Catch up post #4 --- end of summer

Bandido and Poquita Standing Guard at the Front Window

Roger here... Since our return from Austin, our lives have rolled on.  We are all (Bandido included) adjusting well to our adoption of Poquita.  There will be several pictures of her at the end of this post.

This post will highlight a few of the random events that have taken place in our lives over the past few weeks.

SHORT TRIP TO FLORIDA....

My friend, Jay, asked me to fly to Southwest Florida for a few days to join him and his son-in-law, Chad.  Jay was checking out his Florida home and enjoying some time away from his business.  Since our wives, Dianne and Nancy, were  not there, it was a guys-only vacation.  One evening we participated in a champagne-flight meal at a local restaurant --- something new for me.  We had a lot of great meals at various restaurants during the visit.

Stinky!

This is a rather disturbing picture of dead fish in one of the South Florida canals.  The red tide that had infested the area mixed with blue-green algae from Lake Okeechobee and created quite a mess.  Hopefully, it has ended.

Happy Birthday to Kaia

Our daughter, Amanda, lives nearby with her boyfriend, Dave, and our granddaughter, Kaia.  One evening they came over to Jay's house.  We ordered pizza and celebrated Kaia's 20th birthday.  It was so good to see them, even though our time together was short.

Dave, Amanda, Kaia

MORE SOUTH TEXAS ISSUES...

Another first for Dianne and me.  We attended a political rally in an old movie theater in downtown McAllen.  We have both been following (and supporting) Beto O'Rourke in his bid to unseat Ted Cruz for a seat in the U.S. Senate.  We wanted to see him in person and hear what he had to say.  We arrived 30 minutes early and were among the very last people admitted before the theatre was at capacity.  The picture below was taken from the very back of the balcony where we stood.  It was packed.

We continue to support Beto and his views.

While walking our dogs in the neighborhood one morning, we were approached by Frank McCaffrey, a local TV reporter  (ABC Channel 5) who wanted to interview us regarding the possible closure of Bentsen State Park if the "wall" was built.  I agreed.  The slant of the interview had to do with home values and tourism if the park were to be closed.  I gladly expressed my views.  The mayor of Mission, TX also presented statistics indicating the loss of dollars to the city from tourism that the state park attracts.

A HICCUP IN MY EXERCISE PROGRAM...

Uh Oh!  Despite my efforts to shield my skin from the intense southern sun, my dermatologist identified another skin cancer (my third).  This one on my hand was a squamous cell.  All of the cancer was eliminated.  I have been so lucky in finding these problems and having them removed before they metastasized.  This one required a skin graft since it was near my knuckles.... several weeks of recovery.  I was not able to lift heavy objects or do any real exercise that would put pressure on the wound.  I could not walk dogs.  I could not swim laps.  I could not lift weights.  I was very bored!

Aqua Man

The good news is that all of the healing is complete and I have now resumed swimming a mile 3-4 times per week during early morning hours --- covered by sun-protective clothing.  I slather sunscreen on the portions of my face and legs that are not covered, and never swim when the sun climbs in the sky.  Dianne walks in the pool while I swim to make sure that people don't make fun of me
 :-).

FINALLY!  AN ORGANIZED SHED...

This outdoor enclosure surrounds all of the service connections to our house --- air conditioner, water softening, electrical box, lawn watering, etc. 

I have finally spent some time installing shelving and organizing my tools.  Life is so much easier.
Dianne here -- Roger was in his element, having the time of his life organizing tools - what he loves best!

RANDOM OUTDOOR SHOTS FROM OUR BACK YARD...

A woodpecker frequents our hummingbird feeder

Hummingbirds Everywhere as they fly south

This large, beautiful moth lit on the side of our house and did not move the entire day.  Dianne, the family researcher, identified it as a vine sphinx moth.  Its location in South Texas puts it in its far northern range.  I love the twig mimicry in its wings.   (Southern range is in Argentina -- D.)

I painted a couple of ugly large pots and filled them with succulents and cacti that do not require frequent watering.

We had geraniums in these pots.  They did well over the winter, but did not survive the summer heat, even with frequent watering.  These Ixoras should do much better.

This was the last catch-up post.  Chronologically, the next post was the one from South Padre Island that has already been posted.  I am planning to post again in October when we take the motor home to the hill country of Texas for two weeks.

PET PICTURES OF THE DAY...  POQUITA (Spanish translation --- little bit)

Dianne seems to think that she has a baby that requires new pajamas.

I have witnessed this behavior from Dianne in the past :-).

(I'm already looking forward to buying her a winter coat for the 50 degree days this winter -- D.)

Chillin' on Mom's Chair

Poquita is the first dog we've had since our whippet, Jasper (the "original traveling  whippet") that watches TV.  She reacts to the images and sounds as if they were in the room.

Dianne again:  her favorite shows are Lucky Dog (a show about shelter dogs that are trained and adopted) and The Incredible Dr. Pol, especially when the screen shows cats!