Welcome to spring....oh, boy

Ah, the vernal equinox!  It must have happened somewhere other than the hill country of Texas.  I awoke to rain coming down in buckets, accompanied by thunder and lightning.  I suppose thunderstorms are a sign of spring, but once the front passed the temperatures took a nose dive.  I just turned on the furnace to supplement my two electric heaters!  Dang, I shouldn't have to do that this late in the month.  A freeze is forecast for tonight, so I'll have to try to remember to leave the water faucet dripping so the hose doesn't freeze overnight.

Because of the rain, I tried to put Emma's first outs off as long as possible.  It worked for a while, but when she began pacing, I knew the time had come.  Boy, did we get soaked!  She finished her business pretty quickly and fairly pulled me back to the rig.  She's a dainty girl, and doesn't like to get her hairdo wet.  :)  I must say, that she is very good at waiting at the top of the stairs while I wipe her dry.

When the temperature began it's plummet, the winds picked up as well.  We're having forty-five mph gusts.  I mentally thank Dub, once again, for placing this site where it is.  The rig is pretty well protected from the winds from the north by the stand of Ashe junipers next to us.  I saw Peggy today, and she said the winds at the Flying X are even worse.  I'm glad I haven't moved up there yet.  :)

So, today was a relaxing inside day.  I spent most of it on the computer.  I did fix a nice dinner of rib eye steak, though.  It was half of the steak that I bought at that little butcher shop in Liberty Hill a couple of weeks ago.  They do have good meat.

That's about it for today's excitement.  Hopefully, the clouds will dissipate and the sun will return tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

The Furbuster

One of the unwelcome side effects of traveling with a canine companion in an RV is the abundance of hair that seems to accumulate everywhere.  It seems to me that most dogs should really be bald if you considered the amount of hair that they shed.  But alas, they are not bald and the hair continues to be a never ending challenge.  Last summer, while I was volunteering at Swan Lake NWR, I noticed that Pam Wood, a fellow volunteer, was grooming her dog with something that didn't look like an ordinary brush.  She told me that she swears by the Furminator dog grooming brush.  I needed to look into that.

What I found at a local Pet Smart store was the Furbuster.

It's about half the price of the Furminator and does the same job.  It has really been a help to me in keeping a lid on Emma's shedding.  If I use a regular dog brush, I don't get much hair, but with the Furbuster, it really catches hairs that would otherwise fall inside the rig.  So, if you travel with a dog, I'd recommend this product.

As was predicted, the skies were blue today and all the snow melted away.  I headed out first thing this morning to take all the education boxes up to the Flying X for tomorrow's training.  Peggy and Paul were ready when I arrived, and we spent the entire morning setting things up.  There will be about 32 people coming for the training tomorrow, and we're ready for them!  I will set up my station on bird banding outside in the morning. 

I had packed the extra propane tank into the van this morning, so after everything was set up, I headed for the small town of Liberty Hill to get the tank filled.  I am so happy that I have the extent-a-stay option for propane since the temps have been so unusually low.  After almost four years of really conserving on heat, I am basking in 70* temps inside since I got the e-a-s setup. 

Of course, since I was going to Liberty Hill I had to stop at the local market.  It's a small grocery store, but it has an excellent butcher shop.  I like this place because they have excellent meats, and I can choose exactly what pork chop or steak I want, and can buy only one of each.  It's hard to find a grocery store where you can purchase only one of a certain meat item.  They are also known for their excellent rib eye steaks, so I splurged!  That steak will give me two delicious meals.

I'll close with tonight's sunset....

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy