Mother-Time in Two Climates

We had a fast couple days of getting the motor home moved to the Oklahoma panhandle, and then Mark prepped it for the freezing weather that was nipping at our heels. Then we planned to split up and spend some "Mother Time." That meant Denisa jumped into her Mother's car to take her on that looooooong drive to the Rio Grande Valley where she spends the winter. Denisa and her Mother spent a night on the road in Junction, Texas, where several major highways come to a common point. Since we are deep into Texas barbecue country, we had a smoking plate of meat at Lum's. This recommended local smoke house will now forever go into the itinerary as the required food stop on the way to the valley. That's the leanest brisket and ribs we've found in a long time.

It's a 13-hour drive to the tip of Texas, so we arrived the next afternoon to Bentsen Grove Resort in Mission, Texas. This is where Denisa's Mother has wintered for the last 33 years. We always play a game to spot the first palm tree on the drive south. We had seen many by this time, but this street of the resort is lined with some of the tallest palms around.

The best thing about this resort, however, is the fruit trees. Citrus trees line many of the lots. Denisa isn't used to being in the valley this early, to see that most of the fruit is still green this time of the year.

But a few early-ripening trees had enough orange-colored oranges and tangerines ready to get her citrus-fix during her week in south Texas.

She did enjoy some of the resort's amenities, including pickleball, water aerobics, yoga, bingo, etc. But our real focus was getting her Mother's park model home out of its six-month storage status into its six-month living status. After a few long days of work, things are looking like home again.

We had some cool weather and rain during the week, but that gave us incentive to stay in the house to get work projects done. Denisa's 88-year-old Mother says her little street in this resort feels like home since she's lived here so many winters.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in the panhandle of Oklahoma, Mark is not looking at palms trees. Instead, he is looking at snow. It's a good thing it is winterized, because this is a mighty cold view of our home.

Remember that husky puppy that chews up anything left unprotected? Well, they found out that she absolutely loves the snow.

Snow cover over the grass means that the cattle must be fed every day, so Mark was on feed duty while he was visiting Oklahoma.

He was the gate-opener as he and his Mother rode the snow-covered pastures with his rancher brother. The new baby calves are following their mothers up to the feed line. So the pick-up crew gets a great view of the newest members of the herds.

One cow had twin calves, and it's seldom that a mother can successfully raise both. So Mark's new job was feeding this baby that had been stealing milk from other cows until they brought him up to the barn. Denisa was a little jealous of this job, as she was always the designated surrogate mother to all the orphaned and twin calves when she was growing up.

Besides outdoor chores with the cattle, Mark was also keeping busy inside. Just like Denisa, he was helping his 90-year-old Mother with projects around the house.

After a week of being separated by 820 miles, it was time for Denisa to fly north and get a real taste of winter. Since we are used to spending 24/7 together, this unusual 9 days of spending time in different climates helps us to appreciate each other more. And we must say that our moms don't seem to mind this mother-time either.