Sunday, March 29, 2015

The Best Time of Year in the Rio Grande Valley

We are in the best time of year for the Rio Grande Valley in terms of temperature. Mornings are cool, days are warm and evenings are pleasant. This is the sort of weather that inspires one to go out for a walk to enjoy the glory of the outdoors, whether it is rural or in town.

Obviously, not all is perfect with this time of year. Allergies run rampant for those who suffer them. On my part, I get leaky eyes; whereas, others in my family get the whole stuffy face and headache with their allergies.

We have discovered that air purifiers are a tremendous help. Not only do the  allergy sufferers in my home sleep better, they wake up in a better mood.

Coming back to the weather this time of year, I love it because the heat is not oppressive during the day like it is in summer. Summer days start off sweaty. I would say humid and hot; but, that's not how it feels. As soon as you step outside into the day, you start to sweat like a cheese with your patina of moisture, even in the morning. As the day heats up to triple digits, it can feel slightly suffocating.

In that kind of weather, going out for a walk, even in the mornings, is unpleasant. Forget walking in broad daylight.

Winter is no better. No. Winter is not too bad when the air is simply cold without wind or rain. I think what makes winter in the RGV unpleasant is the rain and wind. This is probably the same the world over, mind you. The best winter days are those in which the air is still. There is a crispness to the the outdoors on still winter days where everything seems more real. Perhaps it is the overcast soft lighting in which you don't have to squint.

Our version of spring time and after the summer heats are the best times because we have the crisp mornings and evenings, with the comfort of warm days.

This time of year in the Rio Grande Valley is the best for barbecues and spending time outside with friends and family. Entertaining guests, even in modest homes, is possible, because the outdoors is your entertaining room.

I'm going to miss this weather when the summer arrives. For now, I'll just pop some allergy pills and go to to enjoy our little corner of creation.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Orange Blossoms

Spring is almost in the air.  We are seeing blooms around the RGV.

Saturday, March 07, 2015

RGV Commute Is Great For Learning

You could learn a great deal if you have to travel between South Padre Island and Roma. I don't imagine many of us make the full drive; but many of us drive somewhere in between. Recently my work requires driving from McAllen to Rio Grande City or McAllen to Raymondville. These aren't the longest drives in the world. However, if you fire up audio books or podcasts, you can learn some things.

There have been plenty of people to recommend Automobile University over the years. The idea started back in the day when you could buy a book on cassette. That later evolved to books on CD. Today's technology allows you to purchase and download an audio book in seconds. Thus, you can learn all manner of things if you put the effort into it.

Personally, I use Audible for my audio books because of its tie-in with Amazon. But, there are plenty of other places where you can download some books, such as Audiobooks.com, Google Play, iTunes, and Librivox among others.

If you are not into books, preferring radio show-like productions, then you can download podcasts and play them on the go.

There are plenty of places in the RGV where there is slow traffic that give you 10 to 20 minutes of listening time. A little here and a little there adds up.

Some of my favorite drives are the open areas between La Joya and Rio Grande City, or between Harlingen and Brownsville. Of course, there is the open country on the way to South Padre Island. But, even a boring commute to the office is 20 minutes of listening you can put in.

Some time ago, I did the opposite, calling in a Blog Talk Radio show for 30 minutes during my commute to work. We have the time to do things, is my point, if we use some of that wasted time in our lives.

Fortunately, the RGV being the land of tomorrow can result in tons of wasted time, which you can use for self-improvement.

If everybody in the Valley takes heed of my words, we could become some of the best educated people in the state.
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