Briscoe EF

Two weeks in to this Gate Guarding thing and I am still digesting what it is we have gotten ourselves in to.  Make no mistake, we are earning some decent change.  Let me just say we are experiencing a little culture shock.  Located on the Briscoe Ranch deep in the Oil Patch on one of the largest Ranches in the US.  It is July and I glanced at the thermometer this afternoon and seriously was not shocked to see it at 110.  Lisa works a 12 hour day and I am the 12 hour night guy.  Neither one of us would change if we had our druthers.   Our little trailer has been holding up to the conditions thus far with the AC blowing 24/7 and the little Dometic fridge holding out. Though I doubt it gets much lower than fifty degrees.  We are also very close to the Mexican border in an area of high illegal alien activity.  That is also the subject of another day.   (the ones on earth not the other that was the subject of another blog entry)  After two weeks we finally picked up an Internet air card.  (four days without even a phone) and I discovered a few things I deemed blogworthy.

I was not even aware the above video existed until I transferred the files off the camera.  I just knew Lisa, who gets up a lot earlier than I do had been complaining that a deer, apparently enjoying the same early hours had been acting kind of aggressively towards her while she was enjoying her first coffee and smoke of the morning. Lisa, not the Deer.   Stomping, snorting prancing and advancing. This had been going on for several mornings and Lisa, being who she is, was taking this quite personally and wondering what exactly she was doing to cause this..  I just didn't know she had made this video.

This next picture was taken the first day after arriving at the Briscoe ranch outside Catarina, Texas.  We had just erected our ten by ten awning with bug screen walls.  It works.

I was first thinking about asking Lisa to pose next to this, obviously being safely behind the screen shouldn't be a big deal right?  Then thought better of it.  Then I thought photoshopping her next to it.  Then thought better of that too. Notice the bug next to it for perspective. 

Like I said, I get the night shift.  The past several mornings this guy likes to show up outside where we are camped.  Obviously not to beg for food because his diet is nothing like ours, but maybe finding some water. I dunno.   Either way he seems to like hanging out with us for awhile each morning.  He also does this kind of dance. I think it is a his way of showing respect.  Really.  Actually, I am not the only person who enjoys the roadrunner.  The riggers coming through have their own stories about these guys.

And finally this is a little video also made by Lisa of an authentic Texas downpour.  A little hard to tell that it was quite literally raining buckets.  I had to get out of our vehicle and move about six feet to shelter.  I  was soaked in that time.   What would really be cool is showing a video of an authentic Texas thunderstorm.  Now those things are epic.

Well, we also picked up a mouse as a result of a blowout.

Because this is what happens

Meanwhile, back at the Gate Lisa is earning our bread and butter.  Did I mention it was only 106?

So I can do this at Night

Which now makes me think of this again

And that is how I spent my day....  So what did you expect?  Another sloooowwww day in the Oil Fields.  

2:15 AM.  Beer.  Im kinda missing Beer right now.