To Suffer or Not to Suffer -- Mon., July 2

One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering.

                                                            ~Jane Austen, novelist (1775-1817)

With two days behind us out of the oil fields, here are our perspectives/opinions on our gate guarding experience. 

Even though we suffered some, it was not all suffering. To describe it accurately, I would use the words adventurous, on-the-edge, different, hot, buggy, beautiful (sunsets, exotic animals, birds), available 24/7, disruptive, preoccupying, monopolizing, confining, but not boring. (Bob would say it was boring.)

Sure there was some suffering which included: H2S gas; heat; bug bites; bugs, mud and dust in the RV; blowing dust; remote location; flooding and gooey, slippery mud when it rained hard; company-provided generator problems; sand in the water; poor cell phone and internet connections; hard to get in exercise; no TV; feeling imprisoned (we couldn't leave to go anywhere TOGETHER unless we found someone to watch our gate--in two months it happened once).

Positives include: becoming part of a wonderful network of other gate guards (friends), bird watching, beautiful sunsets, no cost for site/water/electric/black water pump out, pays well for the amount of work you do, the oil field workers (for the most part) are polite and friendly, exceptional lightning storms, time to read, blog, watch DVDs, play games, your RV is your workplace (no commute). Did I mention making good friends and having their backs? Oh, and we didn't have any animals on the ranch so we didn't have to open and close the gate all the time.

Would we do it again? Yes. Would we do it differently? Probably. We'd make some requests about the type of gate we'd be guarding.

Welcome to new followers: The Back Porch View, Vicky at Full-Time RVing, Merikay at Merikay's Dream has Six Wheels, Mike at Mike and Pat's Travels, and Kittie at Kittie Howard. I started this blog to keep family and friends informed of our whereabouts AND to remember all the things we've seen, done, thought, experienced so we don't forget as we age. Now I have 55 followers who enjoy reading about our life. Thank you for journeying with us.

The requisite cat pics. Stop reading here if you don't like cat pics.

Remember...

There's always time for a catnap!

Breathe deep. (Look at them choppers!)

Keep yourself clean.

You can never be too clean. (Ha ha.)

Enjoy your week. 

Travel Bug out.

Not the Best Day Gate Guarding -- Mon., June 25

Cotulla, Texas:

The tables have turned. Bob used to have all the traffic on day shift. For the past three days/nights the night shift traffic has exceeded the day traffic. I've had many tankers coming and going to Pad B. 

Pad B ground to a halt late tonight. There is no wind so they can't fill the tankers. Three tankers that arrived earlier are camping out on the road until the wind picks up. (Update Tuesday, 1:15 a.m.: The wind must have picked up as the tankers are now loading up.)

Just found out today that Pad A goes into production tomorrow. Tonight they've been bringing in huge tanks and a big command center, tarps, and lights. Tomorrow morning Bob is going to be a busy man.

For the past four days our site has had H2S gas releases and the red flag has been up continuously. We are downwind and downhill from the releases so it comes right at us. Our throats and eyes hurt. The inside of our 5er smells horrible when we come in from outside. With no breeze, I can't open the windows to air the 5er out. What to do? What to do? This is not good.

Weather: The temperature today was 102. Our air conditioners are working hard to keep indoors 78 degrees. The next few days are supposed to be hotter.

Black water tank: We don't know what happened, but the company that is supposed to empty our black water tank every other week quit coming. The company used to come automatically. For the past two cycles we've had to call our supervisor to make sure they send someone out to empty it.

The refrigerator: Absolutely no clue what's wrong with the fridge. Bob noticed today that the food didn't seem cold. The display panel on the front had a symbol that looked like a lower case n. We looked it up in our owner's manual. The manual instructions said to turn the refrigerator off and turn it back on, which we did. It seemed to be getting colder, but when I checked it a few minutes ago only the top shelf is cold. The rest of the refrigerator is warm. The freezer, on the other hand, seems normal.  Hmmm. I'm going to try repacking and rearranging the fridge. Maybe the cold isn't circulating properly.

What was good about today, you may ask. 

1. I had enough sleep.
2. Our mail came on time from our mail forwarding service.
3. We had tostadas for dinner. Mmmmm.
4. Not very many bugs rode in on me tonight.
5. The gate kept me busy.
6. We saw sable antelope grazing at the ranch across the road.
7. The scissor-tail flycatcher is now one of the regulars at our generator bird buffet. Hopefully it will be back tomorrow and will let me take a picture. It's skittish.
8. I finished reading "One Ranger: A Memoir," by H. Joaquin Jackson. Imagine a Texas Ranger tracking killers and thieves through the Texas brush, hear the stories and history of the Texas Rangers, their code of honor, and learn about their lives and their weapons...that is what this book is all about. Bob said it's almost like reading Ann Rule true crime books. Both of us enjoyed the walk back in time to a different era.
9. Hershey's Kisses milk chocolate is melting on my tongue.
10. It's cool inside, but I already mentioned that didn't I?
11. Had fun playing with the cats.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Last night Bob got up at midnight to run/walk for two hours. He's training for the Honolulu Marathon in December. At midnight it was 92 degrees. By the time he returned at 2:00 a.m. it was 86. Ugh!

Withdrawal -- Sun., May 27

Got to thinking today that I am having withdrawal from my addictions: movies, TV reality shows, Entertainment Weekly magazine, traveling, chocolate (though I'm not having withdrawal from chocolate because I have Hershey's kisses on hand).

Out here in the scrubby desert plain, miles from town, and even more miles from a movie theater, I find I miss going out to see a first run movie. I miss Amazing Race, Bachelorette, Survivor, Shark Tank, Nikita, Storage Wars, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, Too Cute Kittens, and My Cat from Hell.

Yes, I admit, I'm an addict. I ask myself, "Self, how did you ever have time to watch all those TV shows, go to all those movies, read all your magazines, work out, get on the internet, AND work full time?"

And, you know, I really don't know. Being out here gate guarding, I've had more time to bird watch, cook, read, watch DVDs and think. Thinking, now there's a concept.

The thing I think about most is: How do we get back on the road traveling? I think about what my life is like. I think about how happy we are living in our 5th wheel trailer and about the adventures that we've had so far. I think about what our next move is, like some big chess game. The moves along the way make all the difference.

Or is our life like a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. What do life's pieces have in store for us? How will it turn out? Are any pieces missing? Will everything turn out okay? Will all the pieces fit together? Will the big picture be as beautiful as we foresaw?

Being at the gate, gives me time to contemplate, relax, enjoy life and look at the bigger picture. When it's time to do something different, the universe will support us in a new plan.

For now, I talk to Bob, play with and love on the kitties, stop to look at the flowers, write my blog, take a nap, eat some chocolate, go for a short bike ride or a walk, take care of chores, cook, watch the wildlife, and take pictures. 

The big picture will sort itself out and come into focus when we're ready.

Will I go back to my addictions when we're back in civilization? Probably. I do enjoy those activities too. But I also know we'll travel, visit friends and family, hike, explore, bike ride, go out to dinner, swim, spend time reminiscing and talk on the phone more. But I bet I'll still read, nap, have long conversations with Bob, love on the kitties, watch wildlife, explore caves, walk through gardens, visit museums and national parks. 

Life has so much to offer, don't you think?

Gate guarding update: Our gate had absolutely no activity from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., so we went for a short bike ride TOGETHER to Pad A. Wouldn't you know it? As we were riding back to our 5er (fifth wheel trailer), a semi pulled up to the gate. We were almost back to the gate. Bob rode his bike as fast as he could and opened the gate for the driver. Today our one log sheet was only 2/3 full. VERY quiet day. I'm guessing tomorrow (Memorial Day) will be very quiet as well.

Wildlife sighting: While we were out on a short bike ride, we saw Axis deer on the exotic ranch across the road. Axis deer (Axis axis): Introduced [to Texas] in the early 1930s from India. Dark tan with white spots and large three-tined, lyre-shaped antlers. Female: 120 lb. Male: 175 lb.

Today's photos:

Pad B -- practically empty

Pad B -- Bob next to big equipment

Lots of big equipment!

Pad B -- Our 5er on the right. Very close to Pad B!

A nice little bike ride to Pad A...Pad B in distance.

And a pretty sunset to top off the day.

Pics of Bowie:

Where is it? I know there's a mouse here somewhere.

Aha! There it is.

"Travel" Bug out.

Snakes on a Plain -- Sat., May 26

Weather: 93 degrees F., windy.

Location: Oil field near Cotulla, Texas, at our gate. Dining room table in our 5th wheel trailer.

View: Mesquite trees, dirt road, blowing dust, desert scrub, snake. "SNAKE," did you say, "SNAKE?"

Yes. I said "SNAKE."

As I was sitting at my computer re-working my blog, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a snake slithering rapidly away from our 5er into the brush by my car. No identity for the snake as it disappeared from view soon after I glanced at it; I'm pretty sure it was NOT a rattlesnake. Estimate of length: 2-1/2 to 3 feet. Be still my beating heart.

Back to business as unusual. Only one page on the log so far today. Very quiet for us.

Dinnertime. Bob and I prepared tostadas. 

As soon as we sat down to eat, I hear, "SNAKE. Grab your camera." Bob spotted a 4'-5' long, very shiny snake slowly making its way across the road in front of his truck. Bob says, "Go take a picture of it!" Instead I grabbed the binoculars and examined it SAFELY from the dining room window. It was not a rattler. But it WAS the shiniest snake I have ever seen, kind of a silvery copper color with a faint pattern on it. We didn't get a picture even though we looked outside for it after dinner. It was probably long gone.


Two snakes in one day, neither one a rattler. Whew.


This evening some workers came to pick up equipment. I asked them about the long snake. They said it's one of the good snakes that emulates a rattlesnake. I remember when we went to the nature center in Kerrville, the docent told us about a constrictor-type snake that eats rattlesnakes. I'm pretty sure that's what we saw. It was loooooooonnnnngggg.

Anyway, the workers told us to get a special kind of yellow light to put under our rig because the snakes don't like yellow lights. 

I said, "What about mothballs?" 

They said, "Mothballs are good." 

As soon as they drove off I got our new box of mothballs and distributed them under all three of our moveable vehicles. Mothballs are also supposed to keep mice and ants away. Mothballs are my new insecticide/snake-icide/mouse-icide.


Bob's walk: Tonight Bob saw two Springbok antelope and what he thinks were two elands on the ranch across the street. First sighting of the elands! Eland (Taurotragus): Introduced [to Texas] in the early 1950s from Africa. The largest antelope in the world. Deep chestnut or bluish grey to pale buff or tan. Female: 800 lb. Male: 2000 lb. Update 6/1/12: Nope, not elands. What he saw were Axis deer (one normal color of tan with white spots; three albino).


Other wildlife sighting today at our rig: roadrunner, lizards.

Here are photos of the wildflowers that are in bloom after the last rain, one of our truck and 5th wheel trailer, and one of the cardinal who lives in this area.

Next time I see a snake I will risk life and limb to get a picture for you, my dear readers.

Life is good. Travel Bug out.

Schuhplattler polka -- Sat., May 26

Cotulla, TX: 

A little back story: I'm of German descent. A few years ago, Bob and I joined a folk dance group in Portland, Oregon and learned how to dance reels, polkas, waltzes, schottisches, landlers, tarantellas, minuets, the Mexican hat dance, and others.

I've told you how bad the bugs are here. Here's how bad... (At this point you're probably asking yourself what does folk dancing have to do with bugs?)

Well, let me tell you. When I go out during the hot afternoon to check trucks in and out of the gate, the black flies bite my legs. It hurts! I slap my left calf, slap my right knee, slap my left ankle, slap my right thigh. Sometimes four or five bugs bite me at once or in rapid succession.

All I can think is that I look like an Austrian or German doing the Schuhplattler polka which consists of slapping knees, thighs and ankles. You can find YouTube videos of the dance. Here's one: Schuhplattler dance and another Schuhplattler polka.  (I wish I had the whips and could use them like the dancers at the beginning of the second video! That would kill some bugs for sure--or at least keep them at bay. What did you think I wanted whips for?)


Normally, the schuhplattler is a dance in which men try to impress the marriageable ladies with their dancing prowess. In my particular situation, being the only woman in an oil field full of male workers, the men are probably pretty impressed by my thigh-slapping, bug-killing "dance." 

I think they get a "kick" out of it at the very least. I must look pretty silly out there trying to rid myself of the black fly bite-y bugs. At night, it's the mosquitoes. 

Oh well, maybe they're getting as much of a laugh out of it as I am. "Look at that crazy lady!! What is her problem? Is she putting on a dance for us?" 


Ya gotta find humor where you can out here. I think the Texas sun is getting to me. 


Travel "Bug" out.

Wind Scorpion -- Fri., May 25

Cotulla, Texas:

Yesterday, the last two workers on Pad A finally left at 9:30 p.m. The oil field workers arrive early and stay late. Some of them work 14+ hours per day...don't know how they do it in the blistering Texas sun and dust.

When Bob arrived home from San Antonio last night, he looked at pics of the different weird bugs "that look like scorpions, but aren't." He pointed at the wind scorpion as the bug that he and the other worker saw a couple of days ago. (See this article for more info: Wild About Texas )

Today the gate has been slow-to-medium busy.

This morning Bowie must have bit or sniffed a bug that sprayed him in the face. He rammed around the 5er, danced onto the bed, ran across the dresser, and Bob said he was "acting weird" in the living room. We found a small dead beetle in the living room so we're wondering if he had been "hunting" it when it must have used some type of defense mechanism on him.

Today, I saw a new bird with a longish, curved bill. The bird is medium gray above and a light buff beneath with a black mottled pattern on its breast. It sits in a tree right across from our dining room window a lot of the time. I get a good look at it with the binoculars. It runs around on the ground with its beak wide open. I don't know the significance of the wide open beak. The bird in my Audubon book that best fits the description is a curve-billed thrasher, although the description states it has "faint streaking on breast." The thrasher I saw has definite black mottled streaking on its breast.

One thing true about gate guarding, at least to us, is that we don't know what day of the week it is and hardly remember there's a holiday coming up. The oil field work is 24/7, 365 days a year. Normally, we would have had plans for a three-day weekend and gone out to a movie and dinner, visit friends, or explore a new area. Not now. Not with this job. We are tied to the gate day and night. It's all a new experience to us.

Today two of the crews working on the pad right next to us went together on food and did a barbeque. They brought us a plate with barbequed flank steak, sausage, four grilled flour tortillas (they looked and tasted homemade) and salsa. That was so nice of them. I walked up and personally thanked the cook. He wanted to give us more, but I politely declined telling him we had plenty for both of us. I said, "We don't eat as much as you guys. You work much harder than we do!"

Because of the rains in the past two weeks, new wildflowers are blooming: small white ones; magenta-colored, daisy-like ones; yellow, mustard-like ones; and black-eyed Susans. On Bob's drive to San Antonio yesterday, he saw many wildflowers lining the freeway.

Today Bob took a picture of me checking in a behemoth. I am 5' 8" tall. Notice how my shoulder is at the same height as the floor of the truck's cab. Huge semi; even bigger equipment!

Ouch! Unintended Consequences -- Sat., May 19

OK, that hurt! 

If you will recall, earlier today Bob and I decided to close the gate to stop workers from running it and not checking in with us as they're supposed to. Good idea in principle.

However, the gates do not cooperate. Keep in mind that the gate is over a cattle guard grate. The grate is metal bars with spacing between the bars large enough for a foot and leg to fall through. It is about 1-1/2 feet down to the bottom of the grate. Add to that, there is no way to grab both sides of the gate at the same time to close it after someone drives through. Factor in the wind blowing the gates when you're trying to get the two sides together.

Cattle guard grate (can't tell how deep it is in pic)

Here's what happened to me tonight, in the dark (except for our tower lights), with no one else around. (Bob was sleeping.) 

The last two trucks of the evening exited the gate and, as per our new procedure, I was going to close the gate and latch it. I grabbed one side of the gate and pulled it to the closed position. The wind grabbed it and blew it open. 

Cr*p...Went to the other side and pulled that gate to the middle. This side of the gate has a long-ish piece of rubber tubing to stretch out to try to reach the other gate. Well, it didn't quite reach. 

I dropped the rubber tubing to bring the first side of the gate closer so I could reach part of it while holding the rubber tubing. I got the first side of the gate close to the cattle guard, but the wind caught the other side with the tubing and started blowing it back. 

Whoops! Forgot about the grate and quickly spun back to catch the side that was blowing away. My left foot and leg fell through the grate, scraping my leg along the metal, and my foot landed 1-1/2 feet down (almost up to my knee). My left foot hit the ground hard and my right leg was still up on the grating. I assessed the damages and, thank goodness, my leg was not broken, just scratched (minor) and bruised.

I climbed up out of the grate and shook it off, used a different technique, and was finally able to get the gate latched. 

Went back in the 5er, washed and dressed the scrapes and sat down to settle down. I am noticing my neck and left shoulder hurt, so there was probably a little whiplash in there when my foot went down 1-1/2 feet and hit the ground. It happened so fast!

We  may have to re-think closing the gate. It's not worth a major injury. Can you imagine trying to get up the steps into the 5th wheel with a leg cast on? I don't even want to think about it.

It is a little past midnight and I'm so thankful I wasn't badly hurt.

Gate: 1; Susan: 0.

More pics of big rigs moving out:

You can see Bob behind the generator to get an idea of the size of these rigs.

Sunnie trying to "share" cubbyhole with Bowie.

Travel Bug out.

A Little Bird... Thurs., May 17

Cotulla, Texas:

First off, we have a new internet booster so we have 4G internet now instead of 1-2 G's. Yay, Bob, for buying it and setting it up!

We have been gate guarding two weeks. It's hard to believe. The time has gone by fast with day after day of trucks coming and going; no weekends, no holidays, just 24/7 two of us splitting shifts and guarding the gate. But we're doing it and loving the adventure of a new place, different climate, and a totally different job than we've ever done before.

Remember the little Bewick's wren I've been telling you about? The one who got cozy with my arm yesterday? 

She has decided that we are safe and she wants to live with us. Today Bob found her building her nest under our fifth wheel slider, right next to our front door. She is very industrious but we don't want her to nest there (even though it's a great compliment to be chosen by said bird). 

Our fear is, she will lay eggs in her cozy nest, have adorable hatchlings she will need to feed, then we will have to close the slide and move; thereby crunching up her little bird family. Bye bye birdie.

All day today Bob and the wren were working against each other. And let me tell you that little bird is industrious. She had twigs and nesting material coming together into a nice nesting place. Bob kept tearing it down. She built it again. Bob tore it down. On and on. 

We didn't know what to do to dissuade her. Bob put pieces of foil on strings and hung them around where she was building. That stopped her. We're hoping she found a nice nest site in some of the desert scrub.

I forgot to mention that we have two gray cottontails who come out in the evening across the road from us. We can see them out our dining room window.

Another wildlife sighting here that is pretty cool is the scissor-tailed flycatcher. This bird sits on the telephone wires and has a long, scissor-shaped tail. It's very distinctive in flight.

Work was busy all through the night. One well site finished up coil tubing, so last night and all day today they moved big equipment out. The other well site has finished fracking and they will start coil tubing in a few days (not sure exactly when). All that equipment moved out today as well. Since almost everything is gone except for some super-large equipment, we will most likely have a quiet night. I'm going to catch some zzz's.

G'night all.

Internet, Bugs, Birds -- Wed., May 16

Cotulla, Texas:

Our internet connection is so lousy here, we bought a booster to strengthen our signal. Bob plans to install it tomorrow.

 

We have been super busy. I had trucks through the night last night.

 

I was thrilled there were no mosquitoes here. Mosquitoes think I am their buffet line.  That changed after the rains. Now we have gazillions of them: big, nasty, bite-y, Texas-sized mosquitoes. Today, I put on Deep Woods Off to keep the mosquitoes and gnats away. The little annoying gnats fly into your nose. ICK! I keep a piece of paper to fan my face when I'm sitting outside during the afternoon. I have mosquito bites on my legs even with the Off. I think it wore off so I'll have to put some more on.

 

I hate to open the door at night, because about 10 mosquitoes come in if the door is  open a few seconds. Bob, the cats and I hunt them and kill them. 

I love sitting outside in the late afternoon/evening (except for the bugs). Birds come to the generator because it attracts bugs. Today, while I was sitting there reading, I felt something on my side almost under my arm. My mind freaked out thinking it was a tarantula or something. It wasn't. It was my cute little Bewick's wren friend. She must have been trying to catch a bug by my side. I think we startled each other.

The mockingbirds come within a foot or two of my feet and the cardinals come within about six feet. I got some great pics today! 

Peek a boo, I see you.

Smile for the camera.

"Wait a minute! Who the heck are you?"

Mockingbird

Not too afraid of me.

Mockingbird checking me out.

"I guess you're okay."

Sometimes in the evening, right before it gets dark, we see beautiful birds flying up in the sky. I couldn't figure out what they were. I thought they were owls, but no owls looked like that. I found out they're common nighthawks. Love them!

 

When we were in Big Bend National Park at night, again birds we thought were owls flew in our headlights trying to catch bugs. I found out in the Audubon book that those were lesser nighthawks. They have beautiful patterns under their wings when they fly.

 

We definitely want to spend more time in the San Antonio/Austin Hill Country. There is so much to see and do here, plus it's beautiful country with terrific bird-watching! And there's swimming holes galore for hot summer days. (Bob is into that more than I am, unless the water is super warm.) Apparently winters are mild here as well. Supposedly it rarely goes to freezing in the winter.

 

My faithful readers, I leave you with this. I do not know the source, it came to me via email (thanks, Mom):

Forgetter Be Forgotten

My forgetter's getting better,
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I'm 'here' I'm wondering
If I really should be 'there'
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer!

Ofttimes I walk into a room,
Say 'What am I here for?'
I rack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
where it is safe, but, Gee
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say 'Hi' and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, 'who the heck was that?'

Yes, my forgetter's getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy
And that isn't any joke.

CAN YOU RELATE???
Please send this to everyone you know because
I DON 'T REMEMBER
WHO I SENT THIS TO!

Wild turkey -- Sat., May 5

Cotulla, Texas:

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

We have no concept of weekends or days off. The trucks keep a rollin' 24/7, although we DO have breaks for a couple of hours sometimes.

I CAN tell it's Saturday night...everyone was off site by 9:30 p.m. We'll see how many trucks come in tonight. (They like to camp here overnight and off-load first thing in the morning.)

This morning when Bob was on duty, he saw a wild turkey across the road and snapped a photo. Not a close up but it seems the best this little camera can do. He also got a blurry photo of a green bug which I am trying to identify. Katydid? He said it was as big as his fist. From what I've found online I do believe it was a katydid.

Wild turkey---looks like a hen.

Katydid (we think)

No lap top for me? Any laptop will do!

Bowie's favorite sleeping spot is in the chair next to me.

Today, the caterer left us about ten chicken-fried hamburger steaks. I had one for lunch and it was delicious, but I remarked to Bob that it was really salty. About 1/2 hour later, I got a full-on attack of vertigo. I think it was related to all the salt in the food I ate. After getting dizzy and sick, I felt much better and was able to take over my shift.

Bob made sure I was okay then drove to the Walmart in Pearsall 45 minutes away to buy some Croc-like shoes for us in case it rains. Today was around 90 and humid with no wind. It's a good thing our 5ers two air conditioners are work horses! We keep it between 72-79 in here. I could see thunderheads building up to the north, but so far there have not been any T-storms or rain.

It's now six hours after the vertigo attack and I'm fine. The gate has been quiet for the past 1-1/2 hours. I'm wondering if any trucks will show up tonight?!

I've made it about 1/5 of the way through "Mockingjay," the last book in "The Hunger Games" trilogy.

A Thought for the Day (taken from A.Word.A.Day):
"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." -Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, musician, Nobel laureate (1875-1965)

It's 11:00 p.m., Travel Bug out.