Fancy Christmas Balls

Fancy Christmas Balls

There was a time in the recent past, defined here as my teenage years, when elaborate sequin and bead-decorated Styrofoam balls were all the rage for Christmas ornaments. Mother and I thought they were pretty and decided to make some. She dug out remnants of pretty...

The Vitamind

The Vitamind

  I taught a high school leadership class for several years, and every day I posted what Zig Ziglar called a vitamind, a positive saying that served as a vitamin for the mind, if you will.  We of the older generation grew up with these maxims, proverbs, and such,...

The Oldest Wildlife Refuge in Texas

The Oldest Wildlife Refuge in Texas

One of Muleshoe’s sometimes  overlooked claims to fame is the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1935  to provide a wintering area for migratory waterfowl  and sandhill cranes. The refuge, located 20 miles south of town on highway 214,  celebrated its...

The Deer Hunt

The Deer Hunt

Our Thanksgiving was a day filled with family, food, and football, which is as it should be and how it has been all my life. Caroline and all her new family celebrated with us and after enjoying our traditional turkey and dressing, ham, green bean casserole, gravy,...

The Season Ends

Friday night in Seminole the Mules met their match, losing to the Wall Hawks 39-28. It was a game of determination and frustration on our part and determination and execution on their part. We elected to kick first and forced Wall to punt and were then able to score...

The West Texas Drive and Eat Tour

The West Texas Drive and Eat Tour

My friend Elaine and I finally managed to take our  long talked-about but often postponed trip down to deep West Texas. We saw lots of country, enjoyed two lovely historic hotels, and found several good places to eat. Lots of country. Boy, that’s an...

Mules Are Area Champs

We traveled to Wylie Stadium, near Abilene, last night to watch the Mules win another one, beating Breckenridge 14-0. In a game that started off with not only the national anthem but also the pledge of allegiance-a nice touch-while the flag waved beautifully  on...

Now This is a Pumpkin Patch

Now This is a Pumpkin Patch

I decided if I was going to talk about West Texas cotton, I shouldn’t leave out West Texas pumpkins. You have your city-style patches, and then you have the real deal. This is one of those real deals north of town that we visited with the grandkids and AJ and Erin...

Playoff Time Again

Since Muleshoe had a bye this first week of playoffs, we took a short road trip to Sudan to watch Bovina beat Smyer 42-20 and came home to discover that the Mules will play Breckenridge next Friday night, November 19,  in Abilene. Alas, I didn’t think to ask time...

Cotton-Stripping Time in West Texas

Cotton-Stripping Time in West Texas

According to the soulful lyrics of Summertime*, “-the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high,” but for cotton farmers in West Texas, autumn is the time when the livin’ is busy, the strippers are runnin’, and the cotton is loaded and off to the gin. By...