Trey's Blog: November 2007

I don't know about the rest of you, but it has been almost a week.... and I am still feeling the effects of Thanksgiving dinner.  Could be because we are still nibbling on leftover cheesecake, brown sugar encrusted ham and other delicacies.

Now it is only a month until Christmas and there will be office parties and other festive events to attend in the meantime not to mention the spouses are busy baking peanut brittle and other tasty things WE DON'T NEED.

Please spouses of America...don't send goodies to the office. You are slowly killing us.  This could be a classified as a form of involuntary manslaughter. Stop now before we look like this!

If we continue to eat like this for the rest of December, the only way we will be able tell how we are doing is to take a visit to a special place.  There is one of these special places located near my home.  It is free to the public. I really hope it doesn't come down to this...........

Every year about this time Mr. Peepers tends to get a little bit excited. We think he knows it is Christmas.  He starts putting on a few ounces as he seems to be hungrier than normal and he really gets to chattering and whistling songs.  Peepers likes a variety of music from Rock n Roll to classical.  One of his top tunes to whistle is "In The Hall of the Mountain King"...you know it.  He also likes "Benie and the Jets"by Elton John.  He can make the noise of finger snapping perfectly well by clicking his beak and he keeps excellent time I might add.  While he is whistling, and clicking,  he usually is smultaneously bobbing  his head up and down in rhythm. Another of his favorites is the whistling tune from "Bidge on the River Kwai."   This is probably one of my favorites too. The most amazing thing is when he combines tunes and melodies into his own special rendition and with great enthusiasm. Sometimes our living room is sounds like a concert hall... when he is really a rockin'.  That is until he suddenly stops for no reason and breaks into his rendetion of our microwave oven beeping incessently... then we litterally have to ask him to pipe down before we  all go crazy.  Parrots are a lot of responsibility but I will tell you the entertainment and joy they bring is worth every bit of it.

Trey Thurmond, Realtor

www.treythurmond.com/

To me my sunglasses are like an old friend...they are always there for me.  I keep them in the special little trap door compartment on the ceiling of my truck.  I just can't drive woithout them anymore.  A long time ago I learned not to buy cheap sunglasses (also a song made famous by a Texas Band) for two reasons.:  Either they break easily or they are not good for your eyes.  So as a result I started buying only quality sunglasses. My preference is a reddish amber color made by "Serengeti. "  These glasses not only help on the brightest suunny days, but they actually help me see better on overcast "grey" days.  Needless to say I love my sunglasses.

Now I very seldom loose them anymore because they are expensive to replace.  But occasionally an accident happens.  Maybe they fall out of the truck...or who knows what else.  Anyway last week they dissappeared.  Luckily I had an older "backup pair."  They are a little bent and have some war wounds on them, but they get the job done.

A few days before Thanksgiving I was getting out of the truck at my office and saw something on the pavement...oh boy.

Yep, my favorite sunglasses, at least what was left of them.   Oh well at least the mystery was solved. No more stress or digging under my truck seat looking for them.  So I just resigned myself to continue making do with the backup pair.  Maybe Santa would put some new ones in my Stocking!

Well Saturday morning it was cold, so I went in my closet and grabbed my favorite wool jacket.  Something felt odd.  Now let me preface by saying I haven't worn this jacket for at least a year.  Well there was a lump in the inside chest pocket......yep Sunglasses!  Not only were they my favorite brand, but my favorite style which I haven't been able to find locally. Wow!  Somebody up there is taking care of me.  What a pleasant surprise. To top things off they were in as new condition. I can't explain it .  I don't remember losing a brand new pair of sunsunglasses.

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Located about 1/3 of the way between Hearne, Texas and Wheelock Texas is the hamlet (....I'm not sure if the word can be used in Texas) or community of Blackjack, right near the intersection of FM 2549 also known as Arrowmoon Hwy, and FM 391 which dead ends in Wheelock Texas. 

Now Blackjack has a couple of churches, and a great volunteer Fire Dept.  Lots of pretty scenery and trees  can be found including tall Sycamore trees and what else... Blackjack Oaks.  I read somewhere that Sycamores are the largest hardwood trees in North America and that blackjacks are good for making charcoal. They Sycamores have smooth white bark and huge maple like leaves. The blackjacks are pretty in fall.  Also there are lots of rolling hills and valleys in the area and a diversity of soils.  Lots of sand and ironstone. We live in the area and love the abundant wildlife.  Last week I spotted a fox. There are plenty of whitetail deer and  lots of Bluebirds, Kingbirds and Carracaras and the not always welcome packs of wild hogs.  The critters can be extremely destructive to pastures and also can make a mess out of a car or truck.  Someone told me these wild hogs  can have three litters a year and up to 12 each time....do the math. They breed like mice.  

Oh yeah.. Blackjack was headquarters for the Aggie Bonfire parking this year. Seems there is the perfect pasture with sandy soil so you don't get stuck. 

Come see us in Blackjack!

Trey

 www.robertsoncountyland.com/

 Today I looked up the definition of knuclehead in some obscure web dictionary .  Expecting something a little more eloquent this is what it said ... A stupid person. 

     And that is exactly what I felt like all day today after opening my big mouth.......WITHOUT THINKING.

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah.....

 RULE # 1 IN HUMAN RELATIONS AND BUSINESS:

ALWAYS PUT BRAIN IN GEAR BEFORE OPENING MOUTH..

OR YOU MAY TURN INTO A......

I love our family's  Thanksgiving celebration. Each year our holiday celebrations become more and more a celebration of giving and thankfulness.  This year each of the 19 present stated what they were grateful for. It was so neat to listen to everyone's particular selection. Then we visited with one another and finally feasted until we were all ready to literally pop.... then took a short recess, and came back for 6 different desserts after that.

Afterwards we all retired to the den to get updated on everyone's lives.  Probably the most interesting part is when my cousin who is a missionary in the far east gave her update. She only gets to come home occasionally so it is always special to visit about her adventures.  This year she took a trip to Mongolia and stayed with a nomadic tribe of herders. She described it as being in the middle of nowhere.

Then we tried to help my niece who is a senior in High school decide on which college to attend.  Half of the cousins are pro University of Texas and the other half are Aggies.  That was a fun conversation. Next we all talked about what we might do as a family this year to make a difference at Christmas in an underprivileged family's life.  We will do something. The nice part is that Giving Plan is becoming a tradition with our family during the Holidays.  I for one hope it continues for a long time to come.

Well  tonight my wife and I carried cookies and coffee to the law officers working traffic from the bonfire.  Our ranch is right at the turnoff that leads down to the bonfire site. I asked a state trooper how the numbers were and he indicated it was about half as many as last year's showing.  Later we drove down to the parking area at Blackjack community by the Baptist Church and asked the Sheriff how it was going. He just said there were a few thousand that showed.  All the buses were bringing Aggies back to the parking area by 9:30. Boy ...that was quick.  I think it kicked off At 8:00.  This alternate Bonfire seems to be really organized and is a chore to put on.  I have to give it to the organizers. Looks like it's working.  I hope one day the real deal will return.  Am I being wishful?  Hope not.  

Trey

http://www.aggiecastles.com/

Mineral rights are about as Texan as the Alamo and Bob Wills.  Back in the 1970's and 80's there was a lot of exploration and drilling in our little area of Texas.  Well with the price of oil, that activity is now on the rise again.   Some companies  are reworking old wells, but mostly there is a scramble to search for natural gas in our area.

In that atmosphere many buyers and sellers are suddenly very concerned about either reserving, in the case of sellers, or receiving, in the case of buyers, the mineral rights.  Many have visions of becoming "Jed Clampitt" and discovering Texas Tea, black gold, on their property.  Now in a few cases it's true.  In  other cases the wells come in gang busters then play out right after the mineral owner just purchased his new home and car.  And in a lot of cases the income is enough to make just a little difference in life style.  And in rare cases they become like Jed who barely kept his family fed... and then moved to Beverly Hills.

Now if minerals become an issue in a contract, it is advisable to have an attorney review them if it seems appropriate.

Just having mineral rights is only part of the picture.  Here is a brief list of some concerns:

•   Does the seller own all the mineral rights ?
•   If not, what % do they own and who has the balance?
•   Is the property under a mineral lease?
•   Who owns the royalty rights?
•   Can a well be drilled on the property or can other suface activity occur, that a purchaser may not want?

Many a contract has been lost over mineral rights and needlessly so.  Agents should establish early on what sellers and buyers expect.  Mineral and mineral lease issues can be complex.  It is always good for an agent to know a quality oil and gas attorney and to have that attorney educate them on the basics.

Other good source of information on mineral rights are the Texas Association of Realtors and the Real Estate Research Center at Texas A and M University. 

http://www.texasrealtors.com/

http://recenter.tamu.edu/

Be sure and check those title commitments to see who has mineral reservations or leases filed of record.

Trey Thurmond

http://www.researchvalleyhomes.com/