Medina Lake, Texas

John Carlton calls a mainstream square.

Wayne Ratcliff is in the purple shirt, promenading.

We are staying at a Thousand Trails RV park in Medina Lake, Texas this week. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a lovely, large clear lake after driving over ground that looks pretty parched. And there are lots of birds and deer for further entertainment. Fishing is also an option with largemouth bass, white and hybrid striped bass and catfish in the lake. Not sure I'll take advantage of that, however.

Last night we went to a local square dance called by John Carlton in a nearby town.

Steven Ratcliff feeds a zebra special approved pellets.

Our visit to Wayne's son, Steven, in Killeen last week gave him a chance to go fishing at night and during the day and he really enjoyed that. We also visited an exotic animal park in Topsey where we saw numerous kinds of deer, antelope, sheep, llamas, camel, buffaloes, elk, and my favorite: zebras.

The nighttime temperatures are cooler than I expected for central Texas, but it makes sleeping nicer. They range from the low 40s to the low 50s. Daytime temperatures are pretty dependent on cloud cover; upper 70s and low 80s with clear skies, 10 degrees lower if there are clouds.

My nose has been stuffed up with a minor cold or allergies since we drove past El Paso, so I am not able to determine if Texas really 'smells' different, as one person suggested it might. I walked by the lake yesterday and there seems to be a lot of limestone and not much grass with live oak trees dropping nuts, so there is a crackling sound as I walk. Very peaceful place.

There is a swimming pool here, along with other amenities, but the temperatures are not encouraging for me right now to think about getting wet all over. What a woos I am.

My desire to do any painting has been thwarted somewhat by the driving schedule and other activities. Perhaps since we are here for a week I can get at least one project done. I did complete this one with Susie Ratcliff last week.

We went to a painting place to do some art together. It is
always interesting to try new things.