Sunday Morning Muses

You have to love this time of year...Don't you?

Last evening we were running the AC to dry out the house after a week of humidity and temperatures in the upper 70's, something had to give. It did. Luckily, I checked the forecast before going to bed last night and switched the thermostat to the heater side.

Even with the AC side set higher than I like and the Heater side set lower than the wife likes we are eating up the Kwh this year already.

Even the flowers outside can't quite figure this year out. Last week one of my Angel's Trumpets was blooming all over. There must have been over a dozen big white blooms on the plant. Then came the freeze of the last week and all of the blooms shriveled up and hung limp and brown. Then came the week we just had. And the blooms on the plant that hadn't been burned completely...They returned. And this last week, they were joined by the Azaleas around the house. All winter long, there have been a few honeysuckle blooms on the vine in the yard...Not many, but at least a few all winter long.

It seems like a long tradition of weather myths here in the Houston area, but like all myths, there is that kernel of fact that feeds the life of the myth...It rained on the Rodeo Parade. I haven't looked at the records. I am sure they wouldn't bear up to the weight of the myth, but, every time it rains on the Trail Riders it makes the news in Houston. Many years ago (many, many) I made the trip through the parade route in a covered wagon after making many of the overnight camps on the trail (I couldn't ride for a couple of reasons: no horse and school). By best friend's brother was on the ride and we would meet at their campsites each night for a few hours before heading home for school the next day. Then on the last night before the parade we joined the Riders at Memorial Park for the night. The next morning we pulled on our boots and hats and bummed a ride on one of the wagons for the ride through downtown Houston. For some reason, every year at this time, I relive those long gone days...I wonder just what pushes those memories to the surface?



Another of my shots from Friday.

Have a great day, and I'll catch ya'll down the way.

Only in Texas

So maybe they sleep in comfortable recreational vehicles these days instead of bunking under the stars and use propane tanks to cook their vittles.

That doesn't mean the 300 or so members of the Sam Houston Trail Ride moseying along toward Houston aren't real spur-jingling cowboys and cowgirls.

More than 6,000 riders, representing the Sam Houston outfit and a dozen other groups, are expected to begin pushing into the city limits today for the final leg of this year's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo trail ride.

By the time they cross into the grounds at Memorial Park on Friday, the trail riders will have covered a combined total of almost 1,800 miles.

Source: Trail riders back in the saddle and the city limits again - Houston Chronicle



Go Texan Day in Houston always brings a bunch of Trail Riders by the office on their way to Memorial Park and the Rodeo Parade downtown tomorrow. This group appears to be the Southwest Trail Ride established in 1993. They are in the last 10 miles of a 120-mile ride from Rosenberg, Texas.



This group of riders has been coming by our offices each year. Their passing is the highlight of everyones "Go Texan Day".

These are some of the first few wagons that passed. It was a pretty large group this year.
I've posted some more shots on my Flickr site...Trail Riders.

revised 2/24/2007 8:30am