IN MEMORIAM DOLLY PARTON

Wow.  What a loss. 

When our phones started blowing up today with the breaking news, even in my office, we had to stop and take a breath.  Dolly seemed like one of those people who would just always be with us.

She lived a life of many colors, that's for sure.  Singer, songwriter, actress, business owner, philanthropist and just an all around beautiful and kind person.

As a kid, I was obsessed with Dolly.  Loved her.  Had posters, bought every album, watched every movie.  She's been performing for the better part of 70 years.  

The one place we've never been to is Dollywood. 2nd Man said we should add that to the travel list.

Her nephew said it best in the official statement on her sudden passing:

"My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD, and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family, whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever."

INDEED...RIP Dolly.

GOOD FOOD AND KITTY CAT MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

 It's been a weird weekend. 

It rained almost every day last week.

The ground is soaked.

The grass is tall.

We were looking forward to the big racing this weekend but then the shocking sudden death of one our favorite drivers has made it all so somber.

To top it all off, the weather in both race locations is not looking good for racing (Indy 500 & Coca Cola 600).

We did manage to get some good food in.

2nd Man made Pozole (a Mexican pork stew).  Lots of dried peppers to make the complex flavors.

The end result is so good.  Topped with sliced radishes, onions, shredded cabbage, avocado and cilantro.  And check out the margaritas!  I made those, it's a recipe we had always wanted to try using our Vitamix and whole fruit.  OMG, we are obsessed!

Here is Babygirl, while I was outside working on the Zen Machine, sitting next to the truck, as if to say "well, OK, when are we leaving and where are we going?"

#catdistributionsystem

As this posts, the Indy 500 is starting, weather holding so far...

Then this afternoon/evening it is the NASCAR Coco Cola 600 in Charlotte, we'll see how that goes.

But of course, all of this tempered by the death of NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch.  He had just won a race a few days before he died but had been battling a respiratory illness for a week or so prior.  Turns out he had pneumonia and it turned into sepsis and he just didn't make it.  So sad.  RIP Kyle.

Let us all, as it says above, remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice on this special weekend and keep their families in our thoughts.

HOUSTON DERECHO AND DAMAGE UPDATE

So...according to the National Weather Service, NW parts of Houston (and the area around the farm) were hit by an EF1 tornado.  What hit the city of Houston (and downtown) was a "derecho".  It's the first ever recorded derecho in Texas.  There was one years back that went through NE Texas but started along the state line and moved into Arkansas and other states.  None ever recorded here.  We basically got hit Unlucky us.

Picture heavy post and as always, click any to enlarge.

Getting out of downtown Saturday was quite the adventure.  These are just two of the numerous office buildings with windows gone...

...and many streets closed off because they are littered with broken glass and glass still falling from buildings.

Also, with so many places without power, that meant gas stations that were open, if you could find one, had lines around the block.  Thankfully I had filled up the day before the storm.

The roads around the farm were tricky in a few spots but the county had moved most of the debris out of the way.  In this picture you can see where the tree had actually gone all the way across the road.  Lots of places like that but they made room and since not much traffic in a rural area, it was easy to get around the spots that still had trees on the side of the road.

This one is across the street from us.

This was just one section but a neighbor's fence is down in multiple sections...

This was a BIG tree on the way there.  The split part was across the road and had not been moved yet, so we had to use a different road.

This tree is on the corner of our property along the road where it joins with another neighbor.

Once we got to the driveway, this greeted us.  It is the entrance fence that 2nd Family put up a few years back.  The one on the other side of the driveway that matches was fine and still intact. 

Here's the front yard (note where I stopped mowing last week when the belt broke, it's all catching up, ha).  At least the buildings were undamaged.

We walked around them up close to make sure and they are good, no shingles were missing.

But as for the house...

Five shingles here...

...and three in the back yard.  At least these are the ones that we could FIND, who knows where some may have ended up.

But, it's an old house and the wood is SO hard in the attic and ceiling there was zero water in.  It is not something we will need to worry about at this point.

Here's a tree on the property next to us.  Yikes!

We roamed around a bit to see what we could see on our property...

A lot of limbs and branches lying around and we picked up what we could.  In this one, do you see the little thing right there in the middle of the picture?

Here it is up close...

A perfect little bird's nest!

No babies and no eggs.  We looked around.  It had been a couple of days at this point so if anything was there, they were long gone.  I saved the nest, not sure why.  2nd Man said "why are you keeping that?" and I said I wasn't sure, so I put it on the porch in a clay pot and put a saucer on top to keep it safe.

This is behind the orchard.  This mesquite tree lost its branches. I've been meaning to cut this down so I guess nature gave me a head start, ha.

We lost this big one.

And this one that is along one of the trails I mow.  I guess I'll have to go a different route for the time being.

And this one as well.  There are probably many more around the acres we can't get to and I'll find some while mowing I'm sure. 

Check this out!  We have NO idea where this came from, we have nothing like this and from what we know, none of nearby neighbors do.  But dang, flying sheet metal would be EXTREMELY dangerous.  Yikes!

And here is the biggest damage we ended up with:

Lost the fence to the garden in this spot and one other along the back (I forgot to get a picture of).  We aren't doing a garden this year (and didn't last because of the drought) so I'll work on this as time permits. It was time to clean it up anyway.

So anyway, that is the Houston Derecho of 2024.  We had straight line winds of 100mph+ move across miles and miles of Houston, from the suburbs, across the heart of the city, downtown and out the other side.  It was like a 30 minute Cat 2 hurricane.

Seven fatalities...1,000,000 people without power at the peak...250,000 still without power today...and preliminary damage estimates of between five and seven billion dollars.

So now we have to worry about tropical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and derechos.

TORNADO AND STORM DAMAGE HOUSTON 2024

So we knew storms were possible and/or coming yesterday afternoon but we (and millions of others) were not prepared for what would happen...

After our phones kept getting alerts and warnings, it started to get more intense.  We tried to have dinner but kept an eye on the sky.  Then the TV networks all switched to local coverage and there was a tornado on the ground about 3 miles from the farm and was moving toward the greater Houston area.

Within the storm, they were recording straight line winds approaching and then exceeding 100mph. 

Oh, but then it only got worse.

They issued a very rare 'destructive thunderstorm warning' for all of Houston.   According to the National Weather Service, this warning is used when there is "hail of 2.75 inches or larger and winds of 80mph or higher".

Then the tornado warning came for over 2 million people...popping up on phones, city phone alerts, text messages, and yes, even the Weather Channel switched to full round the clock coverage. 

2nd Man and I rushed to get the furniture that's out on the balcony laid down flat and we looked up and it was already getting scary.

The sky was green (and a few other weird colors) and the wind was rapidly picking up speed.  It was also getting much darker...

So dark the streetlights started coming on...but even then, darker and darker.

I tried to open the balcony door again and I thought it was locked; it was not, the wind and pressure was so intense, the glass started vibrating.  2nd Man shouted to close the shades (we have these big rolling shades) so that if the windows broke that might shield some of the stuff from coming in.

We took Hobart and went to the hallway to wait it out.

Here is the camera view from a local station as the tornado warned storm came into downtown.  This is at 6:30 in the afternoon, normally bright and sunny.  

I'll be honest, it was a bit harrowing because we thought the windows might come out.  Our building was built to have the latest (at the time ten years ago) hurricane/impact resistant windows but a worry in downtown Houston is when debris from a couple of windows on another building starts to fly around and impacts more windows and tree branches break more windows and that begets more debris and, well it's a vicious circle.

Here is just a small part of the end result:

This building is about 3 blocks away from us.

And this one is about 2 blocks away.

There are many other buildings with damage and the streets into and out of downtown are currently closed because there is just too much debris.  The mayor told people to stay home today so they can clean up the streets.  In some places, the broken glass is 2 inches deep.  Thank goodness this storm had enough warning and happened after 6pm when most office buildings were empty.

We have no power at my work office building and the roads have so much debris, our company is covering the phones and we were told to stay home.  Even though he works from home, 2nd Man was told to take off today as internet service is sketchy at best.

There are trees down all over town, roads blocked, power was out to 950,000 people, street lights are not working, there are signs down, power lines across roads and of course thousands of homes and businesses have roof damage.  Right before we wearily went to bed last night, we heard a few large 'booms' and it turns out there was a subterranean sewer fire causing explosions about 4 blocks away. 

All school districts are closed today due to extensive damage to schools and campuses around the city. 

They are saying this will be a billion dollar+ storm.  

Sadly, at least four people have also been killed.

"J" from 2nd Family said it was the scariest moment she's had out there, and she's been through several hurricanes and countless really bad thunderstorms.  She said she really thought a tornado was forming just beside the property as the wind was insane.  A weather station near the farm (less than a mile) reported a gust of 109mph!   She lost quite a few shingles and today, in the light of day, she will check our house and property.  

As one weather expert said, it's like the city of Houston experienced a direct hit by a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane that lasted full on for an hour.  Another said that a storm like this has not impacted such a large metropolitan area and will be remembered for years to come in the Houston area.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we will venture to the farm to see the damage up close.

SO THIS HAPPENED WHILE MOWING AND ECLIPSE UPDATE

Saturday was a perfect day for mowing.  I thought about skipping, but with heavy rain in the forecast, I figured if I waited, it would be even worse this weekend and maybe too wet to mow then.

So, it was a great day of mowing, cool breeze and just perfect weather.  I was having a great time until a glitch happened that hadn't ever happened before.

I was mowing a trail and I went through an area where the branches were hanging across the path.  I did as I always do, ducked down and drove slowly through them.  However, on one of the branches (mesquite), a thorn caught my hat and pulled it off.  I stopped the mower and got off and looked around to see where it landed and thought, "why are things so blurry?"

My glasses were gone as well.  Oops!

I looked around, but let's be honest, if you need glasses to see clearly, looking for your glasses without said glasses, well, it just doesn't work, ha.  I went over to 2nd Family (she was out mowing as well) and asked her to come help me look.  

On the ground?  No.

Under the mower?  No.

In the brush?  No.

Not sure if you can see in the photo above but they are there.  In plain site.

Here is a closeup:

They were hanging in the branch!

Ha!  I think we both spotted them about the same time.  Hey, I kept my heart rate under control so that was good, LOL!  I thanked her and we each went about the rest of our mowing adventures.

It was about average.  A few spots I skipped but overall, a great day to mow.

And get things looking ship shape for another couple of weeks (hopefully).  I did a little edging but remembered what the doctor said and took my time and didn't overdo.  I can finish next weekend, no hurry.

OK, so it was cloudy, overcast and sprinkling most of the day yesterday.  Not very conducive to seeing the eclipse, even if at 95%.  When you wake up and it's dark skies and then it gets darker for a few minutes and goes back to just still dark, it's not very noticeable, ha.

2nd Family took this pic...

...using a phone camera through the glasses.  It didn't get this dark, ha, but still pretty cool.  She said the same thing, it was dark and gray but with a few breaks in the clouds and she was able to get this one.

And I wish I could take credit for this one, I just found it on social media with no credit to who came up with it.  It was too cute not to share.  But now, you can say you have seen the full (Oreo) eclipse!  😀

TOTAL ECLIPSE 2024

Texas, indeed all the states along the path of totality, is in full blown eclipse-mania!

Here is the path, for those of you in the line, please comment after it happens and let us know your experience.  It should be fun.  We've had a few partial eclipses and while neither Houston nor the farm, will be in the path of totality, the farm will be at 95.7%.

Here is what it would look like at the exact location of the farm and below are our particulars:

In Houston, both of us will be at work when it happens, it will be at 94.06% of totality.  So, not much difference between here and 45 miles closer to the path.

CLICK HERE to put in your zip code and find out what you'll get to see (or not see, ha).

We were driving last week and saw these freeway signs.  Normally they tell about accidents or drive times but they changed them for today:

SOLAR ECLIPSE MONDAY DELAYS POSSIBLE

Yep, I think that's a given.

NO STOPPING ON HIGHWAY TO VIEW ECLIPSE

Seems kind of obvious but you know there will be cars lined up along the shoulder anyway.

But we have our glasses ready, I'll try from work, 2nd Man will try from the apartment.  2nd Family is going to try to get some outdoor pics when it happens, would be cool to see how dark it gets out there at the farm, though the weather may not cooperate for those of us around the area.

And remember,

DON'T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN!