Dang, I missed it. And I reeeeeeally need me some rattlesnake, too :(

Why didn't one of you remind me?  You know I'm bad about remembering dates.  Two weeks ago was the Sweetwater Jaycees 56th annual Rattlesnake Roundup.  And for the 56th consecutive year I missed it.  DOH!

 

This is a Western Diamondback rattlesnake.  This is what the mean, nasty little bastards look like. 

  

And people really do go out and "round them up".  But not me.  I don't have the requisite rattlesnake tattoo or the decided bravery / lack of good sense it demands.

Sweetwater is just west of Abilene, TX, which is quite a ways west of Foat Wuth, which is just 30 miles west of Dallas.  It's in West Texas, an area my dad always said he would be happy to give back to the Indians if they would take it.  It's sparsely populated, and yes, rattlesnakes really do outnumber people there by a wide margin.

For me West Texas is a love / hate sort of place.  I went to college there (in Lubbock) and had a great time, probably due to the fact that it was 363 miles away (or as my Yankee friends might say, "4 states over") from my parents. 

 

On the negative side, they have some killer dust storms there.  Today the fancy-pants meteorologists call them "haboobs".  We always just called them dust storms 'cause we giggled when we said "haboobs".

And there are lots of rattlesnakes out there.  I cringe now thinking about all the times I went backpacking and rock climbing in Palo Duro Canyon; I was probably within easy striking distance for some of the little bastards, but never realized it at the time.  Ignorance really IS bliss.  :)

Now I read there is a big controversy regarding how the rattlesnake roundup-ers round up their rattlers.  It was apparently common for them to pump gasoline fumes into the little underground dens where the reptiles resided, which brought them to the surface and easy capture. 

Now the PETA folks say that's cruel and unusual punishment and want it stopped.  I say getting bitten by a 5' long rattlesnake is cruel and unusual, too, so go protest THAT! 

I hardly think killing off a few thousand rattlesnakes is going to put them on the endangered list.  It would be like saying putting out a few thousand rat traps is going to eradicate all the rats in NYC.  Ha....NOT!

As you might imagine, the state licensed rattlesnake catchers are incensed.  (So if Gov Rick "Pretty Boy" Perry is so against government regulation, why do rattlesnake catchers have to be licensed?)  

*sigh*  I dunno.  I'll let the scientist-types decide this one.  I'm gonna try and not think about it and instead go have me some fried rattlesnake for dinner.  What's that?  We're fresh out of rattlesnake?  OK then, I'll just have chicken.  :)

S

Wonder if it's too late for reservations to "Ski Lubbock" over the Christmas holidays?

Major change in plans:  I had hoped to take K and Luke the Wonderdog on a week-long vacation over the Christmas holidays to a new ski resort I recently heard of.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford Aspen or Telluride or Steamboat during the high season, so I got a package deal to the new Masik Resort in beautiful North Korea.

This is a pet project of North Korean (Dear) Leader Kim Jong-un, who reportedly skied when he attended secondary school in Bern under an assumed name.  Western experts also think the project is a response to South Korea hosting the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Plans were to have the resort open by the end of the year, but are now behind schedule because of heavy rains and mudslides.  Now, to add insult to injury, the Swiss have decided to NOT sell ski lift equipment to the North Koreans.  Prior to this, both the Austrians and French had also refused to sell them lift equipment.

The North Korean Skiers' Association, shown here at their annual general membership meeting, said such equipment should not have been included in the UN sanctions.  They point out that "cableway equipment for the ski resort do not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon."  

They went on to say the sole purpose of the resort was to give the North Korean people "highly civilized and happy living conditions and make them enjoy all blessings."  (It was either this or some food.)

I'm sure K will be disappointed to miss out on this unique opportunity, but I'm thinking Luke might be rather relieved on account of his status as a delicacy in North Korea.

To read more about this for yourself, here is the link to the BBC story.

Happy (?) Monday everyone.  :)

S

Careful what I wish for

I love "weather".  I mean the kind that goes FLASH and BOOM!  I love it when you can see it coming from miles away, and then you can smell it, and then finally you hunker down back inside and watch it blow over.  And afterwards, the air smells so clean, and hopefully has been scrubbed clean of all that nasty pollen that gives me such fits.

I vividly remember one spring back in about 1970 when I was a student at Harvard On The Plains (Texas Tech to you).  Every evening for about two weeks we had what they passed off as "dinner" in our dorm cafeteria, then went back to our west-facing rooms and watched the storms build to the west.  

They grew bigger and taller until finally winds at altitude began shearing off the tops, giving them that distinctive "anvil" head.  It sucked together whatever moisture it could find in the dry West Texas sky, and finally dumped it on top of us, complete with an accompanying light show.  Awesome!

One night it lasted for 6+ hours.  There was a flash / boom every 3 or 4 seconds, all night long.  The next day everyone you met around town was bleary-eyed from lack of sleep.  It was the talk of the town for sure.

Sometimes there were tornadoes involved, too.  In the springtime in West Texas they're common.  In fact, we made a game out of chasing them.  Today "storm chasers" have mobile 4G computer access to satellites and know where the tornadoes are likely to spawn.  It's become a fine art.

We weren't that sophisticated.  We were just a bunch of guys with a car, a full tank of gas, and nothing better to do. Well, except for studying.  Knowing that tornadoes generally travel SW to NE, we'd just maneuver ourselves SW of one and follow it.  

Most were harmless.  In the vast expanse of the South Plains of Texas there isn't much to hit.  Sadly, a few found their way to town, as in June, 1971 when one hit Lubbock and killed 26 people.  The apartment I had left the day before to go home for the summer was one of the casualties.

This is what the sky looked like yesterday evening around Cleburne, TX, just south of Dallas/Foat Wuth.  That dastardly funnel in the center of the picture was one of 10 (?) that plowed across North Texas last night.  Six people didn't survive, and property damage was extensive.  (My area was well north and experienced no damage at all.)

I still love weather, but now I'm wise enough to take it more seriously.  It can bite hard.

Prayers to those affected last night.

S

"Survivor: Texas"

Did you hear about the newest TV reality show?  It's to be called Survivor: Texas.  Here's how it works:  Contestants start at the Dallas Convention Center, then drive south to Waco, Austin, San Antonio, then to Brownsville.  On day two they drive west thru Del Rio and El Paso, then turn back east to Midland/Odessa, where they spend the night.  Finally on day three they head north to Lubbock and Amarillo, then back south/east towards Abilene, Fort Worth, and finally back to Dallas.


Each will be driving a pink Toyota Prius with bumpers stickers that say:


I'm a proud Democrat


Amnesty for Illegals


I love the Dixie Chicks


Boycott Beef


I voted for Obama


George Strait Sucks


I'm here to confiscate your guns


Re-elect Obama 2012


The first one to make it back to Dallas alive wins.


;)  S