September 19, 2017

Autumn Leaves
September 19, 2017

Scarecrow driving the wagon I got in Albuquerque -

 filled with bales of hay and pumpkins

If there are any autumn leaves falling in South Texas, it is only because of strong winds from Hurricane Harvey that skirted our area; or they are leaves that died from the heat.  It is still hot here.  We don't have many trees that actually change the color on their leaves when it gets cold - if it gets cold.  Our seasons are not typical here.  They are hot and hotter.

Young Green Heron that lives in our back yard

I see it has been a month since I wrote a blog entry.  This time it was not like the last few weeks were so busy that I just didn't have time.  This time, many of my evenings were quiet and there were no commitments for that evening.  I think what happened is that the last few months of very busy times, finally caught up with me and I just "crashed" when I got home from work most evenings

Great Kiskadee

This last month I have done a lot of reading and some bird watching.  It is migration time and the hummingbirds are flitting in and out of the yard, often chasing one another and not always stopping for a drink.  I must fill the feeders this evening because they have drained them dry.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Usually the little warblers and other small colorful birds spend their time on the waterfalls and I have trouble getting good photos of them.  This year the waterfalls are in need of being rebuilt and thankfully, those little birds are spending time on the large elephant fountain where I get a good view.  Apparently they also get a good view of me, because if I so much as move, they fly away quickly.

Wilson's Warbler

There have been assorted activities during the past month, like birthday parties for grandchildren .  I have had a lot of time to work on quilts that are in progress and unfinished.  I have finished several and am very pleased to have progressed on them.  I have also done some housework , not enough, but more than the previous few months.  My sewing room got organized a few weeks ago, but I not sure you could tell it now.

The cake I made for one of our grandsons for his birthday party

I mentioned a hurricane in our area.  That was Hurricane Harvey which by-passed Brownsville about a hundred miles off shore and proceeded to clobber the middle and upper coast of Texas, battering the area just north of Corpus Christi and inundating the areas around Houston with massive amounts of water, flooding huge sections of that part of the state.  Here,  Harvey gave us about 1/8" of an inch of rain at our house and some very gusty winds, but nothing that came anywhere near what the upper coast of Texas suffered through.

One completed quilt top -

 a friend will machine quilt it soon.

Since our tiny brush from Harvey, Hurricane Irma has done major damage from the Caribbean, to Florida, and to several other states.  Following Irma is Hurricane Jose, Hurricane Katia, (which even though it went into Mexico south of us, gave us about 5 1/2" of rain over about a week).  Then there is Hurricane Maria, which is inflicting major damage in the islands south east of Florida,  and Hurricane Lee, while Tropical Depressions Norma and Otis are dying out and aren't posing problems at this time.

Canada Warbler


Our church has teams that can help after a storm or other crisis.  They have two mobile kitchens and can feed about 2,500 meals each, a day.  Many church members have taken turns helping in the small communities around Corpus Christi.  They may end up helping in other places in the days and weeks to come.  Our son from McAllen led teams of 60 city workers twice to help in some of the hardest hit small communities, collecting brush and repairing parts of their water systems.  Texans help each other.  This is a great state!

Young Lesser Goldfinch

When I flew to Albuquerque for Easter weekend, our daughter-in-law and I went shopping at an antique mall and I picked out a small wagon, in which I fixed a fall arrangement.  I also made another arrangement.  In the past year or so, I have not had the energy to do this kind of seasonal decorating, so I know I am getting better.

Another completed quilt top waiting to be quilted

As for my hearing , I have encountered a little problem and I just have not decided where it is coming from.  The sound processor on the Cochlear equipment has been cutting out some and it is hard to tell where the problem is.  I was about ready to send the sound processor in for work, but then remembered early on with the device, I had a bad cable that caused a similar problem.  Hopefully this coming weekend I can put some time into solving the problem.

Young Hooded Oriole

In the past I know I have told you I still hear "the music" in my head.  An irritating thing is that lately it seems when I am in noisy situations, the music gets louder so it can be the loudest sound I hear.  That was a problem last weekend at a birthday party for our youngest McAllen grandson.

Young Green Jay

There are so many things going on with our sons and their families that it has been hard to keep up.  We have fun times ahead and a slew of birthdays in the next three months.  We will soon be going to the Quilt Festival in Houston and a Flight Instructor's class for Ron in Austin.  We would really like to go to Dallas again to see our youngest grandchild.  It has been too long since we have seen him (about 2 months).  He is growing and changing every day.

American Goldfinch

When we go to Houston for the Quilt Festival I will have an appointment with the audiologist for my yearly check-up on the Cochlear equipment.  My hearing will be tested and any necessary adjustments to the sound processor will be made at that time.