquite trees made two crops of beans this year. I didn't notice if my trees made one or two batches, but the termites that ate my yard are now eating the beans laying around out there.

Kelly Spinks & Miles of Texas will be playing music for all the fine folks next Saturday night at the Hobbs Gym, around 8 p.m. The weather should be nice and the dancing even nicer.

A couple of sites that are good to keep up with is The Roscoe Hard Times and The Colorado City Record. Bookmark those and put them on your favorites list!

No time for opportunity

Last week I was making deliveries in Mitchell county when I was flagged down by a man in a pickup. I drew up next to him and noticed right away that he's wearing a button-down shirt with DEVON embroidered on it. He was asking me if I knew who owned some piece of local property and I explained I wasn't from around there, gave him a phone number of someone who could tell him more, and noted to him that he was most likely a landman. Then I let him drive away. Didn't tell him I had property in Fisher County, didn't ask him ANYTHING. I'm kicking myself now, but at the time I was running late and had to get going. Now I have cards printed up with all my information, including my property survey name and number.

In the past couple of days I've been hearing the name Gunn Oil Company repeated. It seems they're leasing and surveying and are soon to be here, or a little east of Hobbs.

Kelly Spinks & Miles of Texas is going to be playing at the gym on November 16, 8 p.m. - midnight. The doors open at 7 p.m., $15 cover, $5 cooler. Come out a little earlier and have a bite at the cafe, they're open until 8 p.m. We were in there yesterday and it was full, half civilians, half hunters. Judy hardly had time to say hello, she was pretty busy.

I've got special memories of maize, today's featured photo. I remember going to harvest with my dad, uncle and grandma. Daisy and I would sit in the truck or pickup while the men worked. They used to tell me the combine belonged to me and it made me the proudest three-year-old in the world. I stood in the back of the grain truck filled with collected maize, thigh deep, with the smell in my nose and fancy little shield-shaped bugs crawling here and there. Yes, later there was itching and scratching, but not enough to ruin my recollections of those times.

This week I've been reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It's one of my standbys when I can't, or won't, find anything else read, but I've only read it about three times, even now. At first it seems like it's going to be boring, then it gets very good. Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors.

The movie I found palatable was Girl Most Likely with Kristen Wiig, Annette Benning and Matt Dillon. Oh, and I reconnected to the weekly drama The Good Wife, which comes on Sunday evenings. Last week was a good time to get in if you haven't been watching all along, because you could catch on to the storyline without having to know any back history. I think you can watch past episodes online.

Keep an eye out for Hobbs locals in the Dallas vs. Vikings crowd today. They're somewhere behind one of the end zones. I know some Snyder people who are also going.

Go VIKES! Hahahahhaa!