Terlingua Dreams

Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
Showing posts with label moats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moats. Show all posts

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Chicharras and Cats

The moats I made a couple of months back needed re-doing and today was probably going to be my last chance to get them done with less effort due to the ground still being soft from yesterday's rains. I did six but only two of them turned out decent.

I am paying the price for it tonight!  My arms, shoulders and back are aching and it hurts to lift a gallon milk jug...oh well...hopefully this will be the last yard work I attempt this season!

The rains finally gave me a break from having to water every night.  I usually can not get to this chore till after 10:00 p.m. and lately the chicharras have been going crazy.  If you have never heard the sound a chicharra makes...it is similar to that of a rattlesnake and it gives me the creeps.  Only reason I know it is not a rattlesnake is because it is high up on the trees...even though I guess a snake can climb trees too?

That is the main reason I do not run off the cats that congregate at mom's house to sleep and/or pass the time even though I do not particular care for the lovely scent they leave behind.

I named this one Annie
     
You have already met Waldo on prior posts
   
  Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.                                    

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Moats / Ants

It had been a while since we had any significant rain that really soaked the ground.  Took this opportunity to dig moats around some of the trees.


 
Could not go any deeper because of the roots

You may wonder why I did not remove the weeds?  Well, I forgot my Sally Hoe last time I went to Houston.  I am also hoping Walter will show up any day now and he needs to have something to graze on.  Probably the main reason though...I am lazy...:D



Did the same for the shrubs...or are they considered flower plants?



While it was still doable...dug a hole for another shrub Mom wants planted.



The ant invasion is in full swing.  Here I thought I had exterminated them but they are alive and well :-(

Fire Ants

Sugar Ants

These Pissy ant mounds are all over the property

The only decent size pecan tree is being devoured...each day there are less leaves on it...Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!


Same story for the pomegranate tree...


However...nothing seems to infest these pesky mesquites...full and lush as ever :-(




Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Moats / Set up Tent / Trip to Mexico

Fellow bloggers will not let me lie when I say that sometimes it is difficult to come up with topics or I have done nothing of interest that would merit a post.  As luck would have it when I could not access the internet, I did all types of stuff…go figure!


With the drought of 2011 and the fact that it just does not rain that much in West Texas I had not had a chance to dig moats (please excuse me as I do not know the proper terminology for it) around some of mother’s plants and trees.  With the welcome rains of last weekend I was able to dig six before my back begged for me to stop.


Last year I twisted my ankle at the chili cook-off and had a hard time getting around those last two days.  Unloading my car after I got home was no easy task so I rode around with the tent in the trunk for a good two months.  Ordinarily I will set it up when I get home and give it a good cleaning.


Well that did not happen until last Tuesday when I decided I better take advantage of the fact that the ground was still soft and I could stake down the 16 heavy-duty stakes that came with it.  In Terlingua, I cheat…I only use the heavy duty ones in the corners and ordinary steel stakes for the rest.  Staking a tent down in solid rock is a very arduous task not to mention time consuming.  No wonder it took me six hours to set up my camp!


I also set up the first tent shower I ever owned mostly because it needed cleaning but since I am not able to fold it no matter how many times I have seen the video, I cannot take it with me unless of course I was going in Terlita (my camping van).

Thursday we took a quick trip to Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico across the border from Del Rio, Texas.  It is a ten-minute drive from mother’s house.  Was running short on my high blood pressure medication that I can purchase for 90 percent less in Mexico.


Remember back on July 31st we took a trip to Piedras Negras, Coahuila where we discovered Gutierrez?  Decided to visit their Acuna store…it is not as pretty as the one in Piedras Negras…but it does have good prices.


While I am not a liquor drinker I did purchase a bottle of Tequila for my trip to Terlingua.  If you are a first time goer you might consider purchasing one too as it is a tradition to open a bottle and to pass it around as you are enjoying a cozy campfire into the wee hours of the night or until you doze off…jajajajaja :D

Crossing back to the American side, I was in shock…first that there was no waiting line and second that the liquor tax is now $3.50 per bottle.  The last time I paid a liquor tax it was $1.25 (yeap had to get up and look at an old bottle). Poor man I bombarded him with questions.  I think he must of thought I was nuts and as if to make up for it he said “but now you can bring back four bottles instead of one!”  To which my mother added, “I think the State should consider doubling or tripling it”…gee mother don’t be so helpful…wonder what he thought about us?  Nah, it don’t matter…will probably never see him again in my life, lol.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.