The Winds are Blowing in Texas!

 You could feel the weather changing Wednesdaay morning.....there was a chill to the wind and the sky held the promise of coming rain.

I came out on the porch and watched as the train one of the staff had made drove it down the ranch road to load it up on a flatbed truck to go to its new home.

I wished I had taken close up pics of it when I had the chance.

It was made from all manner of interesting parts - a hubcap here and an odd piece of something there.

A real work of art.

I packed up the Annie Oakley cabin and Louis Dean loaded the truck.

We said our goodbyes and were ready to go.

Except the truck wouldn't start. Dead battery, he said. But the bells were dinging like it does when you leave the key in or the lights on. Dead battery? Didn't sound like it to me but Louis Dean explained that this big white truck had two batteries.......and yada yada yada......so I left him looking under the hood and clanking around on the battery.....

while I went off to sit in the swing and visit with Rayne.

Nothing would make that truck start. Thay tried jumper cables from another truck and then humper cables from a big John Deer tractor thingy. They cleaned cables and terminals and stuff like that. Still would not start - but it DID keep dinging! Next they talked about getting ot towed to a garage in El Dorado thinking it MUST be the starter, only they couldn't get it out of park. SO Louis Dean and two of the ranch guys started rocking the truck and I was in the driver's seat and asked to put it in reverse if possible. I did. No problem. Now I had been thinking about the extra safety do hickeyfeature on the truck - the one where you have a second place to plug in something down on the steering column base. Witout that, the truck would never start! I looked down and there it was - plugged in. I reached down and pushed it ALL THE WAY IN - and PRESTO! I turned the key and it started right up!

Louis Dean was so excited! So was I! No need to get a tow truck, find a garage as well as a hotel.

Now we could drive back to Texas - just a little later than we had planned.

Perhaps it was the Holy Spirit preventing us from a car accident if we had left at the original hour.

Off we went and this time we decided to eat in town before getting out on the highway.

We found an Applebees's and - better yet - a Hobby Lobby!

Louis Dean parked and let me out to browse the store while he sat in the truck and rested.

I've been painting some rocks to look like vegetables and needed a clear acrylic spray to seal the paint.

Did you know a can of that costs $9.99???? I shall take very good care of that can!

It had started pouring down rain while I was inside and the rain continued for a good while.

I had been wanting a margarita ever since we left Texas last Saturday and I finally got one and it was good!

 Louis Dean drove out of Arkansas and into Louisiana before the rain let up and then I took over at Interstate 20 and drove all the way to Toll Road 49 to Corsicana when he took the wheel again.

It was dark when we got back to the ranch at 8:30 but we made it just fine.

Louis Dean can see better than I at night and our direction (WAZE) had us on some pretty good roads.

He unloaded and I put up as is our regular routine before we poured the wine and lit the candle and had our 'AH' moment!

When we stopped for a bathroom break, I noticed the store featured a good many local Louisiana wines.....the sign said "Sold only in Louisiana".

I bought a bottle of Blackberry Merlot produced and bottled by Landry Vineyards, LLC in West Monroe, Louisiana. I checked their website and they have two cottages like an airbnb.....with wine tatsting and vineyard tours. Who knew??

It did feel good to be back in the girl bunk Wednesday night.

We both slept so well and it was after 9:00 when I got up and put on the coffee.

I walked the plowed up garden, checked on the pond flower bed and my fig tree and Chinese elm tree.

The rose garden is looking oretty and the roses are blooming, as is the lantana, autumn sage and plumbago and moss rose.

I had a solid hour of quality alone time before Louis Dean found his way out of the bed.

He's not a big eater in the morning so we just had those cinnamon sugar dusted things called Bunuelos with our coffee and then a real meal at lunch.

Neither one of us have ever read a Louis L'Amour book before but we are reading one now and it's pretty good!

Thursday afternoon I went into Mart to buy some pumpkins for the last four days of October and was surprised to find that Read's - the one and only grocery store in town - did not carry fresh pumpkins.

I was so dismayed that I turned around and left without even remembering the other things I meant to get there. I drove on down to Virginia's Vintage and Flea Market to see what treasures she might have and noticed she carries a good many of Louis L'Amour books - at four times the price of the other paperbacks. We may want to buy more of his books but right now we are just on chapter 2.

Next stop was the Dollar store where I bought the mouth wash I was meant to buy at Read's. AND I found some nifty self adhesive decorating squares. I have been looking at these for a few weeks now.....

Sherry gave us this fridge a few years ago and we love it!

Thing is - it gets rust spots like a leprosy on the front.

Louis Dean cleans it with steel wool and they still come back.

He says it's in the air.

I am the Queen of Cover Up and no air can get to the fridge front now!

My reading chair sits right across from this and now I can see something pretty instead of a rust covered dingy fridge door. Win! WIN!!

Dean and Sherry went to Canton on Thursday for 'First Monday Flea Market' and stayed overnight.

We were more than happy to take care of Rufus and do a little bit of Critter Chores today.

I do love letting the ducks out in the morning.

The geese do not need the protection at night like the ducks do.

For some reason the ducks marched out and then turned around and went in again!

Normally they go straight into the duck pond just like little soldiers.

I fed the mops aka Great Pyrenees, cats, and Rufus.

The mops do a good job here on the ranch.

I have spent the last two days reading and doing art.

I'm hoping to get this one done before Christmas.

Louis Dean has been playing music and puttering around on his projects.

He put down a wooden border around the perimeter of the rose garden to keep the grass from encroaching. He's always sorting tools and organizing things as well as his 'honey do' list!

I love that he can fix just about anything.

I've been working on this small sunflower painting since August!

It's looked good and then awful and back to good and then okay.

I have completely overworked it and have finally said STOP.

I started another one and am happy with it so far.

Hopefully the next session will finish it up and I am going to try my best not to make a mess.

The wind has been blowing here in Texas ever since we got back.

Two straight days of wind all day long.

I think most of the country is fighting the wind!

At Bar J Ranch, Sabrina is bundled up and everyone is wearing mittens and caps and coats!

Right here at the end of October,

 Fall is finally showing up in Texas!