Here lately I've been taking my morning coffee out to the back porch of the new house most mornings. I noticed something this morning that had been kind of bothering me even as it hadn't processed yet...The birds are not singing the sun up these days. Don't get me wrong,…
Thats why the Nash Prairie matters so much. As Chronicle reporter Matthew Tresaugue reported Tuesday "Life abounds at states last surviving bit of coastal prairie," Page B1, July 26, the 400-plus acres of never-plowed land in Brazoria County remained pristine by historical accident: The Czech and German immigrants who first…
While it will never go down in the record books, yesterday brought us a gift of moisture from the sky and not a hose. This morning while we slept we had another gift. Our drought is far from over, but the trees and the grass are sure to appreciate the water that…
Every day the news brings more drought news around here. Today it's about the trees... Houston's trees need help. It may not be obvious yet, but without substantial rain in the next few weeks the effects of this year's drought may greatly reduce the area's green canopy in five years,…
Reading note. As a responsible omnivore, I need to know where my food comes from and understand and respect the needs of the fellow creatures whose deaths make my life possible. The chickens that gave us eggs and went into the freezer were treated with care and concern; they had…
I took my new toy out with me this morning to see how well it would work in the early morning light...Seemed to do pretty good all things considered.
Quite a while ago. The temperature yesterday in my backyard hit 95°. The US Drought Map has us at the highest level of drought they differentiate. The good news for the state of Texas yesterday was that the storms causing so much damage across the country in the last week managed to…
When I was "retired" in late 2008 I really didn't retire. I continued to try and occupy my days with a "job". So it was that I began to build a online "publishing empire" aimed at the Appalachian Mountains that had captured my dreams. The beginnings had been there before…
As a major drought settles in on the state of Texas, the main problem with all of last years tea party campaign rhetoric about secession comes home to roost. When you wake up and find that you have already had 7,800 fires burn more than 2,400 square miles of your state and…
Continuing the conversation from earlier in the month... Forget about May flowers, Houston needs April showers to break a severe drought. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows 95 percent of Texas now in a drought, including Harris County. For the first time this year, a large chunk…
December 8, 2010 - Drought's grip on Texas tightens | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle. The great drought of 2011 may have started two months ago. Since Tropical Storm Hermine drenched central Texas in September, the state has been very dry, with large swaths receiving less than…
One hundred and seventy five years ago today a group of men came together just a few miles to the northwest of where I sit this morning and proclaimed Texas and independent nation. I can imagine what it might have been like that morning walking the streets of Washington-on-the-Brazos. Early March…
AUSTIN - Burst water pipes at two coal-fired power plants forced them to shut down, triggering rolling power cuts across the state, the lieutenant governor said Wednesday.Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said this is something that "should not happen." via Broken water pipes at power plants cited in outages | Facebook |…
"People used to say that the future happens first in California, but these days what happens in Texas is probably a better omen. And what we’re seeing right now is a future that doesn’t work." Paul Krugman, The Texas Omen - NYTimes.com. I am a native Texan...Some of my ancestors arrived prior to Texas…
For a couple of weeks now, this scene has caught my eye as I traveled between Alvin and Angleton. The grass heads were a bright pink in the sun. Each time I would want to stop and try to capture an image. Each time I didn't for one reason or…
I caught Leon Hales latest in my feed reader last week and thought he had a lot of good points. After spending a quarter of a century posting columns from the porch of his place in Winedale, Leon Hale has come to some conclusions about the joys of a second home…
The heat of the day arrived at about the same time I arrived at Brazos Bend State Park just the other side of the Brazos River from us off of FM 1462 and FM 762.
The afternoon temperatures are closing in on the 90's most days here for the last week. A cool afternoon is one that just tops 80. At least the nights are cool...And that means the mornings are really nice. Only in the late afternoon when the sun moves into that area…
Just to give you an idea of the area of the state we were covering here is an image of the page in The Roads of Texas - 5th Edition map book I use to travel our state... So, now that we have visited Friendship and Bryant Station it's time…
This past week my wife expressed a desire to visit the cemeteries where ancestors are resting up around Milam County in central Texas. Since the weekend was one of the few our daughter was off (thus no need for babysitter Paw-paw), I suggested we enjoy the the last of the…
Some of the shots I took yesterday as I played on a roadtrip into Texas Spring... I try each year to make a day trip into the closest wildflower country to my home. The trip takes about two hours just to start seeing good fields of color. Usually, I begin…
Spring Gradual warming that began earlier this week is forecast to continue through the weekend, and by early next week high temperatures should climb into the mid-70s as warm, wet air flows inland from the Gulf of Mexico. No rain is forecast until late this weekend, according to the National…
Talk about getting your head in a spin...Today I went through my daily routine of reading email as I listen to yesterdays "news" via podcasts downloaded to iTunes. I do this every morning, without fail...Coffee, email, podcasts. All of a sudden, it hit me...The incongruousness of what I was doing.…
These clouds are moving south just west of us this evening. We have already had an hour or more of heavy rain...All soaked in. Nobody was anticipating this. The temperature after the rains moved through was registering 72°...Now back up at 76°. The lightning was amazing! The wind was blowing!…
Currently (on Thu 5:53AM CDT from Pearland Regional Airport) Cloudy Temp: 81° (Heat Index 87°) Dewpoint: 75° Wind: Calm MPH I stepped out on the back steps this morning as the coffee pot dripped and ran into a wall of heat. Yesterday at this time it the thermometer was reading 72°. What a…
I stepped out my back door as the thermometer passed 100° F today and snapped this picture. The prognosticators say we had a heat index of 108° and it will be as hot tomorrow... Statement as of 4:04 PM CDT on June 24, 2009 ... Heat advisory in effect until…
My neighbors across the street have been makin' music for a few years now. For a while my youngest son played bass with them on some of their local gigs. These days they seem to be reahing a bit higher...And I for one, am very impressed with this video they…
Growing up, we spent many summer days visiting my grandparents house in Orchard, Texas. Every evening, after supper was over and cleaned up, we would all grab a folding lawn chair off the back porch and set them up in a rough circle on the east side of the house.…
Taking a morning walk this morning, I noticed that the heat was already heading up into the 80's. Warm and getting warmer...A great way to start hurricane season. Over the weekend the the mosquitoes returned with a vengeance. That little bit of rain last week seems to have hatched out…
Can someone explain the connection between Credit Card Reform and the right to bear arms in national parks? Now don't get me wrong, I was raised to be a hunter, I bought my first guns at 18, my grandfather was a life long hunter who bought and passed down a…
