JULY - JULY - JULY...HOT - HOT - HOT

Well, with all the wondiferous rains, we now have humidity and mosquitos that quickly remind me of life on the Gulf Coast...BLECH!!!! YEE-HAW!

Each July, Dyke's dad's side of the family has their reunion down on the Nueces River at Chalk Bluff Camp outside of Uvalde, Texas and once again, it was great fun to see everyone, catch up on news and enjoy tubing the river! There's nothing better than a scorching hot summer day in south Texas and a beautiful, clear, cold river to cool off in!

AWWW, come on, Mom!

There were games like egg toss, egg relay, water balloon toss and pin the money on Booker! We also had a raffle for different amounts of money and a pinata!

Every year, we celebrate Aunt Polly's birthday - she's the oldest living McMahen! She turned 89 this year and as usual, Booker and his "ladies" performed a well-chorographed dance routine around Aunt Polly! What a hoot it was! Booker is such a great guy!!Aunt Polly, Aunt Jean and Aunt Barb

CHEEEESE!!!!!

Hmmm, what else has been going on???

On Saturday, I had a booth at the Christmas in July craftshow. It was a lot of fun!!! For those newbies, you can check out my "stuff" on my website: www.turquoisecowgirl.etsy.com

I've been looking at a new horse. Hank's his name and he's a 15.3 hand quarter horse gelding. He's very sweet.

It's been so dang hot, that if I don't get out there to mess with him early in the cool of the morning or in the evening before the mosquitos descend upon me, it just doesn't get done.
I'm hoping to get a vet-check on him this week and then make a decision.



Zack's been getting a little garden time...we have 4 turtles that live in the garden and actually come out to see you when they hear your voice. We made a little "pond" for them to swim in and discovered that they LOVE canned catfood! They do help keep the bugs at bay - especially the squash bugs!

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to do better at posting more often...there just doesn't seem to ever be enough time. Two of my good friends that I teach with are going to fly home with me and we're taking the train into NYC to see Wicked on Broadway and some other tourist attractions and then travel to Boston to see Plymouth - where the Pilgrims landed (we teach that in our social studies classes, so we thought it would be great to actually go to the living history Plymouth Plantation! All of that will be a big posting in August!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT!

Ya know that song by Alabama called High Cotton? Well, with almost 4 inches of rain in the past 4 days, with more to come this afternoon...the cotton is almost knee-high! I can't remember a cooler,greener, wetter July! Alright by me, though! With such rain, I've been forced to be productive inside...which is alright by me as well. Closet cleaning, studio time, and cooking seem to be the focus this past week.

WITH ALL OF THE RAIN, THE TARANTULAS ARE MOVING! I WENT OUT TO THE BARN, IN THE RAIN, AND NEARLY STEPPED ON THIS ONE! SCOOPED IT UP AND BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE HOUSE TO SHOW ZACK AND JAKE. WHAT A BEAUTY!

Zack, of course heads out for daily adventures after morning football workouts. Jake's either at the lake or working at the feedstore and many times manages to be in both places in a day's time.He can't seem to stay around long enough to get some shots of him, so Zack is my photo subject lately!

Night fishing in the tank - he hooked and reeled in this monster bluecat (23lbs)!

LOOK MOM!

Barefoot in the pasture and down at the tank is the only way he'll take it! He's definitely a modern-day Huck Finn!

Hmmmm...snakes in the kitchen...

His new invention is to attach his fishing rod to his kite string and reel it in and out!

He found the strangest lizard out in the cotton field. Even his dad hadn't ever seen one like that, so he keyed it out on the computer, but could never find an exact match - he was gently released back into the pasture...watch it be some kind of rare, undocumented species!

Today is Dyke's 48th birthday! I am only 6 months to the day,behind him, so I can't make too much noise about his elderly state... He's not here either...busy patrolling the lake...so no birthday pics today!

NEW PROJECT!

Using some of my "retired" ropers that have just been taking up closet space, I decided to do some decoupage work and give them a second go-round as table decor, wine bottle gift packaging or with a few rocks dropped into them for weight, a cool doorstop! Endless options for this new look! Check it out on my website - and look for more designs that will be coming out! http://www.turquoisecowgirl.etsy.com/

Checked cows this morning - looks like it's time to bring 'um up to the barn to castrate another bunch... they seem to like these cooler temperatures, and with the abundance of water, the pastures are really looking great and the tanks are full to the brim! That's certain peace of mind, going into a hot Texas summer!