multi cow...

I think word got out about the Times article in the longhorn world.  43 cows and calves and Oscar the bull spent the day at TFL.  Benita is edging me out on attention from the piece...she has over 1000 fans now.  All I could work into the schedule today was to mail off the latest postcard orders  (mug order info coming this week).  Spent the rest of the day contemplating longhorns.  Was so nice to have the spring cows roaming around finally.  There were about 15 new calves in today's gathering.  Benita seemed a bit put off by the crowd - but no one messed with her - including her ex boyfriend, Oscar the bull.

For myself...the recent publicity has helped reconnect me with several of my old NY friends.  Just heard today from my old Spencertown pal Cathy Grier.  http://www.nycsubwaygirl.com/   She and her partner Michele built a super energy efficient house in my old hood a couple of years before I ran away to Texas.  I went through her music site and watched this video today of her underground work in NYC.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HlSeV-QpBA&feature   Nice profile and made me a bit nostalgic for the subway system (except for the smell of urine and vomit one would occasionally encounter).  67,76,48,0,B

tank wrangler...

The new hole at the east end of the greenhouse was calling to me today.  Two truckloads of sand from the old dam and I had a level pad.  Decided on relocating the 3000 gallon tank that blew about 100 yards south last year for the first catchment installation.  It was caught in a draw so I used the trusty Toyota to pull it out.  Rolled it by hand into launch position then righted it into place (again with the truck).  A bit of pushing and prodding and got the tank right where I wanted it.  Thankfully, the big dig ended up perfect for the appropriate slope for the gutter downspout.  Math and physics can be your best friends if you pay attention to them.  Good work day rewarded with a nice sunset.  68,86,43,0,B

The Waterboxxers...

Met up with my new best friend family this morning...the Schneiders (Bill, Ben, Beth, Anna).  Anna is getting her upper learning at UT...so I insisted that she hand feed Benita when they stopped by for a visit after working all day (send me the photo when you get a chance).  From a previous post -  Bill contacted me a little while back about a water delivery for his waterboxx experiment out here.  http://www.groasis.com/page/uk/index.php  So nice to meet such a great family all working together on such an interesting project.  I trucked out 250 gallons of water while they installed 30 waterboxxes for the big test in the Big Bend.  I will be checking the progress for them once a week... Chilopsis linearis, Celtis laevigata reticulate, Acacia farnesiana, Atriplex canescens, Cercidium microphyllum (my favorite), Rhus microphylla, and Ziziphus jujube.  Bill gave me two more waterboxx units so now I have 6 to try out at TFL.  71,90,44,0,C

quarry glamour

Got caught up on the last rush of emails then tended to computer file sorting.  Waited till the sun worked its way away from the work zone.  Late shade shift clearing rock and finally down to the level to fit a tank in for the north gutter.  Funny how such a small clearing job creates such a huge pile of debris.  Now I have to wheel barrow in a bunch of sand for a level tank pad.  This next effort brings to mind (thanks to my friend JD)  a related scene in the movie Cool Hand Luke.  The sun is starting to set now in the zone that catches my front porch so it was time to replace the west porch shade panel.  The new greenhouse roof will provide sunrise shade on the east side of the porch for about another 2 weeks.  69,82,39,0,C 

youth advocate...

Back to basics today....feeding my rabbit greenhouse guardians, cow, and burro.  Made a late afternoon run down to the Ghost Town for Benita water and spied what I think is the first bluebonnet bloom along HYW 118.  Record setting cold snap and draught conditions are gonna make it tough on all the plants out here.  While I waited for the water to siphon out - I repaired a cow-chewed line to my IP cam that is now visible again from my dot org website. 

As long as I got all these new friends visiting my blog, I thought I should pass along a link to a very good friend and neighbor of mine out here.  Dan is roughing it in the desert just like me but with a totally different mission.  Not the typical outback blogger, but a man who certainly deserves attention for his efforts.  His calling is to help kids in trouble.... underage kids trapped in the adult criminal justice system.  Please give his blog a look...these kids are doomed without Dan's help.  http://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/  69,82,48,0,C

Danny to the rescue....

Everyone on Terlingua Ranch knows Danny from Big Bend Telephone....he's the guy that comes out  and does the initial site survey for a new phone line.  This guy knows his stuff....and is constantly out here making sure our phones and internet are up to speed.  My little lapse in service was fixed with one of the new modems (with wifi built in) from the phone company.  Gifted the man with a Longhorn Benita mug.

The New York Times piece about TFL just came out online this afternoon.  Thank you Penelope Green and Tony Cenicola for venturing all the way out here if for only a day.Welcome to my world all you new people.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/garden/10texas.html?hp   It has been almost 20 years since my first little feature in the Times - from my former life...    64,72,48,0,C   This secret string at the bottom of every blog post is:  temperature at 8PM, high temp of the day, low temp of the day, amount of rainfall, wind conditions (C alm, B reezy, W indy, G usty )

technical difficulties

internet down....blogging from a secret location.