Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along

[farmerjan]

@Ridgetop no apologies necessary for anything. That is what is so nice here. We can kinda blow off the steam before we blow our tops at home and cause irreparable harm. Besides. sometimes getting it down on paper or just off your chest, can make you look at it differently too.
I am so sorry for this DD1 being so book smart and basically STUPID about practicalities. I don't have any real advice for you. I suspect that she will face the consequences of her actions, with rebellion and downright major problems from the way she is restricting.... he// she is STIFLING these children. One thing I will say, take it or leave it..... from my divorce I learned from my therapist/counselor ... do not put her down to the kids even if you have to bite your tongue and draw blood. You can say that you don't agree, that you might do things differently, BUT, she is their mother and while they live in her house they have to do as she says. It is her house and she makes the rules.

When I got divorced, and my ex got "physical custody" because I was moving out of state... a whole long story..... I wanted to follow through with shooting him and going to jail just to get him out of my son's life. But, I refrained. I had alternating holidays, and the summers.... plus could see him whenever I went north....When my son hit his sr year of high school, he took off one day and left my ex- drove the 8 hrs to Va and said he was not going back. Everyone was frantic and they all called me asking what to do. I said leave him alone, he will probably come to Va and when he did show up, exhausted and an emotional mess, I put him to bed and called my parents and said, he is here, he is asleep, and it will get talked about tomorrow. They were all about coming down and getting this straightened out and I said NO, leave him alone and I will call you tomorrow. Then he finally told me what had triggered the walking out, and stuff he had been dealing with for years, and never told me about.... and we got it sorted out and he went back and lived with my parents for the last 3 months until he graduated. 2 weeks later he was moved down with me permanently. It hasn't all been roses, but he KNEW that there was a safe haven here.
That is what I am trying to get across. Don't bash her in any way in front of the kids; as much as you want to tell her off. Make sure they know that you love them and WILL LISTEN , even when you don't agree..... give them the knowledge that they have a safe place to be. Make sure you have rules and don't be lax.... they need to know the limits. If it gets so bad, you might wind up with custody in some weird scenario....and you might have some really difficult kids to deal with.

Maybe they will do something and she will get a "figurative slap across the face" and wake up.... and realize or even if necessary, have it explained to her, maybe by the FDIL , that she is destroying these kids.... and nothing in life is perfect.... not even her.

Good luck. And yes, men can be so thick and stupid sometimes.....

 

[Baymule]

By comparison, my life is much simpler. Our DD and her husband are great parents and the girls love to come see us. Our son, has never married and has no kids. I would auction him off to the highest bidder if I could. He is going to hit 40 and still be single, He'll be 38 in another month. His great, great grandfather on his father's side, didn't marry until just past 40, married an 18 year old and had a passel of kids. So maybe there is hope. LOL

@farmerjan moving to Tennessee in a few years sounds like a pretty good idea. Make yourself happy and to heck with it all. For now, stay close, get your medical issues dealt with and enjoy your new home, it will be your down payment to a better place.

@Ridgetop looking at Oklahoma? Can't blame you, prices here have gone stupid. Probably all those escapees from other states trying to get away from all the madness...... LOL We have another move coming. Don't know exactly when, or exactly where, but I don't think we will be here forever. We bought it at a ridiculous low price and will sell at a ridiculous high price, so we will be ok.

 

[Ridgetop]

Farmerjan: Actually I thought your son was selling and moving with you. Andyou are right. We never discuss our daughter in front of the kids. We always tell them what wonderful parents they have. I suggested family counselling and DD1 said yesterday that she and SIL were actually think about family counselling with the entire family. If they do that, hopefully some of the issues will come up and she may realize she has to back off. At any rate we are walking distance (over the hills with trails behind our house) so in an emergency the kids know how to get here. I am hoping that having 2 days here with us this school year while DD1 and SIL work from home may help out. It will take some pressure off DD1 and also off the kids if they learn they can hurry through their schoolwork and then have free time. Maybe she will let them walk over in the mornings.

Baymule: Maybe we can check out southern Oklahoma ranches together when this quarantine ends and we are finally able to get back there! Closer to your kids too in the middle of the state.

 

[Baymule]

I think I’m gonna stay close to east Texas. I like the green and trees. Brown landscapes and trees shorter than a 2 story house don’t excite me. Oh heck, trees shorter than a ONE story house doesn’t excite me. Can’t believe they actually call that scrub brush trees!

 

[Ridgetop]

A Requiem for a Golden Boy

Oh, sweet green infant with waving golden locks
How early were you taken, before you ripened into your promise.
Marauders have stolen your goodness from those who loved you.
Secretly in the night they came and took you from us.
You will not be forgotten. Already we plan the destruction
Of those enemies. They will pay for their grim deeds.
Our revenge will be swift and cruel on those who killed you.

Open verse, but I am not much of a poet.
DH is in deepest mourning for the loss of his single ear of corn. It was taken in the night by a band of furry thieves while 3 Turkish guardians slept on duty. These ruthless predators have returned uncaught to the scene of the crime many times. They have been sighted in broad daylight by reliable witnesses. They pillage and loot. They are identifiable by their beady, shifty little eyes and thick bushy tails. At a weight of at least 2 lbs. these are the largest and healthiest ground squirrels I have ever seen! Perhaps some sort of genetically altered Super-Ground Squirrel! Is this the newest Chinese threat? The evisceration of our food supply by giant ground squirrels?

Our Turkish sentries have been reproved but don’t seem to understand the seriousness of their failure. Responding to a serious tongue lashing and demotion in rank with happy tail waggings, these foreign immigrants seemed not to realize that they are here on sufferance to protect our premises. While perhaps they do not recognize Super Ground Squirrels as predators, we have told them in detail of their dereliction. They smiled at us as we gestured towards the green cornstalks, pretending not to understand our strange tongue, and asked for caresses.

DH has ordered a ground squirrel trap. He is a little optimistic, having ordered one that will hold up to 20 of the creatures. Having caught them, he announced that he would then drive them to the park and release them. Shocked and horrified, I banned this move. Instead, I decreed that we would shoot them in the cage with pellet guns. I would shoot fish in a barrel if it was necessary. Don’t judge. He agreed that this was a better idea since we have no hated enemies into whose garden we could release them. LOL Having shot them, we can feed them to the dogs. They are large enough for us to eat ourselves, but DS1 refused to countenance the idea, stating that they carried disease like Bubonic Plague. I pointed out that fleas carried that. He agreed but said that ground squirrels carry fleas. If they had Bubonic Plague in their fleas, we have already been exposed to this. Regardless, the dogs can eat them as well as rabbits they catch.

Originally, due to his aging eyesight, and the fact that he missed when he shot at one with a pellet gun, he stated that he would take the 16 gauge and sit u for them. Reminding them what buck**** wuld do to his beloved corn plants, he searched out alternative methods, thus the trap. It arrives today from Amazon.

Due to the mourning period over our golden babe, I have been too depressed to post. Ministering to DH in his grief has taken all my time. He has discovered that he is with corn again though. 3 more tiny ears are on the stalks, probably already marked for death by our rapacious invaders. Hopefully the trap will help.

We are finally returning to some semblance of normal quarantine life. We took our 2 ram lambs to the auction yesterday. I should have taken a photo of the horrible goats and sheep they had in the holding pens. One sheep actually looked like a cross between a sheep and camel. At any rate, they were all bony and thin adult with the exception of 2 or 3 kids around 3 months old. Hopefully, my thick, healthy lambs will go for a good price. DH is picking up another load of hay this weekend since we can fit another 2040 bales it our current storage areas. The price had already gone up $.50 a bale. DH keeps trying to reassure me about being able to afford hay if the price rises any more but I am worried that if we don’t stockpile it now, the price will be unaffordable this winter If we don’t have hay and the rains don’t come, we will be in trouble. Ranchers’ worries. Sometimes I hate loving this life so much.

I will be making up the due date list today for the ewes. It looks like don’t have any ewes due until the beginning to mid-September. The August due dates having remarked. However, that is not always reliable since an overly optimistic ram will often mark a ewe again with high hopes. By making up the due date list I can keep an eye on those ewes that I expect to lamb in order. The jugs are ready for them so nothing to do but wait. The worst part of any pregnancy as far as I am concerned. TMI but my pregnancies were so awful that labor was the best part! Ugh!

This morning DS1 and I will separate the 4 ewes into the ram pens. We need to replace Axtel’s crayon and put a harness on Lewis. The new Lewis ewe will be taken kicking and screaming to Lewis since DS1 insists that putting a halter on her and walking her over will be the easiest way. I suggested putting up the portable chute fencing and running her over that way, but he vetoed it insisting on just dragging her in a halter. Too much trouble to argue with him so let him struggle. I will have to halter the ewe lamb too and take her with the ewe. Then we will run the other 3 ewes down in front with Axtell. The next job will be removing Moyboy from the main flock for 4 weeks so they can recycle if necessary, before turning Lewis out onto the main field with his new honey. That way, if anyone rebreeds I will know who the sire is for registration. After the other 3 ewe with Axtell are marked, they will also join the main flock with Lewis. Moyboy and Axtel can bond in the Field of Celibacy and recover from their Months of Bliss. This entire operation is fraught with possibilities for another giant Ridgetop screwup and chase of the lambs hither and yon.

DD2 came over last Tuesday and spent a lovely day with us on the patio. The weather was nice, hot but with a cooler breeze. Thankfully she is feeling better and did not throw up once while here. There was a close call when I served dinner which she had announced she and her family would stay to eat with us. I warned her we were having tamales and pork Chili Verde. Meat dishes AND not suited to a queasy or tender stomach. She had already told me that she threw up at the smell of meat cooking. Her moaning about feeling starved to death told me that she would not take “No” for an answer and she had already invited Doofus-Soon-To-Be- Son-In-Law. I don’t know how I have failed as a mother, even though I was and am PERFECT.

I set the table and found some meatless leftovers for DD2, some chicken for Maysie, and DD2 walked into the house, turned green and announced that the meat smells were making her vomit, She ran outside. I took her placemat outside and started to wash off the patio table for DD2. She was appalled that I was making her eat OUTSIDE! I told her that she couldn’t eat with us and spoil our dinners puking over everything! Ugh!

He stood t the kitchen window with her sad puppy face complaining that she would be “lonely”. Fine! DD2 was handed paper towels and the hose and told to wash the table. DSTBSIL was dispatched to move the placemats and silverware to the outside table. We proceeded to eat outside while DH and DS1 complained about the flies hovering around. Very pleasant Ridgetop meal. LOL No vomiting occurred. DD2 ate meatless Spanish rice, leftover fried cabbage, and salad. A very odd combination for a pregnant woman who can’t keep anything down but go figure. I had thawed a quart of the goat milk DS2 had gotten frozen from his dairy friend in Riverside. I gave it to DD2 to take home and make smoothies with. She is somewhat lactose intolerant but hopefully the goat milk will stay down. She needs to coat her stomach with some form of soothing foods. She is taking Tums which help and sucking caramels since peppermint turns her green. If she can drink the goat milk with no problem, then she can buy it in the store or DS2 can bring more when he comes home from San Diego area where he is working. A fleeting thought of purchasing a miller went through my mind but – I did say it was fleeting didn’t I?

While sitting on the patio, DD2 had a good idea for DS2’s and FDIL’s wedding reception at home. The invitations have not gone out so they will have to cut their guest list in half which will not upset too many people with the Covid virus restrictions. We can rent canopies and put them on the lower front area where our old Doughboy pool used to be. It is 25’ x 60’ and is flat. We will need to rent an additional set of steps since the deck is gone now but they only need to go down 4’. The rental company should have those and if not, we can build a short set. With tables and chairs under the canopy and lots of fairy lights it should work well. We can even rent a small dance floor. If we can’t find a caterer, FDIL’s mother has a cousin who does Filipino catering which will feed the ethnic guests and does a whole roast suckling pig which is traditional Filipino celebration food. Very tasty! The rest of the food I can make with my trusty crew of 1. LOL! I would normally insist on taking over DD1’s kitchen since it is huge and doing all the cooking there, then freezing a lot of the food. However, since she has again forbidden us to attend on health issues, I am not sure we will be able to tell her about the reception. She might report us. On the other hand, the neighbors will be there (we only have 4) and with the locked iron gates, the officers can’t get in. Besides, LAPD said they are not rousting house parties anyway despite our mayor’s threats.

Dishes like Burgundy meatballs are an easy thing to make in bulk, freeze, and serve. Also, large pans of Stouffers Lasagna, etc., salads, etc. can be produced quickly and easily. Wine, beer, and champagne are easily procured from Costco. Actually, for my grandmother’s 90th birthday, I ordered all the liquor, champagne and ice from a local liquor store and they supplied the glassware as well. The food is the least part. I will need to hire serving staff since I am not going to host the whole thing alone, the bride can’t do anything, and we all want to be guests. I have several catering places I can try since I would prefer to have the caterers do everything.

We have an acre of parking on the field. The dogs ill be locked in the barn pens with the sheep and the sheep and Josie will be corralled in the night folds. With the florist renting large plants and shrubs to hide unsightly areas we will be fine. Since our lovely view over the Valley is better than the Odyssey’s where we scheduled the venue, FDIL is happy with the change. Also many guests that have to travel will not be coming probably. Particularly the Filipino contingent living in the Philippines.

I’m in a better frame of mind now except for the ground squirrels. DD1 is coming around to DD2’s pregnancy. She even bought her a pregnancy gift of Saltines and is planning to go visit her. Maybe DD1 will get to plan a White Wedding for DD2 after all. DD2 and DSTBFSIL will already be married and have their baby, but they can repeat their vows and DH can walk his little girl down the aisle. I will be holding their baby in the first row. Today’s morals continue to confuse me. My grandmother had to marry in the Priest’s Parlor instead of the Catholic church. My Grandfather was a Lutheran. Things have really changed in the church, but not so much as in our general views. Life goes on.

Now for the Super Ground Squirrels . . . .

 

[Baymule]

Oh thanks for the belly laugh! Look out ground squirrels!!

 

[Ridgetop]

And don't forget WATER! Too far west and it dries up! Probably kept by East Texans with right of capture! LOL

 

[Ridgetop]

Let us know where you think the best areas will be. We are definitely coming once this Covid thing is done. Got to look around some more for just the right place. The problem is that if we get plenty of rain but are too far north, we have to deal with snow and feeding through the winter. If we are too far south and west we may not have enough water. The real problem is that there will be climate problems no matter where we go. They will just all be different problems. We just have to decide which ones are the easiest to deal with.

This time when you move, you will probably be looking for a place with a barn, fencing for the sheep and dogs, and the rest of what you had to put in this time. Having had livestock we all know what is necessary. That is why I inspect the outbuildings first, then the house. The house is last on my list because I know we can fix it easily. The fencing, barns, water supply, wells, ponds, access, etc. are the most important no matter what the size of the property. When we looked before, the sales listing agent was always confused when I ignored the house and made a bee line to the barns! The sales agent would also tell me that fencing was cheap and easy LOL and was surprised when I told him how much it would actually cost to fence the properties and do the repairs. Most of them did not know what I was talking about when I asked about GPM output on the wells either. Be prepared to know more about the features than the selling agent. Luckily our agent is a friend and understands we know exactly what we need for our small sheep operation.

So in a major recovery from the Covid destruction of DS2’s and FDIL’s wedding plans, I made a list of all the things that need to be rented and made a bunch of calls. Tents, tables, chairs, propane heaters (October wedding so possibly chilly), large fans (October in southern California so could have a hot spell), linens, china, tableware, glassware, keg equipment, portable dance floor, speakers for DJ, lights, porta potties?, rental plants and shrubbery to disguise our animal stuff (the florist does not do this so need to do it separately) ground coverings, etc., etc., SERVERS!!! The food is no problem, but we need servers since I am not going to act as a waitress!

DH again came to the rescue – My Hero – by reminding me that we always used to rent building equipment from Bonner’s in La Crescenta. He remembered that they had started renting party equipment years ago, so I called them.

JACKPOT!!!

Matt at Bonner’s said he could supply all of the above, INCLUDING SERVERS and a BARTENDER!!! Matt is my new BFF.

To the grand strains of the Hallejujah Chorus I pirouetted out to the family room, narrowly avoiding hitting the door jamb on the way. Once arriving there I informed DH that he had again saved the day! (DD2’s sofa remember?) Matt is coming out next Tuesday at noon to look over the property and see if his tents or canopies will fit in front where we want it or if they have to go on the field instead. I am hoping it can go in front where the pool was since the view is nicer there, while on the field most of the view is blocked by the Connexes. On the other hand, hidden behind the Connexes the party tent will not be noticeable to any evil nosy parkers that want to turn us in. They will have to fly over with a helicopter to do so. The neighbors have been invited so no problem. The neighbors must stay on the invitation list for that reason, but some of the relatives have been scratched out without a qualm. We like these neighbors, not so much the relatives.

DD1 still insists that we do not attend the wedding but she is not the boss of us!!! DH and I are not completely in our dotage yet, although DH is waffling between “Hell, No, I’m gonna go!” and “We might catch Covid and die”.

Today my nail lady told me about a client who wanted to get tested for Covid. She filled out all the paperwork on line to get an appointment for the Covid test. When she showed up at her appointment time she found a 2 hour line! She decided she wouldn’t wait so she left without taking the test. A week later she received a letter in the mail telling her the Covid test was positive! What??? She never even had the test! Our neighbor’s son-in-law works for the studios and every time they change location all the drivers and grips have to get a new Covid test. He is always negative, but it registers on the state list as a Covid positive test! Can anyone spell S-C-A-M?

Covid is a real threat, but I really think it is being drawn out as more than it is for most people. Everyone has to go to the grocery store, gas station, etc. I really think most people by now have been exposed in one way or another, either firsthand or secondhand. I am going to wear the mask when I go out in public, stay away from most people, but am not going crazy about it. And when I hear that the Chinese government is saying they are finding Covid in frozen food imported to their country – well, go figure!

Now, back to the reception, ince I don’t have a caterer to do it for me YET, I have to figure out a menu, then how much food, wine, champagne, beer, and soft drinks I need per person for this shindig. DS1 and DS2 can figure out where to buy the keg of beer. They used to obtain the kegs for their fraternity and college parties. DH again suggested a solution – the corner market/liquor store where my children have gone on their ponies to buy ice cream and candy for 30+ years! I will call them to see if they can supply the wine and booze as well since we now have a bartender. Some liquor stores also supply the ice and glasses and will deliver during the party as you run out. Costco used to carry Cook’s champagne in the magnums so I will check them out too. Cook’s tastes just like Dom Perignon and is a very nice choice. DH won a bottle of Dom Perignon once and we had a taste test – no difference. Not terribly expensive either. We are not oenophiles obviously.

So happy that I have found a way out of the Covid wedding quagmire. Maybe we will buy boxes of face masks, decorate them with large red smiles, and put one at each place setting for the guests instead of wedding favors!

Now that is taken care of, the food will not be a problem. Maybe not on the same scale as a sit down menu with a choice of entree, but we can do a nice buffet service. I have 3 large buffet chafing dishes and DD1 has another. We used to entertain large groups a lot and I did all the cooking myself. I am not as young now, but STILL IN MY PRIME! lol The whole roast pig will be served on a large tray. The wedding cake will be desert. Giant bags of tossed green salad can be procured and served in some of my huge serving bowls. I have a lot of large serving pieces that can be used outside, including several punch bowls that will do duty as large salad bowls for the buffet table. Coolers can be borrowed to ice the champagne and wine. The keg will be refrigerated somehow, I think. DH and DS1 will know. If necessary, we can roast several turkeys and slice them up to be served along with the pig in the warmers. Stouffers vegetable lasagna will do for any vegetarian guests. We are all big meat eaters here anyway. Let the vegetarians go hungry! How dare they attend a wedding of a family of carnivores and expect their picky food preferences to be catered to! It is enough trouble to arrange this at home reception without worrying about them. Maybe a crockpot of baked beans? They have salad and cake.

The only fly will be the lack of linens for the tables. Bonner’s has the linens, but no laundry service to wash them. Maybe if I volunteer to launder them afterwards, he will at least rent us the tablecloths. We can make do with paper napkins I suppose.

We have tons of battery operated fairy lights that we can put up all over the patio and trees, shrubs etc. We bought them last Christmas to use at BBQs this summer that were outlawed. Curse you, Governor Gruesome!!! And you, Mayor Fartcetti!!!

Just remembered another question for Bonner’s - do they rent the plastic shields to go in front of the food on the buffet table?

So much to do.

We took the 2 ram lambs down to the auction Wednesday. The price was less than before but not too bad since they were barely 3 months old and I don’t have to feed them hay anymore. Our grazing is limited now and all dry. The auction people said that the best prices are in the spring so I will rearrange my marketing strategy again and plan to raise the larger freezer lambs for private clients during the summer since the winter prices are higher for the smaller lambs in the spring. I have fewer private clients that want 100+ lb. freezer lambs so that will work out. All the ewes that are due to lamb will have lambs that will go to auction from January through May or June when the prices will be higher. I also got another customer today, Russian and wants a lamb about 35-50 lb. I told him there would be no meat on it at 35 lbs. He was surprised to hear that it would only be about a month or so old. I explained that my young lambs gain faster than what he is accustomed to buying. I told him I would let him know when my lambs were 50 lbs. and he could come take a look. I had to raise my price for a finished lamb to $250. If I can get $150 for a 50-60 lb. lamb, there is no point in holding and feeding a lamb to 110 lb. and selling at $200! My butcher said I am still underpriced, but better a quick sale than holding out for a higher price that might never arrive.

7041 has already marked. Her pen mates lambed about a week apart after her so I should expect to see 7088 mark next week, and 8040 mark the week after that. The new Lewis ewe has some marks on her side and shoulder, I put her in the book with a question mark, but he was probably just trying to get to know her. LOL

I hope the ewes hold off lambing for another 2 weeks. We are in a heat advisory – temps 20 degrees above normal for the next week. 103 degrees to 110 degrees. Being advised not to overuse the A/C or any electrical appliances during the day in case the power grid goes down. Possible and unpleasant. We have all the blinds drawn, the fans running, and the AC temp at 78+. If the worst happens, we will go to DD1’s house, overpower them, and use their pool. LOL

I really hate summer lambings due to the heat. It is so hard on the lambs, and the discharge from the ewe draws flies like mad. I use fly spray on their backsides to try to avoid fly strike. Since they are inside the barn it is hard to keep the flies away no matter how many fly traps I hang.

Several wildfires around lately. It is already August and our fire season lasts from now through October. The good thing is that our weather patterns usually mean with a very hot summer, we get a very wet winter. Hopefully it will be a good green forage year, if so. Sometimes. . . .

Dh is still plugging away at his retaining wall behind the workshop. He wants to finish it, then put in a short retaining wall on the slope below the patio so we can plant flowering shrubs or ground cover there. We need to find out what will poison Super Ground Squirrels and plant that.

Speaking of the SGSs I had a brilliant thought yesterday about what to do before the wedding in the areas that have been decimated. I will buy cheap artificial flowers and plants and put them in the garden where the rabbits and ground squirrels have chewed up everything. I would buy real ones, but would have to put them in before the reception. They would not survive to the reception. DH read on line that we could make up a spray using hot chili peppers. I know that sometimes works to deter dogs and cats, so it is worth a try. You buy or grow the hottest chilis then put them in a blender with a little water and puree them. Strain the mixture into a jar and use it in the spray bottle to spray plants and anything you need to protect. Be sure to wear rubber gloves when working with the chilis. I think I will start shopping for cheap artificial plants. The area with our new faux grass and the flowering pomegranate will make a lovely spot for photos EXCEPT the roses are all dead. If I can arrange flowering plants along the wall it will disguise the destruction.

Enough for now. I need to go put a cold compress on my forehead with all this thinking and planning!

 

[thistlebloom]

Try Plantskydd deer repellent for your squirrels. The label says it works on them also. I don't know personally because I just need to repel deer, and it works well for that.

Deer - Plantskydd

Our deer repellent is the best way for achieving a deer proof garden. It's the most Effective, most Tested, and longest Lasting animal repellent out there.

www.plantskydd.com

Seems much easier to me than concocting a pepper spray and worrying about getting it on your skin and in your eyes. I diced some chilies for freezing one morning, that night took my contacts out and wow! Even after all the times I had washed my hands throughout the day the pepper oil still had enough kick to blind me! A memorable lesson, lol.

There are other repellents that work on squirrels, according to the label, and I have used many different repellents, but for deer at least, I like Plantskydd.
There is also a hot pepper wax spray for plants you can apply. I've used it too and my eyes didn't seem to notice, haha.

 

[Baymule]

We drove halfway to Odessa yesterday to meet the parents and take the grandkids back. That was enough of a drive to remind us that WE LOVE EAST TEXAS and have no desire to move west of Dallas. We are happily living BEHIND THE PINE CURTAIN and will continue to do so. Our son has 35 acres in Houston County (NOT Houston the city-the COUNTY-pay attention here!). It is between Lufkin and Crockett. We may eventually move there. Look around in Houston County. Crockett is so named because supposedly it was the campsite of Davy Crockett on his way to the Alamo. Remember the Alamo!

East Texas does get snow, but not every year and it is generally gone in 3 days. Just enough to make it fun and not enough to make it misery. I haul buckets of boiling hot water to the animals twice a day, BJ runs stove duty and big pots, loads them in my wagon and off I go. It's a pain, but it never lasts long. If that is a bother to you, have a hot water on demand thingy installed in the barn. Most of the year you would wonder why you ever did that, but the 3 days a year that you needed it, it would be a boon.

Here is a link to my 2018 snow storm thread. LOL LOL We didn't get any snow in 2019. Check out the dates. Snow on January 16 with a record busting 10 degree F cold, then on January 21, over 70 degrees F. Hahaha

SNOW IN TEXAS!!!

Woke up this morning to snow! Actually looked out the window at 5AM and went back to bed. LOL Fixing to start the boiling water brigade. Took these from the front porch, one of Prince out the back door.

www.theeasygarden.com