About Guadalupe County, TX

This spider has lost weight! All the spinning seems to be directed towards making a place for her eggs to hatch. It's like a cotton pad stuck to the basil stem.

Green lynx spiders jump on their prey, including "crop pests" like bollworms and some types of moths, rather than spinning webs to snare them. Unfortunately, they also like to dine on bees! So this family will need to be relocated to the front yard, where they can live in the lantana or Asian jasmine instead of my bee-bait plants.

Obviously it's a spider (I'm math-challenged, but I was able to count eight legs). Anybody recognize it?

What could it be hoping to catch for breakfast? The ladybugs hatched months ago and fanned out across the yard, and there are no aphids. I just hope it's not messin' with my bees!

If anybody can identify it, let me know. Just curious--I like to know the names of all the denizens of my garden, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral!

To piggy back on my buddies Dale and Carl, it really is a great ideal to get a home inspection. Whether you're buying a resale home or a new home, the price you pay now is the price you save later. Building codes change all the time, so you must know how your home falls into that. Also, don't be discouraged if your 10+ year homes doesn't fall into the local codes and you feel the home of your dreams you're looking to buy is going to be a headache, your agent should negotiate a one years service contract, paid by the sellers to protect you and your investment.

Dispite what the news is telling you, it is really a good time to be a homeowner.

San Antonio continues to be on the rise as far as housing and jobs go! My broker sent out some interesting information that I felt I should share: If this isn't a reason for you to take advantage of an ideal situation, then nothing will ever be. Take advantage, this is an opportunity you shouldn't ignore.

MARKET OVERVIEW
San Antonio housing market is on the leading edge of recovery, although new credit and
underwriting guidelines have disqualified many willing buyers, and others who are
otherwise qualified parked on the sidelines until the national media states this is a
national problem opposed to San Antonio, and Texas, which in general is still moving
forward.
According to the Metro study's (Jack Inselman) current phase of single-family
construction activity totaled 11,445 annual starts, and 14,527 annual closings (one of the
ten most active markets in the US.)
As of March 2008, San Antonio is ranked ninth in job growth with 18,900 jobs gained
(2.3%).
According to the latest figures released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise,
oversight (OFHEO) in 2007, San Antonio home appreciation rate of 8.3%
Job Growth
2005 - 33,100
2006 - 26,500
2007 - 18,800
2008 - 15,000 to 20,000 (Forecast)
New home inventory, first quarter 2008 - 6,528 units
Vacant developed lots
28,033 - 29.4 month supply
MLS
MLS - Active Listings - 12,876
SOLDS - March 2008 1,497
Avg. List Price $233,589 up 9%
Avg. Closed Price $199,218 up 6%
Median Closed Price $155,000 up 5%
Prudential Classic Realty
Research Department
May 22, 2008

Normally, I see the training jets from Randolph AFB swooping over Universal City and Live Oak, and they go a bit farther to the northeast over Schertz, too. The other afternoon, they came right over my house and I went racing outside and managed to get some shots of them from my back yard.

I know nothing about aircraft, but I really enjoy air shows and have fond memories of watching one in 2002 at Fairfield airfield from my father-in-law's back yard in the UK.

I wonder if the pilots can see me waving?