I'm under fire by a Wind Demon.
I haven't seen a wind like this in Gracy Woods for a long time. Gusts up to 50 mph and blowing in a freakish sort of way. Of course this measures up with the rest of our non-Winter and premature spring. We're just nearing the end of February and already the Arizona Ash tress are fully budded out.
As well the iris' are blooming, the Red tip photenenis have gone red, and impatiens seeds are sprouting like mad. Humans and plants seem to be the only ones that fooled by this unusual weather. The birds are acting as if its winter as usual. And the rodents (damn them) are still carrying on as usual.
This non-winter has brought some problems I haven't seen in awhile. Namely large numbers of over fed Raccoons. One or two I don't bother with. But I've seen thuggish packs of up to 12. This is a problem. They become like crackheads. Armed and destructive. We paid almost $800 to keep them out last year and still haven't finished repairing the damage they did. And that was just a pair of juveniles. Hopefully with the construction repairs we're doing this spring I'll rid us of them for good.
But I'm still not looking forward to this summer. We'll be back in drought conditions soon without a winter reprieve. The mosquitoes are going to be horrendous. Not to mention the spider mites and the sooty mold they cause.
Life in Central Texas. It just keeps getting better.
