No State Fair This Year

Sad to say, no State Fair of Texas this year for us. I had counted on it all year, but then I started hearing that prices had gone up across the board.

A smoked turkey leg, a staple for every State Fair and Ren-fest went up to $25! Are they crazy? Parking had also gone up. I'm not sure about the admittance fee. Being seniors we usually get a nice discount, but it's not worth it if we can't afford to eat there. 

I was really looking forward to it. We love watching the agility dog shows and strolling the home economics pavilion, the new car pavilion, and all the animals, exotic and local. 

According to the news, there was a profound drop in attendence this year, the worst in a decade. The fair organizers blamed the hot weather, but that's poppycock. The weather has been beautiful, the best in years. I think they were just looking to put blame on anything but themselves.

At home, we're busy trying to finish up all our outside projects before Winter. The deer have gotten bolder. They nearly decimated my young mulberry trees. We had to put up emergency cattle panels around my trees--at least for a couple of years until they get big enough to tolerate being nibbled. 

We need to start putting out some corn for the deer, or more precisely, does and their fawns. A doe uses up so much of her energy feeding her fawns. We like to help when we can. We know the trails they like to use so we usually drop a bowlful of corn along the way.

Last year, it got to the point, one doe would wait for me in a clearing until I left my offering. She didn't even wait for me to walk away. Within seconds, her fawns would come out of hiding and follow her.

We're slowly clearing out some of the wilderness, just enough to make trails. Our next door neighbor cut down dozens of trees. It looks beautifully park like, but we prefer to leave some of our acreage wild. It gives the wildlife a place to hide and give birth in relative safety. 

We have a little bit of everything: foxes, deer, coyote, bobcats, hawks, crows, raccoons, possums, and every song bird that calls North Texas home. Fortunately, the wild pigs prefer to camp out in big pastures for which I'm grateful. They're mean and dangerous. I wouldn't want to meet one by accident.

About four to five miles from us, several farms have sold out to subdivisions. I suspect that's why they're also widening the roads. It's a shame. I know people have to live somewhere, but I hate having them encroach on what was once rural.

I'm pretty sure no one in our immediate area will sell out to subdivisions, but it's bound to happen someday.

And further out in space... Have you heard about 3I-ATLAS? It's an interstellar object that's entered our solar system. Most astronomers think it's a comet, but it's displayed some anomalous behavior for a comet, particularly its composition, exhibiting a unique chemical makeup unusual for a comet. 

Avi Loeb, a prominent Harvard astrophysicist, claims it could be artificial. Right now it's behind the sun. It won't come into view until December 19. Because scientists are tracking it, we'll know one way or another if it fired "braking thrusters" to slow down while it was hidden, as Professor Loeb asserts it might be doing.

Aliens for Christmas? Oh, I hope not. 

But if I'm reading these reports correctly, it sounds like 3I-ATLAS's trajectory will make an orbit somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. --The aliens probably heard Earth was a bad neighborhood. 

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My friends and family up north have just gotten their first freeze, so that's it for most gardens. Although winter isn't my favorite season, I like it. Things slow down, and we get the chance to cocoon and eat good soups.

We started our annual Halloween movie marathon. We started with Hocus Pocus 1 and 2. For a sequel, Hocus Pocus 2 was pretty good. Also on the list is Practical Magic and Coco. We might add a couple more if there's time, but between projects and doctor appointments, our days are pretty full right up to the end of the year.

What are your plans for the upcoming holidays? Are you hosting any get togethers? Do you have any recipes for your favorite soups?

Greg loves my white bean with bok choy, and potato and leek soups. My favorite is French onion soup. How about you? Do you make soup?

 

 

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