The ways the wind blows. Life stuff......

Its been a uneventful few days here. Besides counting the vultures that perch on a nearby high tension tower (67 two nights ago) and logging traffic in and out, it's been pretty quiet. The wind did actually work itself up pretty good the last few days. It kicked up so much dust at one point that we couldn't see the pad.

I did have an interesting experience with one of the local birds yesterday.  The bird landed not 6 feet from me, hopped under my chair to get under the rv, popped out from under the steps with a huge moth in its mouth, then hopped under the table and back under the chair I sit in to the place it landed in the first place, then flew off.  That is the closest anything like that has gotten to me.

We also had a scorpion wander across the mat last night.  The thing was about 2 inches long and headed for the rv when Toie spotted it.  She grabbed Moe and kept him away while I took care of it.  When it crawled back under the mat near where she was, she made me kill it. The scorpions here won't kill you, but they can put one heck of a hurtin' on ya.

I touched on the subject of caterers in a previous post and at that time we had pretty much nothing but a really good experience .  Lately I wish we had that caterer back.  Some of the food they bring out here for the boys is absolute dreck. While we do appreciate being included and getting a free meal, it should at least be
edible. We have even caught them serving the same food twice in one day.  It's been absolutely hit and miss, we never now how its going to be.

It kinda hit me the other day on how many people take interest in the old beasty. I had a 10 minute conversation with one guy about it and we have multiple offers to buy it when we replace it.  Who would have thought that a 35 year old rig would generate so much interest.  When we are through with it I would like to find someone that would either restore her or give the drivetrain a second life.  She  runs that good.

I repaired the CB the other day. The old magnetic mount for the antenna had failed  so I replaced it with a mirror mount style that I mounted to the roof rack on the rv.  We can hear the truck drivers and if need be, call for help.

On a different note, a few weeks ago an act of extreme violence was commited against a gate guard about 75 - 100 miles from where we presently are. While there aren't a lot of details available, most of us are changing the way we handle the gate, and certain kinds of traffic at night.  A light tower at the gate is quickly becoming a necessity in certain areas.  I hope everyone near that area remains safe.


Have a safe day!

My buddy Dave

Before we left Iowa to do the gate guard thing here in Texas I worked with my buddy Dave. Dave is one of those guys that will tell you like it is, EXACTLY the way he sees it. There is no being thin skinned or overly sensitive when Dave is around, he'll eat your lunch.

Dave is also one of those guys that won't hesitate to help a friend or co-worker in trouble.  Underneath that gruff exterior and above his chicken legs beats a heart of pure gold.

I'm writing this post for a couple reasons. First to wave a big ole' hello and how the
heck are ya. And second, just to poke the bear, because deep down, he likes it.

HEY DAVE!  F#¥€ Off!!

We miss you, call us!

My two cents....

I hve been wanting to put my 2 cents into our blog for quite awhile now but really didn't know what to write about.  So I decided I would ramble on about our trip to the gulf.  We had a great time..... I mostly enjoyed sitting in the ocean having the waves come up and litterally push me over.  Although Moe didn't care for the waves whatsoever....  I was kind of nervous about the sign that said jellyfish present.  After actually seeing a few of these Moon Jellies as they are called I had great reservations going into the ocean until we went down to Padre Isaland.  That's where I sat in the water.

 I had a great time at the Texas State Aquarium.  I cannot wait until we can take our grandson Kaydn there.  He will have such a blast.  

 Anyone who visits the Gulf really should take the time to go pay their respects to the USS Lexington.  It is well worth the money.   Make sure your legs are in great shape cause you go up and down a million steps.   My legs hurt so bad for two days afterwards but, it was worth the pain.

 All in all it was fantastic especially since I got to spend it with Bryan....

Rush Hour

It's funny the things you think about when you're sitting alone watching the world go by.  Shift changes can be busy times, a whole lot of vehicles come in and then a short time later, a bunch come out. Oil field rush hour I like to call it.

Our friendly neighborhood vultures are about the same way.  At last count we had 47 of them roosting on a nearby high tension tower. It makes for quite a spectacular display in the mornings when they all take off for the day. The result being a raptor rush hour. The smaller birds don't seem to enjoy this as much as I do.  I even got a low level fly over yesterday when one wanted a closer look.

The nearby cattle are never in a rush and the local turkeys dislike speeders on the county road next to where we are.  They have even slowed a few down by running towards the road and then flying up near the offending vehicle.  This is great entertainment for few vultures that hang around in the trees across the street. I call them "the goon squad" and have even gotten into a staring contest a couple of times with them.

The 30 or so hogs usually rush to cross the road between us and the well because they don't like the noise or the traffic. I haven't had the honor of seeing them yet but I think they checked us out one of the first nights we were here, the smell was something that has to be experienced first hand, there is no describing it.

Right now its about that time when the vultures have returned to their roost, the cows should be by soon and we get a little "quiet" time.

Have a Great Day everyone!

Occupying time

I've been keeping mental notes lately on how we spend our time while we are working a gate and there are a few things I've noticed.

First, television takes up quite a bit.  We watch local over the air stations and like ME TV quite a bit.

Second, Computer time like Facebook, Words with Friends, Blogging, playing the PSP or Wii
helps pass the time.

Toie and I both read the 50 shades of Gray series.

Talking to some of the delivery drivers passes some of the time.

And here is what I think is the best one:

Reprogramming your electronic game caller to see of you can get the cows to look at you.

You know you've arrived when you are trying to entertain the local animals.

And now I know why the dog looks at me like he does!

Have a great day everyone

Night Shift and a big bug just hit me in the nose.

It seems funny that on our first gate Toie had the night shift because of the South Texas heat during the day. Since then, I have been working most nights and I have enjoyed it for the most part.

Light towers are a mixed blessing. It's nice to have the abundance of light so that you can see any critters coming from a farther distance.  The bugs usually don't bother you as much and the truck drivers can see you more clearly.  The down side is the extra noise and all that light and noise make it difficult to have a window open on cool nights.

Light towers also impart a sense of security.  for example, during frac'ing the light tower provides a well lit area and a slightly busy road. The smaller lights leave me feeling slightly clausterphobic.

The old beast is starting to show her age.  The engine and transmission run like a champ but we are starting to have issues with the house end of her.  Since we are closer to a bigger town I am going to have to pick up a few things to shape her up a bit.  The rear bumper that Rob and I installed is working out great but the extra weight of the generator is causing some issues with the frame and floor, which in turn causes issues with the door.  The generator may have to become someone else's project.

Living the Dream

I haven't had a whole lot of time to sit down and put fingers to keyboard and update the blog.  Our last gate was a short one, only lasting about a week. We moved a few days ago and have been settling in.

We had a coyote walk right by the RV tonight, its the first one we have seen close up.  I don't mind seeing a single one but I don't want to see a pack.

Ez-up number two finally gave up.  It had been tossed across a road on our first gate and a strong gust of wind after being set up on our second gate, buckled the frame.  I did get it to last the week we were there with a little duck tape, but the frame didn't survive being taken down again.  The lesson learned was that the cheapy ones are just that, cheap.  I am now looking for a good quality replacement because Toie is only going to give me one more shot at this.

We received our licenses from Texas the other day.  It feels good to have them in hand. We just have to find someone with a laminating machine to seal them up.

We are in a beautiful area right now.Hopefully we get to stay awhile.

New Gate

We are on a new gate after spending a few glorious days on the coast and its fantastic to be back to work.

Corpus Christi was just what the doctor ordered for a few days off.  We left the RV in Whitsett and dropped Moe off at the vet for a few days and then we enjoyed our much needed break.

We ended up staying at the Best Western by the Marina and had a wonderful stay. The view from our room on the 7th floor was spectacular and the room came with vouchers for complimentary drinks each night of our stay.  The view from the lounge on the 11th floor was just the way to start an evening with a free drink in hand.

We took the time to see both the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington during our stay and spent lots of time on the beach.  We are excited and already planning our next trip.

Closed Out

Our first gate ended yesterday and we are spending a few days on the coast.