Monday, May 26, 2014

Lots Of Rain Across The Area

Lawns that were parched have turned green overnight and the playa lakes have recovered at least a few feet of water. The local cotton farmers have reason to be happy. I'll have some non-drought photos up soon. I took photos in a water-logged park and had to get a bit muddy in order to take the rest. It was worth it. What a change. Prayers were indeed answered. I feel a bit more optimistic. Maybe we are about to turn the corner here, and maybe we'll have a year with at least nearly normal rainfall.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

An Amazing Thing!

The amazing thing is that we are finally getting some rain. We woke up yesterday to soaked lawns and water running down the gutters. Have not seen that in a long time! We had slow, soaking, rain most of yesterday. This morning we find that it has rained over the night time hours and the clouds are thick. It is also quite cool. This is a wonderful thing. Those poor playa lakes have gained some ground. It is around 09:30 CST as I write this, and I can hear distant thunder. YES! One can only give thanks. We are all hoping and praying that it will rain a lot more. There is a kind of weird coincidence in all this: a friend of my wife has been traveling, and everywhere she went it rained, a lot. Last stop before Lubbock was in Dallas and Dallas got drenched. Not long after she arrived in Lubbock the rain came here. One of those strange things...


I haven't had much to say about my exercise efforts lately. I have been routinely dead-lifting 250lbs at the gym, and recently managed 265. I've been trying to work my way up to 300lbs but I'm being cautious because I don't use a belt. On the chest press machine I've managed 4 reps at 190lbs. I can do a one rep max at 210. On the other hand, I can only do 5 reps of 145lbs using free weights (Olympic bar) on the bench press rack. One rep max with free weights is only 165, which is not even my own weight (175). But I seem to be making slow progress, at least.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lubbock, Like a Cow Patty In The Sun, Dries Up

These are pics of a playa lake near a tennis center. There is not much left of it. Where I stood, when I took these pics, would have had me hip deep in water a few years ago.










Sunday, May 18, 2014