The Heat Is On...

Home Sweet Home, for now anyway...

 

Well, we have been in Nacogdoches for almost three weeks.  We knew what we were ‘signing up for’ – that coming back to Texas in late August would be pretty miserable, and we weren’t wrong.  It has been hot and humid and living 8 miles outside town in a small RV park with no shade in our little ‘Silver,’ has made the heat seem even worse.  It is hard to believe that the RV parks in Nacogdoches in the middle of the pineywoods, have little to no trees but that seems to be the case.

 

Maya hangs out in the RV park with her new friend, the roping steer
She is a good herding dog keeping that steer right in place

 

Okay, so I’m whining a bit.  I admit we are spoiled rotten when it comes to having things ‘our way.’  We’ve been chasing spring or fall all around the country for the past 3 ½ years, going ‘where the weather suits our clothes.’  If we did much more than sleep in our RV, it was unusual.  Mostly we were out and about hiking or sightseeing.  I knew it was a great life while we were at it and now I appreciate it even more.

 

 

Another friend at the RV park

 

We are spending way too much time in our RV now.  It is just too hot to be out hiking. To make matters worse, when the air conditioner is running the breaker tends to trip frequently causing power outages, so there is no way we would risk leaving Maya in the RV while we took in a movie or went out to dinner.  Maya even goes to ‘doggie daycare’ for half a day two days a week while we are in class.

 

My favorite SFASU bumper sticker
SFA has the lumberjack as its mascot

 

David’s two classes, Intro to Forestry and Intro to Wildlife Management, are at almost the same time as my digital photography class so we are making do with our one car.  David is having fun with his classes and studying things he has always wanted.  I am taking the digital class mainly to have access to the lab and printers and also to brush up on some new digital editing programs.   Since we have been ‘on the road’ for several years, I haven’t been doing any printing and only some basic editing for the blog so I am a bit rusty.  

 

East Texas is very beautiful even in the heat

Oh, and my yoga class -- I am so grateful for that class.   With my dad’s recent health issues, the oppressive heat and all of the adjustments we have had to make from a carefree life of being on the road to starting school and preparing to move and settle down, well, let’s just say I’ve been a bit stressed.   Thankfully my dad is much better and both my parents are doing pretty well right now.   

 

Hibiscus at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center

Agave

Although David and I are struggling with the heat and with our living situation, we know it will just be a few more weeks until the townhome we are renting will be available.  We should be all moved in by the middle of October.  It’s funny, the RV never felt like a limiting factor when we were traveling but now it is a small box with a noisy air conditioner running all the time and it feels confining.  Our lives have contracted, at least temporarily.  But in a few weeks we will have more space and Maya will have a little yard.  All good things, but I have to admit it seems a little weird to be settling down after all the freedom we've experienced.  "Cha cha cha changes…"

 

 

 Pineywoods Native Plant Center
David, Maya and I have been taking early morning walks at the PNPC

 

Soon the weather should start to cool down at least a little and so I fully expect to be exploring the area and having much more interesting things to report in the blogs.  After all, Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas with lots of history in the area.  Once we are all moved, the exploring will start in earnest.  Silver will still hit the road with us from time to time checking out new parts of East Texas and Louisiana and who knows where she will take us to this next summer.  Somewhere cool and hopefully with no fires...

 

Maya isn't taking things too seriously