I hope you do not get tired of seeing pictures of the beautiful sunsets here in west Texas. Each one is like a unique painting!
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The Lubbock area of west Texas is a winter haven for Canadian Geese. There are several ponds of water in the surrounding area and the geese love them. They are plainly visible in the morning flying in the “V” formation to the surrounding fields where they scrounge for grain.
Sometimes, as they fly back to the ponds in the evening, they are so low we not only hear their honking, but also the wind passing over their wings.
As you know if you have been reading Dimes2Vines for very long, moving from the lush green of lower Alabama to the deep brown of west Texas has been quite a change in geographical surroundings! From tall green pine and oak trees to flaaaaaat brown fields, it is just different. One thing, however, that west Texas has that can not compare to the east is beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Now, I confess, I see many more sunsets than sunrises (unless it is my turn to milk Buttercup) but both span the horizon. And out here, you can see the horizon unobstructed by trees. We are now enjoying the sunsets from our own house as the sun sets over the vineyard. Every one is different yet gorgeous!
For the first time ever, I woke up to a white Christmas! Now, I would have expected this in Switzerland, but not here in west Texas. I must say, it was beautiful and really added to the festive atmosphere. The snow clouds hung around all day and we had about two inches of accumulation. The children loved it and I loved the warm cozy fire! The only downside was the mud as it melted and was trampled. I don’t mind the mud outside but it seems to somehow, find its way in the house! I am sure it had nothing to do with the 40 feet and 16 paws going in out (this count includes children, spouses, grandchildren, our 2 dogs and cat, my mother, my sister and their dog)! Buttercup was definitely easy to spot in the snow covered landscape! She did not seem to mind it at all and kept on doing what cows do – grazing.
The stormy weather did not keep the Canadian geese from continuing their migration – a sight we all enjoy watching especially when they fly low enough to hear their honking.
I hope you all enjoyed a merry Christmas and made wonderful memories!
Finally back to the land of the living! Our internet was knocked out by the thunderstorms which included rain, thunder, lightening and hail. This year we have had 36 inches of rain! That is three times the normal yearly rainfall! Four and a half inches fell in one night. Now, this would not be a big deal in lower Alabama, but here in west Texas, it is a major problem. Streets were flooded and just plain messy. Many crops have been hurt or destroyed. Most of the chickens were huddled together in the cow palace. But, one, it seemed, needed some time out with its beak to the fence! I think a better time could have been picked. She must have decided so also, because not long after this picture was taken, she too ran for the safety of the cow palace.
The hail was the worst. Had it happened a couple of weeks earlier, we probably would have lost our grapes. By the time the storm was over, the ground was almost covered with pieces of hail ranging in size from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in diameter. The saddest thing, though, was the next day driving around while on an errand. The farmers around us had dug peanuts the week before and they were laying on top of the ground drying. Now, being so wet, the peanuts must dry quick enough so as not to rot and be a total loss. The cotton was much the same story. If it had already been sprayed with a defoliant, much of the cotton bolls were lost in the hail. If it had not been sprayed, some of the cotton had weeped out of the boll, had mud splashed up on it, or had the possibility of being stained by the plant itself from all the water. Any of these sceneries bring a considerably lower prices to the farmer. While we only lost about 1/3 of the foliage from the vines, others lost so much more. It is a stark reminder of how truly temporal this world and the things in it are if we set our hopes upon it.
The sunrise always signifies a new day, a new beginning filled with renewed hopes and dreams. I have said it before and it still holds true – west Texas has the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I realize this is because there are no trees and you can see the whole horizon but still, they are beautiful. Today we will be hand harvesting two tons of Roussanne grapes. We hope to be finished by lunch time – many hands make work go much faster! The remainder of the Roussanne will be machine harvested Friday or Saturday. Have a wonderful day! The wood for the interior walls and framing were delivered. The events subsequent to the delivery sure brought back memories. Home Depot gave us the best price so, it was a no brainer – we went purchased from them! Everything was delivered on a semi and unloaded without a problem. The children were so excited to be able to play on the stacks.They do not realize yet, how much work those stacks represent! I’m not gonna tell them either.
The truck turned around to leave and we were all waving. And, then, the unthinkable happened!
If you have not guessed what happened next, look where the front wheels are … doesn’t the dirt look soft? Well, it was!
When we lived in Alabama, we lived in sand. It was a given, that trucks delivering building materials were probably going to get stuck. But, we did not think there would be a problem here in west Texas! Memories, memories, memories! John got to be very good at helping get trucks (and our 15 passenger van that I got stuck) unstuck. Here is his secret. He had the driver rock forward while he and others put boards as far under the wheels as possible. This trick works also with sheets of cardboard and rocks, You just have to give the tires something to grab on to.
I am thankful to be able to tell you that John’s trick worked even in west Texas. Goodbye! And, thanks for such a good attitude!
For the floor of the basement, we decided to seal and paint the concrete. Our house in Alabama had a clear seal on the basement floor which we liked and it held up well. We chose the same type to use here in west Texas. It is a 2 part epoxy coat which rather than being water based is amide based. This epoxy will stand up better to the wear and tear a large family gives a floor. After sweeping, sweeping a second time and blowing with a shop vac, the floor was ready. To make it easier to see what had been painted and what was not, we chose not to tint the first coat. So, it went on white. Really bright white!
As with most things in our lives, it was a family affair to paint the floor. How many people does it take to do it? Well, for us it was: 3 to paint, 1 to move the bucket, 5 to watch/play/ provide general comic relief and 1 to photograph. It is a good thing we are a big family!
Now, I know how difficult a white floor is to keep clean and I am so glad we were not stopping here! After drying overnight, the second tinted coat was applied. The late afternoon sun casts shadows that really give the color varying shades. Although you can not tell from the picture, because of the shadows, the floor is all one shade! While this type of finish can be expensive, it is very durable and practical. We were able to save quite a bit by doing it ourselves. Our supplies purchased included 2 part epoxy (which mixed yielded 2 gallons) to cover two coats on a 1500 sq ft slab, thinner, rollers and pole (we had an old broom handle to use for one) and cost approximately $440. While periodic short rain/thunder storms (with hail) are normal here in west Texas, the days prior to July 4th were a very different story. In the period of one afternoon we received over 8 inches! Many places received 9, 12 and even 13 inches. While this type of rainfall was taken in stride when we lived near Mobile, Al, it is a totally different story here in west Texas. With only 3 inches of rain, many streets are flooded and deemed impassable so, you can imagine the road conditions with such large amounts of water just standing – because it does not run off very fast. The pictures below are taken from the end of our driveway looking west. As you can see, the road is impassable.
At the intersection (just before the water begins at the bottom of the hill) you would turn right and go about a 1/2 mile to our vineyard. The road to the vineyard was washed out with deep gullies. Needless to say, we did not drive our 15 passenger van to the vineyard until the county graded it!
Country living is great – when it rains you get to stay home! With all the rain, we were unable to work in the vineyard and had a couple of days off! We had the unexpected pleasure of homemade chocolate chip cookies (recipe multiplied by 4 giving plenty to eat and still plenty to freeze!) and homemade doughnuts … We had to get back to the vineyard just to work off the extra weight we gained!
We don’t normally stack them so high but this is more space and platter efficient! (They didn’t last long either!) |
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God has amazingly blessed me, Dina-Marie, with a wonderful husband and 10 beautiful children. Moving from our "secure" life in Alabama to the "exciting" life of starting a vineyard in west Texas has been challenging to say the least. I have had the opportunity to take a crash course in frugal living and become a real farm girl - complete with milk cow and chickens. I have learned the importance of health from the inside out, "traditional" cooking and cod liver oil! I hope to encourage you to make the most of where you are and what you have. 
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