webcamXP

Last night I downloaded and installed the latest version of webcamXP-webcam7.  http://www.webcamxp.com/download.aspx   This allows me to do time lapse and motion capture from my various webcams....thanks again Neil for the technical support.

Spent the afternoon prepping the south wing for the next pour.  Got all the forms set - including the steel 4x4's for the next door frame.  Plucked a nice looking tomato off my big plant to go with dinner tonight.  54,70,30,0,C

IT Tuesday

Got some extra gear and a new wireless webcam in the mail today.  On the phone for a couple of hours with my IT guy in the UK sussing out all the technical details.  Now TFL is under 24 hour video surveillance with all cameras recorded and stored off site....just in case something other than a longhorn comes to visit. 58,72,29,0,C

IPcam

Finally got around to firing up the IPcam again - its been offline since April.  Gave the housing, camera, and lens a good cleaning.  Had to patch the last bad cow cable chew then I built a temporary rig to find a good spot off my front porch.  As soon as I decide on the final point of view, I will weld up something permanent.  Began setting block in the south wing to prep for a fourth level of pavers.  51,69,23,0,B

Level 3 Paved

40,62,23,0,C

north wind...

Nice and sunny and calm when I headed north this morning.  About half way to Alpine, I ran into the cold front.  Wind, clouds and cooler temps.  Hit Johnson Feed and McCoys first.  Swung by the Farmers Market and only one table left up there - my friends Mark and Debbie.  Bought a jar of organic mustard relish.  Had lunch at La Yarda with my buddy Paul who is camping in the Davis Mountains this weekend.  Too cold to dine outside so we hunkered down inside the Murphy St. Raspa Co.  It was a very good lunch!

By the time I got home the winds were really blowing out here with a bit of a dust storm.  Too chilly to do any outside work - so I unpacked the goods and got a head start on my Sunday house cleaning.  Just after sunset, David (the payphone master) showed up to install the new phone.  He gave me some parts for the final hookup which I will do tomorrow.  In for a freeze tonight so I covered the tomato plants and brought the lettuce and chard inside for a slumber party.  44,55,39,0,W

Grey Friday...

Celebrated Black Friday by not spending any money.  Will continue the celebration by spending money tomorrow at the Alpine Farmers Market.  Cloudy day all day and some light drizzle on'n'off.  Set forms and poured a transition step on the east end of the courtyard.  Had a nice break of sun at the end of the day and a hot shower.  58,63,46, .02",B

time and a half...

Decided the best way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year (and the lack of harvest from my greenhouse) was to work and not eat all day.  Perhaps I will be ready for a real home grown feast next year.  Put in 8 hours backfilling the area with 5 wheelbarrow loads of desert dirt, leveling more sand, then got over 100 more pavers laid.  Cheers to all that got stuffed and lazily watched a football game all afternoon.  That's on the list for next Thanksgiving here at TFL.

Had a late afternoon visit from my new friend Jens Smits - from Germany.  He is a chemical engineer that has been away from home working in Houston for the past 4 weeks.  He is taking some time off to visit the Big Bend and is also a geocacher (Angepitou).  He got the mini tour then zeroed right in on the find here at TFL.  Awful nice of him to drop me a bottle of wine.  63,76,35,0,B

bucket cows...

Like mother/like daughter.  Beatrice and Penelope decided to drink out of buckets today.  Normally the longhorns will find any bit of old dishwater to lap up - but this time they both got a good clean drink - after all, they're family.

Gotta head start on the next level of pavers this afternoon.  54,78,34,0,B

22 bags and a little melon...

Mixed up and poured 22 bags of concrete to fill the waiting blocks.  Short lunch break for a melon snack.
55,75,45,0,B

NRA Monday

Started off with a foggy morning.  Prepped the next section for leveling sand for pavers but checked the check list and discovered I need to fill blocks with concrete first.  Wasn't up for the task so had a big lunch down south with Chuck then came home and took a nap.

Good news from the NRA to wrap up 2011.  http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=7180    Also from the NRA - November 16:  The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an important self-defense measure that would enable millions of Right-to-Carry permit holders across the country to carry concealed firearms while traveling outside their home states. H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, passed by a majority bipartisan vote of 272 to 154. All amendments aimed to weaken or damage the integrity of this bill were defeated.

With the increasing incidents of violence against the OWS protesters across the country - I wonder if this legislation will make it through the Senate and be signed into law by the president.  62,82,52,0,B

Sun(day)Warrior

Spent a couple of hours working on Aunt Kathy's screen room today - cutting tubing to add to the existing structure.  Filled the afternoon setting block along the SE container for the next section of pavers.  Tried a new supplement suggested by my food forest hero Anthony Anderson.  I don't eat breakfast very often so I reckon its time to get in the habit of a healthy start to the day.  I quit drinking coffee, but green tea and cigarettes is probably not a balanced breakfast.  The powder is pretty good mixed in just plain water. I will have to try it with some milks or juices.  http://www.sunwarrior.com/products/sunwarrior-protein    They have a nice range of "good for you" products.  Topped off the day with a splashy sunset.  64,86,44,0,B

Typical Saturday

1.  Caught the ISS flyby at 6:27AM              

2.  Finished pavers on the next level

3.  The payphone master taught me well

4.  66,84,38,0,B



service call...

Pulled the forms off yesterdays pour and got prepped for more pavers.  Suddenly got a hankerin' for the Friday Fish Special at the Big Bend Motor Inn Cafe.  Hooked up with the good neighbor and headed south for lunch.  We got tied up with other business while in Study Butte and I was there long enough to run into the payphone master - my new best friend David.  He had just finished his rounds in the area and came out to TFL to check out my payphone.  He gave it his best try to hack in but it's a way outdated model.  Next trip down in a couple of weeks and he's bringing me a new phone to install in the booth.  Only in Terlingua.  65,73,33,0,B

parts...

50,69,41,0,B

find the bunny...

Set the forms and poured the next "step" in the courtyard.  Plucked off some mini tomatoes to go with dinner tonight.  About 60 more hoping to ripen before we get a real freeze (not anytime soon).  The plants are still flowering.  56,78,37,0,B

108

Prepped the next section with leveled sand this morning and dropped in 108 more pavers this afternoon.  58,78,43,0,B

disco de diamantes

Finished up the first section of pavers today.  Started off by pulling the forms off a near perfect pour from yesterday.  30 more full pieces and 9 chopped in half flushed it out.  Cutting them was a breeze... cut/cut/drop.  Scored a half inch deep cut on each side then dropped them on an angled up piece of 2x2 steel tubing.  Swept the sand around and called it a good day.  Our 40% chance of thunderstorms turned into only a light a sprinkle.  57,70,50, .01",C

sunday step pour

65,78,48,0,B

Alpine'o'rama

Early morning run up north.  Ran into my friends Debbie and Mark at the Alpine Farmers Market.  They run Little Red Wagon - Alpine's largest year round organic growers.  Boiling up some of their funky sweet potatoes for dinner tonight.  Placed an order for more "carbon heavy" concrete products for the courtyard to be delivered next week.  Also picked up snacks for my favorite longhorn.

Got home about 2 to find about 16 longhorns lounging in the shade - I think they must have known I'd been shopping for them.  As long as they were here - I gave the group a snack.  My new best friends from Houston stopped by this afternoon for the FL tour.   I ran into Tonya and Shawn down in Study Butte a couple of days ago and invited them out.  They have a desert refuge way out in the Solitario.  61,81,40,0,C