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January 19, 2021
Growing Up In Bandera
By Glenn Clark
The Bandera Prophet
As much as I love living in Bandera I realize that it does come with some special requirements and adjustments if you are new to the area. Everyone knows how important it is for us to get some good rainfall for various reasons in this part of Texas. Our rivers, lakes, stock tanks and hay fields all play a part in our economical health and some years of drought can cause real hardships.
That might help to explain why just about everyone has a rain gauge for keeping an eye on the total rainfall count even if they are retired like me. I know some will fudge in their report on social media or at the local coffee shops and watering holes because they view getting the most rain as sort of a status symbol. After all, this is Texas and a little bit of bragging has always been acceptable. You can always count on the table of knowledge folks at the OST to push the limits.
I personally have spent a small fortune buying rain gauges during the wintertime. The day to day extreme weather changes we experience are to blame. When it's in the high 70s for a day or so it hard to remember to empty the rain gauge in anticipation of a bitter cold night with a warming trend predicted soon after. A busted rain gauge is a sure sign that we had a hard freeze overnight. I would just put an old bucket out in the yard to monitor the rain but the outside dogs would make that an unreliable reading depending on how thirsty they were before I got a look.
I still get caught by sudden changes in the weather as far as how I'm dressed for the day. When I was still working I learned to dress in layers and always had an extra jacket in my truck tool box along with a rain slicker. I know I have an umbrella somewhere in my truck today but it might take a good bit of digging to come up with it. I'm retired now and I can just sit in my truck and wait until the storm passes. I might even take advantage of the situation and grab a quick nap. That has been known to happen.
Growing Up In Bandera continues to present challenges for this old country boy but I find that a lot of them are easily avoided do to a lack of urgency brought on by retirement. Lately I have developed the attitude of a duck. If it doesn't rain, I'll just take off walking.
#265 2021
That might help to explain why just about everyone has a rain gauge for keeping an eye on the total rainfall count even if they are retired like me. I know some will fudge in their report on social media or at the local coffee shops and watering holes because they view getting the most rain as sort of a status symbol. After all, this is Texas and a little bit of bragging has always been acceptable. You can always count on the table of knowledge folks at the OST to push the limits.
I personally have spent a small fortune buying rain gauges during the wintertime. The day to day extreme weather changes we experience are to blame. When it's in the high 70s for a day or so it hard to remember to empty the rain gauge in anticipation of a bitter cold night with a warming trend predicted soon after. A busted rain gauge is a sure sign that we had a hard freeze overnight. I would just put an old bucket out in the yard to monitor the rain but the outside dogs would make that an unreliable reading depending on how thirsty they were before I got a look.
I still get caught by sudden changes in the weather as far as how I'm dressed for the day. When I was still working I learned to dress in layers and always had an extra jacket in my truck tool box along with a rain slicker. I know I have an umbrella somewhere in my truck today but it might take a good bit of digging to come up with it. I'm retired now and I can just sit in my truck and wait until the storm passes. I might even take advantage of the situation and grab a quick nap. That has been known to happen.
Growing Up In Bandera continues to present challenges for this old country boy but I find that a lot of them are easily avoided do to a lack of urgency brought on by retirement. Lately I have developed the attitude of a duck. If it doesn't rain, I'll just take off walking.
#265 2021