Critters and Such...

THE CRITTERS

Living in Texas, you come to know the animals, birds, and insects you may encounter. In Houston, you watch for snakes, fire ants, and mosquitoes. In Austin, you still watch for snakes, fire ants, and mosquitoes but add scorpions, spiders, and coyotes. Here in West Texas, you take away mosquitoes (so far) and double everything else!

In Austin, we'd usually found scorpions outside and under things like the deck, chairs, and most everything else.  I was stung by one before although I didn't see it.  I had been in West Texas about 5 days when a scorpion, apparently fell down my shirt! Ouch! It was only an inch long but packed a powerful punch!  Critters - 1; Kristina - 0.


It wasn't long before another visitor came to the house.  At first, I thought this was what roaches left after a visit (if you know what I mean) since they were tiny, black things...but these moved!  They were only around the bathroom tub and toilet.  Ant spray didn't help.  Every time a bath or shower was needed, we had to wash these little things away only to find more the next day.  So I asked the locals, what are these things?  Neighbor:  Only thing we get are scorpions.  Landlord:  Not sure about that but watch out for the scorpions.  Pest Control:  Never heard of that but we can spray for scorpions!  Really?  I know about the dang scorpions because one already got me!  The Landlord advised on something to use ON the scorpions that might work on these little black things.  It did.  Critters - 1; Kristina - 1.

And then there are the moths.  Gentle, ugly moths that, apparently, lay their eggs in the mesquite! Great! We are surrounded by mesquite out here, so now we get "The Attack of the Swarming Moths"!!! They were everywhere! In every door frame; the car door frames; the gate frames; under the house siding; under tables; around outdoor lights ....everywhere! Oh, the dog loves chasing them but they are really annoying bouncing on the ceiling at night, or stationed on the TV like a monster attacking the people in the show!  This does not make Jimmy Kimmel look very good!

What was left just one window!

I can't emphasize enough how many moths there were all over the place.  When I opened the door in the morning to let the dog out, dozens flew in the house from the door frame.  I had to go out the carport door, around the house, and open the back door from the outside so I could clean them out first!  We set some towels on the table...full of moths in a half hour.  Again, a call to the pest control guy and discovered there was nothing to do and they will go away in about two weeks.  But, we can spray for scorpions!  Nearly four weeks later, he was right.  Gone!  Nothing but dead moth bodies all over the house!  Fun, fun, fun!  Critters - 1; Kristina - 2

Out here in beautiful, arid West Texas, you can imagine hearing the sound of crickets and coyotes at night.  We had them in Austin, howling far away in the hills, and they reminded us of the old western movies we used to watch, of the cowboy, sitting on the hill, overlooking the cattle, under a full moon.  Ah, the serenity of it all!  But NO!  Here, these coyotes sound like something is being tortured over and over...and in the next field...outside your window! You do NOT leave small animals outside, unprotected, or they will be missing in the morning!  

Then, we come to the holes and underground tunnels (Where is Bill Murray when you need him?).  I haven't seen who or what is making the mounds in the yard but have been told it could be turtles!  Yes, turtles!  We found one of these guys in the yard and did some quick research and it seems that one Ornate Box Turtle has about  to 5 acres as their territory.  Because of the heat, they dig tunnels where they stay until it cools down at the end of the day and early morning. 

Why or why did I want a doggie door installed?  Was I crazy?

Sitting on my couch one day, on the computer, a bird suddenly flew right toward my face.  What?  A bird?  How?  Where?  It was one of the many Red Breasted Finches and it flew from near the fireplace so did it come in from there?  At the time, that didn't matter because the dog (Maggie) and cat (Sweetpea) were chasing it all over the place.  It landed on top of the bookcase so I took a broom to escort it outside but it wouldn't move.  It seemed like it was playing dead!  I finally got it to fly to the foyer and, after getting the door opened, again tried to gently escort it out.  Finally, it took the opportunity.  Critters - 1; Kristina - 3.

Any morning, you can hear a virtual symphony of doves!  They are everywhere.  One day, we discovered a mother dove with two fledglings on the ground in the front yard.  She kept them safe and, as far as we know, got them off flying soon.

Then, there's the lizard episode.  There is a big to-do here about a lizard.  I can't remember the exact breed but it reminds me of the gecko on TV except it's brown and it doesn't have a British accent.  Apparently, drilling for oil is upsetting the habitat of this tiny lizard and a court case is pending on what restrictions, if any, the oil companies should follow so as not to harm these lizards.  Well, I'm not sure about the oil companies, but my dog and cat don't seem to care if they are threatened.  Once again, I think the doggie door was at fault.  Hearing a commotion in the kitchen, I see the Maggie and Sweetpea both chasing something only to see the tiny, brown lizard.  I can't be sure it's the endangered one, but this one was definitely endangered at the moment.  It would get away and then get captured again.  Neither animal tried to eat it or harm it...they just liked to play with it.  Maggie, our puppy, was especially interested in this little "toy" and was relentless.  I finally trapped the little thing with the vegetable colander and took it outside.  I think it was in shock and, apparently, Maggie found it later and it didn't make it.  Critters - 1; Kristina - 4.  Maggie and Sweetpea - 1!

One of the most amazing critters we've seen is the Texas Horned Lizard or, as we call them, Horny Toad.  They are threatened, which means they aren't exactly endangered yet but sightings of them are more rare each year.  When we told people about seeing this guy, we heard many stories of playing with them as children but not seeing them as much now as then.  We found this one in the backyard and reported the sighting to the Texas Parks and Wildlife.  Then, we let him go.  Critters - 2; Kristina - 4; Maggie and Sweetpea - 1.

Now we come to the spiders.  Yes, we've all seen spiders, tiny and larger, but the numerous times we've seen these two is just ridiculous!  Tarantulas and Black Widow Spiders!

The Tarantulas are mainly found just walking across the yard.  I hear they rarely bite which is probably why you see them in movies all the time.  They have to feel threatened to bite.  Black Widows will bite immediately and their sting is very venomous.  This one is actually a male which is pretty rare to see since the female usually kills them after mating.  That would seriously keep me from dating!  I am not at all infatuated with either but I leave them alone.  So, Critters - 3; Kristina - 4; Maggie and Sweetpea - 1!

We may not have mosquitoes but we have stinging flies.  Just typical house flies which are rather tiny but they sting!  They are everywhere and I'm told that this is typical for desert conditions.  We've tried everything... fly killer that stinks like a dead animal, and the old water in a plastic bag hanging from the roof...nothing seems to stop these pests!  Hard to eat outside with this nuisance!  Critters - 4; Kristina - 4; Maggie and Sweetpea - 1!

We were told there would be snakes everywhere but, so far, only one has been sighted and it was a bull snake.  Again, glad I wasn't the one to find it!  There was a skin found later which we believe came from this snake.  This picture is not it but shows what they look like.

So, this is the excitement we've had in the past 9 months of living here in the desert.  I've enjoyed animals, birds, and some insects but I've had quite an education since moving here and it almost seems like we are on a nature reality show! 

Stayed tuned for more as our time here moves on!

Dust Storms and Tumbleweeds!

It's funny how we end up in certain places in our lives where we never imagined or intended!  As a teenager, a simple family vacation turned into a permanent move to Houston.  A young marriage took me to Mississippi and Florida.  Years later, an empty nest and need to downsize took us to Austin.  Now, 7 years later, I ended up in West Texas.

Living in Texas the majority of my life, I had heard about this area, of course, especially from a special church minister who grew up here and included Odessa in nearly every sermon.  We had a president that lived here, and a TV show that highlighted the high school football rivalry.  But there's  no way I ever thought I'd live here.  When the "opportunity" came, I didn't want to go.  However, with the economy and job situation, we really didn't have a choice. So, I decided to make the most of it and even changed my work log in password to "Adventure" to get my mind prepared for this new phase of my life. (Don't even try to use that password!)  We packed up two U-Haul trucks, towed a car and a trailer loaded sky-high (we looked like the "Beverly Hillbillies") and headed West!

ARRIVAL

So, here we are in Gardendale, Texas!  We arrived on October 2, 2011 at 9:30 at night.  This is a rural community about halfway between Midland and Odessa about 15 miles north of each.  It's the top point of a triangle.  There is a post office, small store with gas pumps, and a cantina.  What else do you need?  Except for some trees here and there, the area is flat, flat, flat with mesquite as far as you can see.  A slight rise in the roads provide the only "hills" around.   

What the area lacks in trees is made up for in oil rigs and pumpers.  They dot the horizon every way you look.

 At night, they rise like monuments to the industry!




All in all, this was quite a change from the lush green hills of Central Texas, with the lakes, rivers, parks, and camping all around.

WEATHER

The first person I met was the property manager.  "What are the winters like here," I asked, "...because Google Earth showed snow on the ground and we don't get much snow in Austin."  "Oh..." he said, "...we don't get any snow...maybe enough to barely cover the ground."  I also heard this from my new neighbor, and my new hair stylist, the Direct TV guy, and the internet installer.  Oh, ok.  Sounds good.  So, you can imagine my surprise two months later when I woke up to this!

This was the first of FOUR snowfalls between December 2 and February 12 totaling over 19 inches!  And, a new record since 1947!  No snow....check!  (Remember that year...it will come up again!)

Spring is here!  I look forward to warm weather and flowers.  What?  No bluebonnets?  Well do you have azaleas?  Never heard of them?  Hmmm.  So what DO you have?  WIND!  Every day.  Every night.  Strong winds.    I'd experienced some rather windy weather back i, but nothing could prepare me for.....

THE DUST! 

Brown skies and hazy sunsets became the norm.  Dust under doorways, windowsills, and on every piece of furniture and floor.

So, where is the rain?

Rain?  We don't get any rain here!  Oh, ok!

So, you can imagine my surprise May 9th when it started raining.  And even more suprise when the news stations were all a-flutter that the rain had set a new record!!  Really?  It had only been raining one day!  Well, the MOST rain received in one day since 1947 (must have been a popular weather year) was 1.47"....and we just got 2.44" in ONE DAY!  Wow!  That's amazing...everyone thought.  I kept my mouth shut about the time we received 19 inches in one day back in 2006 in Marble Falls which caused flooding everywhere!

Hmmm.  So whatever will the summer bring?

Now, don't get me wrong...the best thing about living here are the people!  The people are very, very nice!  Not one person in retail, restuarants, medical, church, or neighbors have been rude or negative in any way.  I was told I would like living here because the people were great and that seems not to have changed through the years or during this huge oil boom.  People are willing to help out in any way they can.  Maybe it's living in an area with uncertain weather conditions that draws people together.  Or maybe it's just quiet, small town living.  I'm not sure how long we will live here, but I will keep you informed of this ADVENTURE as it unfolds!