Ranching

 

There it is, Texas, under a big blue sky. And I tell you, it was good to be out on my friend's ranch, which is pretty unreconstructed apart from the neat house he's built on the ancestral land. Yes, it has a tower, important for overwatch, and's built of stone as opposed to brick. I'll send photos next time I'm back, it's a substantial house.

In the meanwhile, we enjoyed a brunch send-off for a church woman who's leaving for Weatherford. What a good person! Worldwide champ barrel racer in the '80s and President of the WPRA, which would pretty much make her totus orbis Head of the Cowgirls. Like no kidding. She's also been Senior Warden of Mission #2 and I could not have wished for a better person in that role, to say nothing of a friend.

Ranch brunch over, I headed back to the Compound along the strip of rural wasteland that is HWY 22 and thanked God for His goodness. Beautiful country, outstanding people, no rainbow garbage and a great moon overhead.

God Bless,

LSP

Global Warming And Other Things

 

Yesterday was freezing, as in doomed retreats from Moscow. Today was hot, T shirt hot. Such is our fickle enemy, the WEATHER. Global Warming aside, or is it Climate Change?, we pulled into an ersatz burger franchise after Mass #2. The Specialist was hungry, "Dad, I'm really hungry, I have to eat!" 

I didn't say "bill it to the Army" and dutifully drove in to a drive through, where the attendants were indecipherable because they were wearing NKVD 95 masks. It was like one of my kid's dystopian computer games, mumble... mumble. "Say again," and so they did, "$5.67, four cheeseburgers."

Fortified by fake hamburgers and wondering why $4.67 has miraculously turned into $5.67, have these facsimile burgers somehow gained in value?, we drove back to the Compound where everything was well.

Shotgun by the door, check (older 870 Wingmaster). Aged Blue Heeler asleep on a Moslem rug, check. Sun shining, yes please and thank you God, decent red wine? Obvs. All good and time for a nap I thought, after all, a workman deserves his wages.

No sooner done than a knock on the door, "Can I come in, are you decent?" Resisting the urge to bellow damn your insolence! I replied "sure." The boy wanted me to look at his laptop, which I did. What the Devil is this?

A pass grade on his CS degree practice semester test. Well done, young man. Now take the real deal and ace it.

Point being, gentlemen and gentlewomen, life is made up of small victories. As in, "Crush the Marxist snake underheel."

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam,

LSP

It's Freezing - Sick Communion

Typical Texas Street Scene

Our Old Enemy the Weather knows no shame. One moment it's  warm and balmy, like Spring, the next? An icy wind cuts across flash frozen Texan tundra, it's like the Day After Tomorrow but this isn't New York, no, it's the Lone Star State.

Regardless, the ferocity of the elements didn't stop me driving out into the windswept steppe to bring the Sacrament to a sick churchman. I rolled up to his ranch and there he was, resting up. "Father," he asked, "can you get the dogs in, please?" 

Take This Man The Sacrament

"Sure," I replied, and called them in, bounding joyfully into the house, big sticks in their happy canine mouths. But they weren't sticks, they were deer bones, I should've looked closer before I noticed the smell. "Padre," exclaimed the rodeo star invalid, "Tucker's got a big ass bone in his mouth." So he did, and so did Lucy.

"Get those dam things and throw 'em out back. And wash your hands," which is exactly what I did, before administering Holy Communion. "Get better, man, we need you back at the Altar."

I file this exciting tale under Country Life in Texas and Climate Change.

God Bless,

LSP

Dogs

 

Dogs are barking ferociously here, it's a right ruckus.

The Peoples Coin and it's an adorable Shiba Inu to boot

They celebrate the People's Currency

Hedge Fund

Which ran hard today. Good pup.

See you on the Moon and/or the Detroit Caddy

Where will it end, $28, $69, $420? Hey, I'd settle for a buck and call it a good game well played. But in the meanwhile we hold, diamond hands, in for the long haul. That in mind, let's see everyone's favorite internet magic meme token explode in value as trad fiat implodes in catastrophic Gotterdamerung.

Now there's a warning for us all.

Do only good every day,

LSP

Just Strolling About in The Plague Year

Blue picked up a Shadow Wolf on the way to the Pick 'n Steal this morning. A ferocious beast and I'm glad he's an ally.

And I wasn't complaining about the trees either, takes the edge right off the heat.

Not that it matters at First Methodist because they're shut, for fear the Bat Bug will kill them all. Which it hasn't, fortunately.

Blue enjoys his spot at the PNS, where he sits tethered to the always empty Star Telegram box. Why is it empty? Because no one wanted to buy the rubbish newspaper so the order wasn't kept up, but the box remains, a dusty, dystopic warning to the "press."

Behold the misbegotten debris of the modern age!

And needless to say, First Baptist decided to make war on their ancient enemy, the trees. And now a once leafy boulevard sits baking under a harsh Texan sun. Good work, guys. Get rid of all the shade.

We detoured around the Meth Shack to visit Genius Patrol. GP are two dogs who live in someone's back yard and bark insanely at anything which goes by. Sometimes I talk to them, they bark back.

Then it was back to the Compound, mission accomplished. And that, fellow boulevardiers, is the story of that.

God bless,

LSP

This And That

A cool breeze is blowing in from the north, and gentle rain turned gold by the evening sun falls on parched grass, hot concrete and spent brass. The smell of rain in a Texan August. Beautiful and rare.

Poetry aside, my eldest boy called this morning to say he'd been promoted to Specialist ahead of schedule. Well done, kid, keep it up. He's currently attached to the 2nd Armored Division and "on mission," which means he has to sit in a comms truck on weekends instead of enjoying Korean nightlife. His Platoon Sergeant's clearly wise.

In other news, Blue Eschaton's slowing down a bit and takes life philosophically, unless steaks or fried pies are on the table. Then everything's different.

Mind how you go,

LSP

Gone Fishing

"I know," I thought cleverly to myself, "I'll go fishing." And that was the plan for Monday morning, but it nearly got derailed because of a church PO Box and taking care of business.

Load up your rig with beer and tacos and head for glory.

Still, got to the lake and cast off with worms and a couple of lures, but the fishing was slow. Sure, a couple of bites here and there but nothing much. I blame that on the malfeasant, demonic static unleashed by Fienstein and her cohort of satanists on the world. It confuses the fish.

Look what the FBI caught!

The hideous Golem representative from California and her puppet aside, I managed to catch a decent Bluegill and had a couple of strikes with topwater. Some kind of Rapala lure, I think.

Then it was time to head home, happily tired out by clambering around the rocks of Soldier's Bluff in search of fish. Next step?

Blue SCOTUS

GUNS, and horses. This is important.

Your Pal,

LSP

Vote For The Dog!

No! Not Hillary "Wild Dog" Clinton, I'm talking about another candidate altogether.

Blue Ballot Box the Unbribable. He's running on a popular "steaks for all" platform. 

I like that.

God bless,

LSP

Chrism Mass, 2015

I drove to Bedford today, which is a kind of suburb of Fort Worth. It's where our cathedral is and that's where we go every year for the diocesan Chrism Mass.

It wasn't good to drive through the metrosprawl, but I did like being with the clergy and meeting up with like-minded friends.

Blue Liturgical came along for the ride, and got looked after by the kitchen staff, while we ate lunch. He seemed to enjoy the adventure, and one senior clergyman told me that "you should never trust a priest who doesn't like dogs."

God bless,

LSP

Dog

I wasn't looking for a dog. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a comsymp dog-hater, I just wasn't looking to get one. But Blue Eschaton thought otherwise. He turned up on the porch and didn't leave; I fed him, perhaps that helped.

The rest is history. I doctored him up and took him to the range, where he hasn't died yet, despite jumping up to catch the bullets. And now he's here; some think he's making his way to Californy, others think he's staying in Texas, where it's safe.

One thing's for sure. Blue Apocalypse loves Christmas, no doubt about it. He even snarls at people who say "Happy Holidays."

I like all of this.

LSP

Walking in Texas? Take a Gun.

They say that walking's good for you but in Texas you don't know what you'll find. 

Some Crew, All Wigged-Out In The Woods

Packs of wild dogs, turkeys, fierce hogs, maybe a dove or two and the occasional wigged-out crew of freaks, holed up in the brush, trying to "find the gig" and get back to Austin.

Mind How You Go

So I like to take a 12 gauge. 

Be safe,

LSP

Horse & Dog

Back in the far off, halcyon days of mid '90s London, when bushcraft and associated pursuits were still a concept in the mind of SBW (great blog) and King's Cross seemed like a good place to go dancing -- well, I would have raised a quizzical eyebrow if you'd said that I'd be a country parson in rural Texas. How things have changed, thank goodness.

These days I like nothing better than to get up for one more perfect sunrise, say the Divine Office and head off to the not so distant lure of...

ferocious dogs.

Highbrow Throroughbreds,

and a brisk workout in the equine way; good for mind, body and soul, especially when allied to guns of all sorts. But more of that anon.

Hunt 'em up.

LSP

Texas is Great

Why is Texas great? Well, simply because it is. I like the guns, dogs, horses, BBQ, farms and general sense of freedom, the religion's not bad too - at least from a trad Anglican perspective; lets hope all that increases instead of the opposite. Speaking of farms, here's a picture of Bonnie shifting bales out of her pickup. I offered to help but she just grinned and fired away till they were all sorted in no time flat - Bonnie's 70 - I probably would have slowed her down...

Apologies for not visiting the blogs - life's been strangely busy...

God bless,

LSP

Roving About

A gun, one of Tom's

The last few weeks have been busy, taken up with guns - I need more of them, but who doesn't -

Church,

Bishop Iker, Good Man

horses,

dogs,

Cats on the porch - they're not allowed inside,

and plinking.

Horses have moved to new pastures, where there's far more space and plenty of opportunity for going fast, which I like. Opportunity for coyote hunting too - not to be wasted. More anon.

God bless,

LSP