Boggy Tundra

 This has been one Hell of a week, and we're not anywhere near out of it yet.  

Honey and I got our second Covid shots on Friday, and both of us had reactions to the vaccine.  Mine was very mild, but Honey ran a temperature and ached all over for about 36 hours.

We got over it just in time for the coldest weather of our lifetimes!  We didn't get nearly the amount of snow that was predicted, but we did get sleet and freezing rain, a tiny bit of snow and temperatures I had only experienced on training trips to St Paul, Minnesota.  

We've experienced temps that turned the old Boggy Thicket into frozen tundra, and just to make life more interesting, the lights have been out since Sunday!  

They came on for a few hours yesterday, and came back on about an hour ago, but there's no way to know if they're back on for good this time.

The whole-house generator we bought for hurricanes has served us well, but we have been trying for two days to get more propane delivered.  After leaving voice mail messages and email for two days, I finally went to the propane place and caught the guy who normally delivers to our house filling up his truck.  He told me that they are getting between 200 and 250 calls a day, and that he was only delivering to people whose tanks were below 5%!  I even tried playing the age card- telling him we were both in our 70s didn't make a dent. He assured me that with our tank just under 30%, we should last until he can can get here in another day or so.

If the lights will just stay on this time, he might be right.

15 Years

 

Our beloved daughter Shanna lost her fight with breast cancer and left this world on this day in 2006.  She left a space in our hearts and in our lives that we will never be able to refill.
Love you, Bumper, and I miss you.

A Shot of Hope

 

Honey and I were at NRG Stadium this morning for our second Corona Virus shot.  It was much more crowded with much longer lines than when we got our first dose in January - not sure why, since the original appointment set date and time for both doses.

Still it went off without a hitch, and we were in and out in just over an hour.  Memorial Hermann did an outstanding job.

It's Back

Fifteen years ago, when our daughter lost her battle with breast cancer, our across-the-street neighbors gave us a saucer magnolia to plant in Shanna's memory.

That little bush has been through Hell, and we almost lost it a couple of times- (boggy thicket: Shanna’s Bush) but it keeps hanging in there.  Today it is blooming again.

Matter of Taste

 I like beef, pork, chicken and just about any sort of seafood.  I've also been know to eat duck, goose, squirrel, venison, armadillo and even rattlesnake.  After consuming several cervezas, I once tried cabrito from a roadside vendor in Ciudad Acuna, and decided it was all right.

I have never eaten mutton, and have no plans to try it.  

I never did, but my decision was underscored by an experience Honey had many years ago.  She was eating lunch in the hospital cafeteria, took one bite of her chop and took it back to the serving line.

"This pork chop is spoiled." she said, "It tastes rancid."

The lady behind the counter said, "That isn't pork - it's lamb."

Robins

 For the past week or so, Robins have been as thick as fleas on a stray pup here at the Boggy Thicket.  Apparently, we're not unique - the Birds of Texas group on Facebook has reports from all over South Texas mentioning larger than normal flocks, first seen in years, etc.

And forget that "first Robin of Spring" nonsense.  Here at the Boggy Thicket, Robins show up in the dead of Winter - late January or early February, and are long gone by Easter.

2/2/21