The Quiet After the Tempests

On December 31, 2015 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Musings, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

Last year I persistently clacked the keyboard, determined to put some small entertainment on the blank page. If not entertainment, then perhaps grammatically correct sentences. Doggedly producing words, I waited for a gem to flow through my fingers.

Then I faltered. I’ve been away from the page for a while, pulled by distractions and obligations.

It began with Thanksgiving, the gentle nudge away from writing. The busy work and family obligations wooed me. I allowed myself to let writing slide for a while, missing a blog post, then two and three. My novel (s) in waiting went unopened for weeks. New ideas blossomed in my head and faded; notepads empty and computers idle.

Today I attempted to regain focus. Christmas has passed and Christmas future is far away. I took a deep breath, mentally rather than physically and opened a beautifully blank page.

Behind the computer screen, through the windowpane, two red cardinals play in the leaves. I smile and watch them foraging when suddenly the leaves around the bright spots of red became alive with movement. Bobbing in and out of the fallen oak leaves are numerous female cardinals. Their slight movement camouflaged, their coloring matching the dried leaves. Enjoying the activity, I see a squirrel has entered the scene. He too is easy to miss as he darts among the reds and browns of the winter landscape.

Past the tall barren oaks and through splashes of green from the fir trees, my neighbors walk their large white dog down our country lane; his full coat and bushy tail appear at odd intervals through the kaleidoscope of nature.

I recall the many cities I visited in the last few weeks and the family stories I intend to share, later. Now, I’m going to relax and enjoy nature. I’ll be back to catch up on travel and family a little later.

Take Me Home Country Roads, to a place…….

On September 16, 2015 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Food, Musings, Travel, Writing2 Comments

I belong….

Last Friday evening, my husband and I traveled to Houston, Texas. We stayed in a lovely hotel near the George R. Brown Convention Center. The hotel joined the convention center via a skywalk, which made getting to our conference a breeze. Houston is a large metroplex, nearing 2.1 million in population. There is plenty to do and see.

We had a wonderful time on Saturday and it was great being able to access the conference without venturing out into the Texas heat. As we drove away from the conference on Saturday afternoon, the traffic was heavy and the roads were speckled with construction cones.

While we searched for a nice place to eat, all I could think was “How soon can I get back home?” We found a nice hibachi style restaurant and happily celebrated my husband’s birthday. And then we headed home…..

Sunday morning, we slept in until 7:30 AM before rising to head outside for a run down the country road near our house. It was a cool 64 degrees and I couldn’t help but contrast the bustling streets and bright lights of Houston to the quiet country lane.

Purple hued morning glories bobbed in the light breeze, waving a good morning as we passed. Knowing the short lived blooms would already be fading by the time we passed back on our way home, I savored glimpses of them as I ran by.

We passed these beautiful horses peering over the fence curiously as we neared their pond. I’m sure they were wondering where we were headed and if they might come along.

The vultures watched carefully from the tree tops but I assured them we were still alive and well! I encouraged them to move along as we weren’t done in just yet! They were certainly not intimidated by this makeshift scarecrow!

I enjoyed the trip to Houston, the conference and I met many wonderful people; but there is no place like home.

Running down a country road is where I belong….. with the roadrunners!

Cows and Bananas

On October 11, 2014October 11, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Humor/Light Hearted, Musings, Writing2 Comments

I live in a somewhat rural area of a large Texas metropolis. On any given day, my visual experiences may include a view of farm animals at a doughnut shop or someone whose complete attire consists of a thong and stiletto’s walking down a major downtown street.

This week, on my way home from work, I had the pleasure of seeing a banana riding a bicycle. Yes, it was really an individual wearing a yellow banana costume while riding his bike but even that takes a fair amount of talent.

That smile invoking moment was followed about half an hour later by a cow chasing a calf chasing a family of deer. And no, sadly I didn’t get pictures of either of these.

When we turned off the highway, the traffic noise immediately fell away and the home trees came into view.

As we neared the turn to our house, I realized the pond which had been bone dry was now filled, thanks to our feast of recent rain showers. Thinking happy thoughts, I suddenly noticed a calf sprinting, (yes sprinting) along the fence line headed in the general direction of the pond. The calf was followed by his mother (I can only assume) lumbering after him at something close to a sprint. Thinking they thought we were coming to feed them, my husband and I were startled when a family of deer, burst out of the trees along the fence line and sprinted across the road in front of our car. No one was harmed and all made it home safely.

I know I am easily entertained, but I love living where I get to experience such a diversity of entertainment. It mostly makes up for the lack of cable and the faltering internet service.

Why did the chicken cross the road????

On August 27, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Humor/Light Hearted, WritingLeave a comment

ElginTXWPAPostOfficeMuralBG — Elgin Post Office Mural “Texas Farm” by Julius Woeltz Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson

Urban farming is making a resurgence and Austin, TX is no exception. Raising backyard chickens is popular in Austin and has been for quite some time. A few months ago, my neighbors took the plunge and started raising chickens for the eggs. We live in a rural area, just outside of Austin, and I’m sure chickens have roamed these acres many times in the past.

The adage of a rooster crowing to start the morning is a complete myth. Roosters crow all the time! They crow to establish their turf or to assert dominance. They even crow when a hen lays an egg.

My husband and I have grown accustomed to the noise and rarely notice it any longer. Our visitors are generally less prepared for around the clock crowing. Recently my son, who was visiting from out of town, commented about 10:00 PM, “That is going to drive me crazy!”

I had to smile, remembering the first weeks the rooster moved in next door. I thought I would never get used to hearing the noise.

I did get used to the noise. In fact when we drove to pick up breakfast tacos the next morning, at the local doughnut shop, it took a minute to realize I was hearing a rooster crow. As I waited in the car, a rooster strutted up to the door of the doughnut shop and serenaded everyone with his “Cock a Doodle Doo!” Continuing his rise and shine revelry, he made his way down the side walk pecking at the concrete.

Even in our community in the great state of Texas, that’s not a normal site. So now I know why the chicken crossed the road….. To get to the Doughnut shop!

The Uninvited Visitor

On July 17, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Writing1 Comment

This past weekend, my granddaughter moved into her first apartment. She graduated from high school in May and will be attending college in the fall. Her granddad and I drove 10 hours to deliver furniture and household items to furnish her new apartment. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time together and to be a part of setting up her new life.
We cleaned, bought, organized and decorated. The weekend was full of “remember when” and lots of laughter.
After several hugs and goodbyes, we headed home and my daughter and granddaughter went to move one final small load before calling it a day. As they returned to the apartment with their arms loaded, they struggled to unlock the door without dropping everything. As the door swung open a blur of color flew past their feet into the apartment.

This little guy ran in and plopped down in the middle of the floor. Thank goodness I was
well down the road before I saw this picture! He is so very cute! As my husband put it, “he really knows how to work a room!” My granddaughter isn’t allowed pets, so my daughter quickly scooped up the uninvited guest and hurried him to her car.
I should take a minute to explain that my daughter currently resides with four cats. They are all rescues or strays that have found their way into her home. As soon as she walked into her home, her husband started shaking his head. She assured him it was only temporary and that she was taking the cat to the vet to be checked for a chip. She took the picture above to put on a found cat flyer.
The cat had no chip of course and the complex said the previous owners didn’t have a cat. The kitten has been at my daughter’s house two days while they look for his people….. to no avail. Now I’m thinking this is a pretty smart little guy. In a multi building complex with hundreds of tenants, he manages to walk into the apartment that is inhabited by cat people. Sort of like, of all the gin joints in the world…. Well you get the picture.
My daughter says her husband was a “Goner” when she walked through the door. The cat is at the vet being checked and treated. A flyer never went up, as the vet said he was probably a stray and had not been cared for very well. A name debate is under way, but for now we’ll just say Ollie has a new home with lots of cat toys, lots of square feet to roam, plenty of sunshine and four siblings, two girls and two boys. We think he is the tie breaker male.

Goats, Cars and Rain…

On June 25, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Friends, Humor/Light Hearted, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

Working full time, exercising and maintaining friendships keeps us really busy. It seems in my family, we are on the road constantly, definitely many more hours than we would like. Our commute puts us in the car over two hours a day, five days a week. Weekends aren’t much better, as we are always on the road headed somewhere.

We’ve seen some pretty unusual sights, but recently even I was surprised. We were driving in a slight drizzle and I was enjoying the sound of the rain tapping on the windshield, when my husband glanced over and said, “He has a goat.”

“Huh?” I asked, thinking I must have misunderstood what he said. “There’s a goat in that Jeep.” He repeated. Now I was interested!” Looking around I caught a glimpse of white in the back of the Jeep as we passed by.

Glancing back, my husband added, “He’s eating a hamburger.” Now I had to ask, “Which one?” Grinning, he said, “The driver.” Hey, it was a fair question.

Who would think that driving down a busy interstate, even in Texas you would see livestock riding in the back of a vehicle? With all the traffic, I just wasn’t able to get a good picture, but believe me, I was tempted to wave the Jeep to the side of the road, and ask for the story.

Instead I had to be content with finally catching a glimpse of the goat as the driver moved into the far left lane and passed us. The rest of the trip was spent inventing scenarios, explaining how a goat ended up in the back of a Jeep, driving down the interstate, traveling across Texas. A lovely rainy afternoon spent spinning tales of goats, cars and rain.