on the rocks

6 hours hard labor chopping boulders.  First good chance of rain coming up next Monday so feel pressed to get some tanks in place.  Benita and friends took advantage of some shade today and I took advantage of the Starlight Theatre tonight.  73,87,39,0,B

crypantha crassipes

My friends Maria and Will came out today to check on my endangered plant - Terlingua Creek Cat's Eye.  We have all been worried that the record freeze and no rain since last October would adversely effect them.  All my plants show signs of frost damage.  While following the botanists around on their plant survey, I spotted the first two blooms coming off one of the biggest plants on my property.  Spotted several other bloom stalks starting on other plants so looks like the species will survive another year.  Check out Maria's article on page two for some background on the plant.  http://texas.sierraclub.org/bigbend/Issue134.pdf

Nice cool day so while not looking for flowers, I was chipping away at the boulder in my back yard.  Made excellent progress getting out the last of the big bits.  Now I just gotta figure out where to put all the debris so I don't have to move it more than once.  57,66,31,0,C 

Best Buy!

Still winding down after the press schmooze fest.  Sleep interrupted last night by heavy winds out of the north from 2 - 5AM.  20 - 40mph gusts.  Broke away to Alpine for most of the day to stock up on solar oven parts and such.  Today's "BEST BUY" are hinges from True Value Hardware.  If you are ever in the market for good/beefy fixed pin steel hinges - check out the welding section in your local True Value Hardware Store.  I reckon these are a "steal" because they don't have screw holes in them.

Made the usual rounds - Johnson Feed, McCoys, Big Bend Telephone, The Cheshire Cat, Grub.  Didn't have to swing by Bennett's house since I ran into him at the gun counter at the hardware store.  On the way home, I stopped to photograph the spot where the latest big brush fire brushed the edge of HYW 118.  The Cienega Mountain fire scorched over 8,000 acres before finally giving up.  53,67,46,0,W

Side note:  Benita's 23rd birthday comes up a month from today - If you are so inclined...please mail a birthday card to her for the Field Lab archives:
Benita c/o John Wells
2500 Mailbox Rd.
Alpine, TX  79830

Benita's new friends

Good day entertaining my new best friends Penelope and Tony.  Not very often that a NewYorker gets to hand feed an old Texas longhorn cow.  I think they really appreciated the change of scenery.  Nice to meet such professional journalists - P knows just what kind of questions to ask and T got some epic Field Lab photos.  Link to the story as soon as it goes to press.  Benita and Mr. Floppy will be well rewarded for being so very cooperative throughout the day.  66,87,47,0,B

NYT

69,90,40,0,C

brush fire

Did the final rounds of clean up today.  Washed dishes, fixed my shower door, repaired the junk pile fence, and shoveled cow poo.  Will be cooking up solar oven bread and dinner for the writer and photographer when they arrive tomorrow night.  Mr. Floppy got caught red handed just after knocking over the webcam by a screen grab from my buddy Greg Hillje

Spotted smoke on the north horizon yesterday afternoon....and the glow this morning before sunrise.  Huge brush fire just SW of Alpine still burning tonight. Didn't zero in on the location till this morning when my friend Neil in the UK sent me these links.  http://goo.gl/maps/MOMQ  http://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml

70,87,37,0,B

wheat...

Oil change this morning

Supply run for the GrubShack

Wheat grass experiment going to seed
No Mr. Cow and calf

Yes Benita and Mr. Floppy

Chopped some more rock

Cleared the courtyard

100 Benita mugs arrived
Ordered boxes and packing
Shipping info soon
67,81,34,0,B