South Texas/Rio Grande Valley

wrote in message
...
Fredricksburg would be towards the North Central part of the Hill
Country.
The "hilly-est" and prettiest part of the Hill Country is north and west
of
San Antonio, generally west of I-10, around Bandera, Leakey, Hunt,
Ingram,
Vanderpool etc.

This might help......
http://www.austinchronicle.com/image...ountry/map.gif

Thanks Michael.... that map does help explain where the
hill country actually is.

So...... the Rio Grande valley terrain is much
different from the hill country? How so? Is the RGV
more flat..... more humid?

Yes the RGV is quite a bit flatter and it would be more humid in the summer
in the parts that are closer to the Gulf of Mexico. But it gets pretty hot
in the Hill Country too, average highs are usually in the mid 90's in the
summer months (late May to early Sep) and sometimes spike over 100.
One weather feature the Hill Country is noted for is flash flooding along
the rivers and creeks (and there are many of those) because you can get very
heavy rains and most of the water runs off the hills fairly quickly and into
the creeks and rivers.

Winter would be milder in the RGV, there often winters in the RGV where it
never drops below 32F.

It doesn't get exceptionally cold in the Hill Country either, but you could
expect at least some freezes there every year, though not much in the way of
ice and snow, except every few years there might be an ice storm.
When that happens, stay off the road beacuse most people that live in
Central Texas have no idea how to drive on ice!! They are just not very
familiar with it.


John

Pardon my ignorance, but I have never ventured south that far...

Do you have a problems with some rattle snakes, scorpions or spiders? ...and
what can you do to protect your home from them?

Thanks Michael.


"TooPlaneCrazy7" wrote in message
...
Hi John,
Getting away from the winter weather is probably the #1 reason why people
are
moving down here. I can't remember where I read it, but the Rio Grande
Valley
(RGV) has the most stable climate in the entire state of Texas and usually
stays around 80/90degrees from March to November and high 40s/50s after
December. The last time it snowed was probably in the 1800s, I believe.

The downside is the humidity and it gets very humid in the summer times,
but
you can always go to the beach at South Padre Island, which is a short
drive
from most of the RGV cities. This island was recently voted as one of the
top
10 beaches in the nation based on water quality, sand softness and
wildlife.

Since the RGV is located near the Mexican border, everything here is
cheap,
cheap, cheap. Gas is the lowest in the country, hotels are one of the
cheapest,
and owning ranch land is becoming one of the best deals in the nation. I
passed
by a nice 10-acre plat of land a couple of days ago which which included
water,
electricity, etc for about 45K. You could get almost the same thing in
Austin
or anywhere in the Texas Hill Country for about 150K.

But, if you ask me what I like best about the RGV...I'll tell you it's the
traffic. While it's true that the RGV area is one of the fastest growing
areas
in the nation, it still only takes most people an average of 5minutes to
get to
where they need. People are extremely laid back here and everything does
move
slow....even mail sent to you from the next door neighbor.

So, if I had to sum up best things about the RGV, I'd list the following:
-weather
-diverse terrain: desert, coastal, tropical, hills, mesquite/cacti, palm
trees,
palm trees, and palm trees. The only thing we don't have are mountains.
-wildlife: one of the top areas in the country for hunting and viewing
wildlife. If you didn't already know, the RGV is also the #1 area for
birdwatching and more species of birds can be seen here in their annual
migration to warmer climates than any other place in the nation.
-low cost of living
-low traffic
-quality stores
-Mexican cultu best food anywhere
-clean air, no smog
-proximity to hospitals, minor league baseball teams, etc.
-history: the RGV is the oldest area in the state of Texas and one of the
most
historic. numerous Civil War and Mexican War battlefields dot the
landscape
-agricultu RGV is known as the agriculture center for the state of
Texas.
The famous Ruby Red grapefruit is a product of this. Shrimping is also
internationally known.

Watching the Red Sox on TV...just witnessed a head on collision between
two
players. One appears to be knocked out unconscious....and now I lost my
train
of thought.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

Rattle snakes will rarely stay in an area with as much traffic as most
housing. If you have a very isolated place then maybe. For scorpions
it's about like in Arizona. You seal up as much as you can and take
care. FFM

Michael Hadac wrote:

Pardon my ignorance, but I have never ventured south that far...

Do you have a problems with some rattle snakes, scorpions or spiders? ...and
what can you do to protect your home from them? Thanks Michael.

"TooPlaneCrazy7" wrote in message
...

Hi John,
Getting away from the winter weather is probably the #1 reason why people
are moving down here. I can't remember where I read it, but the Rio Grande
Valley (RGV) has the most stable climate in the entire state of Texas and usually
stays around 80/90degrees from March to November and high 40s/50s after
December. The last time it snowed was probably in the 1800s, I believe.

The downside is the humidity and it gets very humid in the summer times,
but you can always go to the beach at South Padre Island, which is a short
drive from most of the RGV cities. This island was recently voted as one of the
top 10 beaches in the nation based on water quality, sand softness and
wildlife.
Since the RGV is located near the Mexican border, everything here is
cheap, cheap, cheap. Gas is the lowest in the country, hotels are one of the
cheapest, and owning ranch land is becoming one of the best deals in the nation. I
passed by a nice 10-acre plat of land a couple of days ago which which included
water, electricity, etc for about 45K. You could get almost the same thing in
Austin or anywhere in the Texas Hill Country for about 150K.

But, if you ask me what I like best about the RGV...I'll tell you it's the
traffic. While it's true that the RGV area is one of the fastest growing
areas in the nation, it still only takes most people an average of 5minutes to
get to where they need. People are extremely laid back here and everything does
move slow....even mail sent to you from the next door neighbor.

So, if I had to sum up best things about the RGV, I'd list the following:
-weather
-diverse terrain: desert, coastal, tropical, hills, mesquite/cacti, palm
trees, palm trees, and palm trees. The only thing we don't have are mountains.
-wildlife: one of the top areas in the country for hunting and viewing
wildlife. If you didn't already know, the RGV is also the #1 area for
birdwatching and more species of birds can be seen here in their annual
migration to warmer climates than any other place in the nation.
-low cost of living
-low traffic
-quality stores
-Mexican cultu best food anywhere
-clean air, no smog
-proximity to hospitals, minor league baseball teams, etc.
-history: the RGV is the oldest area in the state of Texas and one of the
most historic. numerous Civil War and Mexican War battlefields dot the
landscape -agricultu RGV is known as the agriculture center for the state of
Texas. The famous Ruby Red grapefruit is a product of this. Shrimping is also
internationally known.

Watching the Red Sox on TV...just witnessed a head on collision between
two players. One appears to be knocked out unconscious....and now I lost my
train of thought.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

"Michael Hadac" wrote in message news:YNOhb.65787$9l5.39399@pd7tw2no...
Pardon my ignorance, but I have never ventured south that far...

Do you have a problems with some rattle snakes, scorpions or spiders? ...and
what can you do to protect your home from them?

Thanks Michael.


Michael, I have lived in Central Texas for 5 years and the Rio Grande
Valley for most of my life. For some reason, I have seen more
snakes/scorpions/spiders in Central Texas than the RGV. The RGV mainly
has 4 legged pests such as coyotes, jack rabbits, possums, bobcats,
javelinas (mainly rural).

Frank F. Matthews wrote:

Rattle snakes will rarely stay in an area with as much traffic as most
housing. If you have a very isolated place then maybe. For scorpions
it's about like in Arizona. You seal up as much as you can and take
care. FFM

Shake your boots out before putting them on.

Don

In article , Don wrote:
Frank F. Matthews wrote:

Rattle snakes will rarely stay in an area with as much traffic as most
housing. If you have a very isolated place then maybe. For scorpions
it's about like in Arizona. You seal up as much as you can and take
care. FFM

Shake your boots out before putting them on.

....and check your bed blankets before you crawl in.

Scorpions likes dark, warm areas -- beds certainly fit that description!

One way they enter the location is through vents... and often, it's easy
to land on a bed from a ceiling-based vent or for them to crawl into some
place from a floor vent.

Do note that you stand a pretty good chance of never seeing a scorpion, but
if you wish to be cautious -- it doesn't hurt to take a few extra seconds
to check anything you put your feet in (ie, by shaking them upside-down to
dislodge any potential 'foreign objects' in the morning), or by inspecting
whatever may be on top, in, or under your bed covers at night before
climbing in.

The unfortunate thing is, as another poster alluded to, often it's
impossible to completely scorpion-proof a place with 100% confidence, so
you just simply never know if there will be a scorpion or not. Extremely
good chance of not having one in the typical place, if that helps any.

There was an interesting newspaper story done on scorpion bites, including
number and locations of reported bites, factors, and a bunch of other stuff
done by the Arizona Republic newspaper (main paper in Phoenix) a few years
ago. Wish I still had it handy, since it was a great introduction to
scorpions for the novice and had facts vs myths. It was a front page local
interest story on the day in 1998 or 1999 when I read it.

-Dan

Dan Foster wrote:
In article , Don wrote:

Frank F. Matthews wrote:

Rattle snakes will rarely stay in an area with as much traffic as most
housing. If you have a very isolated place then maybe. For scorpions
it's about like in Arizona. You seal up as much as you can and take
care. FFM


Shake your boots out before putting them on.
snip

You know, I always thought that too. I was born and raised in Texas so
developed a healthy respect for rattlers so when I moved to the San
Francisco area many years ago I figured I was ok. I lived just about 20
miles south of the city right in a very densely populated area for 31
years there. During that time I killed 2 rattlers in my yard, had
coyotes, skunks and coons on the back yard and even have a set of
antlers a deer rubbed off and left in the yard. And no I didn't live in
a rural area. Had folks all around me in a pretty pricey location.
Bottom line, the so-called 'wild' is getting more and more brazen. We
even had a cougar in the neighborhood once. None of these creatures as
dangerous though as the 2 legged ones.

It seems to me I heard somewhere that Coas****cher wrote in article
:

Dan Foster wrote:
In article , Don wrote:

Frank F. Matthews wrote:

Rattle snakes will rarely stay in an area with as much traffic as most
housing. If you have a very isolated place then maybe. For scorpions
it's about like in Arizona. You seal up as much as you can and take
care. FFM

Shake your boots out before putting them on.

You know, I always thought that too. I was born and raised in Texas so
developed a healthy respect for rattlers so when I moved to the San
Francisco area many years ago I figured I was ok. I lived just about 20
miles south of the city right in a very densely populated area for 31
years there. During that time I killed 2 rattlers in my yard, had
coyotes, skunks and coons on the back yard and even have a set of
antlers a deer rubbed off and left in the yard. And no I didn't live in
a rural area. Had folks all around me in a pretty pricey location.
Bottom line, the so-called 'wild' is getting more and more brazen. We
even had a cougar in the neighborhood once. None of these creatures as
dangerous though as the 2 legged ones.

I'm about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles in a densely populated
suburb. We've had raccoons, possums, and skunks until the last few
years, and I suspect we still have the possums and skunks from the
occasional appearance of the lawn. The nearest rattlesnakes I'm aware
of are around hillside homes in another suburb about ten miles north of
me and slightly nearer downtown LA. They also get the occasional
coyote. Now, birds are something else. A pair of Cooper's hawks seem
to have adopted our yard as their happy hunting ground.
--
Don