Fat Flounder

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-30-2021

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It was a good day of walking and smaller meanderings. We got in time at the Beach Park and Memorial Park. Visited with a few folks we met while out and about. Over all a good full day of activities.

In the late afternoon the OFM meandered out onto the wooden pier to fish for a bit and wait for the evening sunset. Missed the sunset for some reason unknown to the teams. But all the next four photos came from the afternoon pier time.

While he was standing holding his rod, the OFM noticed the unique reflection of the pier on the water. It was neat the way the ripples made the pier seem to move about.

All was not lost since the OFM did catch a couple of fish while on the pier. The first fish was caught about ten feet from the pier piling and put up a nice fight. It was a decent size speckled trout of about 19 inches. It was definitely a FIGHTER.

Back to fishing and not too long later we hooked a nice flounder. Flounder are not legal to keep until after December 15 this year. But this one was a fat sucker with tough attitude all through and through.

Both were caught on the same lure.

There was not a lot of folks out today but some of the expensive boats were out and we got a picture of this $500,000 rig on the way out to do whatever folks do with a boat that costs at least $150 an hour to operate. But it sure was pretty.

After finishing supper we plan on an evening of art mess to make the OFM happy while trying to have tooooo much fun.

Cool And Crisp

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-29-2021

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Cool and crisp was the morning. After breakfast we meandered around looking for adventure. About the most exciting thing was the beautiful weather. Check out this beach weather this morning.

The rest of the day until late afternoon was just piddle here and mess around there and get in a nice brisk walk at the Memorial Park and visit a few folks.

Late afternoon we got to take this picture of the warm evening weather of 69F but strong sunshine.

Then we walked out on the pier with a fishing rod to have fun casting and not catching anything. Nothing that is until a quick moving mean migraine headache slammed home in the OFM's head. We headed back to the Castle for proper treatment and horizontal time. At the time of this writing the OFM is doing well and expects to be fine by tomorrow morning. The nice weather sure makes the OFM to be out trying to have tooooo much fun.

Windmill Research

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-28-2021

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Our first outing was to find a place to walk. The chilling wind was the problem. Our first try was the Beach Park. The wind was from the North so we hoped the crossing the land to get to the park would moderate the wind and thus the chill. WRONG AS USUAL.

At least we got to see some more of the Christmas decorations installations. Here is the entry area first decoration.

You turn left in front of the decoration and head down to the loop where lots more decorations are in progress. It should be a good year for Christmas lights here in Rockport.

Since we were near the Memorial Park and needed to get info on the windmill, we headed there next and got VERY lucky. The wind was up in the trees and not down at the ground level. Walking was a great idea at this location, so we took full advantage of it.

As we got to the windmill that we were searching for a name on it, the clouds closed in a bit and made the picture taking harder. We got another surprise when we meandered over to the windmill. The structure that is here now must have been a replacement for an earlier windmill when this was a ranch. Here is a picture of one of the four foundations we found buried in the grass.

Naturally the new structure centered on the same well hole. The newer structure is about two feet inside of the old footings all around.

Now to attempt to find a name. Nothing was found at ground level to indicate the windmill company. So the OFM called on the Teams fantastic camera to do some magic on the worn out lettering on the tail vane. Here is what we got

We took that information and did a wild guess as to the name of the manufacturer and did an internet search of AMERICAN WEST and struck pay dirt. The website we found from the hieroglyphics on the tail vane led to this site

https://awwasc.com/ in North Texas. We feel we got very lucky to identify the windmill retailer.

The walk was continued and the trail was basically left to the Teams as no one else showed up on the entire trail.

We headed on to a little shopping and considered the couple of adventures as giving us another wonderful day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Grinding An Earring

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-27-2021

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A few days ago the Canada/ USA border opened up and today the cold and rain arrived to the Gulf of Mexico and the OFM Teams. Even though we did not go out in the rain and bad cold to get in a walk, we found a few things to keep us busy.

An earring that came our way a couple of weeks ago had a clasp on it that had been improperly soldered on. The OFM's dad had been a rockhound and built lots of jewelry from his cut and polished rock findings. Naturally the OFM got a good training in jewelry construction. The earring needed to have the clasp unsoldered and moved back a skooch so the hinge had room to function. The OFM's soldering equipment from the rock construction days is long gone. However we do have the do everything table, a clamp on vise and several types of devices for a Dremel type of tool.

After careful analysis of the clasp through a magnifying glass, it was determined a bit of grinding work could be the solution. So the rotary tool was brought out and a grinding disc installed on it. About twenty seconds of grinding and yahoo the clasp works.

It was nice to be able to take care of a small but essential repair on the earring. And now the owner is glad it worked out well. It took a lot longer to find all the stuff in the Castle than it did to do the job. But the whole episode ran about 15 minutes is all. The OFM likes helping folks.

The rain was only a light continuous drizzle but definitely not good for walking in. But it did turn to be a good day for indoor art work. We spent all afternoon painting and made good progress. The electric heaters did a fine job of keeping the Teams warm.

Tonight we have a painting finished a few weeks ago, named Leader of the Pack, for your laughter.

As usual we thought doing the painting was a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Too Much Winter

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-26-2021

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As the OFM was briskly walking at the Memorial Park this morning in the bright cold sunshine we were approaching a small group of folks. One lady was wrapped in a small blanket covering her long sleeve flannel shirt and long pants. As we neared to her group of walkers, the OFM said to her “I bet you are thinking the same as me. This is enough winter for the year.” She laughed and shook her head in agreement as we passed each other. It was down to a miserable 52F.

Shortly later the OFM captured this view of the miserable cold winter weather we were enjoying here on the coastal prairie.

As we rounded the ponds another typical Texas picture popped up to be taken.

There were plenty of folks out for a walk to have fun “Howdying” them as we passed by each other.

We do not recall exactly where in the park the OFM was attracted to this colorful bunch of leaves but he just had to have a picture of them for our art folders.

And that is how a great day of shopping, visiting and generally trying to have tooooo much fun began.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-25-2021

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HAPPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone.

We got the day started with more great weather and a comfortable full distance walk at the Beach Park this morning. A little meandering around town just for no good reason and it was back to the Castle and working on a painting that has been recently started. Estimated finish time is next year.

Mid morning snack was the pumpkin pie slice from the food donation of yesterday.

Then it was lunch time and the weather was wonderful so we got out of the Castle to run over to the Aransas Pass Whataburger. The burger was good and the service excellent. As we were getting ready to hit the road, the bottom fell out. Rain had moved in with a vengeance. We ran ( yea right) for Sierra and fought rain all the way back to the Castle. The rain lasted all the way until after dark. The warm temperatures have dropped so we have the electric heaters running on low wattage keeping us warm.

When supper time came around, the OFM moved the gift food from yesterday to a plate for warming. It looked and was very good.

Once again it was a gentle day and a fun day but we need to work harder at trying to have tooooo much fun we think.

Lots Of Food

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-24-2021

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A whole different day today. It was full of things and still nice. The weather was warm enough until late afternoon that the Beach Park had lots of water folks having a great time. Here is two of them.

During the morning walk we noticed that the Christmas lights display the city puts out in the loop inside the park is well under way. The tall pole in the loop area has its light strings on it already.

Then as we went around the loop, some of the decorations by groups of folks from the area are well under way. A bunch more decorations sites are numbered for more decorations. We will try to keep you up to date as they develop.

Later this afternoon the ugly storm that is supposed to come through here tomorrow with lots of rain seemed to be making an early entry to the area. But at 2000 tonight it is still not raining.

As of a minor interest to the walkers out there, some how the OFM had miss-measured the distances at the Beach Park he was walking. Today at lunch he re-measured, using Google Maps, the routes the teams usually walk. There is five loop routes we take according to our whim of the moment. Some how we had missed almost a half mile when we first did the measurements. So our walks have been noticeably longer than we had thought we were doing here at the Beach park. Naturally we had to check for error over at the Memorial Park. They were accurate.

We had just gotten up from the do everything table to head out for a TexMex supper when someone knocked at the door of the Castle.

Standing there was a very nice lady camped in the campground again. She had in her hands a plastic bag with Thanksgiving meal goodies for the OFM. The Teams thanked her in great quantity for the food. A lot of cooking went on today and many folks donated food to keep the OFM from starving.

Inside that bag was THREE plates of meat, vegetables and desserts. They are now in the refrigerator being saved for several fantastic meals over this long weekend. WOW we blessed with some very nice folks here in this campground.

As you can tell it was a great day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Just a Nap.

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-23-2021

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It was back to Memorial Park for the walk in this gorgeous weather we are having. This time it was all a pleasant walk without any screaming ladies.

Then a drive by the Beach Park and a few minutes of fishing but the needle nose gar were there in big quantities so we headed on out.

One short Walmart stop and away we went.

That pretty well sums up the day other than a wonderful late afternoon nap we needed to stay ready in case some tooooo much fun stopped by. It didn't.

And A Lady Screamed

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-22-2021

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We made the Memorial Park our walking site today and it was a wonderful choice. The weather was just right for a brisk walk. Once again the OFM noticed the way the Live Oak Trees manage to intertwine with each other. It makes for some interesting entanglements. Check out this pile of limbs.

Fall is starting to happen here finally and the park's foliage is responding. So we had a wonderful time getting pictures of potential art inspirations for nice paintings this winter.

We were making good time around the far end of the pond and a nice young lady was headed toward us as she stayed close to the reeds and water of the ponds. We were looking at another natural photo opportunity when we heard the obnoxious squawk of a heron and the scream of a younger lady. We looked up quick enough to see the lady jump all the way across the very wide trail. She quickly regained her composure and said to the OFM I did not see that bird as her face glowed bright crimson.

It seems a very large heron was in the reeds about three feet from her when it squawked in alarm and thrashed its way out of the reeds for the other side of the pond.

As she passed the OFM, he said to her that they are a sneaky bird for sure and she agreed. We both giggled a little over the EVENT.

The OFM went back to picture taking and walking. The lady disappeared around the bend. The heron was acting like nothing happened and was busy finding lunch.

Fast forward to late afternoon and an OFM out to catch a fish. The wooden pier in the Beach Park had several folks on it who were catching fish. So went went out to join them. They turned out to be from Portland Texas a few miles down the road.

They were fishing for sheepshead and having some success. During the short visit we had with the family, they caught several sand trout, a toad fish, a couple of sheepshead and some pinfish.

The politely made room for the OFM to fish and he shortly caught a 19” speckled trout.

It was a nice fight. Apparently the fish had nearly cut our leader through. On the next cast the lure and a couple of inches of leader departed from the rod. That was the end of fishing this afternoon since the OFM only brought that one lure out.

As it turned out it was time to quit fishing anyway and pay attention to the sky and the sunset. We grabbed a couple of pictures of the sunset as it progressed. Here is our choice for the sunset tonight.

Yep it was a nice sunset to finish out a day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Code Name "Feather Leg"

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 11-21-2021

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The morning started warm and the temperature just kept on climbing until we had an 88F reading a bit after lunch. Tonight we are looking at a mid 50s low. We will be happy to keep on putting up with this temperature style and the bright sunshine.

Nothing special for the rest of the day. A trip to Walmart for two items and learning more about art techniques. We had no idea several years ago when this art stuff started that it was so complex.

A couple of weeks ago we referenced a painting in progress giving it the Code name ”feather leg”. It is now completed and ready for viewing.

We hope you find it enjoyable. It was a lot of fun to produce and took us very close to our goal of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Single Man Shopping

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-20-2021

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Nothing much today. We got in a decent walk with no excitement of any sort. We did get to Walmart to pickup a couple of food items.

The OFM, being single, cannot seem to eat a lot each week. Just today we had to throw away two unopened bags of formally fresh vegetables, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, that were getting moldy and over a week out of date. We have lately been very conscious about life expectancy of the food we purchase. The problem is the packaged vegetables are packaged for a family of four or so. So we try to purchase small quantities and go back to the stores about every third day to resupply fresh food.

On the way back on TX-35 from Aransas Pass, the OFM grabbed this fall weather picture. We started this morning about 58F and got up to 83F this afternoon with a low tonight of 70F predicted. Good winter weather in my book.

Meanwhile the OFM got busy on the latest painting and made great progress with it. It might be finished right after Thanksgiving.

Speaking of paintings, here is one from early this year. We tried to catch the scene we saw onetime in West Texas where the moonlight was really bright early in the night illuminating the canyon wall and leaving the mountains behind the canyon wall in darkness. It was a great event to see in person and a lot of fun trying to catch the feeling and appearance of the area.

He was definitely in over his head on this attempt but it was certainly a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Another Good Sized Trout

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-19-2021

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Getting going this morning was an effort. So we spent a little time working on the new painting and then headed to the beach park for a walk. It was only a determined effort that got us through the walk because the OFM body was aching all over worse than any one spot. By the time the slow pace got us around the loops, the OFM was ready for a gentle walk out on the pier.

It turned out to be a great decision to head out on the pier. On the way out to the end of the pier the OFM was casting a silver spoon randomly when a 19” speckled trout grabbed it. A nice fight ensued and the trout finally posed for a picture.

After the trout was returned to the water we fished for a few minutes more. Then some really nice folks from San Antonio came walking up and we had a wonderful time talking until we got back to the parking lot. Then we said our goodbyes and headed out separate ways. It was certainly a fun visit.

The afternoon was a bit slow as the OFM body was still healing it seemed. So it was work on the painting time which is always fun.

The OFM was thinking about what for supper when he thought of the chicken broth and rice from the day before. Hmmm. And the stoup idea sounded really good.

The 2 liter pot received the broth, then the rice from the freezer, then the thinly cross cut celery stalk, then a can of drained Pinto Beans and a cube of Wylers chicken flavoring. A couple of the chunks of chicken from a night or so ago were cut into small pieces. Of course some freshly ground black pepper came along for the fun. All was brought to just a boil and then simmered for a short few minutes. Everything had already been cooked so it was a matter of getting a good blend of the ingredients.

This really hit the spot of supper tonight. On top of that there were three more meals of food left when the OFM finished tonight. We are looking forward to another bowl of this good stuff.

It was a good day of having fun and the OFM seems to be recovered, so tomorrow ought to be a wild day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Rainy Weather Day

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-18-2021

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The weather was supposed to get a bit nasty today and it did until late afternoon. We started with Sierra reporting near 80F. Then late morning the cold came to the area and the rain and 56F. Then late afternoon we had 68F as the sun was trying to break out of the last of the cold front.

A lot of time was spent working on the new painting. Until late afternoon we worked on the “everything” table in the Castle. Then late afternoon the OFM got the idea of working in Sierra while parked at the waterfront. So off we went to give it a try. The answer is a simple NO.

There just isn't enough room to work decently. At least the OFM Teams gave it a try and now have experienced what does not work well.

On the way back to the Castle we stopped at the harbor to give fishing a try. We got lots of bites but only caught one Speckled Trout. And it was barely over 15”. When thrown back in the water, it hollared a big thank you to the OFM Teams.

At least we did get to experiment with Sierra as an art office and now know the real story. So a little fun here and a little fun there all added up to a decent day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Beautiful Weather Again

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-17-2021

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A nice morning walk that turned out to be about twice as far as we have gone in over two weeks in one continuous walk. That was very encouraging. Here is the scene that started the day for us.

After the morning walk we took careful stock of our clothing inventory. The decision was to get rid of a few ragged items and resupply today. So we had a nice and not too expensive trip to Walmart right after we had lunch next door at the Whataburger. The OFM seemed to be in a mood to do a lot of looking at things at Walmart. We were in the store for almost an hour but it only cost $26 to check out. We expected more devastation than that as the time wore on. That bit of shopping should carry us all the way to next summer clothing wise.

The afternoon was an all day piddle around until we hit the beach park again and did a little fishing and thinking. The best thing the OFM did was take a late afternoon picture of Little Bay to show that the nice day was lasting all day.

This evening we have been perusing places we might roll on toward in the next few weeks. The Castle tires keep complaining that they need some road scratching to cure their itchy symptoms.

And last but far from least we pulled out the oil pastels and made a mess of a painting attempt but it was a good attempt at trying to have tooooo much fun.

New Art Studio

 

Adventure Location: Rockport,Texas

Adventure Date: 11-16-2021

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Yesterdays strain and sprain event has 90% healed today by careful activities and ibuprofen. This morning was beautiful as you can see from our walk starting point.

We did a meandering brisk walk around inside the beach park. The wind was strong so the mosquitoes were not in action today.

As we neared the beach a bird that was feeding got really nervous about having its picture taken. It would stop and feed then when the camera came up to take a picture it briskly wandered to some other location. This picture was taken with a fairly long zoom and WE did not want to keep on disturbing the bird. Is that a sandpiper?

We noticed that the new wood used in the repair of the pier is getting fuzzy from the natural elements of the weather here in this area. We have no idea about how or why.

Out at the end of the pier is a four piling Dolphin to protect the end of the pier from boats and debris striking the pier. It seems that some fool decided one of the piling needed to be shot with a shotgun. It is a stupid thing to do for certain.

We tried out one of the elevated gazebos for use as an art studio. It was nice up there and all it needed was for the OFM to remember to bring all the things he uses for art efforts i.e. a pencil sharpener

Overall it was a gentle day of healing and we feel the healing will be finished by tomorrow morning. That way our trying to have tooooo much fun can be more vigorous.