Autumn in Texas

Yeah! College football is back!  Gooooooo Ducks!

After a long, hot, very dry summer we're finally moving into fall, and boy are we enjoying it! The daily temperatures have been hovering in the low 90's to high 80's. The garden is loving it too! It has exploded!

The tomatoes and squash vines we babied through the summer drought took the first real rain to heart and The tomatoes and squash vines we babied through the summer drought took the first real rain to heart and grew so fast they nearly knocked me over!


I planted pole beans for the third time and they finally came up  (the seed won't sprout if it's too hot, and it was) In two weeks they'd reached the top of the poles.


The pepper plant production is back on line too. We dried a bunch of them and Steve smoked some, then we ground both into flakes for seasoning. 'Can't wait to try the smoked chili powder in soup or chili! 


We've spent the lasts few evenings out on the porch, looking at the stars, listening to the crickets and the acorns plunking on the metal roof as they fall, and admiring the fireflies. . . Yes, fireflies!

They are usually a spring phenomenon, but this is an unusual fall. We've had a lot of rain recently. We're approaching a record as far as monthly totals for September go, and the effects are showing up in unexpected ways. The resurgence of fireflies is one of them - chiggers too! They aren't such favorites around here.

A lot of other creatures that are usually spring visitors have shown up too - walking sticks, praying mantis, and this little Carolina anole.


The most fascinating thing, however, was that we seem to have been announced as an official stop on this year's hummingbird migration route.

For several weeks we had so many little visitors that though I filled our three feeders twice a day we could barely keep keep up with the demand. Then suddenly, about the time the rain started and the nights got cooler, we were down to about three birds, probably original residents.

I knew they migrated, but I've never seen so many in one place. It's interesting because they supposedly travel to their winter home individually, not in a flock the way geese and ducks do.

Our major accomplishment of the month is the completion of the guest bath remodel. Steve does a great job of finding parts (mobile homes are hard to fit) and finding solutions to the inevitable problems that crop up in the process of what was supposed to be a simple job.

It's amazing how much time and energy goes into such a little room. It's funny how the room seems to get smaller when you need to get something, like a new tub, into or out of it, and much bigger when you are painting it!

I've been keeping an album of the various home improvement projects around here ever since 2009, when we were getting ready to move.

The first version of remodeling was largely paint, this time we had to replace a leaky tub, which was much more complicated. It's fun to look back and see the changes.

If anyone is interested in the possibilities of remodeling in an older manufactured home, here's a peak at this room's evolution.

The grandsons are both doing well and settling into the school year, and very much enjoying the nice weather. It's a perfect time of year for building sand castles and hunting bugs!

Our daughter Kendra and her family continue their battle with chronic Lyme Disease. We spend a lot of our time on the road, transporting the boys, and otherwise helping out where we can.

She has started a Gofundme page, which has a description of their situation, and where she posts updates as to progress in their treatment. Here's the link for anyone who would like to help them with expenses, which are overwhelming to say the least. There are several lawsuits against the CDC and insurers because of the way this disease is being diagnosed and treated. This link has a summary of the one initiated in Texas. There are many websites with good information on Lyme disease, as well as many that aren't all that useful. If you'd like to know more, this is a good place to start..... Lyme Disease Association.

The Autumn album has a few more photos of the wildlife, the garden and the kids.