Meanwhile in Texoma........

[Volkonski]

Today is our 47th (!) wedding anniversary and just past the 48th anniversary of our first date.

We and our older daughter and SIL are going out to celebrate. Mrs. V has made a reservation for this evening at a fancy restaurant.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

[Foggy]

Congratulations, V. She's a lovely lady. I met her in the City of Brotherly Shove.

[AndyinPA]

Congratulations!

[Volkonski]

So, yesterday evening we had a good meal at a local nicer restaurant.

We got home to find the house filling with smoke.

Quick look around seemed to identify the problem was the furnace. Called 24 hour furnace repair. Meanwhile corralled the cats and opened doors and windows to vent smoke.

Furnace guy came. Checked furnace. He noticed that smoke was coming from the overhead light fixture over the furnace room door (which is outside). The fixture had dropped a bit down from the eve. A bird had built a nest above it. Nest had caught fire due to a problem with the wiring. Waiting now for electrician.

The fun never stops.

[AndyinPA]

I hope it can be fixed and cleaned up without serious damage. That must have been scary.

[Volkonski]

Electrician came. He removed burnt light fixture. Now replacing it.

[Volkonski]

Today is tree and bush trimming day.

We have two large pecan trees in the back yard which grow quickly. They must be trimmed to keep their branches away from the power and cable lines that come to the house from the back ally.

We have two large live oaks in front, like every other house on this street. These also need trimming.

The bushes around the house grow up and block the views from the windows. This bothers the cats so bush trimming is needed also.

Professional tree service people are expected shortly. I am no longer safe on ladders. Daughter and SIL have to work.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Hmmm, it seems this should be called "cat trimming" since it is for their benefit....

[Volkonski]

Freezing weather has returned but we could reach 80F by the middle of next week.

Our daughter and SIL are taking advantage of the 3 day weekend for a minivacation in Dallas.

Very quiet here just now.

[Volkonski]

The tree service we used last week are back trimming the trees of our across the street neighbor. Guess he liked how they did our trees.

Now, if one of our neighbors would use a sprinkler service so we could hire them too.

[Volkonski]

Currently 84°F here. Could beat the February record high temperature today.

[bill_g]

Sounds like you shoulda planted some tomatoes before Christmas!

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[Volkonski]

Today (and tomorrow) is the Wichita Falls ARTS ALIVE 2024 HOME & GARDEN FESTIVAL! This is a fundraiser for local arts organizations.

https://www.homeandgardenwf.org/

Our daughter's employer has a booth at the festival to beg for money and volunteers. She was on the booth this morning. Mrs. V. and I met her there at noon and toured the event. Then we went to a Greek restaurant for lunch.

The festival was much larger than I expected. It filled the city's Multipurpose Event Center completely.

Just about every business and organization you could imagine fitting under the title home & garden (and arts) was there and so were many that had nothing to do with homes or gardens or the arts.

[Volkonski]

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Winter greetings from Texoma where the temperature today will only get up to 93F! Should be a new record for this date.

Wednesday the forecast high is 50F and the overnight low forecast is 31F.

Also, Texoma seems to have given up humidity for Lent. About 18% RH today.

[Volkonski]

With high temperatures and low humidity forecast again for tomorrow plus winds gusting to 40 mph we will be under a Red Flag Warning Tuesday.

[Volkonski]

About 200 miles west of us in the panhandle.

Smokehouse Creek Fire spreads over 40,000 acres; north of Stinnett

https://www.borgernewsherald.com/news/s ... 0d7ef.html

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which started in Hutchinson County north of Stinnett, is approximately 40,000 acres with 0% containment according to Texas A&M Forest Service. "The fire that started north of Stinnett has moved east across what we call the Turkey Track Ranch and the Adobe Walls area. This fire is burning in the river bottom that makes it difficult to fight without the air tankers. Texas Forrest Service has been contacted. Multiple agencies and an incident command unit is on the way," said Hansford County Office of Emergency Management.

[Volkonski]

The latest on the rapidly growing Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/texas- ... index.html

Smokehouse Creek Fire already 5th largest in state history

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which had scorched at least 250,000 acres by Tuesday afternoon, already ranks as the fifth largest wildfire in Texas history, according to records from the Texas A&M Forest Service.

And it's burned more land than all of the state's fires in 2023 combined, according to information from the forest service.

An out-of-control wildfire is threatening Texas Panhandle towns and forcing residents to evacuate.

Various evacuations were ordered throughout the day on Tuesday. Here's where they are in effect:

Parts of Hemphill and Roberts Counties, including the town of Canadian, Texas, around an hour and a half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.
City officials said that parts of Fritch, Texas, including both Roberts and Hutchinson Counties, are also under an evacuation order.
Some residents in Lipscomb County in the Texas Panhandle "near Glazier and the feed yard" have been asked to leave, the Lipscomb County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.
Evacuations are in place for the town of Double Diamond, according to Moore County Emergency Management Coordinator Tommy Brooks. There is a fire burning at Lake Meredith, which is in the southern portion of the county, Brooks said.

An out-of-control wildfire is threatening Texas Panhandle towns and forcing residents to evacuate.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has scorched more than 200,000 acres of land since igniting Monday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Evacuations were ordered early Tuesday afternoon for parts of Hemphill and Roberts counties as the fire encroached on populated areas. This includes the town of Canadian, Texas, about an hour and half northeast of Amarillo, Texas.

[Volkonski]

A large area here under a Red Flag Warning. Temperatures in the 80s. Humidity 20%. Fires west and north of us but so far nothing very close.

Forecast is for a dramatic drop in temperature into the 30s starting tonight about midnight. Winds should lessen too.

[Volkonski]

Federal judge rules proxy votes can’t count toward House quorum

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-ba ... press.coop

A federal judge in Texas ruled Tuesday that proxy votes made in the House during the COVID-19 pandemic should not have counted toward the body’s quorum, calling into question the validity of votes during that period and opening the door to potential legal challenges to some pandemic-era legislation.

The rule, implemented by House Democrats amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, allowed the House to pass legislation without a physical quorum of members present, counting toward a quorum those who attended and voted virtually or by proxy.

Judge James Wesley Hendrix determined that the House’s proxy voting rule violated the Quorum Clause of the Constitution.

“Supreme Court precedent has long held that the Quorum Clause requires presence, and the Clause’s text distinguishes those absent members from the quorum and provides a mechanism for obtaining a physical quorum by compelling absent members to attend,” Hendrix wrote.

The State of Texas challenged the rule last February, specifically demanding that two pieces of legislation be halted: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security’s Alternatives to Detention Case Management Pilot Program.

The PWFA is a workers’ rights bill passed in May 2021 that provides additional federal protections to pregnant workers. Hendrix determined Texas was able to prove injury regarding the PWFA, but not the Case Management Pilot Program.

Hendrix implemented an injunction against the PWFA’s implementation in Texas because it passed without a legal quorum. The case only halts the law in Texas but opens the door to legal challenges to other COVID-era legislation nationwide.

[Foggy]

[Volkonski]

Here the temperature has dropped to 50F. The wind is gusting to 45 mph.

[Volkonski]

Currently 34F here and winds have dropped to 17 mph.

[Volkonski]

Most of the panhandle counties have small populations of only a few thousand people. When wildfires happen their resources are few.

Gov. Abbott is quick to send the National Guard to the border to sit and do nothing. Those troops are needed in the panhandle now.