God doesn't want me to be white trash

Spring Break 2009 began at approximately 2:39 p.m. on Friday, March 13th. The weather was awful. Rain had been falling nonstop and the temperatures had failed to rise above 45 degrees for the past 2 days. When we arrived in Moulton for the first half of our vacation, the weather hadn't changed. In fact, the soggy freezing weather stayed around for an additional two days throughout the weekend. It was beginning to bum me out.

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, God sent down rays of light and warmth. The rain stopped. Monday morning brought endless sun. The mercury rose to a balmy 78 degrees and not a cloud was to be spotted in the sky. Flowers were blooming and birds were singing. It was perfect...

a perfect time to load up the 12 gauge and take down some snakes.

Amidst the beautiful weather, my boyfriend and I decided to unpack the heavy artillery and unleash a fiesta of buckshot onto the devil looking creatures. He, armed with the shotgun, and I, with the .22 rifle with a scope, had been waiting to do this since the threaten of Spring's beginning. How I thought a .22 was going to dismantle a snake I have no idea, but I was ready to piss it off a whole bunch. Darned in mud boots and the ugliest shirt I could find, we set out to my grandfather's farm to free the tank of the poisonous reptiles (or amphibians, or whatever) and hang one up on the barbed wire fence to end this disastrous South Central Texas drought. Upon arrival, we hopped out of the truck, loaded our weapons and began to scour the bank and tree branches that hung out over the water...

only there was no water...or snakes.

I guess the South Central Texas drought was more severe than we thought. Snakes probably prefer to live in tanks that actually hold water, and my grandfather's had none.

We failed to shred evil from the earth once again. Jordan took some shots at an old tire that had been immersed in water for probably 20+ years but was now exposed in the dry cracked mud to let out some frustration. I aimed and fired at a small turtle (only cause I knew I'd miss) for target practice, and then we went home.

Later that evening, we took out our rod and reels, loaded a cooler with a 6-pack of Shiner Blonde,

and went down to Jordan's tank to fish for some Bass.

I caught one, and Jordan and a few friends caught about 3-8 each. One friend of ours brought in a good 2 pounder!

It was nice and relaxing and just what I needed.

We'll get the snakes next time...maybe.

Make Me Happy Monday

First, I'll start with an apology. No blogs = unhappiness. When I don't update, it's usually because I am super busy and stressed. These past few weeks have been no exception. I had midterms throughout the two weeks before Spring Break and I am soooo happy they are over with. Now I have time to do as I please, to do things that make me happy. Even if they're small....

Which reminds me of a meme my sister-in-law, Beth, completed at her blog
called "Not a Bow in Sight". It's 7 Little things that make me disproportionately happy. Go check out Beth's blog for her answers, it's unbelievably cute!

Here are my 7 little things I love or love to do that make me happy.

1.) Sit on the porch at my Dad's place in Flatonia, TX. It's so peaceful and a great place to read, play the guitar, or drink a cold one and listen to some good satellite radio and talk about the good times. This is probably my most favorite thing to do in the world.

2.) Cooking a delicious meal. I'm learning to cook so every time I have a successful go-around with the stove and oven I get a feeling of immense satisfaction! Plus, the look on Jordan's face when he tries the meal and thoroughly enjoys it makes me believe I can be as good a cook as my mother was...some day.

3.) Fishing. When the sun is out and its 75-80 degrees outside, I love sitting on the bank or in the boat trying to reel in that 5lb. bass or in reality a 1/2lb. perch.

4.) Mowing the yard. I used to do this all the time when we lived in Houston, especially after my mother passed away. I figured I could do it to give Dad one less thing to worry about/do. However, I really enjoyed cutting the grass for some reason. Maybe it's the whole taking something ugly and in need of care and making it look beautiful and neat that I enjoyed so much.

5.) Bluebonnets. I LOVE spring time, mainly because there are about a million wildflowers everywhere. Just the sight of a field or pasture covered in colors of blue, red, and pink make my heart flutter. I could stare at it for hours.

6.) Getting my hair cut. I like a new look every once in a while.

7.) Spending time with Jordan. It doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as we're together I love it.

Spring can bring out your inner redneck.

This weekend was the most unproductive weekend ever and I know I am going to pay for it tomorrow. I just can't seem to garner any focus at the moment.

Spring is coming, and oh how I love Spring! The wildflowers come in bloom, the weather is warmer, everything turns back to green and I just LOVE IT! The best part is the weather, in my opinion, hands down. Finally it becomes warm enough to sit on the porch at night and look at the stars...so beautiful. The sun brings such comfort during the day that even the snakes love to bask their cold blooded bodies in the heat. Perfect for a boy who has a 12 and 10 gauge shotgun and a testosterone drive to kill. Every spring, when the weather first turns warm, Jordan and I have made a ritual of going to my grandfather's farm tank and shooting the numerous water moccasins who creep out of the murky waters to lay in the sun up in the branches of the oak and willow trees. I know, it sounds really redneck and white trash to go and shoot snakes out of trees, but let me tell you...it's a great stress reliever. So don't knock it til you try it. Actually, I don't even shoot the guns. I am little afraid of the power of the shotgun. I am way more comfortable standing beside Jordan watching with my ears covered (I HATE loud noises) as he pulls the trigger. I have better eyes than him so I'm the looker and he's the shooter.

It kind of goes something like this:

Jordan: Alright, shhhh watch your step and tell me if you see any.
Me: You're going to tell me before you shoot your gun right? You're not just going to see one and pop it off without giving me warning are you?
Jordan: No, I'll tell you, don't worry.
Me: You promise? You know how much I hate that sound right?
Jordan: Yes, I know, I promise.
Me: Okay, I just don't want to get scared.
Jordan: Will you just look?
Me: Oh ya.
(about 5 Minutes of silence)
Jordan: I think I see one.
Me: Where?
Jordan: Over there on that big branch to the left. Isn't that one?
Me: That rubber looking thing?
Jordan: Ya, that. Isn't that one?
Me: No, that's a tire.
Jordan: Oh, I thought it was one.
(5 more minutes of silence)
Me: I see one.
Jordan: (suddenly very excited) Where!?
Me: SHH! Over there, kind of underneath the oak, right above the water on that mossy looking branch.
Jordan: I don't see it.
Me: It's right there! It's kind of curved in a weird looking position.
Jordan: I still don't see it.
(I become frustrated and go off into a 3 minute description of where the snake is located in the tree. Finally he'll see it).
Me: You see it? Can you get it?
Jordan: ya, hold on.
Me: Gasp! Omg you're going to shoot it. Hold on, let me get my ears covered. Are you going to warn me right before you shoot it?
Jordan: No just shhh.
(one more minute of Jordan aiming and then BAM! The snake goes flying off the tree. I proceed to tell him what a good shot it was and then complain about the smell. In case you've never smelt a dead snake...rotten fish...that's all I have to say.)

Ok, this is VERY white trash. But its simple and fun. I usually don't condone shooting helpless animals, but these are snakes, poisonous snakes at that, so its more than okay. After this event commences we usually head to his much larger/nicer tank and fish for large mouth bass until the sun goes down. Some may not think this to be a relaxing Saturday, but I'd very much rather be shooting vermin out of a tree than sitting through lectures all day.

This past weekend, Jordan and I went to Moulton since his birthday is TOMORROW and he wanted to see his Mom. The weather had been nice so we planned on heading over to the ole farmhouse on CR. 264 on Saturday, but a chilly norther blew through Friday night and the temperatures only reached in the upper 50s with the wind blowing from the north at about 25mph, so needless to say we did NOT get to partake in our annual redneck activity. We didn't even to get to fish. No worry, we'll be back in two weeks and hopefully then we can bust a cap in some cottonmouth's butt.

Guess, I'll just have to be normal and enjoy the bluebonnets until that time comes.


- Shirley