We finished unpacking Thursday morning, Kay cleaned the inside of the motorhome, and we de-winterized the hot tub and filled it with water to heat.  A trip to the Apple Store in Little Rock was in order to have the MacBook Pro repaired; seems like when the new hard drive was installed in November, they did not replace the bad cable. I was able to wait while it was repaired and arrived back home by mid-afternoon, leaving the rest of the day for golf at Coronado Golf Club.  The course was very wet, and many of the balls plugged (sunk in the ground) when they landed, but Kay and I had fun nevertheless.

A much needed haircut was on the calendar for early Friday morning, and it sure felt good to have a trim. Returning to the house, The slides were pulled in on the motorhome, the leveling jacks lifted,  and shore power disconnected; it was then taken to the storage facility for dumping and flushing the tanks, and stored until next use, officially ending our Winter Texan season.  We were invited to dinner at Mulligan’s with Charlie, Linda, Rick and Pat, Estrella Lake neighbors, and the all-you-can-eat catfish was very good.

Anxious to see the grandkids, a trip to Central Arkansas was made Saturday morning, and we enjoyed several hours playing with Ridge and Aker and visiting their mother. It’s amazing how much the grands mature in just a couple of months—Ridge’s vocabulary has increased significantly, and he’s so stinkin’ cute, and Aker is taking her first steps! We enjoyed a quiet afternoon resting and relaxing.

Church on Sunday was followed by golf with Jim and Fred at Coronado Golf Club. The course had dried considerably since Thursday, but it was still cart path only golf. I tired after 15 holes and we called it a day.   Kay and I sadly watched the last episode of Downton Abbey Sunday evening as it ended it’s six-year run as the most successful Masterpiece Theatre show in PBS history. It’s hard to believe we started watching it in 2010.

This is what we woke up to Monday morning—beautiful, but a portend of significant rain the next several days.  We’ve pretty much returned to normal back here in Hot Springs Village after our winter in Texas.  Kay is exercising on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and we both started the DASH diet to lose a few extra pounds put on over the past year. Additional deck furniture was ordered as well as a leather chest for the master bed room.  Next will be furnishing the “office”.  We met with a landscaper to get an estimate for installing a couple of additional beds and to freshen and replenish mulch in the existing beds.  The 2004 Ford Expedition, almost 12 years old now, got an oil and filter change, new windshield wipers, and new brakes—a rather costly endeavor but still cheaper than a single monthly car payment!  And, I have been working—more like piddlin’— in the garage shop area, packing things for storage in the crawl space, throwing things away, and generally tidying up the “work” bench.  And, I replaced a flat tube on the Winter Texas bicycle; two flats this year, one on the front and the other on the rear.
Wednesday evening Kay and neighbor Linda attended a lecture by a holocaust survivor.  She had an interesting story, much like that of Anne Franke, as she was hidden, passed from house to house, and “converted” to Catholicism to avoid being taken to the concentration camp.
Rain continued Thursday, negating any outdoor activities; Kay and Pam drove to Benton to shop for furniture and see a movie.  It rained Friday as well, though we spent a marathon day shopping in Hot Springs, buying a desk for the office via telephone based on Kay’s previous day shopping.

Kay and I seriously “simplified” packing for the winter in the Rio Grande Valley, e.g. no satellite antenna (aka Tailgater), no satellite receiver, no water softener, fewer outside chairs, etc.  In turn, that eased our set-up upon arriving in the Valley, and consequently allowed us to be less dependent on THINGS.  Another real positive is that in readying to depart the Valley, we had very little to do in terms of packing away outside items, and Kay quickly got things ready inside, particularly the kitchen and pantry, for traveling.  We were pretty much through packing by mid-morning, allowing time to say goodbyes in the afternoon.  Many of the folks at the resort have been coming for years; we have developed a tight knit community and it always takes a good day or more to bid farewell.  This year proved to be more difficult than most as we said goodbye to Al and Sharon who do not plan to return to South Texas.  We will miss our golf rounds together, our weekly bridge games, and happy hour, but hopefully we will see them again.  Having packed everything away, we dumped the tanks and disconnected the sewer hose, hooked up the Honda “toad”, and fastened the bicycles in their rack on back of the Honda; we were ready to travel.  Happy hour was full of goodbyes, good wishes, and a few tears.  Afterwards, we attended a steel drum concert by the Pan O’ Steel Steel Drum Band of McAllen, Texas, High School, and returned to Circle 3 palapa for more goodbyes, effectively ending one of our (certainly my) happiest winters.

Tuesday morning, we were up early and departed the resort by 7 AM.  Most of our neighbors were still asleep (we told them we were leaving at 8:30 AM), so we didn’t have to go through the emotional torture of saying goodbyes again with teary eyes—we’ll sure miss our Winter Texas friends until next season!  Our day’s travel took us north over 400 miles to Franklin, Texas, east of Killeen and Temple, where we spent a quiet evening and night.

Wednesday morning, we were on the road again just before 7 AM.  The almost 400 mile drive to Hot Springs was uneventful; in fact, the entire return trip to Hot Springs Village was uneventful which is just the way we like it—no motorhome problems, breakdowns, etc.  We squeezed into the driveway, with maybe a foot and a half to spare, hooked up shore power, leveled the coach, opened the slides, and began unpacking.  At the house, the internet had gone down requiring re-powering, and the thermostat had to be turned up for more heat; otherwise, all was well.

The last week in February represents the end of the season for many Winter Texans in the Rio Grande Valley.  Consequently, seas one-ending activities are scheduled and held, social visits are made with friends one may never see again, and odd jobs and wrap-up shopping are performed— such was life in the Valley this past week.
Al and I played golf at Tierra Santa Golf Club in Weslaco on Friday. This is one of the best courses in the Valley. Unfortunately, winds were 25 to 30 mph, and we were behind a very slow foursome, taking some five hours and 15 minutes to play the round.
On Saturday a trip was made to Cosco for cleaning of hearing aids and picking up supplies to last until our return to the Valley next year.  The audiology technician there really did a super job of adjusting my hearing aids; regrettably, I need them more and more every day.
We attended church on Sunday, our last visit of the season. And then, on Sunday afternoon the resort hosted Arts in the Park, displaying crafts and hobby items of resort residents. It continues to amaze us how talented the our neighbors are.  Kay was among the artists, exhibiting her latest Swedish weaving project.  And then at happy hour, Al hosted his own fashion show, trying to weasel his way into hitting from the ladies’ tees at the upcoming golf tournament.

I played in a golf scramble at Meadow Creek on Monday morning; paired with some good golfers, our team won first place, and $6, each.  We helped Wayne celebrate his 75th birthday in the evening with fajitas and chocolate cake.  We so enjoyed he and Loretta being in the Valley this winter.

The resort’s ladies’ style show and luncheon was on Tuesday, and Kay modeled several outfits; of course she looked great as usual. In fact all of the women and men models look really good.


I played golf at Howling Trails, a course owned by the LoJoya school. I personally liked the course as the fairways had good grass and the greens were nice though a bit slow.
Kay hosted her annual “Circle 3” ladies luncheon on Wednesday, and all the ladies had a great time. The luncheon grows every year; this year 20 resort neighbors attended.

And then, on Thursday, we had our annual CanAm golf tournament. This is a major event for the resort, in combination with Retama Village, a sister resort. This tournament pits the Canadians against the Americans, and though fun, it is subtly very competitive. I was paired with Sue King, and our foursome included a Canadian couple, Dennis and Elaine, from Nova Scotia.  We all had a really good time; Sue and I ended up with a 73.

Thursday evening, we attended a dance at Mission West, meeting Wayne and Bessie Nickerson, also from Nova Scotia. The dance floor was large, and could easily accommodate line dancers, trail dancers, and the others of us doing the Texas two-step. The band was good, there was no smoking, and it was just a wonderful evening. We plan to attend there often next year.

On Friday, we had lunch with Jim and Sheryl Watts, from southwest Missouri.  We only see them once a year now, if only to catch up and enjoy each other’s company for a brief time. We had a very nice visit and it was good seeing them.
Kay and I both have mixed emotions about leaving the resort this season; the weather has been fantastic and we have had a super good time. However, we both also look forward to returning home and visiting our grandkids, our kids, and our many friends. Consequently, on Saturday, we began packing up the outdoor stuff: garden lights, grill, hose, outdoor tables, outdoor extension cord’s, and our RV lot sign until next season.
We were both lethargic on Sunday, and took it easy, basking in the last day of relaxation at BPV RV Resort for the season. Most of the residents here in the resort have pets; consequently, the BPV RV Resort annual pet parade was this afternoon.  Here’s a photo f our neighbor and friend, Debbie (aka Debbie Two Poodles).  The people in the photo are from left to right, Tim Creaghan (Debbie’s husband), Debbie, Lorna Graham (our next door neighbor and bird and butterfly expert), and Sue Brown, a neighbor; all are from Canada.

Tomorrow, serious packing will occur.

The last week in February represents the end of the season for many Winter Texans in the Rio Grande Valley. Consequently, season-ending activities are scheduled and held, social visits are made with friends one may never see again, and odd jobs and wrap-up shopping are performed— such was life in the Valley this past week.
Al and I played golf at Tierra Santa Golf Club in Weslaco on Friday. This is one of the best courses in the Valley. Unfortunately, winds were 25 to 30 mph, and we were behind a very slow foursome, taking some five hours and 15 minutes to play the round.
On Saturday a trip was made to Cosco for cleaning of hearing aids and picking up hearing aid supplies to last until our return to the Valley next year. The audiology technician there really did a super job of adjusting my hearing aids; regrettably, I need them more and more every day.
We attended church on Sunday, our last visit of the season. And then, on Sunday afternoon the resort hosted Arts in the Park, displaying crafts by and hobby items of resort residents. It continues to amaze us how talented our neighbors are. Kay was among the artists, exhibiting her latest Swedish weaving project.
I played in a golf scramble at Meadow Creek on Monday morning; paired with some good golfers, our team won first place, and $6, each.
The resort’s ladies’ style show and luncheon was on Tuesday, and Kay modeled several outfits; of course she looked great as usual. In fact all of the women and men models look really good.

I played golf at Howling Trails, a course owned by the LoJoya school. I personally liked the course as the fairways had good grass and the greens were nice though a bit slow.
Kay hosted her annual “Circle 3” ladies luncheon on Wednesday, and all the ladies had a great time. The luncheon grows every year; this year 20 resort neighbors attended.

And then, on Thursday, we had our annual CanAm golf tournament. This is a major event for the resort, in combination with Retama Village, a sister resort. This tournament pits the Canadians against the Americans, and though fun, it is subtly very competitive. I was paired with Sue King, and our foursome included a Canadian couple, Dennis and Elaine, from Nova Scotia. We all had a really good time; Sue and I ended up with a 73.

Thursday evening, we attended a dance at Mission West, meeting Wayne and Bessie Nickerson, also from Nova Scotia. The dance floor was large, and could easily accommodate line dancers, trail dancers, and the others of us doing the Texas two-step. The band was good, there was no smoking, and it was just a wonderful evening. We plan to attend there often next year.

On Friday we had lunch with Jim and Sheryl Watts, from southwest Missouri. We only see them once a year now, if only to catch up and enjoy each other’s company for a brief time. We had a very nice visit and it was good seeing them.
Kay and I both have mixed emotions about leaving the resort this season; the weather has been fantastic and we have had a super good time. However, we both also look forward to returning home and visiting our grandkids, our kids, and our many friends. Consequently, on Saturday, we began packing up the outdoor stuff: garden lights, grill, hose, outdoor tables, outdoor extension cord’s, and our RV lot sign until next season.
We were both lethargic on Sunday, and took it easy, basking in the last day of relaxation at BPV RV Resort for the season. Most of the resort’s residents have pets, and today was the annual pet parade. Tomorrow, serious packing will occur.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sleep, this winter, has come easy.  Normally averaging maybe 6 hours a night, I am averaging over 8 hours a night, and Kay, too, is sleeping an additional hour everyday.  We can’t pinpoint a reason, but more than likely it is a combination of cool nights, a dark RV, and a relaxed pace.  Regardless, we both feel great.  In this same vein, a look at our calendar reveals lots of blank spaces.  We are being healthy selfish, doing what we want when we want.  For Kay, that means shopping when the mood strikes, though she rarely buys anything, Swedish weaving on Thursday afternoons, and an occasional foray to the palapa for happy hour.  For me, it’s golf on Mondays and Wednesdays, bike riding on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and an occasional trip to Costco.

Our bike ride on Tuesday was notable in that Chuck, Van, and I rode the “Roadrunner Trail” (otherwise known as the Mission Park Bike Trail), and saw 9 Chachalacas and 7 Roadrunners, a record for each of us—and the trail was quite busy with other riders. (NOTE:  Chachalacas are found in wooded habitats in far southern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.   They are about the size of a small pheasant, and have a loud, four-noted cackle.)

Wednesday was golf at Meadow Creek; that course gets to me!  It has narrow, often grassless fairways, with just enough water to cause havoc, and the greens are small and very rough.  I have difficulty hitting off of bare ground, particularly close to the greens, so the putter gets extended use off the greens.  I never score well at this course.

Thursday, because of heavy winds, Chuck and I rode through the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park, taking advantage of the tree-lined roads to shield the wind.  The bird park was crowded with people, and we later discovered that a fairly rare White-throated Thrush was frequenting the area.

We had a quiet weekend—no concerts, no golf, no shopping, no road trips—just hanging out around the motorhome, a bike ride, and church on Sunday.  On the Saturday bike ride on the Roadrunner Trail, Chuck’s bicycle exhibited a slight wobble in the rear wheel, and remembering a similar experience two years ago, suspected that it was the likely result of broken spokes.  Sure enough, we stopped at the halfway point, and found 3 broken spokes.  Upon arriving back at the RV resort, we took it to BikeMasters for repair and a general tune-up.

Kay ventured into Mexico on Monday, I played golf with Al and Eddie at Harlingen CC.  It is a nice course, but not in as good a condition as in previous years.  The greens had been patched and partially aerated, and were quite bumpy.  

We retrieved Chuck’s bike from BikeMasters, and dropped off Sue’s for a general tune-up.  BikeMasters did a super job of repairing Chuck’s rear wheel, tuning the bike, and cleaning it.  We rode the Roadrunner Trail and added a segment around Meadow Creek for a total of 13.1 miles, our most for the season.  Tuesday night we celebrated Valentine’s Day with Al and Sharon, Chuck and Sue, and Van and Bonnie at PF Chang’s.  The evening was wonderful.

Golf was on the schedule again for Wednesday, while Kay drove to Wells of Weslaco for fittings for a fashion show in which she will model.

As an aside, we have really enjoyed visiting with Wayne and Loretta this winter.  They were our neighbors for 10 years in north Arkansas, and Wayne and I had coffee together almost every morning during that time and spent many hours and days together flyfishing the Norfork River.   We have really missed them.

With great weather and so many friends here in the Valley, we have reserved again for next winter.  It is truly a special place for us.

This reporting period was a busy time for us as I was trying to catch up from being sick for several days.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were golf days, and though not scoring well—stupid mistakes and decisions, and mishits—I feel better about the game than any time in the past.  For the most part, we play later in the day, and the back has loosened up considerably by then.

We had lunch at the Riverside Club with Wayne and Loretta on Thursday, and their pork tenderloin sandwiches were as big as ever.  The Riverside Club is on the US side of the Rio Grande River, and we have gone there on Sunday afternoons in prior years for dancing.  After lunch, we drove through Anzalduas County Park, one of the most well-known county parks in the U.S.  The 96-acre Hidalgo County park was opened in 1951, and sits on the banks of the Rio Grande River.  It is considered by many to be one of the top birding areas in the RGV.  Following a drive through the park, we drove west to Los Ebanos.  The Los Ebanos Ferry or El Chalan, formally known as the Los Ebanos-Diaz Ordaz Ferry, is a hand-drawn ferry that travels across the Rio Grande between Los Ebanos, Texas, and Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, Mexico.  It is the last hand-drawn ferry in the U.S.  

On Saturday, we traveled to South Padre Island (SPI) for the 2016 SPI Kite Fest, meeting up with Al and Sharon, Chuck and Sue, and Deloy and Charlene.  The festival had been in hiatus for a couple of years lacking sponsorship, but SPI provided some funds to assist primary sponsor, B&S Kites of SPI, with the event.  This year’s fest was perhaps the best ever, and perhaps better attended than any previous fest, despite little advertising.  It is amazing to see what one, two, or four-person teams can do with kites.  All kite flying demonstrations are performed to music, and the teams can make the kites dance, fly in various formations, etc., all without tangling the kite strings/wires.  And the single flyers can do things with two kites that are almost unbelievable.  How they can separate eye/hand coordination for each hand is bewildering to say the least.  These are not our kites of childhood; some had brakes because of the heavy winds.   On the way back to the RV resort, we stopped at Dirty Al’s in Port Isabel for seafood.  The food was very good, but the service was some of the poorest we’ve ever experienced!

Sunday was a slow down day for me as I stayed in the motorhome most of the day, enjoying peace and quiet.  Kay attended church, and in the late afternoon, had a BBQ pork plate sponsored by the resort’s wood shop, and she was kind enough to bring one home to me!  Neither of us watched the Super Bowl, but was glad to see Peyton go out on top.

Monday was our “regular” golf day at Cimarron County Club—nice course.  It sure is fun playing with the other guys here at Bentsen Palm Village.  Kay and I both stayed in in the evening, enjoying yet another British murder mystery on Netflix.  Yesterday, our neighbor and friend from New Brunswick, Jim Miles, brought us a bowl he turned from cedar cut on our place in Norfork.  It is a lovely reminder of our time there.  He is a very talented artisan, and a good guy to boot. 

Our weather this winter here in the RGV has been spectacular.   Most nights have been in the 40s and 50s, and the days have been mid 60s to mid 80s, and we’ve had very little rain.  We typically turn on the heat when we awake, but only for a couple of hours.

The weather here in the Valley is just wonderful—cool at nights and warm during the day, and a bit more wind than usual—near perfect.

Al and I played Palm View Municipal Golf Course on Friday, part of the city of McAllen, Texas, recreation department.  It is a nice municipal course, but the fairways were cut short, and the greens were bumpy.  A couple of Border Patrol agents completed our foursome, and they were a hoot, hitting mulligans on every hole.  Getting used to them hitting so many balls took a bit of adjustment as Al and I both had high scores for the front nine.  One of the agents had to work in the afternoon, quitting after the front, and our scores improved considerably.  On Friday evening we attended Mariachi Aztlan and Mariachi Junevil Aztlan at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.  Guest artists included UTRGV Ballet Folklorico, Jorge Ivan Velasco (a fantastic Mexican harpist), Mariachi Los Coyotes from La Joya High School, and Mariachi Los Lobos from Palmview High School.  They all were perfect, but we particularly enjoyed Mariachi Los Coyotes.  The fine arts talent in the high schools and university here in the RGV is amazing, and almost unbelievable. 

Despite gorgeous weather, Saturday was one of our first quiet days since arriving in the Valley.  Our morning began with birthday greetings for Aker, who was celebrating her first birthday.  FaceTime is awesome for grandparents keeping in touch.  We visited with Wayne and Loretta, former Norfork, Arkansas, neighbors on Saturday and really enjoyed spending time with them.  I sure miss coffee with Wayne every morning.

The sermon at church on Sunday was a great one, focusing on love.  We’ve heard many preached on the topic and based on the same scripture, but none as passionate.  A late breakfast/early lunch and a brief nap followed church, and I ventured to the National Butterfly Center hoping to get some good photos in the hot (near 90°) weather.  There weren’t many butterflies, but a few posed just long enough for pictures.

Kay and I wake up each morning thankful for the infinite blessings that have been provided; we are truly a blessed couple. 

The Texas Crud struck on Thursday, January 21, with a slightly sore throat, light cough, and headache.  Should have figured it out because a birding outing was scheduled for South Padre Island and we had planned to participate; but something just didn’t feel right.  Kay kept the Zycam coming every 3 hours, but it didn’t seem to help, and as the day progressed into night, it became worse and was a full blown virus by next morning.  Saturday morning, I awoke feeling pretty good and figured this malady had been conquered.  We attended Rowe High School’s production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and it was good, but a little long at 3 hours.  Saturday evening and night, the sneezing and coughing became more frequent, and a general feeling of wellness disappeared.  Sunday was a little worse, and then Monday, a check of my temperature revealed 102°, extremely high for me.  A call to and consult with former neighbor Wayne substantiated that the virus had likely turned into a bacterial infection, and Kay dug out the Z-Pac from Mexico; twelve hours later the fever broke, and in combination with the chicken vegetable soup brought over by Debbie Creagan, an RV neighbor, I was on the mend (this is the first time I have taken medicine purchased in Mexico).  Thus, for me there was no golf, no birding, no bicycling, and no butterflying, and I tired of reading and playing on the computer.
Kay, meanwhile, kept her social engagements, including cooking 3 pans of apple dumplings for the highly successful progressive dinner on Sunday.  Our area of the resort (Circle 3) was responsible for desserts, and the many desserts were all consumed.  On Monday, she shopped at Wells Clothing Store in Weslaco, her favorite store in the Valley, and on Tuesday, she attended the Magic Valley PEO group for winter Texans.  Wednesday, we drove to DonWes Flea Market to pick up “shade” screens for the hot tub area back home, Sam’s Club, and Costco.  After returning to the resort, I picked up Wayne and we drove to Harbor Freight to purchase a solar charger for the motorhome chassis battery.  Back at the RV, a repairman had come to check on the rear motorhome AC as it had ceased working.  I stood outside in the cool air, assisting the RV repairman; seems like we need a new control board.  While he was working on top of the RV, an Altimira Oriole perched in an adjacent tree and gave the repairman heck for several minutes.  The oriole’s mate joined him/her at Lorna’s hummingbird feeder, and all was well.  But for me, after all day on the run, I was exhausted, and Kay and I enjoyed a rare evening watching television—Australian and British mysteries on NETFLIX, of course!

Thursday, with temperatures near 70°, I ventured outside in the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine.  It proved to be an exciting time as an SUV full of illegals overturned near the resort and one escaped.  He ran through the field, jumped the fence into the dog run, was chased by two dogs, jumped the fence out of the dog run, stole a neighbor’s bicycle, and was off, trying to find his way out of the circles!  And, the Border Patrol was chasing on foot, ATV, SUV, and helicopter. (Photo by David Muscat)  It was just like watching the Keystone Cops—quite hilarious.  After all the activity settled, I spotted a Yellow-headed Blackbird among a block of Red-winged Blackbirds in the tree next door, alerted birding neighbor, Lorna, and got some good photos.  There’s just too much excitement for all of us old people!

With a warm day and only a slight breeze, the National Butterfly Center beckoned us, only to find a flat front tire on the bicycle—a quick change of tubes and we were off.  After paying for the yearly membership, a quick tour of the gardens revealed few butterflies, not even a Queen.  Only a skipper here and there were observed.  More warm weather sent me off chasing butterflies again a few days later, and though there were not many flying, a few skippers could be found in the sunken gardens area, and a Queen was flying in the garden in the rear of the administration building.  Photos below include various skippers, Sickle-winged Skipper (its the dark butterfly with open wings, White-checkered skipper, a Queen, and Red Admiral.

Otherwise, we are staying busy with Swedish weaving, golf, bicycling, bridge, reading, movies, visiting with old friends, and enjoying just sitting around without a lot of responsibilities!  In fact Kay is headed to an old friends’ picnic this afternoon, and tonight, more entertainment.  Life is good.

Performers flock to the Valley during the winter season to take advantage of a captive audience.  Most are good, some are great, and some not so good; many are regulars during the season.  Generally the larger parks and resorts “host” an entertainer or group each week during January and February.  Cost per ticket ranges from $6 to $10.  Our resort has hosted three groups thus far, and all were entertaining:  one was a country western band, another a rock band which we did not attend, and the last was a young family performing blue grass and southern gospel.  We also visited another park, Green Gate Grove to hear Redhead Express, and awesome group of 4 redheaded sisters (Redhead Express), and a group comprised of their 3 young brothers.  We have enjoyed them many times before here in the Valley, and while their old songs were great, their new stuff was not to our particular tastes.

The Valley is home to a Costco store, in Pharr, Texas, just a few miles from us, and it was a great relief to have their audiology tech properly adjust my hearing aids.  Seems like my left ear needed lots more volume; another visit before we leave will make sure we have a year’s worth of supplies on hand.

Each week the resort has card bingo, and Kay was the big winner last week, bringing home $89.  Another lady in our immediate group of RVers also won big, with just over $70.  

We almost always attend church on Sunday morning.  This is our fifth year attending the First United Methodist Church at Mission, and the same staff remains as when we first attended.  We really like the pastor, Rev. Bill Duke, and the music leader, Dan.  It is so comfortable to have a church home away from home.

The weather has been good for golf so far this winter, and we have played in temperatures in the 60s and 70s.  The fairways are green, and one can drive on the course.  Thus far, we have played Los Lagos in Edinburg twice, Meadow Creek near the resort twice, and Cimarron Golf Club in Mission, Texas, once. 

Kay has found a PEO group of Winter Texans, and attended their luncheon last week.  The program included an exhibition of three Citrus Festival evening gowns, all decorated with the central theme of citrus fruit.  The Valley produces a significant amount of grapefruit, oranges, and lemons.  The Valley also produces about 10 percent of the sugar cane grown in the US.   Interesting enough, irrigation is provided via a system originally constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Chuck and I continue to bicycle on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly on the “Roadrunner” Trail, but this week we rode through Meadow Creek, and a local park. 

We made our first trip of the season to the Don Wes Flea Market, accompanied by former neighbors Wayne and Loretta Bodenhamer, and despite winds reaching speeds of 50 mph, it was crowded.  There are a couple of screen makers there, and we ordered privacy screens for the hot tub area at our new house.  Despite the crowd, there were several empty stalls as there have been fewer Winter Texans than in the past.  Part of that is due to the low value of the Canadian dollar ($1.44 Canadian to $!.00 US), i.e. Canadians are paying $1.44 for each US dollar.  After the flea market we made our way to the Ranch House for the best burgers in the RGV.

This week also included a trip with birders Jerry and Karen Smith to Salaneno, a birding paradise on the banks of the Rio Grande River.  This is my favorite birding area largely because of the presence of three species of orioles, though there are many other species that visit the feeding area.  The photos below include the Altimira Oriole, Audubon’s Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Orange-crowned Warbler, Bewick’s Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Black-crested Titmouse.

Kay and I have slept well since arriving in the Valley, and we both feel good (though the sciatica is really hurting).  I have read 13 books down here, and thus far this season has been one of the best of our 7 seasons; we’re keeping fingers crossed that warm dry weather continues.