I am so excited that spring is here. It is one of my favorite seasons. This will be our second spring here and I have learned that there are some good things and some bad things about spring time in Texas.
I quickly learned last spring that mosquitos are very sneaky around here. They will be on you and biting you before you know it. You don't hear their high pitched buzz and often don't even see them land on you. The boys came in from playing yesterday and had bites all over them. Another thing about the mosquitos here, they are out 24 hours a day.
Another menace is the fire ants. You need to be very careful where you step or put your hands. If it happens to be on a fire ant hole or mound then you will quickly be attacked by these tiny insects with very strong jaws and a burning bite. It is not fun believe me.
Another thing that I just love is the beautiful wildflowers that are popping up everywhere. I just love wildflowers and Texas has given me quite the show.
24 comments:
Fire ants and mosquitos. Two reasons why I do not miss Texas at all.
Oh well, at least you have the unbearable humidity!
I kid. :)
Thanks for the reminder Dave. It does get very sticky here. But it does leave you with soft skin and silky hair. So I guess that one breaks even. Come visit for the wonderful effects.
Oh yes! We get quite the show of wild flowers here too! That is one reason I hate it when Graigg mows down the back of our property. I can say that I have yet to come across any fire ants here but the mosquitos are the size of small children sometimes. ew. The best part - and I certainly can't wait for this - is the fireflies. They are amazing out here! Springtime certainly brings it good and bad, huh! Oh btw...Graigg has some stuff he wants to send you....be on the look out. ;)
I was just reading about this great citrus spray that you could spary on...all natural that would keep mosquitos away. Let me know if you want the web site. Gene is ultra paranoid on the point of being funny about them. He won't go out doors at night and if he sees one he runs into the house. Must be some trauma somewhere? We sent out your package yesterday, so be on the lookout for that too.
Oh yeah, the Gecko reminded me about the early nomadic people we were learning about in home school today. A staple for them was lizard and lizard stew--the girls were kinda grossed out and shocked as they love the cute little lizards in our yard.
that picture of the gecko looks fake! i don't mind geckos, but i'm glad i don't live in texas, even though it would be fun to be near you guys. however, i am jealous of the wildflowers and fireflies. so cool.
carol, doesn't gene get bit by mosquitos like 10 times more than anyone else? i understand his paranoia. :)
and liz, don't be on the look-out cause we haven't sent you anything. :)
Um, for the record, only one family I know of makes fake pictures...and it's not us. Also, I might be offended that you say you're glad you don't live here, but then I remembered that you've actually never been here :P And as far as humidity goes, it's pretty moderate here--nowhere near the horrendous humidity we suffered through in DC/Philly for four years, or even close to the whole midwest/southeast, and I'd take it over the boogers of Utah anyday. "Y'all" know what they say down here...Don't Mess With Texas! Yeeeeehawwwwwww :)
(and hopefully you all know me well enough to know I'm typing this with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek)
Don't get me wrong! I'm not one to mess with Texas (I even had a DMWT t-shirt when I was a kid).
I've lived there a couple of times—in El Paso for two years and Katy (near Houston) for three. I've visited San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Galveston, Corpus Christi, and a bunch of other fun Texas destinations... Texas has a lot of cool/fun/good aspects to it.
Then again, when I look back on my time in Texas, the first things that come to mind are the fire ants, the mosquitos, and the humidity.
And the giant roaches. Don't forget the giant roaches. :)
Gene can tellyou mission stories about giant roaches-but maybe Dallas is different....
Dave also thinks of how much he LOVES the Mavs when he thinks of TX. You guys cannot ever convert to being Spurs fans or...I don't know. I don't even want to go there.
No problem there--as a Lakers fan I can never be a Spurs fan, although I thought of you Dave when Liz and I went to the Spurs Pistons game last week in an absolutely ridiculous catered luxury box. Actually, I am enjoying being a big Mavs backer lately (partly because of the team, partly because it's drives San Antonians crazy since the Mavs finally beat them last year). I was only ribbing Holly about never having been here--I knew you had lived here and agree that, being so big and flat and arid, there are lots of bad places in TX. If you think El Paso and Katy were bad, try going to Midland/Odessa or Lubbock and the places where Gene served his mission--yikes. Luckily, all of our experiences here have been great--from living for a year in Irving/Las Colinas/Plano to the beautiful area we live in now at the edge of the Hill Country. We can't imagine a better place once you balance the great weather, strong local economy, low cost of living, real estate appreciation, impressive job growth, award winning schools, BBQ and Tex-Mex, 2-hour drive to the beach, Sea World, Alamo, Riverwalk, easy airport, and yes, even the Geckos singing at night. Plus, Pecos Bill is from here. I mean, come on! :)
Also, one post-script. The most interesting thing I think about the whole "Don't Mess With Texas" slogan is that it originally was a marketing hook for an anti-littering campaign in Texas in the mid '80s. How funny is that? They come up with a slogan to not litter on the highways, and Texans just decide to co-op it with a slightly different connotation. Classic.
P.S. I hope no one realizes this whole discussion is just a bald faced attempt at getting lots of comments. I was hurt that no one came to my rescue after the hatchet job I got on Flint. :)
I have no problem with the comment padding as you coined it.
And you know I go your back, especially against some random blog lurker. We better watch out or he'll come at all of us in defense of Lubbock (wasn't Buddy Holly from Lubbock?).
And, I HAVE been to Texas, just to clear the record. The Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport thank you very much.
and i also GOT your back.
I have not see any fire ants yet but I have seen the bugs, knats, lizards and mosquitoes starting to come out and play! I think the State bird here is the Mosquito :)
Yes! Buddy Holly was from Lubbock. Also, Gene Cobb loves Lubbock.
Darren--I can imagine how big the mosquitos are in SC! I don't think the ones here are that big, at least not compared to Florida, but they're sneaky and their spit really itches.
Yeah, that guy was totally out of line on the Flint comments. I thought you knew him? I just kinda thought wow- I have no response to that....
Yes...I thought that guy (Flint commenter) was someone you knew too...and was maybe one of your intelligent friends...and then I thought, "Wait, he doesn't really sound intelligent." But, then, YOU did...and as Dad would say, "Thatsa ma boy!"
wow, i just spent the last hour reading the comments in this section(and i was supposed to be doing the taxes).....wish i could chime in regarding texas, no help there. we'll have to come check it out one day. and not that this is a competition or anything but seattle sure is awesome this time of year.....you should come visit....anyone? anyone?
I LOVE Seattle this time of year. Bald Eagles, warm weather, fishing for trout at Pine Lake or bass in lake washington, wading in the sound for rock crabs, hiking the Hoh rain forest, a cruise to Victoria, V&K taking us to the space needle for my birthday. Our summer Seattle in summer can't be beat.
Also, this is comment #20
Wow Kris, doing taxes at 1:10 in the AM?
Congrats on the comments getting into the 20s. I bet you don't want to post anything new, huh?
Holy Cow - 21 posts!? I had to freakin *give birth* in order to amass so many comments! ;)
Really though, I have to give ya'll a "holla" about this post and its comments, I love me some Texas too - can't wait until we can meet up and show you guys around D-Town (go mavs!)
Do you guys have nice weather for the Easter weekend? We're in for a cold front, way colder than last year in Philly . . . sort of a bummer, but that's Texas weather right? Anything by predictable . . .
Well Jenn, to be honest half of the comments are mine, and yes, the weather was insane here this weekend--freezing temps, sleet, 30mph winds. We want to get up to Big D sometime soon and look forward to you guys coming down here once Kate is a little older!
24!
Post a Comment