Freezing Fog

Well, no freezing rain today, today we had freezing fog... very dense freezing fog... btw... that isn't a late setting moon in the pic, that's the sun...
and these are some native scrub oaks looking spooky...

Basically, driving on frozen fog is like driving on a very heavy frost... fortunately, most of yesterdays ice had thawed before sunset, otherwise the roads would have been full of wrecks from people not being able to see the icy roads... there were still a few ice patches here and there, but by 10 AM the sun had burned the worst of the fog off, and it turned into a nice, sunshiny day...

well, I finally crawled out to see what could be seen... we had freezing rain followed by frozen rain... so that ain't snow, it's little ice pellets...

here's the plastic vulture in the yard... don't know why I took a pic of that, but there it is...

Ice coated all the branches of the corkscrew willow...

and ice on the cactus in the rock garden.... these are supposed to be hardy to much colder than it actually got... but I'm still a little worried. We had a rain before it started freezing, and the extra water may have compromized the hardiness... too late to do anything about it now, so we'll see how it turns out. I'm pretty sure it will be ok, I think the last freeze was actually a little colder than this one...

This prickly pear however will be just fine... It's been out there for about 10 years and it's been through much worse than this.

The same for this yucca...

hope everyone is having a great day! Later...

so, the freezing rain started in about 1 pm... And as if that weren't bad enough, the blower on my heater went out, so I was driving around freezing my back end off...

Well, no work tomorrow, as I'm not going to be doing any driving without my heater. My bones are too old for that sort of thing... Of course, I know that there will probably be several people out there who desperately need a couple of cases of toilet paper delivered across the ice, but they're going to have to get it done without me.

No pics today, entirely too dreary to even think about it... but maybe I'll get enough sun to photograph some cactus sickles...

Not the most upbeat post, for which I apologize, but I can't quite force myself to be cheerful right now...

playing hookey from work...

Well, not really. I think it's only called playing hookey if you're doing something fun...

I had to take a day off work to go down to the DMV. And it's really kind of annoying...

You see, I had bought my liscense plate renewal on-line... I figured how convienent... I don't have to miss work and everything is legal... well, it never came. It's supposed to come in 7 to 10 days... I was generous and waited 3 weeks.

With my job, that's not cool... On some deliveries, especially to government agencies and such... that renewal sticker has to be current and in your window. So I went down and talked to the people, complete with my reciept of payment, got scowled at by the lady because she had to get up and talk to a supervisor, and walking 15 feet is evidently not in her job description, and eventually got my new sticker. I've found that the best defense against surly people, and I run into quite a few in my job, is to give your biggest smile and say, "Thank you so much, have a great day!" For some reason, that really hacks them off, while you can continue your day knowing that you've done absolutly nothing wrong...

I'm afraid that it was a rather dank and depressing day outside. But Pocket Buddha and I tried our best. Finally did some grocery shopping... The Indian market had some nice sales on, then got home and found that my last 2 sweet potatoes were bad. 1 has started sprouting and the other just rotted. I put the sprouter in the window, I'll grow the vines on the fence this spring...

Anyway, that's my day. No real point to this post, except that I wanted to check in with everybody... The guys on TV say there may be freezing rain tonight.

I'm so mad at myself...

So I had a long drive to rural Texas today... Perrin to be exact. Don't know where that is? Well it's kind of north of Agnes and west of Wizard Wells... Now do you have a better idea?

Anyway... on my way I saw a fantastic old farmhouse and windmill silouetted against a perfect blue sky...

And I saw a vulture sitting in a tree, with his wings spread to warm in the sun...

And I saw a coyote lazily wandering down a fencerow...

And I FORGOT MY BLASTED CAMERA THIS MORNING

Ain't that just typical?

Seagulls?

When you think of Dallas/Fort Worth, you probably don't think of seagulls. We are, after all, a little over 300 miles from the nearest salt water. But they do show up here, flying inland from the Gulf to spend the winter. They seem to prefer flying over large parking lots... perhaps the vast gray expanse of pavement reminds them of the ocean. I took this pic over the Wal-mart lot just down the road from my house, where they were resting on one of the light poles.

They also seem a little better behaved than usual while they're here... along the coast, they'll swoop down and grab pieces of bread from your hand, here, they tend to stay as far away from you as possible.

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that the Trinity river isn't the most attractive of rivers. I took this pic in one of my favorite spots to pull over when I'm waiting in Ft. Worth... During the summer it's overgrown with weeds and full of birds and bugs and other fascinating things... this time of year, you can clearly see how the summer and autumn storms chew up the banks... and the primary reason that most don't find it particularly attractive...

By the way, the water isn't blue, that's a reflection of the sky. Not a lot of fishing in the Trinity. Since the Alligators are no longer here, it's overrun with turtles, primarily red ear sliders but there are soft shell and snappers also. They've thinned a huge amount of the fish out.

Just a quick post really, I've got a whole list of things to do, so I better get moving on.

So, what do y'all think?

Work has been very challenging lately, and not entirely profitable. In this economy, it's to be expected, and fortunately, I didn't fall into the credit card trap that many of my aquaintances did... so I'm all right... But I'm also cutting out most non-essential stuff.

Which makes a lot of things really boring.

True, I have projects... I've been saving used windows for a while now, often gettting them from the side of the road on trash day when people are remodeling, and by this time next year, I expect to have repurposed them into a working greenhouse. Knock on wood.

But, here's what I want to know about... One of the local high schools is offering some adult education courses. I think I'm particularly interested in one of the creative writing courses. It would be an online course. I used to work at a magazine, and I was published once a month there for about 2 years, but that was about 15 years ago. Besides, when it comes right down to it, I never fealt really confident as a writer. And looking over some of my past blog entries, (yes, this is an informal blog and nobody out there is expecting great literature,) they're really just not up to snuff...

The courses aren't expensive, under a $100 bucks, but then I come up against my inate distaste for spending money on myself when I should be spending it more responsibly. It just feels selfish.

But I'm thinking maybe that this course might jump-start me again, maybe get me out of a bit of a rut.

So, I'm probably just thinking out loud, via a keyboard, and I've about convinced myself to go ahead and do it, but does anybody think that this is a complete waste of money or maybe a good idea?

just a silly pic

Somebody sent me this, and it reminded me of Julies dog doozey... and I decided to post it...

Dowdy Ferry, and other things while rambling around...

This is the Wheatland Church... a pretty little building with beautiful stained glass windows...

and the cemetary that is associated with it is really quite a nice, peaceful little place.

and there is a line of twisted little trees in the cemetary which I intend to go back a photograph again when they have leaves and I have a little more time... I think they're what we used to call silver maples... the leaves are very dark green on the top and startling white on the bottom... the slightest breeze makes the trees seem to shimmer as the leaves flashes the white underside... They're not really suited to the area that well... which is why they develop these bonsai-like twisted shapes...

And this is Dowdy Ferry... right on the line between Dallas and Hutchins...

Actually, the dowdy ferry bridge... In most places, if you have a river, people are down on it... boating, fishing, etc... but here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area... that just doesn't seem to be the case.

There's very little access to the Trinity River throughout most of the area... I pulled over to see the historical marker for Dowdy Ferry, and eventually walked down under the bridge to take thise pics... It's not the most attractive of rivers, I'll grant you, and the Trinity used to have alligators. Not anymore, but people don't seem to want much to do with it...

Anyway, according to the Marker, Illinois native Alanson Dowdy came to the DFW area in 1846 and was was granted a license to run a ferry in 1854. At the time, it was the southernmost crossing of the Trinity, and he charged $1 for a wagon with 4 or more animals, 10 cents for a man & horse, and 5 cents of a person on foot.

The first bridge was built here in 1888.

Fort Worth Botanical garden...

Had a few minutes off in Fort Worth today, so I went to the botanical garden. Most of Texas this time of year is a study in brown, tan and the occasional vauge green... it has it's own beauty, but I wanted to see if I could find some color...

Now I took about 30 pics just walking around... The pictures got all out of order, and I don't really have time right now to straighten it out, so please excuse the randomness...

From the "4 seasons garden," a winter blooming helleborus, aka Christmas Rose.

From the cactus garden, which is rather disappointing IMO, as there are at least 50 different cactus species that are winter hardy here, and the botanic garden has out about 4... All the other cactus are stored in the greenhouse, bare rooted for the winter. This is a Texas Horse Crippler, Echinocactus texensis... I have one of these in my rock garden, a tiny little guy about 3 inches across... this is an ancient one, actually only 2 heads of the 5 headed plant they have...

This is the view from the top of the Rose Pavilion, down the hill over the rose garden. It's amazing in the late spring, when everything is in bloom, but still nice right now...

This is the bottom looking up the hill...

This is the cactus house. You have to have an appointment to go in and see the plants up close...

This is from the other end... the two tall plants in front are Carnegea gigantia... Saguaros! Only 2 feet tall. But they'll get there in about a hundred years or so...

I found this little guy soaking up some rays...

...on the leaves of this plant, the Texas tuberose. Actually a member of the agave family, properly called Manfreda variegata.

And this is a further view of the Rose pavillion...

Really just a quick post... I'm kinda on the run tonight, but I didn't want to forget ya'all.

Nothing much happened today... and it was the end of the day before I even saw one darned thing worth taking a pic of... one of the warehouses I went to today backed up on a pasture.


Now, those horses weren't too interested in me. I was, after all, interupting their dinner, and I didn't even have the common courtesy to have an apple for them.

Really, I don't know why they let me out in public if I'm not going to learn some good manners...

A week in review

well, it's been an interesting week I suppose.

After 2 short holiday weeks, and consequently short paychecks... (couriers get paid by delivery, not by the hour) I went back to work in need of the cash... The two days before Christmas were ok, but the factories were winding down and not delivering much of anything, and the two days between Christmas and New Years were worse.

Monday was OK, just freezing rain. Then Tuesday was just dreary, and the rest of the week started out cold in the mornings, humid, and hot in the afternoons... A weather situation that isn't particularly nice for those of us who have sinus situations. I'm one of them...

But a few things to mention, remember that bright magenta house I first mentioned in this post... http://lpfleamarket.blogspot.com/2008/08/meandering-around.html
I had mentioned again that I had seen it, and it was for rent... well I drove by it today and it's been rented. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, it's also been painted. A light dove gray... Before it was a unique little shot-gun house, now it's just another house in an alltogether not great part of town. So... glad I saw it when it was there, but now I can forget it...

Friday, I was on the highway when the funeral procession went by for Dallas Police officer Norman Smith. He was shot last Tuesday when trying to serve a warrant on a man... here's a link to a news story about him... http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/010709dnmetofficershot.45d6022c.html
The funeral procession was miles long, I didn't see all of it, but I did see police cars from all over Texas, where individual cities had sent officers to pay their respects. I pulled off the highway onto the frontage road and stood by my truck as it passed, along with a bunch of other people on the road.

Nothing else much happened this week...

I think we got it...

In reference to the tree in the previous post...

Thanks everybody... It's definitely not a Eucalyptus... there are only two species that will grow here, both small and not that winter hardy, they usually have to be replaced every few years.

Billy, from Garden Wise Guy... See the blog on the list to the right, says Cupressus glabra, but the sources say it has dark reddish bark and this is definitely light gray bark which makes it more likely to be Cupressus arizonica Either way, it's commonly known as an Arizona Cyprus.

Finally had a decent day at work... lots of orders and, hopefully, lots of money for the ole paycheck... and hopefully it will be buzy tomorrow too. After the short paid holiday weeks, I need cash!

No pics today though... just no time.

Just driving...

just some quick pics of what I saw driving around today... first of all, I found some of that little stick-on velcro, so that I could take pocket buddha with me everywhere...


Second, there was this tree growing in a vacant lot... some kind of juniper I think... It has a fantastically colored trunk, pealing bark and gray foilage. Does anybody out there know what kind of tree this is... because I really like it...

And some cactus by the roadside.

And not much else today... Really wasn't a great day at work, but pocket buddha kept reminding me to be happy...

Quick recipe

On my way out the door but I wanted to post this...

Tried this recipe last night, and it turned out great...

Put a cast iron skillet in the oven, then turn oven to 450...

while that's heating up, mix in a large bowl...
2 to 3 Tbsp of olive oil (or any other type)
2 to 3 Tbsp of honey (or maple, sorghum or dark corn syrup)
1 Tbsp of fresh grated ginger (or 1 tsp of dried powdered ginger)
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
optional 1 crushed garlic clove

Peal and cut into large chunks 1 or 2 sweet potatos and 1 onion (3 or 4 carrots chopped into two inch slices instead of the sweet potato works too, they both have lots of natural sugars that make this taste great)

Mix into the sauce.

When the pan is hot, use slotted spoon to put veggies in pan, all to one side

roll 2 to 4 chicken thighs into the sauce, then put on other side of pan... pour rest of sauce over it...

cook at 450 for 20 to 25 minutes, turning chicken once and giving the veggies a stir.

Eat it up... how many it can serve depends on the number of chicken thighs and potatoes you use...
You could also use this with thick pork chops instead of the chicken...
Or you can leave out the meat and double the veggies to make a great, vegetarian dish.


now, off to work... have a great day!

When I started out driving today, it was raining.

This turned into freezing rain.

This is not fun to drive in.

But the ice on the cactus is kind of nice.

Not the best pics... it was still raining and still cold out there, so I didn't stay too long...

when I moved into this house, several years ago, the bathroom had this absolutely awful flowered walpaper. I swore that I was going to change it, and now, about 10 years later, it's still there. I still don't like it, but I don't have the darned time to do anything about it. However, at the flea market, I found an old cabinet that somebody had painted cream with flowers that I suppose are supposed to be roses scattered over it, and it got brought home to store towels in. And the top of the cabinet is used to display things... whatever I decide I like that week. One of the good things about having a flea market stall; I have unlimited access to interesting objects, and someplace to get rid of them when I get tired of them. Nothing stays up there more than a couple of months.



This is it this time around.

Now, there's nothing wrong with a vintage porcelain doll head, silk roses or a gold bird cage. Except when you combine them together - it gets kinda creepy. (I think that's what I like about it...)

howdy

just a really bad pic of me and moonpie-pug on New Years Day... I don't take particularly good pics, especially not right after I've woken up... but, like Grandma always said, "It covers the subject"