A big sigh...

Of relief is heard here!

I have just recieved a phone call from Andrea. She and her family are okay! They don't have power but they are fine, YES! They have a couple more hours before Ike is fully done with them but so far everything is okay with them. I'm watching the news and can see there is going to be a HUGE mess to clean up. I honestly feel for those people.

We are fine. We had some wind but no rain and after looking at the radar this morning it looks like we won't get any rain.

Hurricane Ike ~ Midnight Sept 13, 2008

Here is the radar as Ike streams towards shore at Galveston/Houston Tx.

Fred and I are sitting here looking at google earth putting in address's of family and friends and trying to find out exactly where their houses are in proportion to the hurricane...

He has a brother who lives in La Porte Tx and a Sister who lives in Kemah Tx...it doesn't look good for either of their houses...they are really close to the bay. His sister has evacuated to Waco and his brother and sister in law have evacuated to Louisianna...If you click on the maps you can get a closer look...Andrea and Chad are further away on the west-side of Houston...


Just thought I'd share this with you all...

Sunset photos

Fred, Michael and I were outside at sunset watching the sky and clouds.

I patched these photos together since I don't have a wide angle lens...I'm not sure how to put photos together in PSE 6 and get rid of the lines so ignore those, lol...

This is looking NNE towards Houston and Galveston where Hurricane Ike is going to make landfall...click on the photo for a better view of the beautiful clouds....

This was looking West towards the setting sun...the first of the bands had gone over.

It's kind of eery outside the wind has picked up and we are getting a stiff breeze from the North. It was interesting watching the cloud bands swirl from North to South...No rain as of yet but I am sure before the night is over we will see higher winds and some rain.

Update Hurricane Ike

I wasn't allowed to get on the roof for photos, sigh! So I took this from the backyard looking East-NorthEast. You can see the bands from Hurricane Ike. It is a Huge storm. It looks like we are going to get a little bit of wind and maybe some rain but that is about it. The wind has already picked up some here...

I finally received news from my friend, Andrea, in Houston. They are hunkered down and waiting. They are on the West side of Houston and I am praying they stay safe throughout the storm.

Still waiting and watching. We had gone into Victoria earlier as Fred had to get out of the house, he was climbing the walls, lol...There are a few stores and restaurants open but not many. Some were fixing to shutdown this afternoon. We saw a lot of businesses and houses boarded up. We'll keep our boards on the windows until Sunday so I am still sitting in a dungeon, lol...but better safe than sorry...Andrea told me that they had not boarded up their windows. So keep her and her family in your prayers...As Ike heads for Galveston and Houston!

My Opinion

Yes I have an opinion and this is my blog so I can pretty much put anything on here I want too...

I know some of you are going UH OH...what NOW!!

I was reading another persons blog tonight and was totally stunned when this person spoke of a politician that hunts and was very negative about it. This person also compared a wild-animal to a baby/fetus...something makes me question this bloggers sanity and what really scares me is this person is a registered voter, Yikes!!

All I can say is before you vote get the FACTS on each of the political candidates! Make an informed decision and then decide who you want running this country!

Basing your vote on a fetus/baby and a wild-animal is ludicrous...

For thousands of years humans have hunted wild animals and yes killed them for food!

It is called a food chain and is part of nature. If these early humans had not hunted we would not be here today, that is called survival!

I do not have a problem when people hunt as long as they eat what they kill and don't waste it!

I used to hunt, now I prefer my camera and taking photos! But I do not have a problem with people who do hunt. Everyone has to have a hobby and enjoy something in their life.

Heck I catch Feral Hogs and they get butchered and slaughtered...not a problem! Better them than my son getting butchered and slaughted by them! They're animals my son is a HUMAN!!

I eat meat!! Which means we raise cows for that meat...they get killed!! Maybe not hunted but they go to the butcher and are slaughtered for our food...not a problem. It is life and is a part of the food chain...

I believe we have the right to own guns and to protect ourselves! I don't rely on the government to take care of me I rely on myself!!

I also believe it is an individuals right to vote! I live in the U.S.A. and I am a proud citizen and love my country! I am aware we all have our own opinions and this is mine!

Make an informed decison from the facts and don't believe everything the media tells you...Look at the candidates political views, their history in the government and what have they done for this country!!

I hope that everyone who is over 18 votes...I've been voting since I was 18 and I am proud of it...but I base my vote on actual fact and not what the media reports!!

God Bless America and all the Americans that have fought for our country or who have sons/daughters that have fought for this country!! These people deserve our vote!!

If you had a choice between a person with experience or one without who would you vote for?

Use your brain as it was meant to be used and THINK before you Vote!!

What to do when you are waiting...

You grab the camera and play...

Fred grabbed the camera this morning....

Jake thinks that he is a lap dog, NOT!!

Jake you are NOT a lap dog!!

Do you understand?

(more than likely NO!)

Fred is bored...he is in the kitchen, Ekkk....
I am not sure if he is cleaning, rearranging, or what but the results of this mess was double chocolate chip cookies, lol...Mmmmmm

It is really awful having the windows boarded up as the house is very dark inside and also you can not see out...I've had to keep running outside whenever Michael goes outside as I can't watch him through a window...and it's HOT....100 degrees HOT!!

This last time I gave Michael about 5 minutes before I went out to check on him and he had one of the water hoses hooked up and his rubber boots off and was filling them with water, ugh!! BOYS!!

Never a dull moment here...The weather channel is running continuously in our house right now and it's amazing how the meteorologist seem to get an adrenaline rush from reporting about the Hurricane...Ekk

Ike update ~ frustrating

Okay I have just finished looking at the 2pm forecast and once again they have changed the storm track, this is very very frustrating. It still looks like we won't get the full force of the hurricane but the projected path has turned South once again...grrr....We will probably get some rain and wind and hopefull Ike will stay on the track it is set for now...The house is cleaned and the yard is clean...so we are ready for whatever Ike decides to do...it's just a waiting game.

Hummingbird Swarm ~ Video

I took this video this afternoon. I am always just amazed my the Mass of Hummingbirds swarming my feeders. Photos just don't do it justice. This is just one of my feeders!

Beauty & the Beast

I took these photos this morning first thing...

The hummingbirds are swarming again...I am having to fill my feeders up 3 times a day, ugh!!

But it's worth it as I love the photos I am getting...

These are abstract Hummingbird photos, lol....as I was NOT using the tripod!

Then we have the beasts below...

Yes sir'ee Bob we caught two more hogs last night...Yeehaw!

I took photos of them after we had them loaded in the trailer to give ya'll a closer look at them....These are Feral hogs...meaning they are domestic hogs mixed with Russian boars...Sorry they are a bit blurry but the Hogs weren't cooperating and I wasn't getting any closer, lol...

Here we go AGAIN....

Yikes to IKE....I've been watching the projected path for the past few days...This morning they had Ike heading towards Lousiana/NE Texas...then this afternoon they changed it and Ike was headed towards Houston...Now at 9pm Monday night they have the whole Texas coast lit up like a Christmas Tree....EKKKK!!

Sigh...I suppose I'll check again in the morning and see what the computers have decided...if it still looks like it is coming towards us I'll head to town...I've got a list of the supplies we'll need...Fred has decided if it's bad he will take Michael and evacuate and I've decided to stay home and take care of the animals...We shall see what happens in the next few days!! Hopefully Ike will skip away and leave us alone!!

Let me tell you a little story...

About a Spider and a Fly....(but minus the Fly and add a Wasp instead)...A Spider wasp to be precise and a Wolf Spider...

Above is the Wolf Spider...he's not doing so hot at the moment.

He is still alive but he's been paralyzed.

Do you see the drag marks...something has been dragging him...

The culprit returns to the scene of the crime...It is a spider wasp!

She is dragging him to her nest...which is a hole in the ground. She'll put the spider in the hole and then lay her eggs on top of him. Her larvae will have the spider as a snack upon hatching...Yum Yum...

Uh Oh...I've been spotted...Time to leave them alone and let nature take it's course.

I had gone out to reset the Hog traps tonight when I spotted the drag marks in the driveway...I knew what had caused them and hurried up and got my camera to show you a little bit of nature at work...I am always amazed that these wasp can drag the spiders so far...I followed the drag marks at least 50 ft and the wasp was still dragging the spider...

On another note I've had a lot of questions regarding the Feral Hogs...We don't make a lot of money from selling them, probably enough to pay for my Father in Laws gas to come pick them up and maybe a little extra...I honestly don't know where my Father in law takes them, he knows someone who buys wild hogs...Yes people do eat the Hog meat. If you eat Tamales (normally homemade ones) they might have hog meat in them...I have heard the meat can be a bit gamey and the young hogs are best...I've probably eaten the meat but couldn't tell you when as I prefer not to be told, LOL....I am sure their tenderloins are good but honestly I have never butchered or cooked wild Hog meat...not something I look forward too....I do like to trap them and get them off the property as they are very destructive...and of course dangerous if you are walking out in the woods...I hope that I answered everyone's questions...If not ask away...No question is stupid and I'll do my best to answer them.

Ramblings regarding the weekend...

Saturday we spent most of the day running around town and Michael and I had a birthday party to attend. Happy Birthday Kaden!!

Saturday night was a bit on the Animal kingdom side...We managed to catch a HUGE Feral Hog but she dug out of the trap and then two more got caught and they dug out...We had hogs running all over the place...We then had 2 baby skunks running around here...we tried to take care of those but someone (no names mentioned) couldn't hit the broad-side of the barn if they tried, lol...he missed at 20 yds, Ekkk...then A Fox and baby fox came up for a visit...to dark for a photo but we enjoyed watching them...I was stunned that they came so close to us and didn't seem the least bit scared...Later I walked out the front door to look at the stars and there was a baby racoon on the front porch, ugh!! Now I know who has been getting into my corn for the Hog traps...and here I thought Fred had done it, lol...

In between all that I let Michael get a Lego Creator ~ 3 in 1 set...76 peices that can be made into either a Helicopter, jet plane or bi-plane...Needless to say he can't make up his mind which one he wants so every 30 minutes we have to tear one apart and build another...Ugh!!

This is the jet plane with a few alterations...it had to have guns on it so we added a gun to the front, lol...He's been having fun. Now if he would just learn how to build them himself!!

Today (Sunday) we moved the Big HOG trap up here to the house! Hopefully tonight we'll have caught some Hogs! Fred needed to go back to town, ugh!! He can't spend one whole day at home always running the roads...We made it home at 3pm just in time for the Dallas Cowboy game!! Fred was excited, Dallas won and played well...Michael and I took a nap...It seems we are both sick...either allergies or colds...ugh!! I think H sent us her sickness through the cyber wires, lol...Hopefully with meds and vitamens we'll both get through this...I feel just awful but Michael is doing better...

Tomorrow is week 3 of school and fingers crossed Michael will do better this week...5:30am comes awful early so I am off to get some rest!!