Public sales for end of March, beginning of April

The City of Abilene has an auction opening with Rene Bates Auctioneers, today at 2 p.m., and ending on March 28. 104 vehicles are up for bid. I'm assuming it's online, as it lasts four days.

The closest Perdue Brandon sheriff sale listed is in Mitchell County, on April 1, 10 a.m. This sale is in-person. There are a few Loraine properties to be sold.

Jones County has six foreclosure sales scheduled for April 1, at varying times. The properties are in Anson and Stamford.

Scurry County  has two foreclosures up for auction at various times on April 1. One is out by the prison, between Camp Springs Road and US 180. The other is for three lots in the Deep Creek Estates addition.

Another way to purchase tax foreclosed properties is to search appraisal district websites for properties that local entities own (City of -, - ISD, etc.), then use the contact listed to inquire about them. If Texas Communities Group is the agent, email them and ask them to put the property up for auction on their website.

A purging

I'm going to get rid of some thoughts here. This could be construed as complaining. So be it. So it be.

To begin with, I'd like to say: there is no "a" in cemetery. You all know what I'm talking about.

As the cemetery spelling applies mostly to newspapers, I would also like to recommend that they always put the names of all the people in a photo in the cutline underneath. When I worked for the Snyder Daily News, Roy McQueen, owner and publisher, would not allow a photo to be included for printing if everyone in the picture was not identified. It was too bad if I had just submitted an article about first graders with an accompanying photo of fifty children, no names. Lesson learned! Newspapers are historical documents. Many can be searched digitally. Identification of people helps researchers.

Hopping to another subject that plagues my mind, I would like to address airlines. I think if they would have their passengers embark from the last row up, it would diminish the pile-up of those standing in the aisle, waiting for people to put away their luggage and settle in their seat. It would also stop the uncomfortable stares from those in first class (the nerve of these degenerates who bought tickets in group six! they seem to say) and from the people who are already seated. The plane won't take off until everyone is on, so who cares when you board. I prefer to be the last one on, waiting in the openness of the airport gate, putting off that claustrophobia of being in a tin can with hundreds (or tens, if you're flying from Dallas to Abilene) of other people.

These are the foremost thoughts in my mind. I hope they will not continue to torment me, now that I have committed them to writing. Now I can think about more important things, like chickens and horny toads.

P.S. Throw pillows should be thrown away.

Coughing and tin

- Cleaned last week -

Ah! In like a lion, right? Spring is on its way, bringing dust to be newly laid on, well, everything. After the two dust storms last week, it looked like there were stenciling projects all over the house. Luckily, I had just coated everything with lemon Pledge, making certain that the dirt stuck very well.

Last night I couldn't get the grit out of my throat, because, after coughing, I had to suck in the air that was hanging with more grit. I put in the AC window unit the day before, so it was cool grit. The electric threatened to go, on and off, but it held. Dusty but comfy!

I got dinged by Texas Communites Group and the City of Rotan about a vacant building they want me to tear down. I've called someone to help, but I wish I could do it myself. I've gone to check it out, but I end up standing and staring at it for a few minutes, picking up some trash, then motoring off. I thought I could at least pull some of that flapping tin off the roof, but the labor is beyond my physical and mental capacity. Let a pro do it.

Some new signs of spring I've seen are a positive sighting of ground squirrels, buzzards, lilacs budding and a batch of chicks. I try to pick up the eggs before the hens get to sitting, but miss one day and suddenly they have 14 eggs under them and a look in their eye that tells me I might lose an arm if I try anything funny. At least 10 hatched. They are very cute, as usual, and just ready to break my heart when they get caught under a board and die, or are eaten by a fox or coyote or raccoon or skunk or bobcat, etc.

Well, I've got to go get a load of laundry out of the dryer before the wind gets too high (the dryer is outside. I'm a hillbilly!). I'll hold off dusting until mid-May.

Living on the edge

- Hobbs, TX sunset -

Sometimes it's not so easy living between counties, between states, between states of mind, heh, heh.

The  name of this community here on the west side of the county is Hobbs, but if I'm trying to find any news online, I can usually only find information about that other Hobbs. The one that's not in Texas.

And the Fisher County Hobbs isn't the only Texas one. There's another one out by Temple. I bet they can get delivery pizza there. That's the one thing I wish I could have out here. I'll pay mileage! Oh, it's probably better that I don't, I'd weigh 500 lbs. before I knew it.

Looking at weather, the forecast for Rotan (San Angelo area with the National Weather Service) talks about I-10, north and south, 350 some-odd miles south of here. Snyder forecast will peer way over the mountains to the west and north, referencing the four-corners: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. That's a little ways from here (650 miles or so). The local news is mostly Abilene-centered - that's about 60 miles south east of here. So, to live in this little outback, it's best to have a few radars and a few forecasts and to look out the door to keep up with the weather. 

It is pretty funny that if I want to go to that other, non-Texas Hobbs, I just take a right out of my driveway and keep driving west for 160 miles. There may be a few jigs here and there, but mostly west.

Breaking ground, things going on

- FM 611 IREN site -

IREN has earnestly started in on their new location on FM 611, by the Wetsel Substation in Fisher County. Click on the photo to see the detail of the water truck and earth moving machines. This will be a data center for mining bitcoin.

Fisher County ACE Hardware in Rotan has opened. It is now possible to buy whatever you need in Fisher County. A trip to Dollar General, Comprehensive  Land Management (chicken scratch), Ace and Thriftway will get the groceries.

There's been a lot of work going on in downtown Rotan on the median islands. They've been cleaned out and cleaned up, ready for new installments of electricity and artsy figures.

Nolan County will be having their yearly tax foreclosure sale tomorrow, March 4, at the courthouse in Sweetwater. Start time is 2 p.m.

Rattlesnake Round Up is coming up. This year it will be the weekend of March 14.

I've seen some spring time creatures moving around, either prairie dogs or lizards; they're too fast for me to identify. If they're moving, then rattlesnakes are bound to be, too. 

Giving up on the kiosk

My water bottles are piling up. Those empty gallon jugs that I haul around with me every time I leave the house. 

A thought occurred to me today: why am I paying .25-.35¢ more per gallon over my water bill? I pay about .024¢ for municipal water, which is a really good deal! Why would I pay more? It's cheap and convenient, and it comes right out of the tap!

Thinking back, I can trace my first use of filtered water back to the fires of 2011. The drought was so severe at that time that the City of Snyder, where my water originates from, had to use reserve wells for residential water. That water reeked of dirt, with a cellar-like smell. While I appreciated that I had water for washing clothes and bathing, I would not drink it. 

The tea made from the filtered water is so clear and pretty. That advantage was another factor, besides the smell, that convinced me that the decision to gather drinking water from a kiosk was worth the effort.

These days, I don't make tea that often. There isn't a household full of people to serve. It goes bad before I can drink a whole pitcher. Back when the kids were still home, I had to keep two pitchers of tea going; one sweet, one unsweetened. It was a never-ending task to keep up with a family tea drinkers. 

The city water ceased to be odoriferous quite a while back, years ago. Clear, pretty tea is no longer a goal of mine. I drink coffee all day long. It tastes and looks the same with or without the extra filtration. 

I've been perpetuating a long held habit that is no longer sustainable due to a change of circumstances.

I think I'm going to chance it and save myself the extra effort by going full tap.

A satisfactory substitute

I have missed the old Twitter. I used to have it embedded on the home page of Hobbs Holler and I could quickly post thoughts, observations and photos.

It changed when ownership changed. A person had to be logged in to see the posts and then it kinda got weird in the feeds, so I cancelled my account.

I tried BlueSky, which worked much the same way as old Twitter, but there was a mind-reeling amount of pornography in my feed. I cancelled that account the same day I opened it.

Thought bubbles (notes) in Messenger are sort of a satisfying substitute. I can't add them on my HH page, but I like the idea of posting something without expectation of response or comment. There's a large collection of music on Messenger where you can choose little snippets of songs to play in your bubble. Right now I'm using it to purge the music that is constantly playing on my internal jukebox. I'm finding it's a good way to get rid of an earworm.

It's a cool little gizmo, but it doesn't have all the songs that pop up in my head. Where's Donnie Iris's Love Will Rock You? Oh, well, can't have everything, right? Not too much of a loss. I'll just wait for the next song to play.

District court set for February 5

The 32nd Judicial District Court will convene Wednesday morning at the Fisher County Courthouse.

The following cases are on the docket for Fisher County: 

• State vs. Cruz Antonio Fortuna - motion to proceed pretrial
• State vs. Willard Leon Roddy - disposition hearing
• Eagle Permian Partners, LLC vs. Wales, et al - application for appointment of receiver

Arrest details can be found under Bail Forms on the Texas Online Public Information site.

Public sales and auctions February 2025

Perdue Brandon doesn't have any local tax sales for the upcoming month.

The City of Snyder is accepting sealed bids for 3102 El Paso in Snyder. The deadline is February 14.

Jones County has three foreclosures: PR 4286, Hawley; 10 acres located at 2306 CR 475; and 1432 Avenue K, Anson. These will be disposed of by sheriff sales at the courthouse in Anson on February 4.

Texas Communities Group has one property for sale, 631 Ave H in Anson. Bidding ends February 4.

Rotan Self Storage will be auctioning off the contents of a unit on February 3. There's more information about that in this week's issue of the Double Mountain Chronicle.

Love's is supposed to be posting some storage units from their Sweetwater site on Storage Auctions. The Sweetwater Reporter is running a classified ad with specifics on those sales.

District court set for January 22

The 32nd Judicial District Court will convene Wednesday morning at the Fisher County Courthouse to choose a new grand jury and to hold council for relevant hearings.

The following cases are on the docket:

• State vs. Charles Curtis Dodd II - motion to revoke
• State vs. Francisco Sergio Campa - extension of commitment
• Travis Dean Lee vs. Peggy Coffman Williamson - dismissal
• Fisher County Appraisal District vs. Carreon - tax hearing
• Fisher County Appraisal District vs. Van Loon, Rogers - tax hearing
• Rotan ISD vs. Boone - tax hearing
• Marina Sofie vs. ASC Transport, LLC and David George Warner, Jr. - pre-trial

Source: 32nd Judicial District Court Calendar