Happy Independence Day, TEXAS!!!!!

 

 https://www.facebook.com/TexasStateHistoricalAssociation

Happy Texas Independence Day, y'all! And Happy Birthday to Sam Houston, born March 2, 1793! How will you celebrate?
 HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, TEXAS!!!

 

NATIVE TEXAN AND PROUD OF IT!!!

Somebody sent me this email the other day, and so I can't take credit for it. But if you don't mind reading a long post, you might find out some interesting things about our great state of Texas and why we're so proud!  I know you're all proud of your own states, too, but here goes: 

This is for all those native Texans out there - and you know who you are!!!

Have you ever looked at a map of the world? Look at Texas with me just for a second. That picture, with the Panhandle and the Gulf Coast , and the Red River and the Rio Grande is as much a part of you as anything ever will be. As soon as anyone anywhere in the world looks at it they know what it is. It's Texas . Pick any kid off the street in Japan and draw him a picture of Texas in the dirt and he'll know what it is. What happens if I show you a picture of any other state? You might get it maybe after a second or two, but who else would? And even if you do, does it ever stir any feelings in you?

In every man, woman and child on this planet, there is a person who wishes just once he could be a real live Texan and get up on a horse or ride off in a pickup. There is a little bit of Texas in everyone.

Texas is the Alamo . Texas is 183 men standing in a church, facing thousands of Mexican nationals, fighting for freedom, who had the chance to walk out and save themselves, but stayed instead to fight and die for the cause of freedom. John Wayne paid to do the movie himself . That is the Spirit of Texas .

We send our kids to schools named William B. Travis and James Bowie and Davy Crockett, and do you know why? Because those men saw a line in the sand and they decided to cross it and be heroes.

Texas is Sam Houston capturing Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana at San Jacinto .
Texas is huge forests of Piney Woods like the Davy Crockett and Sam Houston National Forests .
Texas is breathtaking mountains in the Big Bend .
Texas is the unparalleled beauty of bluebonnet fields in the Texas Hill Country.
Texas is floating the rivers of the Hill Country on a hot summer day.
Texas is the beautiful, warm beaches of the Gulf Coast of South Texas .
Texas is beaches you can drive on and have many memorable bon-fires with close friends.
Texas is that warm feeling you get when someone asks where you're from.
Texas is the shiny skyscrapers in Houston and Dallas.
Texas is world record bass from places like Lake Fork .
Texas is Mexican foods like nowhere else, not even Mexico .
Texas is chicken fried steak and world famous Bar-B-Q.

Texas is the Fort Worth Stockyards, Bass Hall, the Ballpark in Arlington and the Astrodome. (guess now, the Reliant Stadium too)..

Texas is larger-than-life legends, like Michael DeBakey, Ann Richards, Denton Cooley, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Gene Autry, Audie Murphy, Tommy Lee Jones, Waylon Jennings, Farrah Fawcett, Janis Joplin, Sandra Bullock, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Landry, Eva Longoria, Darrell Royal, ZZ Top, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Sam Rayburn, Howard Hughes, George H.. W. Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, and let's not forget GEORGE STRAIT- PANTERA, the Big Bopper, Tex Ritter, George Jones, Clay Walker, Mark Chestnut, to name ONLY a few.

Texas is great companies like Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, EDS and Compaq, Whataburger, Southwest Airlines, Bell Helicopter and LOCKHEED MARTIN AEROSPACE, Home of the F-16 Jet Fighter and the JSF Fighter, Valero.

Texas is NASA.
Texas is huge herds of cattle, beautiful horses and miles of crops.
Texas is home to the world famous King Ranch.
Texas is home to the most amazing sunsets of gold over an empty field.
Texas is hundreds of deer running around neighborhoods and fields.
Texas is skies blackened with doves and fields full of deer.

Texas is a place where towns and cities shut down to watch the local high school football game on Friday nights and for the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and for the night In Old San Antonio River Parade in San Antonio.

To drive across Texas , is to drive 1/3 the way across the United States .
Texas is ocean beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers, mountains and prairies, and modern cities.
If it isn't already in Texas , you probably don't need it.
No one does anything bigger or better than it's done in Texas .

By federal law, Texas is the only state in the U.S. that can fly its flag at the same height as the U.S. Flag. Think about that for a second. You fly the Stars and Stripes at 20 feet in Maryland , California , or Maine , and your state flag, whatever it is, goes at 17 feet. You fly the Stars and Stripes in front of Klein Oak High or anyplace else at 20 feet, the Lone Star flies at the same height - 20 feet. Do you know why? Because it is the only state that was a Republic before it became a state.

source - http://www.wheelmeon.org/capitol.jpg

Also, being a Texan is as high as being an American down here. Our capitol is the only one in the country that is taller than the capitol building in Washington , D.C. And we can divide our state into five states at any time if we wanted to!  We can become a republic again at any time the voters of Texas choose, and we included these things as part of the deal when we came on.

That's the best part, right there.

Texas even has its own power grid!! And don't even lie to yourself... Did I mention Live music capitol of the world?

If you are a REAL TEXAN, you won't even need to be told to pass this on.

God Bless Texas !

Summertime Fishin' with Pop

Howdy-doody, cold people! Howsa 'about a little hot summertime fishin'?  That oughta get you all nice and toasty!  Just think, settin' there in the sunshine in the boat or on the pier, whether at a lake or on the oceanside... Cain't ya just hear the water lappin' against the pier, maybe swattin' red wasps that like to get up under the eaves of the pier?  Sippin' a cold one (Coke, I mean) and the sun fryin' the tops of your thighs and anything else it can reach? Sweat runnin' down into every crevice and crack on your body? You set there long enough, the sweat and fish stink and dirt makes granny beads on yer neck and inside your elbows. Doncha just love it???  Here's my firstborn on his first fishin' trip 25 years ago with his Pop (my daddy).  Look that proud accomplishment on his little face! He's as proud of that little perch as any trophy bass fisherman, and Pop is just as proud, too! My dad was a trophy/tournament fisherman in his day... I still go fishin' with him... I love it!

And ya know what? Adam and Daddy are still at it 25 years later!

You know what?  Guys can do alot of talkin' and solvin' the problems of the world and life settin' on the lake. It takes alot of patience to fish, lots of analogies about life and fishin' that Daddy taught us kids and now my kids, and there's alot of other things to talk about, too. It's a great "male bonding" thing. But what about when Dad takes ME?  Lotsa good daddy/daughter time, too.  I catch up on what my daddy's into. He's always puttering around doing something. Fishing, huntin', buildin' stuff, fixin' stuf'f, oh yeah, now he's into surfin' the net and whatever the latest techno-gadget is.  He's got a game camera on some of his deerfeeders and it takes night pictures of deer, hogs, whatever comes to eat the corn. It's pretty cool.  I think my daddy still looks pretty good to be in his 70's. He hasn't slowed down much.

And here's yours truly! Today we're catchin' crappie, right off the pier. We like to bass-fish out on the lake, but this is crappie season, and we're pullin' em in right and left. As I recall, we had a big ole fish fry at the farm that night. This was back in the summer of 09.  They were practially jumpin' up on the pier for us.  It was so hot even in the shade, I didn't have a dry thread on me when we got ready to leave. Daddy didn't either.  You know that time in the mid to late summer when the lake water is tepid- feels like bathwater almost - and it's not even refreshin' anymore?  Well, that was this time of summer! We drank several bottles of Gatorade between us and our fishbait (shrimp) was stinkin' to high heaven. I'm sure we smelled lovely when we got back to Mom's. And she WILL shoo you outside if you're too stinky or have dirt or mud on your shoes. And you cain't set down on her furniture without a towel under ya.

Wish there'd been a 3rd person with us so we could have our picture taken together... If there's anything that was any funner (is that a word?) in this world, then the Good Lord saved it for Himself! That's what my Nanny always used to say.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed fishin' hot summertime lakes today in Texas. We can batter up them fish and throw 'em out on the pavement and watch 'em fry if you'd like to. It'd be better than gettin' all that fish grease out and heatin' up and stinkin' up the kitchen. We'll just get out the big propane fryer & cook 'em in there.  Cut ya up some sweet onion slices, fix some coleslaw, fries and some jalapeno hushpuppies and some fish grease cream gravy!  Mmmmmm - it just don't get any better than that!  I can't wait!

TEXAS HEAT - from us to YOU!!!

In the hopes of bringing a little warmth and sunshine to all you snowed-in folks north of the Mason-Dixon line (and maybe even a little bit south of that). We Texas Gals have banded together this week!  Even tho most of us are feeling a little chilly, too, we thought a searing blast of heat from the Lone Star State might warm up your toes, your buns AND your hearts.  Here for your cozy enjoyment are a few scenes from summers past and those coming up in a few months! hang in there people - we're on the upswing now!

Greetings from Sand Flat Farm!  See how the sun shines golden on the side of the house! It's a hot sultry afternoon here at the farm. We're sitting on the deck in the back, I would imagine. Sitting in our metal lawn chairs that'll burn your booty and backs of your thighs if you sit on 'em midday. Sitting & sipping some sweet iced tea and letting the sweat from the glass drip on the tops of our legs just cuz it feels so good.  Probably got some burgers on the grill, a big bowl of homemade salsa and chips on the outside table and we're laughing and visiting with all the family. Can't you just smell those burgers already?

 

After a night of burgers, watching fireflies from the deck and swatting mosquitos we'll have a good night's sleep & then we're out early in the morning to work in the garden. Here's some of the hay bales from the first cutting  in the pasture behind the garden. I love how they cast long shadows in the early morning. Morning is my favorite time at the farm. I like to sit out on the deck and drink coffee in the just-up-sunny morn. Our big oak and sycamore trees offer shade over the deck and keep it nice and comfortable for an hour or so before the temps get too hot.

Good morning cheery sunflowers!  I LOVE sunflowers!!! They did really well this year and I love how they turn their faces to the sun everyday!

Hello there bumblebee! We've got lots of you guys zipping around the garden this time of year. Thanks for staying so still so I can get a picture of you!

Periwinkles loving their little spot by my refurbished old garden shed. I love them, too. They always grow well for me. Even I can't kill them! I hope they like their iron-ore rock edging - just trying to use what we've got here on Sand Flat Farm! 

July 4th is getting closer. I put red and dark purple petunias here in my old wagon. I think I need to add some white ones, too - then it'll look RED, WHITE & BLUE!  I love July 4th!  A chance to celebrate our country's independence and have a big blow-out party with friends and family and have lots of beautiful fireworks! Gotta be careful, tho - don't want to set the pasture on fire!

My hydrangeas are blooming well. I set 'em out last year and they're still small but so beautiful! They bloomed all summer long. Now, I want them to turn blue, so I'll have to find out how to supplement the soil. I may wind up having to move them. The summer sun has been so hot on them, they almost croaked last year. They drank lots and lots of water!  Aren't they supposed to do best on the north side of the house? I think that's what I heard...

My husband is riding his trusty steed here and killing the never-ending weeds that spring up all summer long. This little trailer sprayer has come in so handy!  Good investment!  Just another day at the farm. I've gotta go - I will be pulling weeds today from the garden!  Yesterday I turned on the sprinkler at the vegetable garden and I was so hot & sweaty from working that I just kept right on working in the sprinkler!  It was wonderful!  I looked like a drowned rat, but it sure felt good!

Bye for now!  I'll be back tomorrow with more hot stuff from Texas!!!