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!

catch up post #2 --- happiness, anger, and a very sad time

These Brahman cattle live directly behind our back yard.

Roger here.... This is the second "catch-up" post since our return to Retama Village in December. 

Happiness

CINDERELLA PET RESCUE....

Dining and bidding on auction items

Quite a bit of our time is dedicated to the rescue dogs at a local no-kill pet shelter.  Every year our neighborhood at Retama Village organizes a fund-raiser for the shelter.  Our neighbors, Stuart and Lynn, coordinated this successful event again this year.

The day after the fundraiser Dianne and I hosted a happy hour for all the Cinderella volunteers....

... and their dogs.








We were so happy that Suzanne, the founder of Cinderella Pet Rescue, was able to attend.  So were the dogs that she rescued that are now living in loving homes.

Pure love on Bandido's face - they both remember and love Suzanne, even years later

State of the Art McAllen Convention Center

During the McAllen Home and Patio Show at the McAllen Convention Center, Dianne and I helped with a Cinderella booth inside, as well as an adoption event outside.

Roger and our friend Sharon

A very generous friend of Cinderella donated this bus to the organization to facilitate events such as this.

High School volunteers helped walk the dogs throughout the day.

Many dogs, like this cutie, now have full-time homes due to the efforts of this volunteer-run organization.

To learn more about Cinderella Pet Rescue and see the sweet pups currently available, click on the link.  --
Dianne 

Dianne and I normally walk the dogs twice a week.  It can be a dirty operation :-)

After some big dog lovin' from Sebastian (since adopted)

Note the old clothes and even older, muddy shoes!

Here is Dianne, ready to go!  Two hours later she is just as happy, but not quite as perky.

Dog walkers during the summers are rare, but our friend, Lynn, is almost always with us.  

Most of the dogs are easy to walk.  Chicory here, gets sooooo excited to see us, that a second harness makes things easier for both human and dog.

Walking these dogs is good for us, both physically and emotionally.  Worries that sometimes nag at us seem to melt away.  

Dianne here:   Even on mornings when we hate getting out of our lounge chairs and would rather laze around and have another cup of coffee, once we're there it's all good.   They are SO excited to see us.   It's a real ego boost to be the highlight of somebody's day.

This is Takoda.  He is spending his last few weeks at Cinderella.  Our good friend and fellow volunteer, Kathy (and Ken), have adopted Takoda.  They will be bringing him home when they return from Colorado next month.  We brought him to our house for an afternoon and took him over to Kathy and Ken's backyard.  He felt right at home.  Now that the 100-degree afternoons are over, we need to do that again.

Lucky Takoda

Here are a couple of pictures of Bandido, my buddy, the first dog that we adopted from Cinderella Pet Rescue.  

Handsome Boy!

He loves his toys.

Happiness, then anger...

BENTSON RIO GRANDE VALLEY STATE PARK...

The Ebony Grove

This is the walkway that leads us from our home in Retama Village to Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park.  We take this path every week (except during those blisteringly hot summer days).  We hike. We ride our bikes.  We walk the dogs.  We watch the wildlife --- a good place.  It fits our lifestyle.  It is one of the primary reasons that we bought property at Retama Village.

 BUT WE MAY LOSE IT!   If the "wall" is built on the levy, as expected, most of the state park would be inaccessible.  All of the bike paths, bird blinds, the hawk tower, and the hiking trails would be in the "no-mans-land" between the wall and the Rio Grande River.  The ownership of the land would revert back to the Lloyd Bentsen family.  The park would likely close unless a gate is built with guarded access.  

Dianne and I have never been protesters, even during the turbulent hippy years of Vietnam.  Dianne was a young Republican and Goldwater Girl!  I was too focused on getting through college and finding a job.  But honestly, for us, this is more than we are willing to tolerate without expressing our views.  It may be a losing cause, but thankfully we still have the right to express our opinion.  So we attended our very first protest rally at the park.  

It was locally covered, but not nationally covered. (not a good sign)  We wrote the obligatory letters to our congressmen and governor. 

 Several people were there, including some of our neighbors.  I wish there had been more.  



Below is a banner of the "official" stop the wall logo.  If we lose Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, much of the luster of what has been an ideal retirement home for us will vanish.

Just an aside...  A few days after the protest, one of our local news stations, Channel 5, sent a reporter and cameraman to cruise our neighborhood asking opinions about the possible closing of the state park.  The found me.  I clearly expressed my opinions.  When we tuned in that evening, I was surprised to see that my opinions were corroborated by the Mayor of Mission, TX.  By the way, Dianne made a non-speaking cameo appearance.  She looked great. 

 MONTEZUMA CYPRESS TREE...

Sue and Amigo

Our next-door neighbors Don and Sue (and Amigo) took us for a short ride along the levy on their "Honda" one day to see the 900-year-old Montezuma
Cypress Tree.  It is on private property and maintained by the owners.  At one time cypress trees such as this one were prevalent near the river  We were glad to see it while we could.  It will also be on the wrong side of the wall.

PROTESTING AGAIN!

No, I am not growing a pony tail, and Dianne has not turned into a "flower child", but it seems that we are in extremely close proximity to another national controversy.  The Border Patrol Detention Center (the one with the children in chain link cages) is only six miles from our house.  We knew that there was a gathering nearby, so at the last minute, we decided to check it out.  The temperatures were over 100 degrees, thus the umbrellas.  There were many people there.

The photo below shows a crowd surrounding Julian Castro as he attempted to deliver hand-written notes and toys to the children who had been separated from their parents.

A local lady gave Dianne a homemade sign to hold.  There were several speeches from notable people, including Julian Castro and many members of Congress who toured the facility.  

I got to shake Julian's  hand.

Julian Castro

For those who know us,  you need to know that we support the Border Patrol.  They are great and do a wonderful job.  We also know that the border needs to be secure, no question.  We respect other points of view and everyone's rights to express them.  We do not think that a wall is a feasible deterrent.  In our opinion it is a politically-motivated expense that will not solve the problem. 

  We know that removing children from their parents is abhorrent.  (Please no hate mail.  We will not respond.)

The media coverage was national and  extensive.  Dianne was able to talk to Mariana Atencio.

BTW... We sadly watched a bus full of children being transported to another facility during the rally.  

Dianne again:  We shouted "We love you" to the children on the bus, and it was heartbreaking to see their little heads and tiny hands waving back to us.   There were several adults in tears after that encounter.

 A few days later there was another rally, just down the road from the detention center.  It occurred on the day that several nation-wide protests took place.  We went.

Dianne made her own sign this time, which landed her face on a variety of media web pages:  Time Magazine, CNN, and Huffington Post.  Yikes!

OK, hmmmm.  It is probably time to move on to more positive things.

Back to happiness...

50TH HIGH SCHOOL CLASS REUNION...

It is hard to comprehend that it was 50 years ago when I graduated from a small high school in central Indiana.... Pendleton High School, home of the Irish.  I still remember it as an idyllic place.

I flew up for the reunion and stayed with long-time college friends, Jay and Nancy.  They introduced me to Dianne during my college years. We were in each others' weddings back in the summer of 1972.  What do friends our age do when they get together?  We compare blood pressures :-).

The first part of the reunion was held at the town's historical museum in Falls Park.  I used to swim in those falls when it was a public pool.  After the get-together, I walked to town to have lunch with my close colleague from work, Brian.  We were both junior high school principals in a nearby school corporation.  We talked for a couple of hours.  It is so easy to talk with old friends.

Many of the classmates who I really wanted to see were at the reunion.  This is my friend, Greg, and his wife Peg.  We were in each others' weddings.

I did not get a picture of Doug, who I have not seen for 50 years, but he was there.

I was so afraid that Dan and his wife, Pam, might not be there, but they were.  We had a special bond.  I spent most of the evening catching up with Dan.

No class reunion from Pendleton High School Class of '68 would be complete without a picture of our leprechaun mascot, Jeff.  

SCENES FROM OUR LITTLE BACKYARD...

There is really nothing to describe here, but at least for me, it is fun enjoying pictures from our back yard in this semi-tropical setting.  Dianne and I spend hours back here, reading and enjoying the tranquility.

Amaryllis grow in the ground down here as perennials!

"Firecracker" bush - hummingbirds love it

Jasmine Vine on our pergola - heavenly smell

TEQUILA, TEQUILA, TEQUILA...

This is so unimaginably difficult to write.  In July we lost Tequila.  Bandido has always been my buddy, but in reality Tequila has been the heart of our Texas and traveling family.  She was so affectionate, not only to us, but to everyone.  She was a French kisser, who frequently caught people off guard.  She was so very, very funny.  One of her favorite antics was to lie down on her back in the middle of the street and wiggle.  She would not get up until she was finished.  She loved to egg on Bandido ---  stealing his toys from out of his mouth, then galloping away --- her favorite thing.

She was only six years old.  She seemed so healthy, and then she stopped eating.  When we took her to the vet, we were shocked to hear that her kidneys had failed and there was nothing to be done.  :-(         We still miss her so much.

Here are a few of the pictures of our girl from her last months with us.  

When I took this picture of her reflection in a window, I had no idea that she was fading away.

Our next-door neighbor, Sue, paints and hides friendship rocks.  They are all over Retama Village.  She gave us this one the week that Tequila passed.

Goodbye sweet girl.