Born country

Ok quick update before I go back in time. I love cutting and chopping wood. I miss chopping wood every year in college to heat Willard. Whenever I become an adult and buy a house I want to heat it with wood. There is something satisfying about heating my home without the help of an energy company while at the same time swinging an axe. I control that process from start to finish. So today at sunset, I decided to cut down a tree in the yard that has been dead for awhile. Now you're probly thinking to yourself, "Didn't Scott have a roomate that worked for Stihl and had free, unlimited access to the best chainsaws available? Why didn't he cut down that tree with a chainsaw?" I should have cut it down when I had access to chainsaws. But I cut that tree down with a 10" handsaw. So satisfying. Now all I have to do is cut it up with said handsaw. I'm about halfway done. What a good President's day activity, in addition to hiking here:

Now I will veer into the past for something not quite as manly: weddings. Wedding season got a very early start this year. Wedding #1 was a friend of Hannah's and allowed me to cross another state off my list: Texas. It isn't my goal to visit all of the states in the US, but it is fun to go to a new one. My picture of Texas was what I've seen in No Country For Old Men. In fact, I was in eastern Texas which is more like the piedmont region of VA. It has gently rolling hills with large amounts of Loblolly Pine and a more mild climate. I enjoyed this wedding because before going, I new exactly 2 people: Hannah and the bride. That means I can do what I want and nobody will notice or care. That means I observed people the whole weekend. I learned alot about Texas.

Here is a quick list of things I find interesting about Texas:

1. In every men's bathroom, there are signs telling you not to drink if you are pregnant so your fetus doesn't have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at birth. I'm not making light of that condition, it's serious. But in the men's bathroom? That seems odd.


2. Everywhere you look, there are taco joints. If you are in need of a taco, throw a stone and you are likely to find a taco place.


3. Being a redneck seems to take a little more effort than I'm used to. I wear my flannel, enjoy country music, hunt, want to live in the woods and have a dog, etc. Every Texas redneck seems to wear expensive cowboy boots, real tight jeans, a cowboy hat, and of course, a beltbuckle. Now I like all those things, I just don't want to spend lots of dough on pants that make me uncomfortable. I'm not sure my frugal nature would survive there.


4. Many farmers have horses. I know a little about farming and I don't know how raising horses works. Let me explain. Raise cattle, sell cattle for beef or milk cows for milk. Raise hogs, make awesome things like bacon, sausage, or ham and profit. Plant corn, sell corn. So with horses, you raise them and ...? After some thought I figured it out. Horses are like boats. A big money pit that are fun to ride around on.


5. Texas has a higher percentage of dudes with awesome facial hair.


6. There is road construction everywhere, like PA.


7. There was some dude who literally videotaped the entire weekend. I'm pretty sure that he videotaped his trips to the bathroom as well as his sleeping time. It was weird.

It was a great weekend. As for the wedding itself, a great ceremony and homemade 24 hour smoked pork and the best brisket I've ever had at the reception. Scott approved.

This is a long post. I will save Nashville for next time.