jamesp favorites-Rio Grande #2

[captbob]

Just told wife about above post.

She said "Two hours!? You don't have to take anything, just go!"

*sigh*

[1dave]

Nov 13, 2016 9:08:32 GMT -5 jamesp said:

May have made a big mistake in hunting large wood. There were miles of two distinct shorelines at low lake level.
Each had a pile of 2 inch and smaller pebbles 12 inches deep and 5 feet wide(variable).
Wood sprinkled all in them.
This a small wood 2" X 2" X 1" and of very fine quality.
Betting the small woods may have been the quality stuff. Must go back now.
Sit on my butt in the shade and collect 10 five gallon buckets, keep me busy for a lifetime.
No bleach, ready to tumble, perfect single cab slabs. Dang dang dang
You ready Bob ?

Go Guys GO!
Take extra cameras for when what you got wear out.

[captbob]

Gotta be back by Thanksgiving.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2016 10:14:30 GMT -5 captbob said:

Gotta be back by Thanksgiving.

Just wait and go on Friday after Thanksgiving!! The Christmas is your deadline!

Go for it. You deserve it, you have earned it!

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 10:14:30 GMT -5 captbob said:

Gotta be back by Thanksgiving.

Back in time for Thanksgiving, for turkey or because you can't stay away from loving wife ? Don't answer that !

Sounds like time off was healthy for the Ms. You may find this 'happy you are leaving' thing to be a trend.
My wife is 100% glad to see me off. There is no secret about it. Elation days before departure.

[jamesp]

Scott has a great idea.
December does have a draw back. We were collecting close to this boxes where rifles are manned.
Jan 15 is last day of regular gun deer season, Jan 29 the last day of 'special' deer season whatever that is.
So Feb. looks like the time to go.
That would include Valentine's Day(heads up (or off)).

The day I left was the beginning of gun season. Noticed the last few days I was there corn was laying under the timed feeders.
Nothing worse than a pissed off deer hunter for interrupting his hunt.

[captbob]

Thanksgiving is our anniversary as well. Probably lose points for missing both.

ETA: you know how freakin' cold it would be there in Jan. & Feb!

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 10:07:32 GMT -5 1dave said:

Nov 13, 2016 9:08:32 GMT -5 jamesp said:

May have made a big mistake in hunting large wood. There were miles of two distinct shorelines at low lake level.
Each had a pile of 2 inch and smaller pebbles 12 inches deep and 5 feet wide(variable).
Wood sprinkled all in them.
This a small wood 2" X 2" X 1" and of very fine quality.
Betting the small woods may have been the quality stuff. Must go back now.
Sit on my butt in the shade and collect 10 five gallon buckets, keep me busy for a lifetime.
No bleach, ready to tumble, perfect single cab slabs. Dang dang dang
You ready Bob ?

Go Guys GO!
Take extra cameras for when what you got wear out.

Finally found a camera that can take the sand, grit water and abuse. It needed a good cleaning Dave,

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 11:44:51 GMT -5 captbob said:

Thanksgiving is our anniversary as well. Probably lose points for missing both.

Bequeathed with enough dog house time as it is. Maybe another month.

Cold in Zapata ??

[captbob]

Notice all the "Bridges may ice over before road" signs down there? I thought they were kidding.

Much below 60° is cold to this Florida boy!

[captbob]

back to rocks... call me if I need to start packing!

[jamesp]

Sliced this little morsel up a few more times. Perhaps enticing a December trip during anniversary.




Quality of healed areas



And it was sliced across the grain, probably not the best view.

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 11:51:57 GMT -5 captbob said:

Notice all the "Bridges may ice over before road" signs down there? I thought they were kidding.

Much below 60° is cold to this Florida boy!

www.accuweather.com/en/us/zapata-tx/78076/february-weather/335898

[Sabre52]

*L* Don't know that I would worry about the weather all that much but the bullets, yeah. Deer season is on now and it sounds like war in the mornings. We don't ride horses along he fences during deer season as there are hunting blinds all over the place and some folks don't care about having a good backstop. Funny how all the huge bucks are in my backyard now. Safe home till the end of deer season. *L*. We can have some cold days in the winter but the Rio Grande Valley is famous for mild temps. Starting February it can get pretty windy though so the cold bites more than it should.

I think you guys should go as soon as possible so we can see more pics *L*. Clayton just dropped of another hundred pounds or so of Rios for me to sort. I like looking at your pics and I like field collecting, but having curb service ain't too bad neither.

I like that yellow wood by the way. Those colors are very dramatic compared to the usual earth tones...Mel

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 12:45:31 GMT -5 Sabre52 said:

*L* Don't know that I would worry about the weather all that much but the bullets, yeah. Deer season is on now and it sounds like war in the mornings. We don't ride horses along he fences during deer season as there are hunting blinds all over the place and some folks don't care about having a good backstop. Funny how all the huge bucks are in my backyard now. Safe home till the end of deer season. *L*. We can have some cold days in the winter but the Rio Grande Valley is famous for mild temps. Starting February it can get pretty windy though so the cold bites more than it should.

I think you guys should go as soon as possible so we can see more pics *L*. Clayton just dropped of another hundred pounds or so of Rios for me to sort. I like looking at your pics and I like field collecting, but having curb service ain't too bad neither.

I like that yellow wood by the way. Those colors are very dramatic compared to the usual earth tones...Mel

Dodge the deer hunters at all costs ! Due to the open land and low vegetation those Texas blinds stand out like a sore thumb.
A big pastime in Texas no doubt, shooting houses as far as the eye can see.

You would laugh at the Does right now. Very little hunting within a mile perimeter of my place.
Rut is full tilt with a big moon. ALL the does are stacked up around the house and the barns where the bucks are nervous to venture around.
Happens every year. Does hide from them around safe places like buildings and where people hang out.
#1 way for me to know the rut is a drive down the driveway at 2AM seeing groups of 3-6 just standing there.

The wind must get strong looking at the various rock piles along the shorelines of that lake.
Perfect for undoing the caliche and letting all those giant marbles roll out for collectors.
Rough on the guy collecting. 40F and strong wind not good for man nor beast.
Thanks for heads up on wind.

Balls and chains may limit immediate trips. Sorry

[1dave]

Nov 13, 2016 11:49:20 GMT -5 jamesp said:

Nov 13, 2016 11:44:51 GMT -5 captbob said:

Thanksgiving is our anniversary as well. Probably lose points for missing both.

Bequeathed with enough dog house time as it is. Maybe another month.

Cold in Zapata ??

It happened a hundred years ago and was repeated early this year!

Dairy Cow Death Toll to Surpass 30,000 in Texas, New Mexico Due to Winter Storm Goliath
By Ada Carr
Published Jan 5 2016 10:47 AM EST
weather.com

Blizzard Kills 30,000 Cows in Texas

Dairy producers in Texas and New Mexico have estimated that the number of animals that died during the recent Winter Storm Goliath will climb to more than 30,000.

The winds are believed to be the cause for many of the animals’ deaths. It created drifts as high as 14 feet and pushed animals into fenced corners where they suffocated, according to The Associated Press.

"As Winter Storm Goliath wrapped up over the southern Plains, strong winds were associated with the storm's tightening pressure gradient," said weather.com meteorologist Quincy Vagell. "When combined with snow, the winds were strong enough to create dangerous blizzard conditions."

(MORE: Goliath: The Deadliest U.S. Storm System of 2015)

Executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen Darren Turley said that an estimated 15,000 mature dairy cows died between Lubbock, Muleshoe and Friona, the primary impact area of the storm, AP also reports. This region includes the home of half the state’s top 10 milk-producing counties, which provide 40 percent of Texas’ milk.

According to an agent with New Mexico State University’s extension service, the state lost an estimated 20,000 cows.

“Like all agriculture, dairy producers always operate at the mercy of Mother Nature,” said Turley. “With Goliath, she dealt a particularly harsh and costly blow to the area’s dairy producers, from the death of thousands of livestock they spend so much time caring for to a loss of milk production both over the weekend and in the future.”

He says the losses will affect production for about a year.

(MORE: Truck Sinks and Freezes Like an Ice Cube in Canadian Lake)

A press release from the Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD) said that, during the storm, dairy employees and tanker trucks were unable to reach farms, causing hundreds of loads of milk ready for processing to go to waste. Some of the cows normally milked twice a day went almost two days without being milked, according to Turley, and that alone can have an impact on the farm.

“When a dairy cow goes that long without being milked, her milk supply starts to dry up,” Turley said. “That means the dairy cows in this region will give less milk for months to come. Less milk going to market will be felt by consumers, as well as by dairy farmers.”

The Texas producers are working with state environmental officials to find ways to dispose of the bodies of the animals, according to AP. Some counties are allowing them to put carcasses in their landfills.

Additionally, TAD is working with the Texas Governor’s Office, the Texas Department of Agriculture and other state and federal agencies to determine whether affected dairy farmers will receive financial assistance, according to the press release.

[captbob]

Great... the Rio Grande freezes over and the illegals walk across without even getting their feet wet!

Figure water levels must go in the spring when places upstream have snow melt run off.

[jamesp]

1dave, the older fellow at the turn-off-to-dirt road to collecting area said there was a 5 inch snow and a 9 inch snow there in Zapata during his lifetime.
The 9 inch snow was devastating.

Lots of flat roofs in that area. Most of the sheds welded out of pipe, maybe they would be OK.

[jamesp]

Nov 13, 2016 13:47:41 GMT -5 captbob said:

Great... the Rio Grande freezes over and the illegals walk across without even getting their feet wet!

Figure water levels must go in the spring when places upstream have snow melt run off.

The Rio further upstream is minuscule and easy to cross. Yes it fills during wet season, but not much water during dry.
Stomped around Brewster County at Big Bend. That place will have you looking over your shoulder with a 40 foot wide lazy river.
The lake is a good thing.

[captbob]

So what's inside this one?