This place is really spectacular but is about the most difficult place we have ever tried to photograph.   I’m including a shot which encompasses the white sand dunes, mountain ranges, bright blue skies and fantastic cloud formations but really doesn’t do justice to any of them...

Perhaps there is just enough here to entice some of you to visit.   We are once again “back home” in Texas and are currently in Austin after having stopped for a few days in Fredericksburg to revisit the local sights and catch up with an old buddy I once worked with back in California.   He left a perfectly good job with PG&E to move to central Texas to become a goat herder.   He seems to be thriving at his new occupation as he has something in excess of 100 head of goat, 8 horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 1 racoon, 500 scorpions, 23,000 fire ants and one very hostile Killer Bee.   He is also married to a professional shepherd (that’s sheep, folks) who is allergic to wool.   Go figure!   This little critter is a newborn named “Wonder” that Art and Kathy have to bottle feed every 5 hours (around the clock!)...

Groundhog Greetings                                                 January 26, 2004

Groundhog greetings!!  Yup, you guessed it.  The time of year is once again upon us when our future is to be decided by a group of furry rodents who only have the guts to show themselves every February 2nd. (No, I am not referring to the horde of Democrats running for president!!)   Although the “original” groundhog weatherman resides in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, we here in Texas are not without our own surrogate who pokes his head up out of an armadillo burrow every year about this time and gives us a report on crop futures.   We affectionately refer to him as Amarillo Al...

Art has this habit of naming each member of the herd and thereby forming a bond of adoption with them.   Not only has this practice led to an ever increasing number of goats with a first name, middle initial and last name, but their sheer number has allowed them to move the horses off the top of the food chain at the “Diamond I” ranch.   We understand that the horses have initiated a breeding program which will eventually lead to them reclaiming the feed and water troughs.  Our plan from Texas is to continue east and make another stop in New Orleans where we will meet up with my brother-in-law.   He has been granted a 2-week furlough from the home for the visually offensive and has opted to spend it with us exploring the Gulf Coast.   There are a lot of great cajun and creole restaurants in this area that serve some of the more exotic foods like crawfish and alligator.   We are hoping to slip my brother-in-law into a few of these spots without his being mistaken for a menu item but, with this face we aren’t very hopeful...

He may not have the notoriety of his Pennsylvania cousin but at 6’2” and 540 pounds we are pretty confident that he could kick Phil’s butt! (That’s his hungry weight and barefoot height.)   We stopped off for a couple of days at White Sands, New Mexico, and took a drive through the White Sands National Monument. 

I’ve suggested braces but he just isn’t going for it.   Until next time, stay safe. Chuck and Kalyn