It's Country Time

I love being out in the country. Although the haphazard internet access has me a bit disconcerted.

Maybe this post will make it up today… if not, consider it a time capsule.

July 23, 2011 at 6:30 am Eric (not a squid) got up because his back was in knots and he was dying of thirst. 

That is correct folks. Here it is Saturday, we’re at Gramma & Grampa’s house out in the country where I could sleep for as long as I wanted to and I’m up. And I have this THIRST. I’m talkin’ 3-day-binge-drinking-in-New-Orleans-hangover kind of thirst. I’ve had a 12 oz. Coke and a 24 oz. Propel Blueberry Pomegranate Vitamin enhanced Water Beverage with antioxidants** and now I’m working on a Cranberry Raspberry Fuze. Still thirsty.

They’ve got some kind of bug, or critter, or something out here that sings in the trees. I’m thinking a bug? Anyway, it sounds a bit like a French police siren.

“HURRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE!” And it is LOUD.

As I write this I’m sitting outside waiting for the sun to come up. Cows are mooing. Chickens are clucking. The neighbors have roosters. Lots and lots and lots of roosters. Bill (my father-in-law) says they are fighting cocks.

Fighting cocks.

Yes cock fighting is illegal. But breeding, raising and selling fighting cocks is not. Don’t ask me what the difference between a regular cock and a fighting cock is. I don’t know. All I hear right now are a dozen 

roosters all crowing at the same time. Maybe they are singing little cock versions of Eye of the Tiger?

Cocks love this

There’s the sun!

I can also hear the highway. The in-laws live just off SH 181 between Hither and Yon. It was recently expanded to a four lane divided highway. The state had decided that after Houston tried evacuating for hurricane Rita that perhaps the current highway system was somewhat lacking. So, just in case Corpus Christi ever needed evacuation, they expanded 181. Lots highways got expanded. That’s a good thing, I guess. What I’m beginning to realize, however, is that I don’t spend any time away from major state highways.

The in-laws are right on SH 181. My folks, also out in the country, right on SH 317. I live on SH 6. To get here I NEVER LEFT a state highway. I took 6 to 59 to 77 to 181. To get to my folks I take 6 to 190 to 36 to 317. Each drive takes about 3 hours.

I guess the bright side here is both sets of grandparents are easy access. The downside is that even 3 hours out of Houston I still can’t get away from the noise of traffic.

Grampa recently acquired a few turkeys. Bug hurkin’ ugly turkeys. Last night when we got in Bill offered me a beer and we talked turkey. About turkeys. As he’s telling me the story about how he got 7 turkeys for $10 and watched them walk around pecking the ground like giant chickens. The tom (a male turkey) is huge. It weighs 60 lbs. This fat turkey could feed a family of four for a month. Or a small African country…

Even its feet were hugely fat. And that is when I saw it. Those were dinosaur feet. I’ve seen the bones in the museums. I’ve seen the movies. And now I’ve seen turkey feet. I can’t believe the connection between dinosaurs and birds still needs to be proven. The T-rex was a giant carnivorous TURKEY.

I bet turkey farmers all across the world were like “duh” when scientists first announced birds were most likely the descendants of the surviving dinosaurs from 65 million years ago.

Farmer Bob: “Shoot… Ted you seen this? Birds are from dinosaurs.”

Famer Ted: “They just now figure that out? Have they never seen a turkey foot?”

T-Rex close up

 Ok. I’m done. For now.