ANOTHER MOTHERFUCKER IN A MOTORCADE

During the house cleaning I was searching for a 8x11 1/2 frame and found this...I had forgotten all about this rocking partitioned version of the last supper.
Of course I had to ruin it with this classic Red Meat...Priest: Heavenly Father , sometimes I feel powerless to help my fellow man see the wisdom of your way.How can I inspire them to walk in righteousness?
GOD : I don't know , if it was me , I'd turn their water supply into an assload of flies or something.But I'm a bastard that way.
Truer words were never spoken.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND


Did a major clean on the house in anticipation of our old neighbor and dear friend Jen coming over with her boyfriend for a cook out.
I did the traditional hot dogs and carnita's kabob's with red onion and anahiem pepper. I made the mistake of scratching my nose while I was preparing the peppers...let's just say I'm glad I scratched my nose instead of having a pee and leave it at that. Damn...hot.
A good time was had by all...They are moving to Lubbock soon. They will be missed.

DOGS

I took the grrrls for a neighborhood walk tonight back to the new under construction gated community and let them run around for a bit. Layla is such a fast runner ( and she jumps ) so I always think of the agility training thing. And then I spotted this...a reasonable facsimile anyway , since I didn't have my camera.
A silt fence...So I'm thinking hurdles , and call Layla and run and jump over it. She runs up and is tentative at first , but by the second run she had it down. We jumped back and forth over that fence about 10 times...it was fantastic and she was clearly digging it. Irene even got in on it for 4 or 5.
On the other dog front...there are lots of dogs on my route...some are very cool and some want to kill me. There is one in particular that fucking loves me , follows me around the whole time spanging for pets...she rules.
I leave you with this...

SUPER SUNDAY

So I was hanging out on the porch with Ann and the grrrls and it turned into an all night thing...we had visitors and everything.
I got to looking at Irene and I realized she's not a spring chicken anymore...so much gray. I got sad for a minute and then I realized that she had earned all that gray spending her life with me...we have been together for so many years and she is so young at heart. I was about to say "I'll miss her when she's gone" and realized how fucking maudlin that would be so I say instead "she's my baby girl and I love our time together".
I found the power supply cord for my RP-6 effects pedal (missing in action for years) and finally got around to playing with it. It was fun...and loud...and on the front porch.
I made butterfly chops with papa's guisada and onion with carmelized onion and bacon sauce.
And finally I made a table for the porch...and I arted it up with some nail action.

Gotta go to bed!

SHARP...DISTANCE...DREAM ON , ON TO THE HEART OF THE SUNRISE

I've been listening to early Yes a lot this weekend and Ann and I had a conversation about it. Yes takes me back to a time of wonder and puts a smile on my face.
The weather was so nice after the rain...65 on the porch , we spent the whole night outside...after Ann went to bed I fell asleep out there only to be awakened by the grrrls raising hell. My neighbor came over to visit and they were protecting me.
Very cool. Once they realized who it was it was all waggy tails and friendly greetings.
But before that they were fierce.


The face of fierce (?)
Sleepy grrrls...
Beer buzzed...:)
Just thought you might like to know...
Off to twin falls for a walk...

RAIN DOGS


This was the view on the way home...the whole way home.It was a stress exercise driving , I haven't seen rain this hard since the house flooded years ago.The road to turkey creek and city park is hilly and windey and I was seriously in grandma mode with the driving. Some asshole in a tahoe passed me on a corner in torrential rain - people here get exceptionally stupid when it comes to driving in bad weather.
Shortly before the sky opened up , it was a nice overcast day...I spotted these turkey vultures hanging out by the boat dock...waiting for fish heads I guess ?
Layla is a rocket on the trail...we did 2 miles at turkey creek before we went to find our camping friends...she probably racked up 4.Endless energy.
And the ever vigilant Irene.
I feel blessed to have such wonderful dogs. And yes , Theo is still old and grumpy but I think I love him most of all.
I think it might be time to build an ark.
Oh yeah...that cactus I mentioned the other day...found one with red flowers...woot!

14,073

That's how many steps I took yesterday. Years ago my friend Lisa gave me a pedometer , which has been sitting idle on my nightstand until yesterday.

This is my one commercial property...it's fucking huge. 4 pumps/filters.
We had burgers last night.
I'm off to the park with the grrrls!
Have a great weekend!

Squash and work craziness

Yesterday I finally gave up on the old squash seeds ever sprouting and planted some more from the fresh pack of seeds.  And then today I saw two sprouts poking up through the dirt from the old seeds.  A bit of an odd coincidence that the old ones sprouted the day after I planted the new ones.  

Been very stressed lately from the changes at work.  The technical side of things isn't a problem, but the emphasis is more on sales and like most "techies",  I'm not very good at sales.  I haven't made a single sale and we are supposed to do at least 4 a day.   I took some vacation time this week, but I'm still at least 20 sales in the hole for the month.  Sucks.  

Ah well, back at it tomorrow and we'll see what happens. 

BIRDS AND THE FRONT YARD...AND CATFISH...AND A COOL FOSSIL AND SOME WORK STUFF

I found this pile of discarded rocks in the new , currently under construction snobby gated community behind our house ( being built in a field that used to be running ground for the homeless , the crack heads and the girls that don't mind having a go in the weeds ).I have this clover type plant growing around the bird baths that has a nice little yellow flower , and I wanted to cage them in tastefully. Cool rocks...perfect.
Here's the other one...These were my Mom's bird baths BTW...That makes them special.
I grilled catfish fillets in lemon pepper marinade tonight...
I'm not sure what this is , but it's something from the past , that's for sure.
First day out on my own went well , but a bit long. Navigation was a bit tricky - figuring out the route geographically / efficiently , plus the first 2 pools I hit were full of debris and needed extra attention.
I got some stuff to personalize my work truck.
Iron cross steering wheel cover...( It's that whole 70's rock and roll thing man...:) )
Dice cig lighter and guardian angel
Guardian angel detail...

FLYING SOLO

I took possession of my work truck today. I'll be on my own from now on , and while I'll miss the company , I'm excited about the solitude factor. It's a very nice truck , this company takes exceptional care of their vehicles ( plus- it has a high end CD player! ) and I wish you could see the graphics...but hey...:)





We had beer brats tonight...nice and easy.

DAMN DIRTY BLOODSUCKERS

I was outside tending to the birds and the plants tonight when I looked down and saw a veritable cloud of mosquitoes swarming around my legs. I escaped back into the house and waited for prime time for these bastards to be over...apparently they have extended the shift and gone into stealth mode.
I went back out to finish up and hang out with the grrls for a bit, but they got my inner elbows and ankles but good...I am on itchy fire right now.
I made some modifications to the flower BBQ that I think will work well.
Just for grins this morning I went to the union job bank to see what was up...165 names on the books and NO calls. I could still be drawing benefits , but I made the right call going with this gig. I was starting to lose my mind.
Tomorrow I plan to poach some flowering cactus off of the right of way out in the hill country...after all , it is the right of way , right?
I'll be in my own truck on Friday and on my own apparently...
The guy I've been riding with has been a good teacher in as far as the idiosyncrasies of particular pools and I'm sure he will fare well as a tech , but better than that I have made a new friend. And I finally made friends with his dog.
It's strange , but every once in a while I encounter a dog that is just freaked out by me ( I think it's the tats ) and she was one of those dogs...but today I played fetch with her when we were done with the route and I believe I'm in...provided I show up with a tennis ball or a frisbee tomorrow morning.
I'm thinking about a high and tight...NO! Check that!

SUPER SUNDAY

Ann and Layla...

I made pork enchiladas with green chilies and southwestern salsa.
The birds part of the yard...
And I even did some gardening...

WE HAD SO MUCH FUN AT LOST CREEK YESTERDAY WE MADE DAD TAKE US BACK

You can see the rest of our adventure here :Irene,Layla & me

Two things in Texas that will sting the fuck out of you...


Bull Nettle...a nasty plant that bites.I got into some when I was a kid and within a couple of hours I was covered in hives. The actual sting site took months to heal.


A giant centipede...these things give me the creeps.The end with the horns is it's tail.I almost stepped on it and interrupted it's drink.

HOT PORCH ACTION




Spent Saturday evening on the porch slow cooking pork ribs - you can see the rest at :
Irene , Layla and me

FAMILY

I met the mother of some old friends of mine in the last couple of weeks...today I learned that the next day when she was speaking of her visit she said "all of her sons were there". Apparently that includeds me...Fago was emphatic about it...according to mom I am now family. And all I was was polite and respectful.I love old people...you can learn so much from them.
But now I am part of a family that I have been associated with for years because mama said.
I am touched and honored...

LOST CREEK



Me and the grrrls hit the trail early this morning and went to lost creek. This trail is out in the area where I grew up , while it is being choked by development at least the developers had the sense to leave the creek mostly alone.
No leashes on this walk and the grrrls had a fucking blast.
See the rest of Lost Creek at:Irene,Layla and me

GOOD NIGHT



L-R : Layla , Theotis & Irene...

BLACK DONALD HAS SPROUTED HORNS !



There are a number of reasons this piece of art is called "Black Donald"...first and most obviously , it's a duck and it's predominantly black.Second , I have a friend who has a black goat named Black Donald. And last , but not least , in Scottish folklore Black Donald is the devil.
I met some cool dogs on my route today...they are always a plus.
Oh yeah...we forgot...Depthmarker turned 6 on Apr. 24th. :)

SHORT RIBS



This is a mummified rat I found in a friends garage years ago...nice , huh ?





I slow cooked some boneless beef short ribs tonight with Fiesta rib rub and baked russets.
A bit salty , but very tasty. I need to adjust the amount of rub I think. Fiesta's notion of "generous amount" and mine are clearly off.
Work is going well...I should be in my own truck by next week running this route on my own. It's funny the things you remember...and even funnier the things you forget.

OUT OF PATIENCE

I took the grrrls to Stacy this evening and at the entrance to the park there is a sign similar to this one:
with a written warning that all dogs must be on leash at all times. We were 5 minutes into our walk (on leashes) before we were accosted by a large dog who was not on a leash. Granted , the dog was just checking us out , and actually looked like a pretty cool old girl but there are issues here. Irene is cool with other dogs in leash free zones and never has a problem , but when she is leashed and approached by a loose dog she responds as if threatened and it gets ugly...this turned ugly and the owner of the dog looked at me like I had done something wrong.We quickly moved on and tried to resume our walk...50 or so feet later , more people with loose dogs.
It really sucked balls and I resolved to do something about it. It's one thing to draw down on pit bulls on the green belt , but you can't pull a pistol in the middle of the city without running a great risk of law enforcement getting "involved". Plus I have no desire to shoot a golden lab out for a game of fetch. Pit's are not dogs in my opinion and should be eliminated from the canine species.
So I have a response...

This is notice to all you assholes that ignore the leash laws in Austin...if your dog is loose where it shouldn't be and it threatens my grrls it's going to get a face full of this...
I am sick of this shit...

5 MILES ON THE GUS BEFORE THE SUN CAME UP




It was amazing...
more at the page

BATH TIME

Stinky itchy dogs...the tub and a towel...warm water and shampoo...



They tolerate it...Layla was a champ , Irene sulked (see above). Both ran around like maniacs after the towel off.
God damn they smell fresh!

Squash sprouts and my house is a cave
The yellow squash seeds have sprouted. Nothing yet from the bush squash seeds, but they have a longer germination time so I'll give them another week before I declare them dead. I looked at insecticidal soap at the grocery store today and damn, was it ever expensive. That purchase will have to wait a while, but I probably don't need it just yet since there's not much leaf space on brand new sprouts for bug eggs. Blue Witch left a good suggestion in the comments about seeding some spare plants in pots and keeping them inside, but as I looked around, I realized we don't have a single window that provides much outdoor light. The inside of our house is rather cave-like. I didn't like that at first when I moved in 15 years ago, but I've grown used to it now. Besides, we both work during the day so there's not many daylight hours in a week that we would spend indoors and we tend to spend free time on the weekends and evenings outside on our front porch where there is more sunlight than you could get in anything but a glass house. The one time that I really want/need sunlight is when I first get up in the morning, but I have to get up way before the sun does so I had extra lighting put in when we remodeled to address that issue. That lighting is more than enough to grow extra squash plants, but I definitely don't want to pay to leave all those lights on all day while I'm at work. I think I'll stick with the "many mounds" idea for now.

GUS FRUH ...

Well,I overslept and so we went to Gus instead . Lots of wild flowers on display , and the timing was perfect. No loose dogs until we were almost to the parking area.


You can see the rest of them here...
irene layla and me

IT'S HEARTBREAKING REALLY

Swimming pools in suburban , rural areas are death traps to the local fauna.I was lucky enough (or it was) to find that possum alive on Monday and save him , but generally you find them ass up , twirling around in the skimmer drowned. Toads and frogs bloat up and their tongues protrude in a grotesque death mask. Lizard's mouths open wide in agony.
What happens is they come to the pool for a drink or a bath and once in , they can't get out. They go into the skimmer throat opening thinking it's a way out , or at least an escape from the open water...wrong.
It's a swirling vortex of death just waiting to happen.
Today , on our last stop , we cleaned a pool with 3 skimmers...a drowned baby rabbit was in each and every one.
Deposited in the woods - back to their maker.
I'm not sentimental about much ( OK - that's a lie ) but these kind of events fuck with me.
Enough maudlin drowned animal waxing...you get the picture.
Tomorrow the grrrls and I are going to Turkey creek. After all the rain we got this past week it should be beautiful. Another early trip so we can have it to ourselves.
Have a great weekend!