Storms n' all that.

Wow it feels like forever that I haven't posted on my blog. But I'm back. I am able to post pics now thanks to a little thing called a card reader. I found it at Walmart on Saturday night while looking for another memory card. It has made posting images so much easier on this dang desktop.

I guess the biggest and most interesting news right now is keeping an eye on Hurricane Alex that has formed in the Gulf. It's predicted path is Northern Mexico but these things have also been known to change direction very quickly. It is strengthened to 75mph and is now a catagory one hurricane. To be considered a hurricane, it must reached sustained winds at 75mph. Even being on the outside of it, last week I noticed an eerie-ness to the atmosphere. It is something that is hard to describe. The clouds are a dead give-away that something is very unsettling nearby. We keep provisions on hand and plenty of water. Mom is out gettin' extra stuff that she feels we may need "just in case". I've got my deep cycle battery charged up and am going to charge up the other one tomorrow.
Since I work for the public works department, it is understood at the beginning during the interview that I am not allowed to leave the area as we have to be on stand-by for public assistance. They provide shelters for us and family members in the event that we had to evacuate.
Here is some words from a local meteorologist:
Alex continues to strengthen and will become a hurricane overnight and make landfall well south of Corpus Christi south of Brownsville as well in northern Mexico Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain and localized flooding will be the main concern here with tropical storms force winds (39-73 mph) likely over mainly the southern half of the Coastal Bend. Isolated tornadoes can also be expected tomorrow. Tides will run 1-4 feet above mean sea level. Alex is located at 23.2N 94.5W Moving WNW at 12 mph with Max. winds of 70 mph.
Here is a shot of the storm and the pink arrow is where I am located. Click on image to enlarge it:

We are battening down the hatches at work as the winds have proven to do some damage to structures. My personal opinion is that this is not going to do much harm to us but bring lots and lots of rain.
On a different note, I am still worried about my little pepper plants. Something has invaded them and they have lil white lines all over em. My good friend Stelly suggested spraying them with dishwashing liquid or chewing tobacco juice. I chose the dishwashing liquid. I cannot tell if there has been a change but I got pics now to detect any changes, you can see the white discoloration:



Today at work we were cuttin' down a big tree that had to be removed for better access. Truthfully, it was already leaning a whole 90 degrees to the ground causing an obstruction. After the backhoe operator did his job and after my boss put the chainsaw to it, a beautiful peace of wood shone. It was an older live oak tree. I pointed out to my boss that it looked so pretty that something could be made from it. He commenced to cut a "slice" of it and asked me if I wanted one as well and I said yes but I wanted to cut my own. It is a little over two feet tall and over a foot and a half wide or more at its widest. I'm not sure what I want to make out of it just yet, whether a wall decor or maybe a little night table of some kind. These pieces are HEAVY!! Since it started to rain, the tree trunks stayed on the ground so we had to take cover else i woulda cut out another one but I have access to the wood piles. The picture doesn't do it justice and let you see the detail but I put the remote control and my hand next to it for size comparison:



Thanks fer stoppin' and sittin' a spell with me. Do come again. Until next time, see you on the backroads.