Tues October 28, 2014   9:30 pm cdt 72 degrees

cotton boll

  We meet the nicest people here in the valley and one of them was a man driving one of those trucks that haul cotton from the farmer to the gin.  Neil asked him if we could just follow him out and take pictures.  He said sure and if you like, I'll give you a tour when we get back to the gin. I was super  happy because I had been telling Neil I wish we could see how they process the cotton.

Good thing he gave us the tour because I got it a bit wrong in last weeks post.  Don't bother going back to see what I did wrong because I erased the bad part....covering my tracks....trying to look good..  

  

this is the gear on the truck that  helps him load the module.  He puts the truck in neutral and then this  pulls the truck up under the module and the conveyor in the truck bed guides it in.

He is loading one of these modules..it weighs about 20,000 pounds.

It does require a lot of equipment and handling to get these modules to the gin.  The newer way of  doing it is in round bales.  It requires one machine and one man.

These bales are headed to the shredder which breaks the compressed cotton up a bit.

  

now it goes to a dryer

This is a cotton gin

The above part is the ginned cotton  that is being sent on to continue the process, the bottom is the cotton seed which is sold separately and the twigs, leaves etc. are sent off to a bin on the side.

cotton seeds

These are just stored in a hopper outside and then sold to a company in Mexico.

The next process is adding moisture.

 I asked him didn't he just remove  the water? It seems that  just like your hair on a dry day the cotton gets all frizzy  once it is ginned and a little moisture calms it down.

And it's  formed into bales and inserted in plastic.

So now it is all ready to leave  in bales of about 500 pounds.  It will  be sold at a price of about 50 cents a pound.  This lady is putting  the USDA label on .

USDA samples.

  Each bale has a  label and a corresponding label is rolled up inside a sample from that bale and sent to USDA for grading

They also have a secondary product called dirty cotton that they sell for manufacturing that requires less quality.

And this is Virgil who (whom?) I cannot thank enough. 

 I hope I got it right.

Virgil's dad runs this gin and Virgil has worked there since he was 14.  At that time he could not work inside..Child labor laws, but he would rake up  and do small chores outside.

He has a wife and family now so he needs a job with benefits and retirement so he is a full time fireman but he still works part time for his dad.

Ginning here is from June to October, but Virgil's dad has now gone on to Georgia and then on to other states, ending up in North Texas.

Nice hair, Barbara,,,,it was a windy day.

October 21,2014 10 pm cst  75 degrees

It will still be Howie's blog but  our wonderful traveling companion suffered from what the vet thought was probably a brain tumor and we eased his suffering on Aug 4th, a very sad day for us.

Plymouth Pond at the height of fall color.  We are fair weather Mainers.  When the weather looks like it is going to get tough, the tough leave and go to Texas.

Saw some strange sights on the way.

 This is what Google Maps showed us when we came into Fort Worth. That blue arrow is us but it doesn't say which of those many layers of road we are on. Glad I wasn't driving.

 It was rush hour but this  wasn't too bad.  Slow but it kept moving.

Spent a day with Matt, Lori, Janice and of course Gus.  He  is kinda small and round and he has only one eye, but he has charisma!  Love that face

We northerners might look at this picture and think it  looks like blocks of snow, but it is actually huge bales of cotton waiting to be ginned. 

the newer more cost effective way of getting cotton to the gin is in round bales.

  

This appears to be a disposal site  for leather sofas.  I believe there are 6 of them there.

These lawn and garden statues are so fierce.  I cannot imagine a setting for them.  Who would buy them and how would they be used?  Maybe they are for Halloween to keep the   trick-or-treaters away. Can you visualize a 5 year old girl dressed in a little princess outfit going up on the porch to trick-or-treat where these guys are standing guard?

Bet you don't know what a Kermes is.  Me either but I looked it up: a spanish word for a fund raiser, a carnival.

April 15,2014  8 pm cdst   73 degrees

It always amuses me that when we are expecting a change in weather  from warm to cool, people will say, "There is a front coming."  Sometimes you can even see it.

Neil and George talking to two Border Patrol at Santa Ana wildlife refuge.

  These two are on temporary duty here as this border is the current hot spot.   They run their route on bicycles.

These burials were from the late fifties to the early 1960's .  I wonder why there were only these few because they are very clear and have lasted well.

This sign in the drive up window at a fast food restaurant.

I'm not the only one who can't spell.

Well, this time it is Neil who is having a knee replacement.  He will check into Valley Baptist Hospital Friday  and as soon as he is well enough, we will head home for the summer, so this will be the last blog of the winter.

Hope you will look for us back here in the fall.

April 8 2014  7pm cdst  about  70 degrees

I think I have called this a bunch of wrong names but the word for what they are doing or what they are waiting to do is kiteboarding.

These people watch the weather every day and  when the winds are between 15 and 45 mph, they are ready to  kiteboard.

She is from Florida and he is from California and they are waiting for the wind.

And this is the line out from those kites you see in the pic above........about 40 feet.

There is a whole family  here who are truant from work today as all are kiteboarders and conditions were supposed to be great today.  Grandpa is 70 plus...he said he got all hooked up to  try it once  but ended up eating a lot of dirt so that was the end for him.  He is just here to watch today. The girl in the pic works for the family and is also a kiteboarder.

I kinda thought this to be their van, but I don't know that for sure.

The gulls watched and waited as did the kiters because although the weather forecasters told of great conditions, the fog held the wind down and they are all waiting for the fog to lift and the wind to pick up.

Well, one brave soul tried but he was having a hard time keeping it in the air.

I don't know, is that some sort of kiteboarder's hat or is he just a little strange?

About a gazillion black skimmers were grounded too.  I like the way they stretch out when they are resting.

Well, this guy decided to give it up.  The wind was just not cooperating.  

As did this guy but looks like he just can't remember how to repack  the thing.  The wingspread  on the kites is between 9 and 12 feet.

March 32, 2014  8 pm cdst    79 degrees

Finally, after a week of putting together, and getting a little silly and tired at the end,

At least we got silly...George stayed with the program and we finally have a shed.  We all agreed that the next time, if any and it's not likely, the shed will come to us all together.

At a cemetery we had not seen before  I was taken by this grave of a Maria and her namesake who were born on the same day 30 years apart and died within a year of each other.  Sad. But also I notice that in these cemeteries,  the family often brings unusual things to leave on the grave.  On the Marias' grave are a couple of angels, a fish, something that looks like a toothbrush holder and  a flamingo on a stick.

On this one, someone left grampa a bottle of Sprite. ( Might be warm where he is and he needs a drink.)  Sorry, that was disrespectful and  by and large, I think Mexicans are very respectful of their family that have gone beyond.

sadder yet, this grave looks as if it had  things there and someone took them away.

Next went to the flea market looking for some shelves for the shed which we didn't find but as usual, I am amazed at the variety of things available ....like puppies

 or a giant snow cone,

or a cup of corn, seasoned with salsa and lime.

Or maybe you want to get your face painted.

More than likely it is a sign of  my age, but I just don't like to see the many stalls that sell toy guns.

This just looks wrong to me.

On the way home I was tempted by this store, but unfortunately, the business is up for sale and I cannot get belly dancing lessons here.  Shame.