A South Texas Chronicle
17 August 09Friends, Monday, August 17, 2009
What started all this was I was on a mission to find a famed new source of smoked brisket. Because somebody in Sinton was making national news with his Bar BQ. Sinton is 28 miles north of Corpus Christi, and I was cruising down a wonderful little two lane back road heading that way when I first saw the windmills out in the middle of the cotton fields in the distance. This is really the perfect place for these giants as there’s nothing but acres and miles of flat farmland, most of it is not even fenced – there’s nobody around to keep out. They had a huge crane out there which assembled the two sausage pieces and placed the blades on top. I love Texas roads – nobody was around. So, I pulled into a little spot where they were putting one together. I was amazed how big the blades are. I walked to one that was on the ground. Each blade was at least 30 feet. Figure the diameter of the entire blade assembly is 60 feet across and that’s why they are set on 100 foot columns. And we have the constant sea breeze on the south Texas coast – perfect for making electricity with no pollution. The latest research says the migrating birds will not be affected by the windmills as the birds fly above them. But the real story here is the brisket. We’d been through Sinton and eaten ribs at a fancy new place 2-3 years ago. Population 5,600, Sinton is poor, but on the railroad line and the county seat of San Patricio county. So, I figured the good smoked meat would be at this cool new spot. Nope. It was boarded up and for rent. It was fun driving around a little town that once was booming with the train tracks going right though the middle of downtown. They have a new school and the fairgrounds there got a new arena. But if you blink twice you will think you are back in the 50’s as you drive down the tree-lined streets of the old neighborhoods. The home builders now should go to the little towns and copy the wonderful architecture of these old mansions you find in every boom town in Texas. With second story screened-in porches and mudrooms, sunrooms and fabulous fireplaces. And by driving around I found there are only three places in Sinton that are hopping and busy for lunch: Freddies Steak House, Backroad Café, and this little Bar BQ joint that I had seen in the past but had never been in. The ten tables in this old converted gas station were full when I walked in – every chair had a body. The smell told me this was the guy. I ordered two brisket sandwiches to go. $4.75 each. And they were fabulous. The guy is about 52 and I saw where he may be on a show with Regis in New York City cooking his brisket. I’ll definitely go back and bring home some of his chicken and ribs the next time, too. And see how many more windmills they will put up. We are now officially in the worst drought condition since they began keeping records in 1895. The pictures of the boathouses sitting on dry ground at the lakes nearby are almost unbelievable unless you live here and have been living through this blast furnace Summer of 2009. We are as close to praying for a hurricane as we can get, or at least several tropical depressions. And we already know that’s going to happen. Boom/bust. Drought/flood. That’s how the chart of Texas works. Read ahead in this issue and note the changes in October – halcyon days are ahead. Happy trails.
if you would like to read the September issue of Skywatch, do this…
send me a one dollar bill and a long, self-addressed envelope and I will mail you a hard copy.
OR…put your email address in the envelope with a dollar and I will send you the September issue of Skywatch in a pdf attachment in a return email.
Send your dollar and request to:
Skywatch
PO Box 61045
Corpus Christi, Texas
78466
you’ll profit from reading about the Mercury Retrograde in September and you’ll also get all the kiss and quack days of October in the Sept issue.
Have a friend with a birthday in September?
— Lance Ferguson Aug 18, 07:24 AM #Send in an order for your friend and get their birthday report to give them.
I enjoy your South Texas Chronicles as much as I value your daily forecasts. I’ve been a member for a couple of years at least—thanks!
— Judy Aug 19, 11:03 AM #The ‘windmills’ are really amazing energy-producing machines. The larger ones turn slower so the birds are more apt to avoid the blades. California has a lot of wind farms as they are called here. Traveling form the Great Valley of California through the Delta and over the Altamont Pass to San Francisco, there are a great many of them. Glad to hear that more are being built in other places.
UMMMMMMM…smoked brisket—absolutly my favorite. We’ve got a little converted 40-yr-old frosty place that sells that kind of bar-b-que. Doc’s, as it is affectionately called, has the best real down-to-earth-old-time mouth watering food. If anyone is ever in California and on their way to Yosemite, stop in at Doc’s in Sonora, CA for the kind of meal Lance is talking about.
Yes, there is drought here too—but we’ve got mountains and reservoirs so the effects are felt as acutely as in other places without water storage reservoirs. Hope you get some gentile copies rains soon.
— María Jacobson Aug 19, 03:11 PM #María
They were in the process of constructing a windmill up in Maine when I was there. The island buys energy from the mainland, and their bills are through the roof. This project will bring them down to about 1/3 of what they are now. So great to see an island of people coming together for the common good.
Hope you get a good (but gentle!) soaking soon.
— ramette Aug 20, 08:29 AM #Here too, Central Kansas. 79 generators ~ thrilling to see on the horizon, but in the same breath – irksome! Why? Because in my perfect world, the wind power advocates would go door to door & request each & every person to simply learn how to “consume LESS energy” so these magnificent wonders would actually make a difference.
Lance/Mac, all a ya’ll need to perform a rain dance. OR, have everyone wash & wax their cars all on the same day. Don’t know about the rest of you but that’s normally does the trick round here.
/(*_*)\
— PeaceBEE Aug 21, 04:53 PM #I just heard today that Oklahoma is constructing wind farms too. I agree—we need to use less energy in creative ways. Oh by-the-way, I forgot to say Doc’s Bar-B-Q does it ‘Texas style’.
— María Aug 21, 11:53 PM #Luv ya,
María
I watch those windmills being trucked through El Paso on almost a daily basis, on their way east. It’s nice to be able to envision them on the coast, waving at the birds.
— Kathleen Aug 22, 08:31 AM #Is this the restaurant? I found it in the online yellow pages.
We Bar B Q
316 E Market St
Sinton, TX 78387
We’ll be driving through Texas soon and hope we can stop for lunch there! Thanks for the tip.
— Julie Aug 24, 03:10 PM #L & L ~
Boy, do the gods have a terrific sense of humor!
Yesterday, the forecast showed a possibility of .05 accumulated precipitation. Thought I’d take advantage of the weather & wash off the grasshopper dookie off my little car.
What pans out?
An inch & 3/4 rainfall with 2” hail & winds of 60 mph.
LOL ~
Oh, but the gods did bless us with one beautiful moment to cherish.
The clouds parted & gave us a glorious view of the Full Moon & its companion Jupiter ~ There’s truly something in the fact lightening sends out negative ions giving a sense of Delight.
But, seriously… get out your bucket & hose! Miracles Do Happen.
— PeaceBEE Sep 4, 10:01 AM #There is an old saying by the Greeks; “If you hear of a tree full of cherries, take a small bucket.” Wind and solar power might yet prove to be our salvation, but in the mean time, I’d just as soon find a way to live with less need for energy. I live in a small 500 sq ft. apt. All my lamps and light fixtures have those new fluorescent bulbs. That is to say, I can light my apt. with just 30 watts of power, and get the same amount of light as if I used 150 watts of incandescent bulbs. You have to start small to build something big. Last month, my electric bill was a scant $26.45. I could keep the lights on 24/7, and still not get a bill over $30.00.
— Franky Edder Sep 5, 02:51 AM #the Bar B Q joint is called “Rudys” and is at the intersection of 77 and 181, on the corner…can’t miss it.
and yes, using less power is so important…but we need air conditioning in Texas…we need power…
and anyone who can’t see the glory of those windmills giving us pollution free power forever…
is nuts.
— Lance Ferguson Sep 5, 08:11 AM #Just curious, Lance.
Ever hear of a Swamp Cooler?
(NON polluting & WAY more energy efficient.)
— PeaceBEE Sep 5, 01:59 PM #oh sure…but they don’t work when you have high humidity like we do…
in the desert, they are great…
— Lance Ferguson Sep 5, 04:44 PM #Central Kansas, believe it or not, can reach 100+ for week long stretches during the summer months. Our humidity level drops mid-day to enable using this type of cooler. Locals are blind to its credible use… but, that’s a whole ‘nother story. Well, anyway to get back to the ENVIRONMENT & Energy Use, in the early mornings & late evenings, when the swamp cooler isn’t the correct approach to cooling, we use an exhaust fan in an upstairs window to draw cool air from the west & chill our home. The opposite direction during the late evenings. Voila. NO EMISSIONS ~ NO COSTLY apparatus/equipment – and even more importantly, it’s AFFORDABLE.
Point IS, Lance… if we each could reduce our energy use in any way possible – there are hundreds of examples of how we can eliminate blatant overconsumption of “power” regardless of how it’s produced.
Wind Generators grace the horizon just to the north of our front door. They are more than inspirational. They are truly majestic to see, same as the windmills of old which grace the landscape as well. Lets all just give an attempt to downsize our footprint. Please.
Can you tell I’m quite passionate about the Environment? Uranus in Cancer :-)
...thank you for letting me work off the current stream of energy due to the aspects…
(getting off the SoapBox)
Tree Hugger, Annie /(*_*)\
— PeaceBEE Sep 5, 07:18 PM #