Well...As you may have read, I had a 1 in 11,889* possibility of winning the Lottery yesterday. Yes, Beans, one of the 2 winners bought their ticket here in "The Burg". Unfortunately, it wasn't me! Dang! Out $410,300,000. I coulda bought a case or two of wine with that kinda money.
While I'm not sure what caused my number not to come up, I suspect it was the fact that I haven't bought a lottery ticket in a very long time. Ahh Well, I wish the winner well. I suspect their life is about to change drastically and not necessarily in a good way. Getting a good lawyer and a great accountant (and maybe probably a body guard) would be my advice.
But the town is certainly abuzz.
Speaking thereof.
 |
| The Buzz Birds have been out in large swarms lately |
This picture was taken as we arrived home from Church yesterday. I had emptied the gauge of about 1.5" Saturday evening, so we've had ~3.5" of rain in the past 24 hours. And it's still raining as I'm typing this.
 |
| The horses (the two dots to the bottom left in the tree in the top right corner) seem to be enjoying the green grass |
May not seem like a lot to you and I, but the color of the grass says differently. I can't remember the last time I saw Green Grass in September in Texas! Thank You, Lord! Beautiful!
Now, back to the post.
We've had quite a bit of Hummingbird activity lately, We've learned they migrate to Mexico for the winter each year. Apparently, it's now that time of year. Mrs J, Chief of Hummer Feeding @ Chateau Juvat, has been making many large batches of Hummer food daily.
Beans, Hummer food is a blend of pure cane sugar and water. We go through a 10 LB bag of sugar no less than weekly, Who knows how much water. Anyhow, the front porch is where the above pic was taken, the back porch faces west and it's still summer, temperature wise, in Texas right now, AKA Very Hot! So, not many birds and not many feeders out there.
In any case, they're a gas to watch as we sit out on the front porch, and enjoying an adult recreational beverage of course. I find it relaxing to watch, and learn, the Hummer's air to air engagement tactics. Highly entertaining and educational! (If I were still flying.)
In any case, as you may have observed in the above photograph, there is a very rare color predominate in the scene. Yes, Beans, that would be green. As mentioned, several times in this post, lots of rain lately. And the grass sucked it up gratefully. Thank you Lord!
On a more serious note, there's not been much motion in the House Sale situation. But both the realtor here and in College Station say the market is slow. Well, we can't help speed it up if somebody doesn't make an offer on a house in our chain. (Somebody buys a house, which means the owner buys another house, which means the owner of that one buys...........Somewhere in that chain is juvat's house, hopefully.)
Other than that, and the rain, (yes, Beans, it is STILL raining as I'm typing this post) not much is going on.
Peace out, y'all!
* The population of Fredericksburg at the last census
Hummingbirds are very fun to watch. VERY territorial. Little beggers buzz me when I go to tend any of the feeders.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
DeleteGood Morning. Yeah, I really enjoy watching them flit around and do a little air to air to protect THEIR feeder! It's also a bit interesting, although I'm not a professional bird watcher, is to see different species on the same feeder. Mrs J knows what they species names are, I don't have a clue. But, I do find it interesting.
juvat
Juvat, I've watched 'em attack Scrub Jays that got too close to the feeders.
DeleteHaven't noticed them attacking larger birds, but the dogs take care of that responsibility. I think they've learned that the bigger ones are larger, slower and have more meat on them. Don't know if that's the actual reason, but...
Deletejuvat
Uff Da! That's a fair amount of rain in one day juvat, that grass looks to be lush even. Hummingbird feeders aren't too prevalent around my street hence few sightings of those arial gymnasts this summer out in the perennial garden.......maybe twice?
ReplyDeleteNylon, and it rained most of the night last night also. I'm sure the ranchers and farmers in the area are grateful. Maybe the price of beef will go back down a bit.
DeleteWe've definitely had more hummer visitors this year, but they do stop by most years on the way to Mexico. Gotten used to seeing them.
juvat
Hummingbirds are very enjoyable to watch. Once they learn where a feeder is, there is almost a constant stream of visitors.
ReplyDeleteIn the state in which New Home 2.0 is located, we also have a state lottery which has reached the point where people are talking about it at work every day. To your point, likely as many problems as benefits.
We maybe had possible interest in my parents' property - if that does not come to fruition, I anticipate nothing until Spring. Winter is a traditionally slower time for real estate.
THBB,
DeleteYeah they are. My BP goes down quite effectively when I'm watching them.
I think winning the big one paints a big target on your back. Winning a few thousand however, might fund a nice vacay for the Mrs and I so...maybe a ticket...or not.
Well good luck on your parent's property, but I think you're right. I've told the Realtor in College Station to hold off on looking for houses for now. All that's doing for us, is a cycle, of "Wow, that's the one we want" followed by an e-mail from the Realtor that it isn't on the market any longer.
So, "patience is a virtue".
juvat
Juvat, we are thinking at some point about looking for a home here. I am trying to steel myself to not look at all until we are actually ready to purchase precisely for that reason.
DeleteTHBB,
DeleteHang in there. The pain will dissipate at some point after moving in and the Missus settles on furniture placement, which drawer the soupspoons are in and where the pictures really need to be hung on the wall. Until then……
juvat
That's a lot of rain!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is, haven't had water in the stock ponds in quite a while. Not a lot, mind you but some.
Deletejuvat
My hummers have been very thirsty over the past 2 weeks, so I figured they were stocking up to fly south to you folks. I have been filling my feeder with 3/4 cup of hummer juice 3x a week for about a month now. And I know the birds are getting it as I figured out how to keep the ants out!!
ReplyDeleteWe have had minimal rain over the past month. Been mostly 70's and sunny here. Unfortunately, some folks wells are running dry as we have had about half an inch in the past month. But 70's during the day and low 50's at night--I'm enjoying it!!
Lot of rain is okay for the grass, as long as it doesn't make your rivers runneth over...just saying...
Suz
Suz,
DeleteWells running dry is solidly on the "No Bueno!" side of things. We've come close a few times, but never completely.
As to the rivers running over, the folks down in Kerrville (20 miles south of us) are no doubt nervous about the rain. I doubt the tributaries have gone completely back to their normal circumstances since the disaster in July. Wouldn't take much to have a replay, God help us!
juvat
Mortgages are coming down, albeit slowly, which might help break the log-jams. C'mon St. Joseph, do your thing please!
ReplyDeleteTuna,
DeleteI hope so. It'll help us on both sides of the transaction. Get a buyer that can afford our house, save us a bit of money on the next one.
I talk to him every day.
juvat
Hummers tactics are great instructional aids for FP! (If you can follow one creature for more than ten seconds!) We used to love watching them in Santa Cruz. We had a feeder right outside the kitchen sink bay window. Fun and good memories. Florida - at the beach? Not so much for the little FPs.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you got the zeros correct on tthat initial paragraph? My, oh my.
Fuzz, D4
Fuzz,
DeleteFirst Last and vice versa. The zero was correct. There are 11,888 residents, one of whom apparently won 430 million dollars. Or at least someone bought one of the two winning tickets in The Burg.
As to the watching Hummers, I can sit there and watch them for hours. Very entertaining. Got Hummer feeders outside just about every window in the house.
juvat
The weatherguessers assure me that we've received over 5" of rain here over the last two months.
ReplyDeleteMe, knowing the weatherguessers are wildly wrong, have seen maybe the normal 2"ish. Storm clouds appear on radar, form and flood around us but go around us. To the East, North, South, West, all get rain. My little patch of Heck? Not so much.
All due to microclimates, ridges and stuffs that is boring but works. Works to drive rain off all the time.
As to Hummers, used to watch them when we lived in California back in the late 60's. Haven't seen them since.
Neat thing about Hummers is that they have managed to extend their ranges all over the US of A because of people feeding them.
Beans,
DeleteAs far as I can remember, they've been migrating through Texas since we moved here in the late 90's, but they could be using Texas to funnel them down to their Winter areas rather than crossing the Gulf. I'm not an expert, so don't know. But....They ARE fun to watch.
juvat
I didn't win either...LOL And the hummers are migrating, along with the Monarchs. And I'm tired of mowing! That was supposed to be DONE in July... sigh
ReplyDeleteOldNFO, I feel your pain. Mrs J takes the riding mower around the 2 or 3 acres around the house and still comes back hot and sweaty ( No, Beans, not in a good way ) . I do the push mower around the places she can’t get close enough to. Not my favorite chore.
Deletejuvat
Only had about 1inch here near Bandera and 40 miles south of juvat. Still, having rain this time of year here is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteHaven't been keeping the Hummer feeders filled. I have seen a few checking out our Texas Purple Sage bushes.
Anon,
DeleteIt has been pretty concentrated locally, which is not necessarily a good thing (aka Kerrville). Still gonna have a great hay crop this year.
juvat