Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Country Life The Retirees: Goodbye to an old friend!
Country Life The Retirees: Goodbye to an old friend!: There she goes, a dear old friend. She has donated her body to charity. She will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The proceeds wil...
Goodbye to an old friend!
There she goes, a dear old friend. She has donated her body to charity. She will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The proceeds will go to the Alzheimer Association and who knows where her organs will end up. Perhaps she will remain in one piece and be reconditioned for another life. Or perhaps she will go to a junk yard where she will be sold off again piece by piece. Wherever she goes she will live again. She served us well and deserves to live on. I hope to see her flying down I10 again on her way to Alaska. She almost made it there once but we stopped short of our journey in Canada.
She was purchased in 1988 by my husband. A brand new Chevrolet Suburban, silver and blue, three rows of seats. We had four children and they were thrilled with it. We couldn't wait to take her on the road for a family vacation. We would load her up with sleeping bags, pillows, favorite toys and games and head out on camping trips or long road trips. The back end was spacious but filled so high with our belongings we could barely see through the rear view mirror. The luggage rack on top would carry our tent and camping chairs. We were a sight going down the interstate. Oh the places we went.......
We lived in Houston a few miles off Interstate 10 highway. We would pick the kids up from school on a Friday afternoon, my husband would take off work early, the 'Burb would be packed up and off we would go to beat the Friday afternoon rush out of town. Our journeys took us to many states, camp grounds and state parks....Stephen F Austin State Park, Huntsville State Park, Galveston Island State Park, Padre Island State Park, Estes State Park, Yellowstone State Park, Canyon Lake, Big Bear, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Mexico and Canada. She didn't take us to these places just once but several times. She was put to pasture on our ranch with over 200,000 miles on her and still running.
The Burb had an exciting life and a couple of close calls. Shortly after we purchased her when my daughter was only 16 she took a few friends to the movie theater. When the movie was over they headed to the Burb. She was no where to be found. My daughter was frantic. She knew where she had parked it but it was gone. The Burb had been a victim of theft. We assured our daughter it wasn't her fault, there wasn't a thing she could have done about it. The thieves had broken into the vehicle, hot wired it and drove it to another location where they took her seats, and tires. The police found her the next day in a run down neighborhood in Houston. She was towed and repaired, brought back to life to make many more travels with us.
The Burb was also in a very bad accident. I was driving through a double intersection when I was rammed by a tired chef who had just gotten off work. He didn't see the double light, his was red, the one further from him was green and that's the one he was looking at when he slammed into us, totaling the Burb. She was built so well that she actually saved our lives. We thought she was done for but the mechanics and body shop slowly brought her back to life again.
For a while she became a ranch vehicle but then we began to use her less and less. Being as big as she was, she was a gas guzzler so she began to sit more and more. Finally my husband called NPR(National Public Radio) and donated her.
As we cleaned her out this morning many memories came back to me. Is it possible to cry over a vehicle? Well to us she was more than a vehicle, she was family. All of our family drove her with pride, including the bonus baby, our fourth child who is now 21. I felt sad every time I saw her sitting unused and I feel sad watching her being towed away but it's good to know that she donated herself to help others
Goodbye old friend............
Friday, December 13, 2013
Country Life The Retirees: Chapter Neighbors and Good Old Boy Mentality
Country Life The Retirees: Chapter Neighbors and Good Old Boy Mentality: When we first retired to the hills we thought we would be pretty secluded but people started buying up the land pretty quickly, mostly Baby...
Country Life The Retirees: Addendum
Country Life The Retirees: Addendum: I'm sitting here on my back porch on New Year's Day looking out over the hills drinking red wine and wondering how much more chocol...
Addendum
I'm sitting here on my back porch on New Year's Day looking out over the hills drinking red wine and wondering how much more chocolate I can safely consume today! The temperature is a cool 59 in the shade and there is north easterly breeze blowing. My corn bread is in the oven and I can't wait to bite into it with a generous slab of butter topping it. I hope it's good with jalapenos, corn, cilantro and cheddar in it. You guessed it, I'm a foody!
As I look out over the hills I can't help but think about the settlers. 200 years ago that came to this land. I've read enough books to know what a difficult time they had. I can certainly understand it. The soil is mostly limestone sprinkled with cactus. I've had a difficlut time myself trying to carve a garden out of this land. I can just imagine them facing more problems than I with no power tools, only hand held shovels and hoes. I know many starved to death or died of disease. There is a grave yard at the bottom of the hill with headstones carved indicating how some died. I love to walk through that cemetery and imagine what life was like for them. I once went to a very old cemetery about 50 miles from here in Frederiicksburg, Texas. So many children died from disease or starvation during that time that they have a separate area just for them. It's so sad looking at the tiny little graves and wondering. One headstone indicated a woman had been killed by Indians but not scalped. Sometimes I can visualize an Indian on the horizon riding his pony. This was their land. I can't help but wonder how they felt being pushed from their land, dying in battle to protect it and suffering from the diseases that the white man brought. The white man considered the Indian uncivilized and the Indian felt the same about the white man and his kind. It's unfortunate they could not have respected each other's ways and lived together peacefully.. History has proven that doesn't happen easily, if ever.The invaders are bullies and the invaded are always fighting to win back what was rightfully theirs.
The settlers came from all over, many from Germany, settling in these hills. Some came from Louisiana and further east. They nearly all starved to death. They lived from the land, killing wild animals such as deer, squirrel, possum. Salt and coffee was hard to come by. When they ran out of coffee they would use their seed corn brought with them for planting,,, roasting and grinding it to make a kind of coffee. All I have to do is jump in my air conditioned suv and head to the nearest HEB or Costco to stock up when I'm running low. I don't have to watch for Indians over the horizon or shoot a deer or squirrel for our next meal. If my chickens aren't laying or the coyotes have eaten them all it's only 30 minutes or less for me to the local grocery to get a dozen eggs.
I can't help but think of the people who settled this land as I live my life of ease. I wish they could see it all from the great beyond and marvel at it. Who knows, maybe they can!
As I look out over the hills I can't help but think about the settlers. 200 years ago that came to this land. I've read enough books to know what a difficult time they had. I can certainly understand it. The soil is mostly limestone sprinkled with cactus. I've had a difficlut time myself trying to carve a garden out of this land. I can just imagine them facing more problems than I with no power tools, only hand held shovels and hoes. I know many starved to death or died of disease. There is a grave yard at the bottom of the hill with headstones carved indicating how some died. I love to walk through that cemetery and imagine what life was like for them. I once went to a very old cemetery about 50 miles from here in Frederiicksburg, Texas. So many children died from disease or starvation during that time that they have a separate area just for them. It's so sad looking at the tiny little graves and wondering. One headstone indicated a woman had been killed by Indians but not scalped. Sometimes I can visualize an Indian on the horizon riding his pony. This was their land. I can't help but wonder how they felt being pushed from their land, dying in battle to protect it and suffering from the diseases that the white man brought. The white man considered the Indian uncivilized and the Indian felt the same about the white man and his kind. It's unfortunate they could not have respected each other's ways and lived together peacefully.. History has proven that doesn't happen easily, if ever.The invaders are bullies and the invaded are always fighting to win back what was rightfully theirs.
The settlers came from all over, many from Germany, settling in these hills. Some came from Louisiana and further east. They nearly all starved to death. They lived from the land, killing wild animals such as deer, squirrel, possum. Salt and coffee was hard to come by. When they ran out of coffee they would use their seed corn brought with them for planting,,, roasting and grinding it to make a kind of coffee. All I have to do is jump in my air conditioned suv and head to the nearest HEB or Costco to stock up when I'm running low. I don't have to watch for Indians over the horizon or shoot a deer or squirrel for our next meal. If my chickens aren't laying or the coyotes have eaten them all it's only 30 minutes or less for me to the local grocery to get a dozen eggs.
I can't help but think of the people who settled this land as I live my life of ease. I wish they could see it all from the great beyond and marvel at it. Who knows, maybe they can!
Chapter Neighbors and Good Old Boy Mentality
When we first retired to the hills we thought we would be pretty secluded but people started buying up the land pretty quickly, mostly Baby Boomers, wouldn't you know. We are all retirees, maybe a few are still working, braving the drive into the city each day. Most of us had the same thought in mind when buying land here, build a house, relax, garden a bit, hunt, pursue whatever passion we had. Since we were all new to the ranch we bonded rather quickly, having dinner parties at each other's homes, taking trips together, playing bingo, and trekking into the city to museums. We had to keep some culture about ourselves. We liked to get together, have a few beers or a glass of wine, talk and eat. Some of us were musically inclined and we would sing and play musical instruments at these get togethers. We really had a great time together even though we didn't always agree on politics. We borrowed farm tools from each other and helped neighbors with tasks such as building pump houses, installing electricity, hunting, gardening, maybe just lending advice. We looked after each other's houses if someone went away for a while. Some of us were more experienced in country living than others therefore could lend the voice of experience when needed. It just seemed perfect, our own Shangri La, almost too good to be true.
It all started innocently enough. My husband and I like to think of ourselves as conservationists. We aren't extreme but we try to do our part with recycling trash and conserving water and energy.
We disagreed with neighbors regarding the filling of a pond from well water. This is called a "vanity" pond.
During droughts we are all asked to conserve water. I was taking showers instead of filling my nice big tub and if I did treat myself to an occasional bath I would save the water for my plants. We even allowed our grass to die that summer. Even when there is no drought there is a rule by the Ground Water Conservation District that does not allow the filling of a pond or pool over 55,000 gallons. This particular "vanity" pond was almost an acre, a small lake, sitting on top of a hill, therefore it got no runoff rain water. Also the authorities said they could not stop them from filling their "lake" with well water unless they actually caught them in the act of doing so. I knew that would never happen because they were always given several days notice that they would be receiving a visit from the Ground Water Authorities. A little side note here,,,we actually did not report these people. The Ground Water people knew us and they knew of the pond. Our mistake was to call them and ask about the legalities of filling a "vanity" pond. They informed us that they knew what pond was in question.....but we were blamed for reporting them.
It has been said that we can all agree to disagree but that's not always the case. Some people just don't like to be disagreed with. We were criticized and ostracized, we had become social outcasts. I was called "Un Texan". How dare anyone call me "Un Texan", I am a third generation Texan. I am more Texan than anyone out here! I was trying to protect our precious natural resources. How could that be wrong? One couple even responded by saying there was plenty of water because there was an ocean running under us. I wonder if it is the Pacific or Atlantic? We were stalked, cursed at, called names, and threatened. My husband was run off the road when taking his daily walk and told to run for his life, which he surely did. I found myself hiding in the cedars when I heard a car coming up the road. I pretended I was living in the 1800's hiding from the Indians! My dogs quickly learned this pattern of mine, their ears could pick up the sound of an approaching vehicle way before I could. Up would go their tails, heads and ears and they would flee into the cedars with me attached to the other end of the leash. All I had to do was keep my balance and run like hell. I became an expert at hiding in the cedars "evading the hostiles". It was soon a game with me that I learned to enjoy. It reminded me of playing cowboys and Indians when I was a child. When life gives you lemons, hell make lemonade!
The neighbor was very angry at us which I never could figure out why because they were never reproached by the authorities for keeping their "lake" full of water. They erected crude wooden crosses in the fence line bordering our property, I suppose to ward off evil from our side. They set up a wild life camera next to the fence perhaps to intimidate us or maybe they thought we were trespassing. Little charms to ward off the "evil eye" were hung from the trees next to the fence. One evening when I neared the fence line I heard two gun shots. I was reasonably certain it was an intimidation tactic. I only suppose they weren't shooting directly at me because I wasn't wounded and didn't feel a bullet whiz past my ear.
One evening just before dark I was walking with my dogs and heard a vehicle approaching. We ran into the cedars to hide. We are good, my dogs and I at laying low. I peeked through the branches and saw it was the woman of these angry people in her vehicle going slowly, obviously looking all around for me. She must have seen me as I entered the road from my property. It seems she was ready to confront me. Up to this point we had never actually spoken. I was having a gleeful moment in the cedars watching her turn her head from left to right in confusion looking for me. As soon as she was out of sight I exited the cedars and ran like hell to reach a neighbors road where I felt I could take sanctuary until she gave up her hunt. She drove down as far as my road without finding me. I'm sure she was rather confused and wondering where I had disappeared to,,,she knew I was out there somewhere. She turned around and headed back up the road very slowly. Dark had come on by then and I had no desire to venture into the cedars again. She found me scurrying up the road as she put her headlights on me. I was trapped. She stopped just short of me with her engine running and not saying a word. I must confess it was an uncomfortable moment. I was waiting to hear the engine race as she ran me down. Thank God she had not crossed over that thin line of sanity/insanity. She continued to sit and not speak. At last I broke the silence and said "hello"...nothing from her but silence. Again I said, "hello and her name". Then she spoke, telling me that I knew what I had done. I reminded her I had done nothing and she continued to babble some untruths, things I suppose she had imagined we had done to her. I told her that all I do every day is walk my dogs, the same thing I had been doing before she purchased her land and built her house. I realized I had to get out of there because I did not know where this conversation was heading or what she was capable of.
To get around her vehicle meant venturing into the bushes and grass on one side and the other side I would have to pass by her dogs who were sitting in the passenger seat of the open vehicle. I was so afraid a dog fight would ensue because she had set her dogs on me several times in the past as I walked up the fence line. I chose the snake side,,,,I would rather tangle with a snake than her or her dogs. I got around her safely and made a bee line for the safety of my own ranch, half a mile away. I had a bad case of the shakes and could barely tell my story to my husband when I reached the house. I'm a pretty brave person and usually hold myself up to be stronger than I actually am but this was a scene from a horror movie . When standing in front of that vehicle in the dark with it's engine idling I felt like it was the end for me.
Do you believe my story? I hope so because no one else does. Some women are so good at using their physical attributes to convince people by flapping their eye lashes and waving their fans all southern belle like.. I just don't have that ability. With me it's just facts, plain and simple and facts are just not always as interesting as a big boobed woman with big fluttery eyes and sultry voice.
I could elaborate more on the antics of these angry neighbors, such as dusting us as they sped past us when we were walking and setting their dogs on us. Thank goodness for the fence. The speed limit is 25mph on the ranch road but it doesn't apply to them. She has also stood at our property lines and video taped me as I walked past. I don't know the purpose of that act. Maybe she wanted evidence that I was walking on my own property. The husband has tried on several occasions to get my husband to fight with him, "one on one". My husband would just keep walking as he ignored the angry ape bouncing along beside him.
We did retain a few friendly neighbors after this event who agreed with us about water conservation and totally understood the aquifer and the world's declining water supply,,,,only to loose them later over another dispute. Did I learn a lesson from this? Yes. If I had to do it over again would I have disagreed. No. I would have minded my own damned business and ignored the world's declining 'fresh' water supply! I would have kept my mouth shut! We're all gonna die someday, may as well die from thirst and live in peace in the mean time.
There is something to be said for living in the city, one can easily remain incognito. You can get in your car in the mornings, drive down the freeway, not curse at the fellow who cut you off, forgive the one who rear ended you, keep your head down, your mouth shut and go home at night and lock your doors. I guess one could do that in the country but someone might notice and label you as a weirdo! We really are quite normal and do not seek out controversy. It just seems to come to us sometimes.
My father use to tell me that only weirdos like to live in secluded places, social outcasts. I guess that makes me weird then, because I like the views and the wildness of it. And there are still a few good people around! Perhaps there are weirdos every where!
Our views are magnificent. I would not trade them for a home in the city again. One just learns from mistakes and moves on. The vanity pond is still being filled from a well and I don't care, well I probably do but I'm looking the other way!
It all started innocently enough. My husband and I like to think of ourselves as conservationists. We aren't extreme but we try to do our part with recycling trash and conserving water and energy.
We disagreed with neighbors regarding the filling of a pond from well water. This is called a "vanity" pond.
During droughts we are all asked to conserve water. I was taking showers instead of filling my nice big tub and if I did treat myself to an occasional bath I would save the water for my plants. We even allowed our grass to die that summer. Even when there is no drought there is a rule by the Ground Water Conservation District that does not allow the filling of a pond or pool over 55,000 gallons. This particular "vanity" pond was almost an acre, a small lake, sitting on top of a hill, therefore it got no runoff rain water. Also the authorities said they could not stop them from filling their "lake" with well water unless they actually caught them in the act of doing so. I knew that would never happen because they were always given several days notice that they would be receiving a visit from the Ground Water Authorities. A little side note here,,,we actually did not report these people. The Ground Water people knew us and they knew of the pond. Our mistake was to call them and ask about the legalities of filling a "vanity" pond. They informed us that they knew what pond was in question.....but we were blamed for reporting them.
It has been said that we can all agree to disagree but that's not always the case. Some people just don't like to be disagreed with. We were criticized and ostracized, we had become social outcasts. I was called "Un Texan". How dare anyone call me "Un Texan", I am a third generation Texan. I am more Texan than anyone out here! I was trying to protect our precious natural resources. How could that be wrong? One couple even responded by saying there was plenty of water because there was an ocean running under us. I wonder if it is the Pacific or Atlantic? We were stalked, cursed at, called names, and threatened. My husband was run off the road when taking his daily walk and told to run for his life, which he surely did. I found myself hiding in the cedars when I heard a car coming up the road. I pretended I was living in the 1800's hiding from the Indians! My dogs quickly learned this pattern of mine, their ears could pick up the sound of an approaching vehicle way before I could. Up would go their tails, heads and ears and they would flee into the cedars with me attached to the other end of the leash. All I had to do was keep my balance and run like hell. I became an expert at hiding in the cedars "evading the hostiles". It was soon a game with me that I learned to enjoy. It reminded me of playing cowboys and Indians when I was a child. When life gives you lemons, hell make lemonade!
The neighbor was very angry at us which I never could figure out why because they were never reproached by the authorities for keeping their "lake" full of water. They erected crude wooden crosses in the fence line bordering our property, I suppose to ward off evil from our side. They set up a wild life camera next to the fence perhaps to intimidate us or maybe they thought we were trespassing. Little charms to ward off the "evil eye" were hung from the trees next to the fence. One evening when I neared the fence line I heard two gun shots. I was reasonably certain it was an intimidation tactic. I only suppose they weren't shooting directly at me because I wasn't wounded and didn't feel a bullet whiz past my ear.
One evening just before dark I was walking with my dogs and heard a vehicle approaching. We ran into the cedars to hide. We are good, my dogs and I at laying low. I peeked through the branches and saw it was the woman of these angry people in her vehicle going slowly, obviously looking all around for me. She must have seen me as I entered the road from my property. It seems she was ready to confront me. Up to this point we had never actually spoken. I was having a gleeful moment in the cedars watching her turn her head from left to right in confusion looking for me. As soon as she was out of sight I exited the cedars and ran like hell to reach a neighbors road where I felt I could take sanctuary until she gave up her hunt. She drove down as far as my road without finding me. I'm sure she was rather confused and wondering where I had disappeared to,,,she knew I was out there somewhere. She turned around and headed back up the road very slowly. Dark had come on by then and I had no desire to venture into the cedars again. She found me scurrying up the road as she put her headlights on me. I was trapped. She stopped just short of me with her engine running and not saying a word. I must confess it was an uncomfortable moment. I was waiting to hear the engine race as she ran me down. Thank God she had not crossed over that thin line of sanity/insanity. She continued to sit and not speak. At last I broke the silence and said "hello"...nothing from her but silence. Again I said, "hello and her name". Then she spoke, telling me that I knew what I had done. I reminded her I had done nothing and she continued to babble some untruths, things I suppose she had imagined we had done to her. I told her that all I do every day is walk my dogs, the same thing I had been doing before she purchased her land and built her house. I realized I had to get out of there because I did not know where this conversation was heading or what she was capable of.
To get around her vehicle meant venturing into the bushes and grass on one side and the other side I would have to pass by her dogs who were sitting in the passenger seat of the open vehicle. I was so afraid a dog fight would ensue because she had set her dogs on me several times in the past as I walked up the fence line. I chose the snake side,,,,I would rather tangle with a snake than her or her dogs. I got around her safely and made a bee line for the safety of my own ranch, half a mile away. I had a bad case of the shakes and could barely tell my story to my husband when I reached the house. I'm a pretty brave person and usually hold myself up to be stronger than I actually am but this was a scene from a horror movie . When standing in front of that vehicle in the dark with it's engine idling I felt like it was the end for me.
Do you believe my story? I hope so because no one else does. Some women are so good at using their physical attributes to convince people by flapping their eye lashes and waving their fans all southern belle like.. I just don't have that ability. With me it's just facts, plain and simple and facts are just not always as interesting as a big boobed woman with big fluttery eyes and sultry voice.
I could elaborate more on the antics of these angry neighbors, such as dusting us as they sped past us when we were walking and setting their dogs on us. Thank goodness for the fence. The speed limit is 25mph on the ranch road but it doesn't apply to them. She has also stood at our property lines and video taped me as I walked past. I don't know the purpose of that act. Maybe she wanted evidence that I was walking on my own property. The husband has tried on several occasions to get my husband to fight with him, "one on one". My husband would just keep walking as he ignored the angry ape bouncing along beside him.
We did retain a few friendly neighbors after this event who agreed with us about water conservation and totally understood the aquifer and the world's declining water supply,,,,only to loose them later over another dispute. Did I learn a lesson from this? Yes. If I had to do it over again would I have disagreed. No. I would have minded my own damned business and ignored the world's declining 'fresh' water supply! I would have kept my mouth shut! We're all gonna die someday, may as well die from thirst and live in peace in the mean time.
There is something to be said for living in the city, one can easily remain incognito. You can get in your car in the mornings, drive down the freeway, not curse at the fellow who cut you off, forgive the one who rear ended you, keep your head down, your mouth shut and go home at night and lock your doors. I guess one could do that in the country but someone might notice and label you as a weirdo! We really are quite normal and do not seek out controversy. It just seems to come to us sometimes.
My father use to tell me that only weirdos like to live in secluded places, social outcasts. I guess that makes me weird then, because I like the views and the wildness of it. And there are still a few good people around! Perhaps there are weirdos every where!
Our views are magnificent. I would not trade them for a home in the city again. One just learns from mistakes and moves on. The vanity pond is still being filled from a well and I don't care, well I probably do but I'm looking the other way!
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