Columns/Opinions

The rain came down sometime either late Sunday or early Monday morning leaving different amounts anywhere from a quarter of an inch to nearly one-half inch. There was plenty of lightening and thunder to go along with it. All of the moisture was soaked up just about as fast as it fell, as the pastures were really dry. The tanks have still got water, but a hard rain is needed to provide run-off to replenish the water. So far it hasn’t slowed up any of the grasshoppers as they are still very much around. We are supposed to be getting some much cooler weather, so maybe that will do the hoppers in.

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On Saturday, October 5th, the Harper Historical Society hosted the semi-annual meeting of the Edwards Plateau Historical Association in the new community hall in the Harper Park.

A large crowd turned out for that event to hear the stories of some of Harper's founding families and enjoy some good company from across the Plateau, as well as the community of Harper itself.

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Squash. Just listen to that word one more time. Squash … one of the English language’s most painful words, along with maim and trauma and rend and okra and Liberace. Why would anyone want to eat something that sounds as though someone sat on it?

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"Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts." Henri Frederic Amiel

Last Friday night, the San Saba Armadillos and the Goldthwaite Eagles played for the “Battle of the River” title. Both teams came prepared to play their best. As we all know in a sporting contest, there is only one winner on the final scoreboard. But this past Friday night, teams and fans went home with a little different finish.

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Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarships is The Rotary Foundation's oldest and best-known program. Since 1947 men and women from 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. Through grants totaling approximately $26 million, recipients from some 69 countries have studied in more than 64 nations. In 2013 the Rotary Global Grant Scholarships replaced the Ambassadorial Scholarships.

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No news from anyone around the Bend, they have either gone, went to sleep and took a nap or just not wanting anything in the news. Could be they are all gone away somewhere, who knows!

The weather is the same as it has been all week and from the looks of things it will be the same for a couple more weeks. The 23rd is the first day of Fall, but you sure can’t tell by the weather. None of the trees have started to drop their leaves and it still feels like summer is still with us. Pray for rain as it is very badly needed.

Remember that the burn ban is still on here and in Lampasas.

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Regular readers will be familiar with the fact that while the vast majority of my columns deal with Nature in the Hill Country, I do sometimes write about topics having a wider scope. Last week, I wrote about being a good citizen of the Earth. It got me to thinking about a National Geographic article I read a few years ago.

The 2014 National Geographic article by Jonathan Foley asks the question, "Where will we find enough food for 9 billion?"

The world population is projected to grow from the current 7+ billion to 9 billion by 2050. (The population of Texas is projected to double in that time!) But the roughly 30% increase in world population will require a much larger increase in food production as the developing world becomes more affluent and demands more meat, dairy and poultry. Demand is expected to double between now and mid-century.

The Facts, Continued

Last week I wrote about how we have all the information in the world at our fingertips in the form of our smart phones and computers, yet misinformation seems to be running rampant. I said that I think some of the reason people are so misinformed is that “along with all the solid information available on our phones, there are tons of lies, opinions, satire, bias, spin, and otherwise bogus information mixed in—and it can be very hard to discern which is which.” Then I talked about the importance of drilling down to be sure the information presented is reliable. Today, I have a few more suggestions as to how the average person can sort the truth from the nonsense.

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If you are a human being and you live on the earth, then you are a citizen of the earth. You may also be a citizen of a country or city or family or whatever else. But as a citizen of the earth, you are using the resources of the earth for heat, light, food, water, oxygen, medicine, transportation and protection from the elements. In addition, you are using the resources of the earth to dispose of and manage all the liquid, solid and gaseous waste that you produce.

And, there are almost 8 billion other citizens on the earth needing to use the same resources that you are.

Some of us consume many more resources than others, either because of affluence or lack thereof, or because of a particular lifestyle. We sometimes use the term "footprint" to indicate the amount of resources an individual or a group of individuals utilize to maintain their particular lifestyle.

A few years ago, an edition of Texas Wildlife magazine contained two articles about coyotes that I found fascinating and informative. Here are, briefly, some of the things discussed in these articles.

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