Weather here in the Valley

It's really nippy outside!  Yesterday our high topped out around 94 degrees.  Right now it's 62 outside, no sun and a slight breeze out of the North West.  Predicted high?  79 degrees!!  I love it...we also had some rain over night.  I love hearing it on the roof...lulled me right back to sleep.

This will last a couple days and by mid week we could see temperatures top 100.

The last two days have been good for me.  I made some soup and froze some for later.  I've been able to do my chores (dang) and even managed a couple of walks.  I know the walking helps keep me in shape, but it also helps keep my hips from hurting so much.  The sciatica is still lingering (toes are numb and at times my left calf is painful) but isn't as debilitating as it once was.  If it never comes back I'll be one happy camper.

Now that our neighbors have pulled out I can enjoy their flowers.  Anne's site has a beautiful bougainvillea and a hedge of  a plant I can't remember the name of.  I miss Anne and Scotty,

 but I'm enjoying the view.

Bentsen Palm Resort has been planted with trees, bushes and local flora to attract birds and butterflies.  One of the World Birding Centers is at the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park practically across the road from us.  Down the street is the National Butterfly Center.

Migration is an interesting time here.  Both Autumn and Spring.  They do a hawk count at the state park and that event brings folks from all over.  Birders 'flock' to the area during migrations!

It's 0930 and I guess I'll have to pry Jim out of bed.  He must have had a rough night.  His alarm went off and he just turned if off and went back to bed two hours ago.

All is right in our world

Sunny day

What a week! Last Sunday the temperatures was in the low 80's, Jim and I went biking over to the state park and in the afternoon we went to Retama for the open house

Then winter set in with an Arctic blast of cold weather and we actually had freezing temperatures for 3 days running.

not the best pictures but that's ice on the palm tree

so much ice it flattened our palm!

Yesterday was nice, but today it was spectacular! Anne, Pat and I took a ride over to the state park and had a nice leisurly ride. the hawk tower is still closed

Altamira Oriole enjoying an orange

bees swarming (spring is in the air)

Vermilion flycatcher just enjoying the view near the resaca

When we got back to the resort we settled on Anne's patio and had a refreshing beer. Scotty and Jim were there and soon Vern joined us. Then Dan arrived and after another beer we called Amy and before you know it we were happy! LOL Happy hour was fun, Anne and I started setting out food and Pat dashed home and brought more so we all had good eats. Meatballs, bread, veggies, chips, cheese and crackers, some pepperoni and no one went hungry. We even had a Boston Creme Pie for dessert

Home before dark and I showered and managed to watch the Super Bowl half time show with the Black Eyed Peas...pretty cool. Don't really care who wins but I do like watching the game

Bentsen RGV State Park

Late this morning Jim and I went for a ride in the State Park. We wanted to see first hand how much of the park was open and I'm happy to report that all the road ways are open so biking is a pleasure once again. The hawk tower trail is still closed as is the boat ramp to the resaca.

it would be nice to paddle around the resaca because it looks like the water is up a couple feet

This afternoon was the open house at Retama Village next door. They had free hot dogs, popcorn and cold water. We rode over and checked out the new house and a couple of the coach houses. We go every year so we didn't have to see everything. We ladies were getting over heated (temperature was above 80!) and decided we'd seen enough so led the way home.

Once home Jim, Pat, Anne and I sat on our patio enjoying the breeze and cold drinks. That beer sure tasted good! Vern and Scotty came over and enjoyed some cold beers too. Not sure how long the six of us sat there but we enjoyed the company of our friends.

For dinner we had tacos and I just had to take pictures of our sunset. Most of the pictures are on Facebook. It was a perfect ending to our beautiful day. It's hard to believe that in a few days we'll have freezing temperatures.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

It's a New Year

I hope you didn't miss me to much. :) Just didn't feel like writing. Life here is laid back even though Jim is working. I think our social life has slowed down a bit which is ok by me but when there isn't anything to write about except housework I find it tedious to blog.

We did attend the New Year's Eve party here at the resort. It's always fun but most of us were ready to go home around 2200! After all we normally go to bed at this time!

Jim is enjoying the kayak trips and more folks are signing up for them. The resort is almost full.

We had some excitement awhile back. From our end of the resort we can see the parking lot for the Bentsen State Park and we noticed a fire the other day. Turned out it was a class C motor home. Fortunately the couple had left and were on their way to the park. They heard a pop, turned around and saw their home go up in flames. They lost almost everything. They're from Canada and can't return until they get passports and her ID.

They're staying here at our resort in a casita and many people supplied them with the necessary items to help them out the first couple of days. They now have a rental car and they recovered a few charred bins from the rig. I'm told their insurance company is covering the full price of the 4 month old rig.

Bentsen Palm RV Resort Mission, Texas

We arrived in Mission on Thursday around 1300 and it was hot! The thermometer said 90 and on a concrete pad that heat just melts you. Our drive from Corpus Christi was without incident and one of the things I noticed about the drive was how green everything is. On one stretch of highway I saw 8-10 Cara Cara's! These stately birds are beautiful and to see so many was indeed a treat for me.

Jim worked all afternoon setting up and getting things tidy outside. I stayed inside and enjoyed the air conditioning. Pat and Vern arrived on Wednesday and invited us out for pizza so we headed to Pizza Hut and had fun catching up with them.

I have this pretty pink rose in my garden area.

Yesterday I was up at 0700 and watched the sun come up. It will be interesting to see the progression of the suns path through the 6 months we'll be here.

Yesterday was bed day so I stripped the sheets off and got them in the washer. Jim headed outside to start getting the salt spray off the rig and wash the windows. I made a run to HEB and was back in time for lunch.

Anne and Scotty were on their way and we ladies were texting one another on our progress to the valley. Anne didn't know I was already here! She knew we'd arrived first because we were closer. They arrived around 1600 and in no time at all they were set up.

Pat had fixed sloppy joes and salad and we were invited along with the Scott's and Jeni and Don the managers here at Bentsen Palm Resort. We had a wonderful time catching up and we got home just after 2000.

We relaxed until 2200 and then hit the sack. I for one slept well.

One disappointing thing, the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park is not open. The flooding earlier this year has taken a toll and I haven't heard when it will re-open.

I was up just before 0700 this morning. Did some exercises, made my coffee then opened the blinds. It’s a gloomy sky out there! Clouds, clouds and more clouds with high humidity! When I checked the forecast my disposition changed, I can do gloomy for awhile if the temperature goes up! 78 is the fore casted high for today.

For breakfast I had an toasted English muffin, Yum.

After Jim got up this morning I dressed, made the bed, started a load of laundry and washed the dishes. Then I made myself another cup of coffee.

Jim spent some time washing the truck and that made the sun come out! Seriously that’s when the clouds dissipated and the sun came out and warmed us up. By the time I finished lunch and did the dishes it was 75 degrees outside and time for a bike ride.

Anne and I went over to Bentsen State Park and we couldn’t help noticing that spring is here. Some of the trees are leafing out and we both enjoyed seeing the new growth. Saw a Roadrunner, some Javalinas, green jays, Kiskadee, chachalacas, cardinals, doves and all the other birds flitting about.

this rose bush is at the entrance to Bentsen Palm RV Resort

For the life of me I cannot remember the name of this plant but it's just inside our resort on the left and it has two buds. I keep you posted as they bloom.

We're going to a dance at the clubhouse tonight. First afternoon coffee, then dinner and then dancing!

There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. ~Edwin Denby

First in Club

Monday Started out sunny and bright! Early morning we got a call from friends in Llano Grande inviting us to ride at Bentsen state park. So we headed over to the park once the dishes were done and the bed made.

We met up with Marilyn and Ed and their party in the parking lot. I think there were around 20 of us riding through the park. Everyone on bicycles except for Jim and I on our trikes. A few had never been before and we stopped often to see birds and javalinas. Among the birds we saw, green jays, kiskadees, cardinals and doves. We even saw a baby javalina....

We left them when they stopped for lunch at the picnic area. We made plans to meet Marilyn and Ed on Tuesday for a trip to Mexico.

We came home and had some lunch then headed out to get some cash for out trip and fuel for the truck. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the sun!

I've included pictures of the First In Club. If you check in the first three weeks of October you belong to this exclusive club. :) Jenni and Don the managers here at Bentsen Palm Resort hosted a tamale party while the rest of us brought side dishes. Anne, above with Scotty and to the left with her face covered, brought a beautiful mixed salad.

This lovely lady in Black is Jenni.

to the left is Don, Below is Vern and Pat, she brought a pineapple cream cheese dessert that everyone loved.

Marilyn and Jerry to the left. She brought a corn dish that she buys from Schwans and tweaked, very tasty! Oh, I brought charro beans new to a few of the guests.



Below is Mark and Terry, they brought their margarita machine and treated us to tasty margaritas all evening!

Anne to the left and Don below. As the evening wore on it did get chilly. But we had a beautiful sunset to end our sunny day.

Platinum is Jenni and Don's friendly dog. sometime after 2000 the party broke up and we were home in time to watch Castle

Dreary Weather

It's been cold and dreary the past couple days. We mostly stay indoors and watch tv, read, play games on the computer or in my case crochet.

Yesterday Anne and I went out and one of our stops was the Veterans Memorial here in Mission. It's in the Convention District behind the the Convention Center. We were both impressed by the size of it! It covers all the conflicts our country has been in. There's no way I can do justice to it with these few pictures. If you're in the area be sure to stop and see it.

There are statues of women

and Men

Some of the bricks are engraved with names of the fallen. There are walls of names of those who have fallen. I want to go back on a sunny day to get a better look at all of it.

I think I mentioned our bike ride in the state park the other day. I took these pictures and forgot to post them

The butterfly population has dropped but if you're patient you can still find them and get some pictures.

The park didn't suffer much from the freeze we had and seeing the green against the blue sky was simple gorgeous.

The palm trees are pretty

Today was a good day to stay inside. Mid 50's and no sun. Anne, Scotty, Jim and I went to the movies and saw Old Dogs with John Travolta and Robin Williams. Funny movie! The four of us laughed a lot...I laughed so much I had tears running down my face. Good movie to see on a dreary day!

After the movie the four of us had dinner at Chili's and we got home just before 2000.

Where does the time go?

Our cold weather ended and we had a lovely sunshiny day yesterday. It was fun walking around the resort yesterday and seeing folks enjoying the sun and warmer temperatures. We went for a ride in Bentsen State Park. Not much to see as it was mid day and oddly enough it was quite empty. I guess there wasn't time to enjoy an outing, everyone was probably out shopping for the holidays. Jim, Anne and I just liked being out in the fresh air!

The frost we had the other night killed off the tomatoes and peppers. But I still have beets coming up in my garden plot. Anne has turnips! It's a good thing we don't have to rely on our gardening skills to survive! :)

Today started out foggy and chilly but the sun came out and it warmed up nicely. I saw my doctor at the VA Center and I guess I'll be around for a while longer. I need to work on lowering my cholesterol with exercise and diet. No meds yet.

When we got home I had a big package from Sonsearae to open! Mostly magazines and catalogs but she also included some coffee for Jim and cosmetics for me. Also a cute Yorkie key chain, it's already in my purse!

We spent some time over at Anne and Scotty's place. We shared a bottle of wine while Jim had beer. Again the weather cooperated and we enjoyed good conversation and shared some laughs. I wanted to check the mail box for mail (my birthday is tomorrow) so Anne and I rode down but no mail for me! then we stopped by the garden for a few laughs. On the way home we stopped and chatted with several people.

We've had dinner, just leftovers and now Jim is watching Alice on the syfy channel. Two parter that started last night.

The windows are open on this balmy night and I can hear the crickets. We also smelled a skunk not to long ago! I don't think it will be to cold tonight.

Time flies when you're having fun!

When evening comes I'm usually brain dead and don't feel like doing the blog. So I don't. :)

Rest assured, we are enjoying our days! Each day we have chores, as any home owner has. Dishes, bed making, laundry for me and outside Jim takes care of cleaning the rig and maintaining it and the truck.

Yesterday while Jim was putting new tires on his trike this lovely butterfly came along and took a break. I guess he was warming his toes on the rim. Jim also had tires and tubes on the driveway and several butterflies were enjoying the warmth. It was neat to see

Last night we had dinner with Anne and Scotty, stuffed peppers! I made some cornbread to go with and we split a bottle of wine. After dinner we started discussing our plans for our western trip in the spring. I fear if we stop everywhere we want we'll be in Washington state next year at this time! Our plan is to head west to the coast and up but right now we've only two stops planned in Texas.

When I took Boo for a walk yesterday I came across this little beauty. It was interesting to watch and a lot of fun trying to snap a picture! I only had my phone with me and Boo wasn't ready to stand still. I took at least 6 pictures and this was the only one with the wings open.

Yesterday afternoon Jim, Anne, Scotty and I went for a ride in Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. The weather was perfect for it! Mid 70's, sunny and a slight breeze. We have bike paths here and we continued around on those circling our resort. I took some pictures but I'll share them another time.

We have fog this morning and it's a wee bit chilly in the rig. Since Jim is sleeping under the comforter I don't want to turn on the furnace. I'll wake him in a bit and I'm sure he'll turn it on!

Take time to stop and smell the roses even if it's only in your mind!