They just don’t seem to talk much about the weather here in southern Texas. If you’re a Yankee, that eliminates at least half of your regular every day small talk. The only 2 things I hear anyone say about the weather are:
1 Think this is hot, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Yep, that’s encouraging!
And the universal favorite all across the nation:
2. Is it hot enough for ya? I know this is rhetorical, but don’t you just want to say something like: The boiling point of water is 100°C or 212° F at 1 atmosphere of pressure (sea level), but water boils at a lower temperature as you gain altitude and boils at a higher temperature if you increase atmospheric pressure … well, maybe not that exactly but there sure must be something to say other than, Yep.
Back in the Midwest, we love to talk about the weather. Every where you go, just about every day someone has something to say about the weather. The weather sure is beautiful, hot, cold, rainy, dry, humid, perfect, awful.
In the Midwest we know what season it is by looking out the window. In the Southwest, I know what season it is by what’s on the tiny decoration display in the corner of the Super S and the featured cards at WalMart.
In the Midwest, we especially like to talk about snowstorms. On the advent of every predicted winter storm, all the HyVee’s would sell out of milk and beer and rotisserie chicken. Shopping carts would be overflowing and cars would pack the giant lots, spilling onto the side streets, temporarily blocking the driveways.
In the Midwest, the predicted snow would come, sometimes. Everyone would hunker-down with a pizza and a movie and hope to hear that tomorrow would be a snow day.
Usually not. Most of the time there was nothing to do but set the alarm an hour early and start shoveling. The next week was guaranteed to be slow at the grocery store. It takes a long time for 3 people to go through 4 gallons of milk.
My cousin lives in Pismo Beach, CA. It’s lovely and the weather is perfect, every day. It’s like the movie Ground Hog Day, the weather makes it feel like yesterday all over again. No one talks about the weather in Pismo Beach except me. When I visit and go to the grocery store and say: Isn’t it a beautiful day! I just get blank stares. Of course it’s a beautiful day. Every day is a beautiful day.
In the Southwest, no one seems to talk about the weather for a different reason. It’s been over 100 degrees for 6 straight days and it’s still Spring! Here in Nixon, we’ve had 2 inches of rain since last September.
Back home in the Midwest, 6 straight days of 100+ temps in May would have the made Headline News! We would have talked about the heat wave at the gas station and in line at the bank and in the express lane at HyVee while we stocked up on ice cream and rotisserie chicken. We would have bemoaned the drought and prayed for the farmers. There would be weather related slogans on all the church welcome boards.
But here in southwest Texas, only Yankees talk about the weather. We talk about it to anyone who’ll listen which is mostly other Yankees. To you native Texans, I get it. I know why y’all don’t talk about your weather down here. It’s just like Ground Hog Day. What can you say? Today sure is hot, windy, dry, hot, hot, windy, hot, dry, hot, windy, hot, dry, hot.
Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin
FORK IN THE ROAD 
I remember when I lived in McAllen that the many windy days were said to be the Gulf of Mexico’s influence. I’ve read that Corpus Christi is considered one of the world’s best windsurfing areas.
Just be glad you aren’t near Lubbock! Dust storms of biblical proportions this time of year! I spent 2 years there and have never seen weather so changeable. And the wind is almost always blowing.
Wade – after our stop sign blew over for the 3rd time today, we finally anchored it with a cement block. I should have done it after the 1st time but I kept thinking the wind would die down. We had wind gusts of 40mph+ all day. I had no idea Texas was so windy!
You’re right, I think we’re in about the best area for year round RV life. An extra bonus is that we’re just off a paved road so we have about half as much caliche as usual! A guy came in tonight and said the site we left in Tilden is thick with rattlesnakes, so, you betcha, we’re grateful to be here!
Hi Debbie, Just curious, do you wear some kind of protective eyewear like goggles? How’s the heat? I’m trying to talk myself into doing it but I need my health insurance for some expensive meds. Do you get any time off between drilling jobs? That close to Mexico I could see running down to buy meds there if I had time. Could stock up too as opposed to get 30 day refills. Love the blog!
Hi Wade – Heidi and I both wear glasses but no goggles. 🙂 I suppose re: the heat, it’s relative. I think it’s extremely hot but I’ve never lived in the south. I heard on the news last night that this March-May, have been the 2nd hottest and 2nd driest in Texas history.
If you don’t stay with the same rig, you can have off as many days as you want between jobs, although assignments are never guaranteed.. Even when you do follow a team, you can ask for a sub. We haven’t had a day off since we joined this group (4 months). You can also pay someone to watch your site for a day ($10 per hr usually). Thanks again for reading!
Debbie: Talkin’ to two former Midwesterners here. DW & I both from the Buckeye State, but been here in Utah for way too long! LOL Keep up with the weather reports, we luv it!! And let us know about your next site! WE enjoy it.
Tom & Cathy
Utah
Thanks Tom! I smile as soon as your name pops up on the screen, before I even have a chance to read your comments! You’re such a positive, encouraging guy. Maybe we have a Midwest bond! 🙂 If you and Cathy ever get to southwest Texas, let us know,. We’ll fix the fajitas!
Cloudy sunshine today.
Just keep rubbing it in, Trudy! I’m sure the cloud just got lost on it’s way to Oregon!
I guess it must be perspective…I think people down here talk about the weather much more than folks did up in Wisconsin. Up there, we had four distinct seasons…(five if you count road construction as a season) but down here it’s either hot or cold…no in between. But people in Wi never talked about the weather as they had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. Let a storm come through and people in Texas will talk about it all day.
Spoken like a true Texan, John! There’s SO much more to say about the weather than it’s hot or it’s cold and it sure was windy last night. You just don’t have the gift of weather-gab down here. See Cathy’s comment above. That’s how a true Midwesterner talks about the weather. We talk about the weather in word pictures and stories and in the mundane as well as the dramatic! True Midwesterners can work every event of the day into a colorful story that starts out: Well, it’s gonna be hot and humid today… 😀
Well it’s gonna be hot and humid today. Yeah actually. I’m tired of being chilly plus things need to dry out. We’ve had a lot of rain which ain’t a bad thing ’cause the corn will love it. With the sun out today we’ll hear it growing. But we still need it to dry out a bit. The horses are slippin’ in the mud.
I told Gary they could have a fund raiser for their new horse arena by having a mud wrestling party. The roof and walls aren’t up, just the studs so it is one big mud hole.
I was laughing at the evergreens in the storm yesterday they were moving the “wave” at a sports game. Today everything is making dancing shadows with the sun and wind.
So the sun is out and a gorgeous breeze. Actually it’s borderline windy. Things are looking up for drying out a bit.
The frogs and toads are lovin’ the water they are really LOUD. I’m sitting here watching the Mourning Dove flying back and forth, don’t know if she’s building a nest or getting food. Looking at the double bearded iriss and pink peonies too. Really purty.
All and all it’s downright beautiful and very very green. Smile.
There you go dear…feel at home?
Cathy – that’s what I’m talking about! Just gettin’ down and talking about the weather! Yes! And I do feel right at home. Thanks, my friend!
Just wait till “Skeeter” Season. That gives you something to talk about. Just think of all the home remedies the guys can offer up…
Hey there, Miss K! Welcome back! We were just saying yesterday: ‘At least there aren’t any mosquitoes down here’, as we swatted flies like crazy. I’m guessin’ your sayin’ that ain’t so…