A constant topic in the blog this winter has been the cool, wet weather here in the Rio Grande Valley.  And this onerous weather pattern continues, with only a few days of normal 70s and sunshine among the many days of windy, overcast, cool days, with occasional rain—this tropical desert area of south Texas is supposed to be dry, sunny, and warm!  Consequently, we have altered our normal winter activities, having to forego many of the things we enjoy doing outdoors.  While golf has been my main entertainment, we have had few warm sunny days on which to play.  Cycling has been almost non-existent, though we do find a day here and there where the weather is conducive, i.e. not too much wind (less than 15 mph), and not too cold (above 60°).  There have been few birds and almost no butterflies since early November.

Early November provided consistently great winter Texan weather, but the end of the month, December, and January were largely cold, wet, and overcast, at least by Rio Grande Valley standards.  However, this week saw weather in the mid-60s to low 80s with lots of sun.  With encouragement from neighbor Chuck, we did 3 bike rides this week, increasing the distance on each successive ride so that our latest ride on Thursday was 13.0 miles with a slow average speed of 8.8 miles per hour.  And, on the last ride we saw 3 Roadrunners, and the last two posed for photographs on the trail.

Al, Sharon, Kay, and I attended a mariachi concert at Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle – National Shrine where the Rio Grande City middle and high school mariachi bands, the La Joya high school mariachi band, and the Basilica’s mariachi band all performed.  The level of talent, even for the middle school, is amazing—some of the best male and female vocalists and trumpet players we’ve heard.

On Sunday, February 15, Kay returned to Arkansas to assist with childcare for Ridge and Acker, and to see progress on the new house.  She made it safely, despite a plane problem in Houston.  Unfortunately, freezing rain, possible snow, and cold temperatures are arriving there tonight.

Early Sunday morning, about 4 AM, we left the relatively warm RGV driving north to central Arkansas, arriving at Hot Springs Village at 4:30 PM where it was windy and cold.  The real purpose of our trip was to witness the birth of a granddaughter and take care of newly dubbed little brother, Ridge, for a few days.  At the Village, we quickly “inspected” both the inside and outside of the new house where we were met by Pam Williams, and Martha and Bobby Altom.

During the course of the next 8 days we viewed the house 3 times (see separate Our HSV House blog), and it would be an understatement to say that we are excited.  We spent Sunday and Monday nights with Ron, and enjoyed our visit immensely. Tuesday evening, we celebrated Ron’s birthday, and stayed at Karyn’s until our departure back to the Valley; I played planes, trains, and hero action figures with Ridge for 5 days and nights, and saw more Dusty and Thomas the Train videos than imaginable!  Regrettably, Jenny, Brian, and Harper were sick, suffering a stomach virus, and our scheduled visit with them on Wednesday and Wednesday evening had to be cancelled.  Friday, just after 12 noon, Acker Elizabeth Adams entered this world at 8 pounds 14.6 ounces, and 19 inches;  mother, father, and baby did great, and were released from the hospital late Sunday afternoon (this photo was from Thursday, February 5).  Kay and I were up real early Monday morning, February 2, and left for the RGV at about 3 AM, arriving at 4 PM, just in time for happy hour!