I can put the Mentholatum aside

Yes, today marked the end of this year’s duck hunting season in Texas.  That means I can put the tube of Mentholatum away.  I won’t need to mask the smell of the mottled ducks when we extract their gizzards.  Most hunters today stayed as long as they could since it will be another ten months before they can enjoy their sport again.  I’ve enjoyed working the hunter check station, and getting to know the hunters.

Last November, I posted this picture of a water hyacinth.  While the bloom is pretty, it is an invasive species that tends to take over open water areas in ponds and bayous.  It’s kind of like the kudzu that is taking over forested areas in states east of here.  Anahuac NWR doesn’t have an active plan to deal with this invasive for one reason.

All the refuge needs is some freezing temperatures in the winter to knock back its progression, and we’ve had a lot of cold temperatures so far this winter.  All that brown stuff is dead water hyacinth.  Some, of course, will survive and the process will start all over again in the spring.

I’m afraid this post tonight is going to be a mixture of different topics.  I got an email from a friend this morning, and she reminded me that I had yet to give my opinion on the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner that I bought a few weeks ago.

                                         

I originally ordered it for two reasons.  First, I hate vacuuming, and second, it was a very painful experience for me to use my regular vacuum when I was having such a problem with my shoulder.  As soon as it was delivered, I read the directions and plugged it in to charge overnight.

The next day, I turned it on to put it through its paces.  I have to admit that I wasn’t overly impressed with the job it did.  I also have to admit that I hadn’t vacuumed in some time, so it really faced a great challenge.  It was a hoot watching it maneuver its way around the motorhome.  It doesn’t really clean in a straight line at all, but it does change directions at wall barriers and at the edge of drop-offs like steps.  I bought the model that was supposed to be good for pet hair.  I’ve mentioned before that I can’t understand why Emma isn’t bald with all the shedding she does year round. 

The Roomba picked up the hair from the carpeted areas of the rig, but then seemed to deposit them on the linoleum sections of the floor.  I decided that maybe my test was a bit unfair, so I got out the regular vacuum and gave the rig a good once over.  Since then, I’ve turned the Roomba on every other day, and it seems to be keeping up with the hair and the rig looks ‘well groomed’ all the time.  It still dumps clumps of hair on the edges of throw rugs in the linoleum areas, but they are easy to pick up in a bunch.

Considering the price, would I buy it again?  Probably not, but I’m not going to send it back either.  I really do hate vacuuming, and in an area that is not so confined as to concentrate the pet hair I think it would be worth the price.  I’d be jumping for joy if I didn’t have to deal with so much pet hair.  It is great at getting into hard to vacuum places like under the driver and passenger seat, but I’ll probably drag out the dreaded regular vacuum about once a month to do the stairs and other places where I normally use the suction hose.

So, that’s my review of the Roomba.  I hope it helps some one out.  Looks like we’ll have to batten down the hatches again for the next polar vortex set to arrive by Tuesday.  I hope it doesn’t have all the ice accompanying it that the one last Friday had.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy