Whew. I got through the first day at the new job. Talk about information overload! At least I understand much of it!
Just relaxing by the pool and enjoying the giant balloon vine.
Everyone was nice, and I can sure see why they brought me in. I’m glad I’ll have some juicy challenges to deal with and that I can help, I hope. My team lead said they were referring to me as She Who Must Not Be Named, because they didn’t want to jinx it.
I’d say the only bad part is having to go to two-hour meetings starting at 7 am…every day. I guess I’ll be going to bed even earlier now!
I’ll enjoy the extra money, though, and the smart folks I get to work with. See, I can handle change. I just get tired easily, you know, because I’m old.
Actually, my stress level is a bit lower, now that the house is on the market and Anita’s tenant has moved out. Just a couple more dominoes to fall, and we can get back to just taking pandemic precautions. Maybe.
I was heading over to Sara’s horse playground today to get some poles for my playground. Fiona and Apache were in the dry pasture (unhappily). As I approached on Hilda the utility vehicle, Fiona began to walk away.
Maybe Suna will open the gate.
I noticed that there was a little bird beside her. How cute, I thought. Then I noticed it was going with her.
Let’s go over here!
I wondered why the heck she suddenly had a bird friend. Then, right before my eyes, I figured it out.
That blob above the poop piles is the bird catching a bug.
Yes, the little starling had figured out that as she walked, Fiona was stirring up bugs, making it easy to catch them. I was charmed as I watched them head out the gate and into the pasture. I guess that will be one sated bird!
While I was over at Sara’s, I watched her work with Aragorn on his playground. It was fun to see all the things he can do. Someday I’ll be able to side pass and all that cool stuff. I did get a nice preview of things I’ll learn in the future, which was a lot of fun.
Her serpentine setup looks much more legit than mine!
I looked to my right as she was riding and realized I was not the only audience member. There were many moos of applause, and I was happy to see Aragorn totally ignoring them, as he should.
That horse is fascinating.
I took all my poles (seen below) and put them in the round pen, for Apache’s future practice. I hope I have time to ride him and check it out tomorrow.
Sara’s fancy circle world, and my poles loaded on Hilda.
That’s baby chickens, not humans. I’ve been informed I won’t be having grandchildren. But, Star has been setting on three real eggs and one fake one for a while now. I’m guessing chicks will show up any day now. So, it was time to get ready for them.
She is in a cardboard box in the “hospital pen” (her choice). Rain gets in there and can’t drain, so it’s not ideal for babies, but the cage is well protected, so that’s good. I set out to fix things, with the help of the usual helper, who happened to show up for a day or two. Here’s what we did.
First, I put Star in a different box, which I had cut an exit in, for when the chicks come. She was pissed off, especially when I didn’t replace the fake egg. I forgot hens can count.
I’m not pleased.
I cleaned the tray where rain had pooled, and Star wasn’t thrilled with that either, but you can’t have chicks in a puddle.
Babette, who has a head injury and is isolated, was also not thrilled.
Next, we went over to the spare metal storage area and got two pieces that will block rain from coming in, as well as protect from winter winds. It went up great!
The yellow sign also protects the other side from rain. Two sides are still open for ventilation.
I think we did a good job being creative. I had noticed that the bottom of the cage had some openings that a chick might get through, so another cardboard box came to the rescue. We made a nice barrier that will also keep chicks in for a few weeks while Star can exit to eat.
“Hey! Get me down from here!” At least it’s easy to move Star to work on the cage.
Now I’m ready for chicks. Maybe this time some will make it! I have to go to Austin to get my hair done next Wednesday, so I’ll put out food and water before I leave, just in case.
“I feel cozy now.”
And now to relax a bit before tomorrow. I have talked to my son and my dear step-sister today, so I’m not even feeling like a hermit!
Today our Master Naturalist group got to do something I’d been wanting to do since I moved here, which was visit the Gault Site, a really significant place only an hour away from Cameron. I’m so glad we got this arranged, and that it didn’t rain us out today.
the intrepid Master Naturalists, and our host
I just about didn’t get there, since I almost forgot to feed Granny, then couldn’t load my map software, so I had no idea how to get there. Next, I read the transcript of my voicemail from my friend Pamela, and it said the trip was off (in reality that is not what she said). So I went home, re-listened to the message, and loaded the OTHER map software and made it to the place only a minute late.
We enjoyed the benches that meant we didn’t have to stand for four hours.
The Gault Site is private property, so you have to arrange for a visit. But the cool part is that the executive director of the Gault School of Archeological Research, Clark Wernecke, gave the tour. He is one of the best tour guides I ever heard, full of information, humor, and fun. I’m sure he’s done the spiel dozens and dozens of times, but he is so enthusiastic that you’d never know it. I sure learned a lot from him.
Telling us about the layers of soil beneath us.
The site is between Florence and Salado, in a beautiful area that borders a lot of limestone quarries. That’s the key. The area is perfectly sited for human occupation, and apparently has been for at least 16,000 years. That’s right. They found evidence of people living here before the Clovis age, which was previously thought to be the earliest humans lived in the Americas. Wrong!
I just found it beautiful.
So, yes, this is a very important place. It is full, and I mean full, of tools and weapons made from chert, of which flint is one type. It’s the rocks that were all over my old neighborhood in Brushy Creek. They are a kind of natural glass, and wow, are they hard and can be very sharp! The scientists know exactly how each piece they found was used, because they do all sorts of sophisticated tests on them. What looks like a little shard to me could be a part of something interesting, or more likely, things they carved off when making tools, like adl-adls, scraping tools, axes, digging tools and cutting tools.
the rocks behind him have chert nodules in them.
Chert, and our introduction to limestone layers
They area has big mounds in it, called middens, that are where people cooked in rock ovens, threw away trash, etc. That’s where lots and lots of implements were found, as well.
The tools Dr. Wernecke shared
And there is a site of a mammoth kill, which there are only four of in this continent. Dr. Wernecke explained that people didn’t actually go around chasing mammoths. They caught less dangerous and easier things, and ate them for the most part (deer, the horses that used to live here, rabbits, turtles, fish and such). He kept reminding us that people back then were just like us, and would choose what was easier and less dangerous when they could. That made sense.
big trees like to grow in middens
One more fascinating find at the Gault Site was the first evidence of a “building” – a rock foundation in the shape of a rectangle. They knew people used it, because they found different kinds of debris on each side.
The cattle belong to the property owner.
I was disappointed to realize that they are no longer digging for artifacts here and have filled in all the places where they dug. But, they have four million or so things to look at, and that will take a long, long time to analyze as it is. Some of our chapter members got to see the site when it was active, and I envy them! But, I’m glad they put things back to their original state, mostly.
Fern growing on a cliff. It’s a cliffbrake.
Also while we were there, we enjoyed hiking through the beautiful woodland valley. You could see how ancient peoples would have enjoyed it, even through the changes it’s gone through. They even found evidence of where the little creek used to go ages ago, which means it’s been there a long time!
Buttermilk Creek, full of fish
There are all kinds of trees, including many kinds of oaks, such as the delicious bur oak, whose acorns could feed people. There were also walnuts, bois d’Arc, cedar elms, and more. I saw lots of butterflies, especially Queen butterflies and honey bees on the frostweed that’s blooming right now.
Giant swallowtail on ash juniper
This place was magical and awe inspiring. To think that humans have lived in this area for so long is really humbling. If you ever get offered a chance to visit this important archeological site, please do. I’m not able to share all the fascinating facts we learned…there are just too many. But wow, it’s only an hour from my house that they found evidence of human settlement so long ago. Wow.
Oh, sniff. It’s so hard when you have to send your teens off for further education. They look like such wide-eyed babies, even when they are dapple gray quarter horse colts. And moving them into their dorms can be a real struggle. That was true for Drew today as well.
My baby heads off to training land. Look at those eyes.
Now, of course we are really glad it’s been raining a bit for the past few days. But, this morning was the Big Day that we were scheduled to take Drew off for training, and Apache also had a lesson scheduled. I knew the trainer doesn’t cancel lessons unless it’s raining at the time, so I went ahead and got Apache and Drew loaded into the trailer, while a steady drizzle fell. Apache was rather annoyed, and let me know. But, in he went, and I even figured out how to lock the door that separates the horses in the trailer, too.
Drew went in, too, though he entered as if he was jumping a hurdle. What a good boy. Right as we were getting leaving, we found out it was raining at the trainer’s house, so we parked again and sat on the porch, watching the rain. Apache was not a happy boy. Stomp, stomp. Sara gave us her appointment time, so we were able to head out later.
I don’t want to get out, sorry. But I appreciate the gentle pressure.
Now Drew was the star of the show. First, he had to get out of the trailer. You may recall that he is not really great at the exiting part of trailering. I was hoping he could have a good experience exiting today, with professional help.
I’m thinking of getting out, so I can hang out with the cute dog, and that sorta nice lady.
My dream came true, as the trainer patiently encouraged him to get off, without yelling or punishing him. He got closer and closer, becoming quite curious about what was outside, not scared! After about 15 minutes, he jumped out, and immediately started sniffing the poop of new horses. MMM.
Ooh, so many new smells. I think there are many friends here.
But, he was NOT there for fun. He was already at school! He got a great lesson on keeping out of the space of the human he’s with. He only took a few big corrections until he was getting the idea and needing much less correction. He went from tense to relaxed, too. It was great to watch, and I learned a lot.
I’m not getting it yet.
He went to his new paddock happily and tried to make friends with a mare. He did better than we thought he would. I think he liked it just fine. The trainer remarked that he was smart, learned quickly, and not a spooky boy. I was proud, even though I didn’t give birth to him; I just brought him home after the family found him for me!
Distracted
Figuring it out
Getting it.
Education time!
What happened to Apache, you ask? He finally got to get out of the trailer, and we had a short lesson in the same kind of thing Drew was learning, only he was a bit better at it. He should be, since I’ve been working on it, right? He got to eat a bit of grass and got some attention, so he got to feeling better. He loaded much better that time, so I’m glad he had a positive experience in the end.
I was busy walking Apache, so no photos of him. Here’s a happy egret enjoying a freshly filled pond.
I really miss Drew already. It felt weird not to feed him this evening. I keep looking for him in the field, too. I guess I got used to him pretty fast! But I have great hopes for him and for what he will learn when he’s in training. I want to spend many years together, so having a good start is important.
Poor Carol has had to work so hard staging the Bobcat Lair to sell. And Anita has done an incredible amount of hard cleaning and packing. But, wow, it looks so different!
The den (Anita’s living area), where you used to just walk down a narrow path.
Removing a zillion books and doo-dads that Anita and I love has made the house look all modern and spacious. It’s weird.
The mirrors are finally up in this bathroom. It’s so beautiful.
Yeah, barely looks like my house, but it should sell fast, we hope. I mean, heck, it has a wine room!
I needed that yesterday.
So, if you know a rich person who wants to live in a beautiful, quiet neighborhood in Austin with amazing neighbors, I can hook you up. Enjoy some more pictures. The professional guy comes today, and of course, it’s raining.
Whew. I got through my last day at this job pretty easily, because there was a workshop all morning that was sort of fun, other than a couple of people scowling at me for showing up. But, they couldn’t stop me!
Generic desk, devoid of Suna.
Two colleagues showed up at lunch, and we had a nice lunch in the courtyard, which is the part of the building I’ll miss the most. They then helped me load my car. My poor desk looked so empty.
It was good to see that Trevor is a real person.
At least I got to meet Trevor, the newest person on our team. He was nice in person, just like on Zoom.
t looks so fancy. I gave Anita those nice flowers for her birthday.
Then I went back to the Bobcat Lair, which doesn’t look at all like my house anymore. It should appeal to all bland people! I put a bunch of stuff in Lee’s car, so there is room in the garage for my son’s stuff to hide when they are taking pictures and showing the house.
The rug has been hiding since I got Carlton and he tried to tear it up. Nice rug.
I also did a lot of sitting and looking out the windows, because it’s so darn pretty.
This is our guest room, or would have been if it hadn’t been crammed with plants and boxes. It had a beautiful view.
Carol, our long-time friend and real estate agent, is working hard to get the house ready, and we sure do appreciate that. Things are just so crazy for me that I can’t stick around here to be of much help. But, I did a little, anyway.
Some of my wonderful book club neighbors.
Last night we had book club in the neighborhood, and they all seemed glad that Anita and I plan to continue to attend, even when we no longer live in Austin. I told Anita she could share my hotel room. I’d even give her a ride. (Sorry I didn’t get good photos of everyone; I love them all.)
Very sad friends.
My friends were SO sad about the house going on the market. But we had a great time. Friends make even hard transitions a little easier.
Today I went in to Austin, because it’s book club day, and the day after Anita’s birthday. I must hand out post-birthday hugs! And, I must remove things from the Bobcat Lair house, because the garage is full and they can’t store anything else in it to get ready for staging and photographs. Leaving my sanctuary is hard, hard, hard for me. I love the house, the neighborhood, my roommate, and the fantastic neighbors there. But, it makes sense to sell now, while it’s worth a lot of money (no matter how hideous we apparently made it when we lived there), and Lee and I need retirement income.
While I’m not feeling terribly happy right now, I do have my stickers on inanimate objects that I’ve had for many years. Luckily this lamp goes home with me.
I’m also in Austin so I can get ready to vacate my office at the company where I’ve worked ten years. I can tell you one thing: a Suna can accumulate a LOT of stuff in ten years, especially when she was still saving “important” papers from all her jobs since 2006.
I’m guessing Polycom is not going to ask me to do any more e-learning videos with so many acronyms they’re incomprehensible ever again, so I threw that stuff away. I also have stuff from every other time I’ve worked at Dell, and I’m not sure why those things were so important, either. I didn’t throw away all my old work pictures and stuff from when I had walls. I must find a place for my framed Breathe and Exhale images. I’ve loved them for so long that they are faded.
My stuff. It’s really not that much. One box is mostly Christmas decor.
This smiling face gets left at the office, since it’s on my monitor support beam.
Anyway, I have been having some wonderful conversations with colleagues that have made me feel better about my image in the company (no, it’s not all negative after all, which I suspected). I just got on the wrong side of some political thing or another, and that’s all I need to know. I do want to make this known: there are some absolutely wonderful folks in the place I’ve been working, with life experiences and ideas I’m so glad to have had a chance to learn about. I’m hoping the company thrives and moves forward, because its people are making such an effort.
I left this on the whiteboard.
Still, I am all excited about my new role, and not just because I get to keep working with material I helped create many years ago. I always like meeting smart new people. My new boss even sends nice emails! And my new laptop comes tomorrow. I’m ready to roll with the changes, whatever they may be.
I’ll miss this three-monitor setup, the adjustable-height desk, and of course the free fruit and beverages. I won’t miss the concrete pillar in front of me or working in the least-pleasant area of the whole building. And yes, I had a rear-view mirror. No sneaking up on me!
The field across the road from us was planted in cotton this year. Sometimes it’s corn or milo, bur this year was cotton. To me, it’s. The worst crop, because it takes so many chemicals to grow, from fertilizers to herbicides to defoliants.
Cotton, plus the cotton-moving tractor
I had been enjoying the cotton the last couple of weeks, because it made the field look snowy. I also like when it’s blooming. Cotton blossoms are so pretty.
Cotton blossom, from a cotton festival page.
I’m usually at work when they do the harvesting of cotton, but since I’ve been at home this time, and my nerves make me go for a lot of walk, I had some good times observing the harvest.
The harvesters as seen from our property.
If you know all about that, well, ignore this post. But if you think of cotton as being the thing that you take off your nail polish with or that makes up your t-shirts, you might like to see what they do to get the cotton off the plants.
There were two huge harvesting machines that went up and down, picking the cotton and putting it in giant round bales. The machines separate the cotton in the bolls from the stems, but I don’t think it takes the seeds out. I think they go to a cotton gin for that.
The machine on the right is about to poop out a bale. That is not the technical term, I’m pretty sure.
The machines must be very persnickety, because the guys brought a special pickup truck with lots and lots of tools for making repairs. They stopped to work on them a lot. But they made lots of cool stripes of brown amid the white.
See how snowy the unharvested parts are?
Once the machines poop out all the bales, a regular tractor comes along and picks the bales up, lining them up on the edge of the field. That will make them easier to take away to wherever it is that they take cotton.
I think the bales are really pretty. I was amazed at how much cotton came out of that field! It’s not that big of a field, but there is lots of white stuff there now.
Partway through.
I like picking up bits that blow off and looking at it. I can see how people can spin it, when the seeds are removed. In any case, it’s sometimes fun to have a wee bit of agriculture to watch. This is the only cultivated field on our entire road! The rest is cow pasture, woods, or flood plain. And our lovely ranch houses, of course.
Cottony soft!
I also enjoyed the pretty skies yesterday when I took these pictures. It’s getting cloudy now. And today’s post-harvest work involved plowing in the plants, which has created clouds and clouds of dust. It was not fun to go shut the gate with that business going on. Now I know how the dust bowl happened, plowing in all this dry weather.
Thanks for bearing with me while I avoid ranting for another couple of days.
So, I’ve had to get two new tires in the past few months, and now Lee had his own tire surprise. As he was turning onto the main road in Cameron, he heard a noise and lost ten pounds of air pressure.
What the heck?
He made it to the tire store before it lost all its air. We were all surprised by the photo above. How did a nut driver get into his tire? It’s so big. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something this big get it. Lee says it must have been sticking up at just the right angle. That poor man has sure had a lot of breakdowns and such lately.
The culprit.
At least it could be repaired. I hope it’s a good one, because I have to drive the Tahoe to Austin tomorrow so I can put stuff in it from the Bobcat house. There’s no more room in the garage for things the stager rejects.
That house has got to go on the market! I’m sorta scared to go in there in case I might muss something up.
I’d rather be with Penney running around in the empty pool.
Not really looking forward to the last two days at work. I’ll miss my desk, the courtyard, and the coffee machines.
The Hermits' Rest 