Carol's Pond

  February 1, 2022 Carol's Dragon Fly Ranch Home of Carol's Pond The last week of January is my anniversary week. Some of them are enjoyable anniversaries and some suck really bad. That may be gross but it is the only way to say it. But before we get to the description of the anniversaries, there is some other news. Last week I looked in the back yard and there were hundreds of Purple Grackles or common blackbirds. I assume there are working their way north in anticipation of spring. I hope they are right. And there were some ducks that stopped in today. There were only 5 or 6. Something startled them and off they went. I seldom see ducks. Lake Bob Sandlin is on the west side of Mt. Pleasant and I suspect most stop there rather than on a small pond. Also last week, I had an MRI of my head and received some excellent news. The scan did NOT indicate Lewy-Body Dementia. LB is a very aggressive type of dementia. I will have 2 more scans to try and determin...

Carol's Pond January 3, 2022 Well I did it. About a month before January 1, I made a deal with Mother Nature. The deal; She was to fill Carol's Pond or I would shoot Mother Nature a full moon at midnight on December 31. Mother Nature did not hold up her end of the deal. I did, right out on the deck. But Mother Nature is a vengeful old broad. No she did not get me in the rear with a lightening bolt, which I was expecting. Instead she dropped the temperature down into the low 20's. That is beyond cruel. Much of the west is in a severe drought. The Pond is about 4 feet low. Goat Island is now Goat Peninsula. During the day on the 31 st , there were 3 turtles on the log. There are not any on there today. But Whitey was here for lunch yesterday and Blue Boy was on my neighbors pond. Speaking of neighbors, The ones with the pond have about 2 dozen cows and more on the way. But one is a Brahma Bull, named Blue Boy because of his coloring. From researchi...

  Carol's Dragon Fly Ranch Home of Carol's Pond December 25, 2021 Merry Christmas Over Christmas break in the 1956-1957 school year, my family went to California. We visited Disney Land and Knots Berry Farm and Forest Lawn National Cemetery. But at my Aunt and Uncles house, we picked oranges on Christmas Day. The picking of oranges on Christmas Day occurred again in 1995, but in Ft. Myers, FL. Today in Mt. Pleasant, TX at Carol's Pond, I went fishing. It was below 80 (79 in fact) so it was cold. But I managed to catch a nice bluegill. It was his lucky day, he was released to bite again. The pond is about 4 feet low. Goat Island where I was fishing from is now Goat Peninsula. I made Mother Nature a deal. If Mother Nature does not fill Carol's Pond by January 1, at midnight on December 31, I am going out on the deck and shoot her a full moon. That is not a pretty sight. So if you hear about a guy in Texas getting a lightening bolt up his butt on ...

  December 22, 2021 Yesterday, December 21 is my favorite day of the year. It is the shortest day of the year and now the days will start getting longer and that means warm weather is on the way. If it is below 80, it is cold. I think the turtles here in Carol's Pond have dementia of some type. This morning it was 42 degrees, very cold, but there was a turtle up on the log. Why isn't he buried in the mud on the bottom? Right now there are 2 on the log and the temperature is 61. I am surprised. Last Saturday, the 18 th , I was at an estate sale in Hughes-Spring TX and on the way home, a mature Bald Eagle went across the road in front of me. That is the first one I have seen here. I think it had been having lunch on the side of the road. While they primarily eat fish, they will eat carrion. And speaking of critters, I offer a reward of a credit 2 cents for the death of the armadillo that is destroying my yard. By credit, you pay me. I won't hold my bre...

November 29, 2021 This date is the 55 th Anniversary of Carol Ellen Hodgdon's passing. While that is a lifetime, it seems like it was just yesterday. I miss her more everyday. Later, Rex  

  Carol's Pond Oct 9, 2021 A tribute to another great lady, Lorna Bailey Lorna's uncle, Charles Bailey was married to my first cousin, Louise Fivecoat, so are Lorna and I cousins? I don't know and I don't care. Lorna was a great friend, confidant and a great lady. Lorna lived in Alabama but for a short period in 1991 she moved to Lebanon. She had worked as a locksmith and was extremely helpful in helping me get A Better Lock Company up and going. She went through all the tool catalogs with me, pointing out the tools I had to have, tools that would be nice to have and what I did not need at all. She saved me a lot of money. In January this year, she came from her home in Alabama and was my nurse while I recovered from cataract surgery. Because of Parkinson's I shake too bad too put drops in my eyes. Lorna was a great nurse. We had a great time while she was here. We tormented her sons, telling them I lived in a nudist colony and that they pass...

  Why did I move to Texas and some other thoughts. I know many of you have wondered and some have asked why I moved 800 miles away, especially considering my health. There are several reasons. Since the hospital bought my house, I had to move someplace, so I decided to move where it was warmer. The other reason I moved so far away, is my health. In 2002, I put Frank and Rusty, Kenny and others through a lot. I did not want to impose upon my family and friends again. Parkinson's Disease is a very nasty ugly disease. And besides the shakes which are a major pain in the ass, the other sides effects are worse. Sometimes now, I drool or slobber like a St. Bernard dog. It disgust the hell out of me. The hyper sexuality is very frustrating, I feel like I am 15 again again but while my mind says go find a woman, my body says what the hell do you think you are doing. The muscle weakness is also very frustrating. While Parkinson's is a degenerative disease of the brain, i...