The Big Dry

When foreigners; i.e. anyone not from Texas; think of the Lone Star State they seem to assume the entire place is just one big desert, with occasional dust storms and cacti everywhere. Much of this is due to the movie industry filming "Texas" movies in places such as Utah, Arizona, California, northern Mexico, etc. Anyone who has traveled this state has seen the incredible variety available to visitors and natives alike. Seashores, lush coastal plains, dense pine forests, chains of lakes, rich farmland, mountains, rolling hills, swamps, and impenetrable cedar breaks are only a few of the different ecosystems found between the Red and the Rio Grande. And, of course, there are some areas which really do qualify as desert. Photo Copyright: Edgar Serrano

The problem we are facing now, is that more of the state is becoming desert-like all the time. Much of Texas is facing what is quickly becoming a disastrous drought. There are parts of the state which have survived devastating floods and hurricanes this year, but for Central Texas, this is being reported as the driest year since the early fifties. For the youngsters and those with failing memories, that time was referred to by many as the "Big Dry"; and one Texas author, Elmer Kelton, penned a book describing some of the hardships of the period titled, "The Time it Never Rained". http://www.elmerkelton.net/. Most of the surrounding counties have been under "Burn Bans" since last spring and there is no end in sight.

In our corner of the world, ranchers are already hurting, spending more in feed than their cattle may bring at auction. Water is becoming more of a problem, which was brought home to me recently when I was approached by a neighbor whose well was failing. As at least a temporary measure, he is using water from our well to provide for his cows and calves. Since we moved to Naruna, I have always tried to convince the LB that we didn't really have enough land to keep livestock of our own. Instead, we could vicariously enjoy the local ranchers' animals, without needing to worry about the price of feed, hay and vet bills, or when it would rain next. Now it seems we really must face those concerns alongside our neighbors.

The Same Old Thing

I need to give up on trying to post regularly. I just have fallen back into my routine of getting up before the sun, going to work, and coming home to Naruna sometime around sundown. No trips to exotic locales, no meals at fancy restaurants, and few encounters with out-of-the-ordinary folks whose stories are not protected by federal law. Nothing new. Nothing different. I go to the same job every day and then come home to the same wife every night.

Since I am in this terrible rut, I have to be bored out of my mind, right!?! Wrong! Yesterday there was a high school student, doing a rotation through the Operating Room, who asked me why I was still working in the OR after more than 37 years. The answer which slipped out before I had time to think was, “I can’t imagine doing anything else.” Nothing else gives the same feeling as taking a patient who has a problem, helping fix whatever is wrong, and then sending them home better for having visited us. If you don’t feel like you have made a difference and accomplished something after a day of that, there is no hope for you.

And the wife I come home to every night is the same girl I fell head over heels in love with so many years ago. I still don’t know why she decided to say yes more than a third of a century ago when I clumsily brought up the subject. She stood beside me no matter what came along, traveling around the world, having babies and raising them far from home and family. She took care of them by herself when I ran away on those unaccompanied tours to exotic parts of the globe, and she learned there was nothing she couldn’t do if needed. She balanced family with volunteering and serving others, so that when we retired from the Army, she knew more General officers than I ever met.

No matter what foolish things I tried over the years, she nursed me back to health and some degree of mobility. She continues to experiment on me with exotic recipes, even when worn out from cooking for her kids at school…all 400 of them. Since we first met, we have been able to sit beside each other, read a book or newspaper, never feel the need to say a word, and still feel we have communed and had “quality time” together.

So when I say I am doing the “same old thing” every day, that means a lot.

The Thrill is Gone!

If there is anything which passes for excitement here in Naruna, it has slipped away. The end of summer is upon us, and the LB is making preparations to return to feeding three or four hundred 2nd and 3rd graders breakfast and lunch every day of the week. Somehow, after being in a hot kitchen all day, she usually isn’t interested much in cooking at home. To make up for the coming nine months of eating leftovers, going out to eat, or just fending for myself, she is baking me a cake today. It goes by a variety of names: Texas Sheet Cake, Church Lady Cake, Cowboy Cake, etc. No matter what name gets hung on it, it is a really rich, moist, chocolate cake which gets iced while still warm, resulting in a wonderfully gooey mess which is magnificent. She is trying a recipe today she found over at http://thepioneerwoman.com/ . (If you don’t like chocolate, try Pioneer Woman’s creamed spinach! Even confirmed carnivores crave it.)

Summer time in Texas is always a balancing act. We wouldn’t live anywhere else, but our lives are always at the mercy of the weather. Last summer Central Texas almost washed away in the floods. This summer has been one of record days over 100 degrees. A couple of times each year, we pack up and visit relatives in Houston so we can walk on a real lawn again. In the very best of times we have grass, but nothing that would be mistaken for turf. Times like now, that grass is withered, brown and brittle, and quickly crumbles to a fine powder which blows away with the hot south wind.

In the span of just two weeks, Texas has had a hurricane and a tropical storm come ashore. Areas all around us got massive amounts of rain, while Naruna received a total of 0.4”. A few brave sprigs of green are trying to push up, but are being met with a withering blast of heat and quickly shrivel.


Even the LB’s beagle, Sam, who has boundless energy most of the time, is being affected by the heat. This morning, after making his usual rounds to ensure all was well in Naruna, he trotted across the road to visit with a group of BMW riders taking a water break in the church parking lot. After that, he was pretty much done for the day, only taking a moment to check out the occasional bug crawling around. Tizzy the cat even gave me a glare as though to warn me to stay clear or risk bodily harm.