Ghost Towns

The last few days have been interesting. We have spent several evenings playing the new game of Wizards with friends. We have had a lot of fun playing it. A couple times we have played it with six people and the rest was four people. It is one of those games that is totally different with the six than it is with four. But then too from one hand to another the game seems to change. Neither Erma or I take the games seriously and that is sure of a benefit. I think that one night I must have had the lowest score ever scored by anybody in history and another night I had the highest score that the people with the game have ever seen. At least I had a score.

One thing that has seemed strange around here is the lack of people. All winter this place has been very active and now there are whole streets that seem to be vacant. It reminds me of a ghost town. But I know that the place is simply sleeping.

All winter long, and even last year I have wanted to go to a flea market called Don West. I think some residents here must go every week or at least they go often. I decided that I either had to go soon, like Saturday, or forget it for another year. So we went Saturday. It was almost a ghost town too. There was only about ten percent of the normal vendors there. In Colorado the flea markets get to booming in the summer time and they start picking up about the start of spring. I figured that here it would be going strong all year long. Maybe a little slower in the deep winter time. But evidently a lot of vendors here are winter Texans just like most of my neighbors. One fellow said that most of the ones he knew had headed north and he was going to do the same in a short time. Still there was the right one out there for me to make a purchase. I bought a game of Wizard. Now that should not surprise anybody I guess. It may be a while before we open it but if the opportunity should arise we will be ready. Like many or all flea markets a person should know what they are buying and beware of the price. One stall had a bunch of odd computer supplies. One of them was a 256 kb thumb drive, brand new in the original package, good brand, and everything that could be asked for. The problem was that thy wanted $12.00 for it. Any day of the week thumb drives can be purchased for under ten dollars a gig and often there are specials that are less than $4.00 a gig. I would love to know if there will ever be a buyer. For those that don't know Don West is so named because it is between Donna, Texas and Westlaco, Texas. I sounds like it should be the name of a specific mans, maybe the one that started it.

I will never understand what it is that drives the decision making process of the maintenance process here in the park. A couple mornings ago we heard some equipment being operated near the motor home and looked out to see what was going on. There was a very nice palm tree growing on the lot just down a short distance from us. We enjoyed seeing it and thought that it was a very good addition to the scenery. The workers drove their front end loader into the base and cut it off. Erma went out and asked why in the world they cut off and the guy said, "That is what she just asked." He was referring to another lady that had been doing some yard work in the area. Then he said, "I don't know the reason. I was just given instruction to remove it." I think that there is someone who does not like palm trees that is making the decisions.

We went up to the area of Tenth and Dove Saturday night after we got back from Don West. We were unsure how many of the Green Parrots (parakeets) would still be gathering in the area but figured that some would be. It was only ten or fifteen percent of the ones that gather in January but they still put on quite a show. They are so noisy and such acrobats. I have never figured out if their tussling with each other is courtship, oneryness, or establishing a peck order or what. The one thing that you can be sure of is that you will see a gooD show anytime they are there.


GREEN PARAKEETS READY TO ROOST FOR THE NIGHT


A FEW LAST ACROBATIC ACTIONS BEFORE THE NIGHT

Till Later This is Uncle Duck

Less And Less People

It seems that it was just a couple days ago that I posted here but I guess it has been longer than it seem

It would seem that as more people leave Bentsen Grove there would be less for me to do. And I guess that is actually the way it is. I am finding enough to do to keep just as busy, I have only changed my emphasis. I have a lot of music that I have put on my computer this year that is just labeled with a number. So I am trying to figure out what the song is and get a name for it so that the computer can find the song quickly. Also because the CDs that these came from were various composites that were created for line dancing there is a lot of duplication. Since I really only need to have one good recording I want to eliminate the extra recordings. That is going to take a fair length of time.

There is a new deli that has been opened in town that we went to today. McAllisters has a very surprising variety of food. They have a lot of sandwiches and soup and salad and even pizzas. It is a place worth going to for a meal. We went with friend from the park and had a great time. It is too bad that there has to be an excuse to go out to a meal with friends. We did sort of ask for a favor and now we have "planted an ob" that we will have to pay off to someone someday.

Our neighbors across the street planted two tomatoes when they got here last December. In Kansas where I grew up or in Colorado where I lived for forty years tomatoes only grow from May to September during an average year. Occasionally the season is longer but not often. It is never from November to April except in a green house. Here in Texas tomatoes can be started in December and they will grow here outside all winter long. They will even produce ripe tomatoes within a couple months of planting. When our neighbor left for the cold and snowy north (why people are going north to snow and cold is beyond me) they left the tomatoes for me to care for and enjoy till I leave for parts elsewhere. We are getting about three ripe tomatoes every day, and we are enjoying every one of them. I have to be quick or the birds will peck holes in the red fruit. In fact I am trying to catch the fruit while it is barely red and letting it ripen inside away from the birds. There is a danger in picking the tomatoes that I did not know about until today. I am wearing a pair of sandals and I noticed a pain on one foot. There was an ant on my arch that was working hard to bite me. I flicked it off and saw another biting in another spot. In all there were at least five ants that bit that one foot. I think the next time I go over I will wear closed top shoes and stomp hard on the asphalt before going home.

Erma is keeping the line dancing going every day. A week ago there were eight to ten people that came to dance. There are still quite a few people that are coming, six today, but every couple of days there is someone that leaves and the group gets smaller. Since it is not a formal class we play any song that we want and do not feel the need to play the songs that are being "taught." Now that means that Erma does a lot more dancing than I do.

We learned to play a new card game the other day. It is called Wizard. I understand that the cards for it are a bit difficult to find. But one person said that they found them at the flea market. From what I hear there is about anything you want at the flea markets, or as they are sometimes called the "Pulga." I guess that is Spanish for flea. So shouldn't that be mercado pulga? Anyway it is a fun game that uses a regular deck of cards plus eight additional cards. A no pressure game, easy to learn, and that is the kind I like.

I got a picture from a friend in Colorado where I lived before I retired and I had to send one back to him so he would know what it is like down here. I will share both with you.


THE PATIO OF A FRIEND IN DENVER


A VIEW OF THE STREET AT BENTSEN GROVE IN TEXAS

I much prefer the lower picture to the top one.

If it were not for the computer sessions I might lose track of all time, but because of it I have to keep track of the day of the week.

Till Later This is Uncle Duck

Chasing Butterflies

With all the people leaving Bentsen Grove and heading north there has been an unexpected benefit (or problem) that I never thought about. When people are going to be on the road for several days there is a problem carrying the food supplies that require refrigeration. So what do they do with it. Just like me most people hate to throw it in the trash. Ant thing that is non-perishable can be given to some people here that will take it to the Colonia. There is a box in the main hall for donations of that sort. I understand that it gets checked and emptied several times a day. Since we have a refrigerator we have gotten the perishable items. We have gotten enough items to fill our refrigerator completely full. We are trying to be creative in what we eat now so that nothing will go to waste. I will have to do something to pass the bounty on to those who are less fortunate.

Erma has been trying to keep the line dancing going here at the resort. There are two line dancing classes during the winter here at the resort. Both leaders of the line dancing have left for the north so there is no official sessions going. Erma would like to dance some every day if she could. So what does she do, she tells everybody that she sees that we are still dancing. Every afternoon except Sunday we are finding a place for an hour that we can dance. I don't have a portable CD player, but I do have a computer and speakers. So for an hour every day there is dancing led by Erma.

I got a call from the activities director today. She said that the person who had taken the pictures of the new people in the park for the past few years has told her that she will be unable to do that next year. Some one told her that I was a good photographer. Who ever it was that told her that has mistaken a person that takes a lot of photos for a person that is good. I really do not consider myself to be good with a camera. But as anyone that takes photos knows "If you take enough pictures some of them will be good." It is so much easier to take a lot of pictures with a digital camera. I can take a hundred pictures and not feel bad if only one is good and two are fair and all the rest are garbage. It is a whole lot cheaper than developing film. The bottom ine of this is that I volunteered to take the pictures next year. I will find out next year exactly what it involves. I have a feeling that some weeks there will be a bunch of pictures to be taken and others there will be none. I will figure out a way to be efficient when the time comes. I will have help if I need it.

There is a place in McAllen that is called Quinta Matzalan. It is a large adobe home built in 1930's. It is now part of the McAllen world birding center. We went there yesterday to see if we could see any birds. I would have been happy and would have considered it a successful day if I had seen a single "plain chachalaca". I would say that I was happy forty of fifty times. It seemed that everywhere we went there were chachalacas. They were chasing each other through the shrubbery, climbing the trees, and then finally creating a real cacophany of cries. One of the workers there said that they did that every day. He also pointed out a hole in a dead palm tree that is the home of an owl. For that I will have to go back early in the day.


ONE OF THE PLAIN CHACHALACAS

We also saw more butterflies here than we did at the butterfly center. The prettiest one led me on a merry chase and eluded my best endeavors to capture it on film. That just gives me another reason to go back.


THIS BUTTERFLY WAS WILLING TO POSE FOR ME

Till Later This is Uncle Duck