Population: 965,872 Elevation: 489'
We are in Austin (again) for the next 3 weeks.
The trip from Lake Texoma to Austin didn't seem that bad, but the trailer doesn't agree. One of the sewer caps fell off. At least those are cheap and easy to find. One of our snap pads fell off one of the stabilizer jacks. A snap pad is a rubber shoe type of thing that covers the jack to prevent the metal pad from touching concrete. They also make it more stable on gravel. Finally, a tire went flat. We made it all the way to Austin and had left the highway and were on surface streets when the tire pressure monitor went off. We were only a couple of miles from the RV park so we made it without any problems. Next morning, I took the tire off and took it to a tire shop. They said the tire was fine, the problem was the rim. It was cracked at the bottom of one of the spokes. I took it to a place to see if it could be welded, but they said it was in a structural area and they couldn't weld it. I had to buy a new rim. At least it waited until we are almost to the RV park and didn't go flat somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. I do have a spare tire, but it would be a lot of work to change the tire on a big trailer on the side of a highway.
Yesterday was the 4th of July, so Brie has been terrified for the past few days. She is afraid of the bangs from fireworks. On the night of the 4th, we had to make her a little tent next to Jan. That calmed her down enough so she stopped shaking. She was happy during the day, it was only at night that she was afraid. We bought her a red, white, and blue tutu and made her wear it for her walks. Everyone said she was very cute and she loved the attention. I just realized that I don't have a picture of her wearing it.
We took a drive up into the hill country to get out of the heat. It didn't work, it was still hot there too. Apparently, the highest point in this county is only 725' above sea level. Not high enough to be cooler. The place we went to is called The Devil's Backbone. It's a high, rocky ridge in the hills. I couldn't get a good photo of it because the road went along the top of it. Here is the view from the top
We stopped at a picnic area at the top of the ridge. There is a chain link fence near the edge of the cliff so people don't fall off. People took that as a great place to make a memorial wall. They attach things to the fence with names of people and pets who have died. I don't know how that tradition started, but it is very popular.
House News:
They break ground on the house this week. We have seen a video of the lot after they cleared it so we have an idea of what trees are left. There are quite a few along the back fence line. Our lot is pie shaped with the house at the point. That leaves us with a very big back yard that will be shaded with mature trees. When we drove through the neighborhood, we noticed that some people like their lot completely emptied, no trees at all. It's hot in Texas, you really want the shade. Maybe they want pools.
Beer News:
I made a batch of Maple Pecan Stout. It was my own recipe. I toasted some pecans and added real maple syrup from Vermont. Right now, the beer is foaming up to the top of the fermenter. They more sugar you add (like syrup), they more food for the yeast. Crazy yeast makes a lot of foam. It will also add to the alcohol level of the beer. It's probably going to be around 8%.
I have been rationing my homemade beer. I have 2 bottles of stout and 6 bottles of wheat left. There is a batch of golden ale with 11 bottles in the pantry, but it won't be ready to drink for another couple of weeks. The maple pecan stout will have to sit in the bottle for at least 2 months, probably more. My last batch of maple stout (the batch with only 2 bottles left) was best after 4 months in the bottle. I drank bottles at 2 and 3 months to see how it was going, but 4 months was when it was best. If the new batch is the same, I may not drink it until November.
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