On our previous posting we made you all aware that our RV was in the shop for some repairs. It was a hassle, and and expensive one at that, but we're back in our home and (most of) the repairs have been accomplished. Could go on and on about that, but what's the use. We're comfortable once again.

When we picked the RV up from the dealership in Corpus Christi we opted to spend a few days on Mustang Island. Sort of a shake-down cruise to make sure everything was working before we headed back to the oilfields. Good thing we did because all was not well. Back to the dealer for one more day of "fixing". This, after they had had our fifth wheel for nearly eight (8) weeks.

Since getting back to work we've been on three gates, all in the Tilden area. Happy in our work.

Not happy in our loss of Molly. This little girl was with us for fifteen years. I think she never met anyone she didn't like. Wonderful companion and friend. RIP, Molly.

Some year, when we Really Retire, we want to be living very close to a beach, preferably this one.

We're a one dog family now. Pat and Annie on the beach at Port Aransas.

Great Blue Heron on the dunes at Mustang Island.

Same heron, closer.

Still finding (some) time for wood carving and other hobbies.

Dozer at work on pipeline right of way. Really close to our RV and I can tell you we're really not liking the dust all that well. Didn't last long, however.

There is beauty in nature. Some of it we never see until it is pointed out to us. These insect eggs (very tiny) were on the underside of a turnip leaf. I marvel at their structure and uniformity.

 



 

Life goes on, and we're doing our best to enjoy it. Winter in Texas has been very tolerable this year. So sorry our family and friends who still live in the northlands had a hard winter. Plenty of room in Texas.

Starting 2014 TODAY.

If you follow our blog with any regularity you will know that our postings have been sparse for a good part of 2013. Many reasons for the lack of posts, but really, the biggest single reason is that we have been in (remote) parts of the south Texas oilfields and cannot always get an internet connection. The other reason is that I am somewhat of a procrastinator and won't start a post until I have all the pictures processed, saved, and in some kind of order. Today is your lucky day. Got everything together, have a good internet connection and plenty of time to get this done.

Since our last post, September 12 I believe, we have experienced some fluctuation in the world of oil well gate guarding. Chesapeake, the company we have worked with for the past year and a half, sold a lot of their wells to another company, Exco. This resulted in a lot (perhaps hundreds) of gates being closed or transferred to other guard companies. Our gate at Tilden was one of those gates.

After tearing down and packing up our gate operation we sat idle for a short period of time and then got hired by a different guard company. Guard 1 Services took us on and sent us to a fairly new gate, and Exco gate, near Dilley. We liked it there but that too was destined to close after just a few months.

While at Dilley we decided we'd better get our Cedar Creek fifth wheel in to the dealer to have some work done on it. Some of the work is covered by warranty and our warranty is about to expire. We were able to borrow (rent) a motor home from another gate guard couple who got a new fifth wheel and had not yet been able to sell their motor home. Its now been one month and we still don't have our Cedar Creek back. Should be just a few more days, I hope.

We have worked a couple other gates on a temporary basis while waiting for a more longer-term assignment. Currently in the Triple R RV park near Crystal City TX. Our hope is that our fifth wheel will be ready about the same time we get our next assignment. Meanwhile, we are enjoying the time off.

 

Winter sunset in Texas. Something you rarely see in the northern climes.

 



 

Construction (destruction) at the Calvert Ranch gate. When we got there it was pretty much brush country. When this tree-chewer got done there were roads and paths and clearings all over the ranch. We watched this machine reduce a 30' tall mesquite tree to chips in about ten minutes.

 

Some of the new oil storage at Calvert Ranch. This was brush land when we got here.

Pipeline under construction on Calvert Ranch. All the oil from the several wells flows to a central point, the tanks above, for transfer to tankers.

We had a lot of walking sticks show up at our house. The most I've ever seen in my lifetime. This one hung around for weeks, had sex right in front of us (no shame whatever), got pregnant, and had her babies. Interesting experience.

 

Annie ignoring a walking stick on her pen.

The rented motor home at Dennis well near Crystal City TX.

Pump jacks at Dennis. These were installed while we were there.

Moonrise near Christmas, 2013.

Site we sat for three days so other guards could have some time off. Closest town is Catarina TX, but even that's not very close. Look at the map of texas - when you find Catarina (it's north of Laredo) just look at that large white area of Dimmit County with no roads, towns, or other landmarks identified on the map. It is the middle of nowhere, and that's where this site is.

When a drill rig moves in you will see lots of huge vehicles and machines. Most of the machines are a puzzlement. You see engines, gears, pipes, but you have no clue what it does or how it works. The oil industy is a distinct sub-culture that has a lot of its own secrets.

No secret here. This is one of the friendly roadrunners we see in Texas almost every day.

This is normally dry and dusty, but when it rains nothing moves, except the flowing water.

Porta potties at a well site in the center of a huge wheat field. Is this middle of nowhere? Not quite, but you can see it from here.

Our Molly with her Christmas present for 2013. Molly made it to age 15 on New Year's Eve. Her health is failing, however, and we are concerned for her future. She has definitely become a senior citizen.

Annie with her Christmas present for 2013. Annie is now six and doing well. No more back problems.

Molly fell asleep during the middle of her snack time.

How Molly gets most of her meals now. She can't chew and keep food in her mouth so Pat feeds her a semi-liquid diet. It's kind of like hospice care for dogs. We love her.

Pat thought she wanted Zoomies, so I got her a pair for Christmas. Don't believe the TV commercial!

 

 

Moving on to other things for the day. Happy New Year! Hope 2014 is your best year yet.

 

The news from Dilley, Texas

It's been a long time in coming, but here's the latest addition to our series of blogs. We were in one location for a long time and nothing much was happening in our lives so there was little to report; then there was an issue with our main computer and it ended up in the repair shop for over a month. Couple that with other equipment issues and just plain procrastination and you should have a pretty good explanation for the delay in posting.

Tilden, Texas was our primary location since September, 2012. Oh, there was a break for a couple of months to visit Port Aransas, Texas for some R&R on the beach, then right back to Tilden. Much to our surprise, and dismay, the oil company decided to close that gate and there was no other gate to relocate us to. We then took a couple days off and went back to Port Aransas. We applied to a different guard company and got immediate placement to Faith Ranch, south of Carizzo Springs, Texas, which is quite near the Mexican border. Only stayed there a week and then got moved to Dilley, Texas and that's where we are now and probably will be for an extended period of time. We're all moved in and settled and finally have Direct TV working; computer working (fairly well). Somewhat remote, but not as far as we've been at other times. About 20 miles to decent shopping, and a Wal-Mart.

 Our resident deer at Tilden. Momma and her twins were frequent visitors.

 Roseate Spoonbill at Port Aransas.

 

 Gray Heron and Egret at Pioneer Park, Port Aransas.

 

 Gray Heron.

 

 What would you guess these guys are doing? Never expected to get a power surge, but we did and it did a lot of damage. Lucky we didn't get fried. Think I'll invest in a surge protector.

 

 Power inlet plug on the RV. The plug fused to the socket and had to be removed as one piece.

 

 Gate to Faith Ranch. That's our RV on the left.

 Count them if you wish. Each sign is an oil well. I counted 92. Faith Ranch is huge, taking up parts of three counties.

 

 This is a Pyrrhuloxia, more commonly known as a gray cardinal, eating berries right outside our dining room window.

 

 Pat walking among the cattle on Calvert Ranch near Dilley, Texas, our present location.

 

Rainbow right over our house following a late afternoon rainstorm.

 

 

That's all for today. If things keep working as they are supposed to we'll try to blog a little more often.

More of our Tilden surroundings

Posting some addition photos today of our Tilden surroundings. This is Texas brush country - some rolling hills, sandy, semi-arid, and lots of wildlife. Not much for population, however. We have no neighbors within walking distance. Mostly, our only human contact is with workers coming to the oilwell or when we go to town for shopping.

Scissor-tail Flycatcher. Lots of these around, and they are really good at catching bugs.

Green Jay. Had never seen one of these until being here.

Prickly Pear in bloom.

This is where we are. You can see, it's quite rural, but we have all the comforts of home in the city.

Another Prickly Pear.

If you ever see Prickly Pear Honey in a store, this is where/how it begins.

Just an example of brush country. Beyond the Prickly Pear, uphill, you can see an oil well pump.

Our gate.

Walking along the road to our oil well I saw a hole surrounded by ants. These are Texas ants, for sure. The hole is about one inch; the ants about 1/2 inch long.

Several rabbits live in the brush surrounding our home. Annie wants to either play with them, chase them, or eat them. We aren't sure. She is determined (fixated) on watching them through the fence. The rabbits show no fear to either Annie or us.

 

With this we'll close for now. Keeping an eye open for deer, wild pigs, wild turkeys. All of those also come by frequently.