Spring, Texas

We're in a beautiful RV resort in Spring, Texas; a suburb on the north side of Houston.

The trip down has been eventful this year. 

We'd planned to stop at the home of our friends Jake and Candy. This May they bought a ranch close to McKinney, Texas. The ranch has two parking spaces for Rvs, a very attractive option in our opinion. It would be a fun stay with our friends who would later meet us in the Rio Grande Valley for the month of January. We were saddened to learn  early in November that Jake had a heart attack. We spent an afternoon with Candy touring their ranch and the home they are redesigning, and had such a nice visit. Complications have lengthened Jake's stay in the hospital but he will be on his way to a rehabilitation facility soon. We'll stop at their home in March and see Jake when he's back up to speed.

We are staying at Rayford Crossing RV Resort, a place reccommended by friends Joe and Barb Stackman. We often go to places that friends have stayed in and enjoyed.

The entry

The office and general store

The pool is very nice

We're in an end lot, my favorite because the yard is larger.

Check out the Christmas decor on our street lamp!

There's a dog park here and of course Bella wants to visit every 20 minutes or so.

Just off the path I noticed a tree down with some unusual markings.

I was surprised to see evidence of beavers at Jake and Candy's ranch, and then found the same thing here! What's this about Texas and beavers?

Hallowe'en 2012

Mister Pumpkin Head

Mom had to pre-punch the holes in for Coen.

"The pirate's eye patch is upside down" says Mom.

One of the finished pumpkins.

My daughter certainly has a lot of my characteristics.

The Burkes are known in the neighborhood for their carved pumpkins.

One more from Jeff and Amber's house.

And one a friend brought over. 

Amber and Jeff live in wonderful area for Hallowe'en. The homes in their neighborhood are largely owned by young adults with children, and the streets fill with kids shortly before dark. Coen's girlfriend Zoey brings her parents over too.

Every year they hand out candy to 600 - 800 kids.

YEEEEHAWWW -Cowboy Coen!

Be sure to notice the lasso. It was a very important part of the costume in Coen's opinion.

Coen's "mean" look

He and Zoey had a great night and scored lots of candy, but they had more fun handing out treats after they got back to the house.

Just starting out for the evening.
I'm in the background, waiting to hand out treats for roaming goblins.

Coen and his cowgirl Zoey.

'Til next year!

Protecting the Plants

We're in Kansas, and it froze last night!

YES! FROZE!!

I don't remember the last time we experienced freezing weather but it may have been spring of 2010, when we left Texas too early.

It was clear I'd have to bring the plants in or suffer the lack of fresh mint for my mojitos. Well, of course I brought the plants in - we don't live like savages you know!!!

I watered the plants outside and waited half an hour. I then tilted the pots to let the excess water drain out. I got a plastic tablecloth, folded it to the right size and placed it carefully over the carpet. We didn't want to make a mess, did we?

My mint plants had a tough time with the heat this summer but have recovered nicely. I do take good care of them as I do love me those mojitos! As you can see they're in good shape.

Now let's zoom out a little so you can get a better look.

The little planter on the right shaped like a cat is filled with rose moss.

A pleasant plant but not important to mojitos.

That's a good thing!

Turns out the cats love rose moss. There was some interest early in the evening that we found entertaining. After we went to bed the carnage began. It must have been a glorious time, because the damage was extreme.

The forecast tonight is below freezing again. The plants will spend the night inside. 

Yes, the cats will too.