Putting the weeds to work for Us

[Dio]

Having never been in Texas for long, I did not know this cultural peculiarity. Thank you for explaining.

[Buster's Uncle]

It's more a matter of my sense of humor, but Texans are strange in exactly the way you expect based on TV.  TV getting it right has never happened elsewhere in my experience, and I've been to New York City twice - they control half the TV and don't much get themselves right.

[Unorthodox]

More your sense of humor just happening to run into reality in this case. 

So, why do you go back and forth? 

[Buster's Uncle]

Mylochka taught college in a town north of Dallas, and I've been taking care of her -she takes care of me, too- even minor brain damage can trigger mood disorders and I, lamentably, have a lot of experience to bring to bear on coping with them.  She has now retired, and is currently remodeling Gramma and Grampa's house next door.  We are happy to be home, as Momma had been slipping between the cracks while Mylochka was in Texas needing me more.  We can all take care of each other together now.

[Unorthodox]

I get the whole taking care of each other thing, I don't get the moving back and forth so much, since you both move, correct? 

[Buster's Uncle]

We've gone back and forth together around holidays, yes.  Buster's Gramma lives in America, (even at Christmas and extended family is in America, too), and Mylochka worked in Texas - a bit impractical for commuting.

Anyway, she hasn't disposed of the house in Texas yet, so more pics of the gate coming.

[Unorthodox]

Oh, she was still working, but is now retired?  Are you going to leave Texas behind permanent-like now she retired? 

[Buster's Uncle]

It's complicated and I tell too much of her personal business already, intersecting with mine as it does, but yes, yes, and we already have.

[Rusty Edge]

I actually knew most of that about Buncle, except for the house next door.

As for Texas- it has a history and mythology of it's own. Americans fleeing overcrowding infiltrated Mexico, then when they became a majority, they did the American thing and started a revolution. They were the Lone Star Republic for a while, then they joined the U.S., then they seceded in the Civil War ( Oops! War of Northern Aggression ) and were the last hold-outs to surrender. In recent years there's been legal discussions about their special rights and methods to return to independence, as the only nation to become a state.

When TV shows like Jericho and Revolution depict Texas as the state most likely to organize it's own country in the aftermath of disaster and chaos.... I believe it.

[Buster's Uncle]

Hawaii will actually get out faster when the US begins collapsing.  It's the other state that was a nation first.

There are snow pics of her new/old house in America on WPC from years ago - I think it was before your time, Rusty.  Momma was born in that house.

[Geo]

Hawaii will actually get out faster when the US begins collapsing.  It's the other state that was a nation first.

Not in the next half year I hope?

[Buster's Uncle]

No, I don't think so.  We're on our way down, IMAO, but the fall, though it will be mighty, is slow.

[Buster's Uncle]

Hmm.  Screenshot off Skype from M calling me this afternoon.  The webcam didn't want to focus well or adjust to the brightness of the sky.  You can see that untended, the right side has done almost as well as I'd hoped - Summer drought season doesn't tend to set in until roughly the second week in July, and the peak pics I saw last year were over three weeks further along than this, but unless Mylochka gets someone to go into the back yard in a month, I'll never see that peak growth.

Something disappointing has happened on the left side.  You can't see it well in this, but it began to grow and for some reason had a dieback before it got very far along.  The plant is a shade-tolerant one, but does do much better on the much better-lit right side.  The tree to the left is never going to allow nearly so much growth, but I thought it'd do better than this.

I honestly haven't paid any attention to the weather in Denton since we left, days before I would have commenced grooming and training.

The lack of vine training this year does show - the basic growth is adequate, if not what I'd hoped, but I would have encouraged the gap between the frame and main mass off the right to close.  I don't miss Texas, and I don't miss living out of suitcases away from a lot of my resources, but I most certainly miss this project.

Mylochka will take some good camera pictures before she leaves for home (Monday, I think).  Better pics w/ better/more angles will tell us more...

[Buster's Uncle]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Buster's Uncle]

...Right there in the first picture Mylochka took of the gate is the smoking gun of what ruined the left side.  Someone CUT the main mass of vines that was growing in place when we put up the frames last year, growing out of a crack.  See second attachment.  So nothing but the transplants is growing this year.

The guy housesitting says he didn't touch the vines, and as I doubt a burglar climbed the fence around the back yard and did some gardening, I don't believe him.