The filing period for the 2022 Texas primary elections opened on Nov. 13, allowing candidates to file with their respective party chairs for spots on the March 1, 2022, primary ballot. For primary elections, candidates must file their applications with their state party chairs. If a district is solely contained within a single county, a candidate would file with the county chair.

Just before my longawaited trip to see my daughter and family, we scheduled a repairman to do some work. We do most things ourselves but we have our limitations. Plus, there are things Zack doesn’t like to do if he can possibly avoid them. I suppose we’re all like. And it’s pretty smart when one isn’t particularly adept at plumbing or electricity--- where things can quickly become worse, messy or dangerous. Sometimes Zack even stoops so low now as to play the age card. That doesn’t wash well, considering all that chain sawing and other manly ranch stuff he does around here. But then, those are things he enjoys. And that, of course, makes all the difference.

Evan Young, a former clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has been appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Gov. Greg Abbott. He will replace Justice Eva Guzman, who resigned in June to run for Texas attorney general.

Time marches on. Halloween already came and went. We’re creeping up on our second full year of pandemic---months of uncertainties, shortages, vaccines, boosters, variants and crises in health care. And it ain’t over yet. Add crazy politics and general nastiness, but I won’t get into that. Living under a cloud of fear, uncertainty--- and too often loss--- seems to have warped time. Something that happened a year ago might actually have been two or three years past. My son explains that our perceptions are flawed because of a phenomenon he calls “COVID years.” He says it’s happening to most folks to a certain extent. I thought it was just age making me think events happened longer ago or more recently than they did. Maybe COVID simply embellished and expanded that tendency. It’s like we just lost a year or more.

A Medina County child is being treated for rabies in a Texas hospital, the Department of State Health Services reported last week. It is the first case of rabies in a human reported in the state since 2009. The child was bitten by a bat, according to DSHS.

Usually I have no problem coming up with ideas. There have been instances of writer’s block during the last 20 years or so of columns, but not many. I probably always talked too much and felt compelled to pass along information. Social distancing here at “Hermitage Ranch” during COVID has me channeling even more vocal activity into writing. Ideas come along, because, you know, stuff happens.

The price of a gallon of gasoline tops $3 across much of the state, which is up more than $1.20 from a year ago, according to AAA. The average price for regular gas in Texas stood at $3.03 per gallon on Sunday as crude oil prices continue to creep up, closing above $80 per barrel. Crude oil price is one of a quartet of factors that influence the cost of gasoline, reported The Dallas Morning News. The cost of refining, distribution expenses and taxes also affect the price at the pump.

For some time now, we have been attempting to increase productivity in the office by, among other things, phasing into a paperless environment. Less-paper environment may actually be more accurate since eliminating it completely may not be a practical nor achievable goal anyway. And quite unnecessary, if you ask Mrs. V. who, claiming that she will not have a phone that will outsmart her, is quite able to lead a harmonious existence with an old flipper. Thank you very much.

Seasonal changes. Leaves turn. Seeds drop. Lantana, Obedient plant, Four O’ Clocks, Morning Glories, Cannas, Liatris and some annuals still bloom. It must be autumn. Roses, annuals and summer flowers are responding to shorter days and dry weather. I hate to see them go, but we all deserve a rest. And fall brings its own gardening chores.

Halloween is in the air, full of ghosts, goblins and ghoulies. So we dare you to watch as many spooky, suspenseful and fun Halloween-themed movies as your sensibilities can endure - on us! That’s right, admission will be free!