Category Archives: Rancho Roly Poly

Wet weekend

Posted on June 15, 2007 | Comments Off on Wet weekend

The sunken car in Tulsa might not look so strange around here by Monday. The weather service is calling for likely rain, possibly heavy, tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Looks like our wet spring isn’t over yet. We have had some big floods in June. Are we about to repeat? Just spotty green amoebas on the radar so far. Can’t last. They’ve been wrong before, but not this wrong. Bob Rose has more.

Comments Off on Wet weekend

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Weather/Climate

Tagged , , , ,

Flowers

Posted on June 14, 2007 | Comments Off on Flowers

Flowers.JPG

All the rain we’ve had this year has made for a pretty garden. Even as the heat draws on, it’s still  vibrant. 

Comments Off on Flowers

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly

Camp Shalom

Posted on June 8, 2007 | Comments Off on Camp Shalom

Mr. Boy concluded his first week of day camp at the J this afternoon, still as enthusiastic as he was after the first day. I ask about it, of course, but I just get snips and bits of the experience, usually on the way home. Today, in addition to swimming and crafts and tug-of-war, they had a camping/nature segment in which "we learned skills to survive in the woods." Such as? "Rope," he said. "Definitely."

Comments Off on Camp Shalom

Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly

Tagged , ,

It’s a boat, 2

Posted on June 8, 2007 | Comments Off on It’s a boat, 2

Meteorologist Troy Kimmel emails that we can expect scattered showers this afternoon from a cold front making its way southeast across Texas. Thought I saw a surprising amount of dark clouds over Lake Travis this morning when I was out there working on the sloop. Got the cabin cleaned out, finally, and all cushions vacuumed and the surfaces wiped down with Lysol. Next I want to paint the interior teak, before starting work on the teak bin boards and doghouse trim. Next big problem to solve is getting the outboard overhauled. The one place that works on Suzukis is swamped with work. Meanwhile I’ve a re-rigging planned for the 18th at Yacht Harbor marina, a few miles away, but can’t get there easily without a motor. Not in a hurry, anyway. I could sail back, after the rigging’s completed, but still got to get there.

Comments Off on It’s a boat, 2

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing, Weather/Climate

Tagged , ,

Goodbye to storms

Posted on June 4, 2007 | Comments Off on Goodbye to storms

More clusters of severe thunderstorms moving in from the northwest, just like last evening. Bob Rose says we might as well enjoy the thunder and lightning, as these cells may be the last we see or a while:

"This may be the beginning of our typical summer weather pattern. If today’s long-range solutions are correct, today’s storm activity could be the last of the spring-like storms our region will see this month."

Comments Off on Goodbye to storms

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather/Climate

Tagged , ,

Goodbye to dry

Posted on June 3, 2007 | Comments Off on Goodbye to dry

droughtmonitor.jpg

This, compared with this from last December, shows how our south central part of Texas (and the  rest of the state) has come out of a big drought in the past six months. In the last two hours, we added another inch or so of rain as some big storms swept through from the northwest. Lowered the temperature about 20 degrees, into the upper 60s. Some urban and small stream flooding, and enough lightning to leave about 7,000 people without power. We weren’t affected. Mr. B. got a little excited by a few close lightning strikes, however. Lot of hail reported. Probably see the damage from that tomorrow.

Comments Off on Goodbye to dry

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Texana, Weather/Climate

Tagged , , ,

It’s a boat

Posted on June 3, 2007 | Comments Off on It’s a boat

Caught making lists this afternoon of things yet to do on the sloop before it’s presentable and usable again. The memory fades without lists. Proceeding at a stately pace of an hour or so a day, squeezed in between parenting and other things, I have progressed. After more than a year of no use, the boat was (and is yet) pretty dirty, but it’s improving. Finally got the hull and the deck clean of dirt, mold and mildew, and yesterday took on the forepeak, vacuuming the cushions and the surfaces and wiping everything. I got out two baseball-sized mud dauber’s nests. The smell of bleach finally got to me, despite the open hatches. About then two humongously oversized (for a lake) cabin cruisers chugged by at slow speed. They set up more wake going slow, and I was rolling around in the cramped forepeak like a fish in a can. Finally finished, fought off the nausea, and brought the cushions back in from their airing in the cockpit. Then went home. Think I got dehydrated in the 90 degree heat. Memo: next time, tomorrow, bring more water.

Comments Off on It’s a boat

Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Sailing

Tagged , ,