I know ya’ll are going to enjoy those goodies.
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Wow! Is it really going to be our 25th annual event? Started in 1996, the Upland Bird Extravaganza is an event that is looked forward to by countless citizens of Erath and the surrounding Cross Timbers area. Every year the event provides a place for people to share their love of the outdoors and amazing food. Initially hosted at Horton Ranch by Ed Horton, one of the founders of the UBE, the event has garnered significant attention every year, gaining more and more attendees. Started as a small fundraiser to raise money for the Boy Scouts, the event is now a large contributor to a variety of youth organizations. Well over 1 million dollars has now been raised for a variety youth organizations throughout the county, and it all started from a simple idea by a group of local bird dog enthusiasts.
This idea, formed by Mr. Horton and his hunting friends Ron Burk, Calvin Hudson, James Wood, Gail Warren and Robert Hendrix was a friendly competition with three events: Retriever Trials, Pointer Trials, and a Multi-Station Skeet Shooting. And thus, the Upland Bird Extravaganza was born! Each year as the Upland Bird Extravaganza has been held, the events have slowly gravitated away from the bird dog competitions and have centered around various shooting sport events such as: Multi-Station Skeet Shooting, Business/Corporation Skeet Shooting, Individual Skeet Shooting, 5-stand, Sporting Clays, and Covey Flush Competition. Initially held at Horton Ranch, the event has been moved to Rough Creek Lodge just outside of Glen Rose to facilitate the larger crowds that gather each year. For over 20 years now, the Horton Ranch, Preferred Properties of Texas, Tanglewood Pharmacy and Medical Supplies have helped to nurture the Upland Bird Extravaganza. The Upland Bird Extravaganza has also evolved its non-competitive fun from a BBQ dinner and Social to include a Wild Game Dinner at City Hall at City Limits, silent auctions, and a “Rell of a Haffle!” Every sponsor and participant involved play an important role in helping this event give back to our community’s youth.
Over the years, the Upland Bird Extravaganza has been blessed with many local sponsors, and due to these charitable businesses and individuals the Evening Lions Club has been able to help organizations such as, Angel Tree, Fosters Home, Pasture to Packer, 4-H, FFA, The Stephenville Soccer Association, Back Pack Buddies, SHS Outdoor Class, TSU Wildlife Society, Stephenville HS Bass Club, as well as Boys & Girl Scouts of America. Because of this events success the Upland Bird Extravaganza the Stephenville Evening Lions Club adopted it and made it their sole fundraising event. More than $200,000 is raised each year and donated to many youth programs. These programs vary from ones that assist in funding activities which allow kids to learn about livestock and agriculture, to the Stephenville Parks and Recreation Department that puts on youth sport events and many others. Since 2014, they have been able to play a big part in the Stephenville Independent School District’s Education Foundation that helps fund our teachers so that they may afford the supplies necessary to teach. The Upland Bird Extravaganza has grown over the years, and the members of the Stephenville
Evening Lions Club have raised a tremendous amount of money and helped countless kids in the process. It’s been a lot of work, but well worth it to see the results. And it continues to show every year with all the generosity that sponsors and attendees of the UBE show for this fun event. In the end it all comes back to the kids, to helping to get them active in outdoor activities and supporting the leaders of tomorrow. This has always been the focus of the Upland Bird Extravaganza from the start. And why do we do it? Ed Horton probably said it best, “Because these folks believe in the youngsters of the future.”
This year’s shoot is on 3/28/2020 at Rough Creek Lodge and the dinner is on 4/3/2020 at City Hall @ City Limits.
As important as the right plants are, they can’t do ALL the work for you. A great garden still requires a lot of preparation and maintenance to develop. Before you begin planting in the spring, here is a checklist of the 8 steps you should take to prepare your garden for a successful season:
You should also take this opportunity to replenish your supplies. Make sure you have enough fertilizer and soil amendments on hand. Replenish your supply of plant supports, and pre-assemble any structures like tomato cages that you want to make for yourself. It is a lot easier to do get this work done in your shed while the weather is still icky than to have to worry about it later in spring when there is plenty of things you would rather be doing outside.
Your main concern is any weeds that might still be alive. These must be removed from the soil and either burned or placed in the middle of a working compost pile where the heat will kill it before any seeds can germinate. You don’t want to leave any living weeds around, or they might come back and try to compete with your garden plants!
Whenever you prune your plants, it is a good practice to add a little fertilizer to the soil to ensure that the plant has the nutrients on hand to heal its wounds quickly.
Next add compost and amendments. You can use a soil test to see where you pH and nutrient levels are, which will tell you what type of materials you might want to add. If you have poor or clay-based soil, it is especially important to add a healthy layer of compost to improve the soil’s texture, nutrient content, and moisture-retention. Then rake the soil level and water it lightly to help it settle and release air pockets.
If your existing soil is particularly poor, the easiest option might just be to rise above it with a raised garden bed.
Note: If your clump of perennials is too large to pull out of the ground, you may have to divide them while they are still in the ground by inserting two garden forks back-to-back into the middle of the clump and carefully pushing them apart, then lifting out the divisions for re-planting.
Bulbs and Perennials tend to be straightforward to plant—it’s really just dig, drop, done! Dig the hole at the proper depth and spacing, add any soil amendments necessary, add the bulb/root ball and be sure that the crown is right at soil level, then fill in the hole and water thoroughly.
With Trees and Shrubs, here is a tip to help those roots settle in to their new home: the moat method. Again you should dig a hole plenty large and wide enough to accommodate the plant’s roots, and add a cone of amended soil for the roots to rest on, then fill in the hole with more amended soil. But before you water in, create a ring of soil around the plant a bit wider than the original hole. This ring will act like a berm while you water the plant in, allowing you to really get the deep saturation necessary without turning the whole area into a mud pit.
Not all remodeling projects require the same professionals. Some require more than one. Your first step in hiring a contractor will be to know exactly who you need to hire. Contractors may include:
The Digital Revolution might be upon us, but when it comes to hiring a reliable contractor for your remodeling project, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned, word-of-mouth recommendation.
Start by asking friends and family if they have had any renovation or remodeling work done in their home recently and what their experience was like. Most people who are close to you won’t mind disclosing costs, but even if they aren’t comfortable with it, they’ll still probably tell you whether or not they were charged a reasonable price. Don’t forget to ask co-workers, neighbors, and have everyone ask around for you, too.
Don’t trust everything you read on the internet. Googling the name of a business isn’t always the most reliable way to check up on their reputation. But there are trustworthy websites that will give you business information as well as reviews on the company and what their experience was like. Sites like Angie’s List have become a popular way for people throughout the country to find dependable and affordable contractors and professionals with confidence.
A good rule of thumb is to get three estimates for a project, especially when you’re dealing with a bigger job. This will help you to gauge the personalities, work ethic, and price standards of each company and will prevent you from getting ripped off.
If two quotes come back competitive and the third comes back significantly higher, you know you can cut that one off your list. Don’t automatically default to the lowest bidder, though. Make sure to ask plenty of questions about where the money is going.
When you have each contractor out for estimates, make sure that you ask as many questions that come to mind. A few things to find out include:
The more you know about the process of your remodel or renovation, the more confidently you can trust in who you hire.
All reputable contractors will be well insured. Ask to see copies of insurance certifications to make sure they are current and include:
Any good contractor will be able to give you the names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses of around three clients they have worked for doing projects similar to the one you’re undergoing. Check with these clients and make sure to ask how long it took for their projects to be completed, whether it was completed in time, if they were satisfied with the work done, if the contractor was reliable, and if there have been any problems with the work since having it done.
Don’t ever agree to a business transaction and, above all, never hand over money without a legally binding contract that you have read and agree to. Remember that contract requirements can vary from state to state and some may not even mandate that you have one in the first place. But a good contractor will provide one whether they have to or not. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure the contract includes:
Get a folder and label it for this specific project. Use it to keep track of any transactions, contract copies, contract changes, receipts, expenses, and correspondence pertaining to the project. To be even more thorough, keep a log of all of the phone calls, conversations, and meetings you have with the contractor pertaining to the project.
If by chance you do have problems with the contractor or their work, this detailed file will become especially important for you and will serve as your best course of action in getting compensated.
Now that you have a good idea of what you should be looking for in a good contractor, you should also know what to look for in a bad one. Never hire someone who:
When you are ready to sell your current home or buy a new one, or maybe looking for a place to build your dream home contact us
Are you not convinced now is the right time for you to sell? Here are few reasons why you might want to wait until next spring or summer.
Thinking Of Selling Your Home? The Waiting Is The Hardest Part.
I believe that many already know of some of the major benefits to owning a home but here are a few that you may have not thought of or considered.
One of greatest breaks that you’ll get on paying taxes will come from owning a home and they got a little better not too long ago.
For most of us (about 70%), we will need to get a mortgage when we buy a house. Well, there’s good news! A married couple filing jointly or an individual may write off their mortgage interest on loans up to $700,000. If a married couple is filing separate, the limit is $375,000. You can also deduct any points that you purchase to pay down the rate.
An individual or married couple filing jointly will also be able to deduct up to $10,000 of their property taxes each year. For a married couple filing separate, the limit is $5,000. Where I live and sell real estate in lower Alabama, property taxes are some of the lowest in the country but it is nice to know that you can even deduct that amount on your taxes.
There is also a “Standard Deduction” that covers everyone. Here are the standard amounts:
Plus, (and here’s a big one) you get to enjoy tax free capital gains when you sell your home with profits up to $250,000 for a single owner and up to $500,000 for a married couple. The only requirement is that you must have lived in the home as a primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years. Check out a more complete list of the benfits at the Tax Policy Center
The real estate industry is cyclical – there are highs and lows. This is where someone usually says that we don’t have a crystal ball. However, for the long term home owner, history tells us that your home will appreciate and be worth more over time. Depending on your area and demand, home appreciation (or depreciation) can occur in a short amount of time.
There are so many factors that effect appreciation like the national economy, jobs, wages, and so on. But, by keeping an eye on current economic matters in the country as well as your town, you should be able to somewhat, “see the future”.
I often tell home buyers to consider purchasing if they plan on staying in the home for at least 3-4 years. Areas that show a slow and steady growth annually are usually a good place to buy a home because it shows stability. More on home appreciation in 2020 https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/2019/12/23/2020-forecast-shows-continued-home-price-appreciation/
Other what’s in your “one year” contract if you’re renting a home, there’s no guarantee that your rent won’t go up in the future. This could absolutely create some anxiety for a lot of folks.
If you’re buying a home, getting a mortgage, and part of the 96% of borrowers in the country, you will be getting a fixed rate mortgage. This means that your mortgage payment will be the same today as it will be 30 years from now or as long as you have the loan. Now that’s peace of mind. Yes, your property taxes and insurance could increase but if you have a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate and premium will remain the same year after year.
Being able to predict what you have to pay in the future for your house is one of the biggest differences between renting and owning your home.
Every month that you make a house payment, you’re putting money away into a type of savings account. If you go with historical facts, your home will increase in value over the years so bi-proxy, when you sell, you will receive a nice paycheck at the closing table.
Better yet, you won’t have to pay any capital gains to the federal government on that money up to $250k or $500k.
As a renter, you’re a building your landlord’s savings account. It’s as simple as that. Do you want to build your own financial future or someone else’s?
People love to make their homes their own but if they rent, there are obvious limitations since the they don’t really have a say in what can be done with the house.
Whether it’s choosing the trendy wall color that you’re seeing in all the magazines or wanting to knock down a wall to open up the space, renters aren’t really allowed to make any changes to the home without permission.
As a home owner, you have all the freedom in the world to create a living space that is perfect for you. If you want a privacy fence, you can have one installed. If you prefer handicapped toilets, go for it. The only things I can think of that would reduce your freedom as a home owner would come from your municipality or the home owner’s association. So, you probably can’t have a llama farm in your backyard. However, here again, you have the “freedom” to buy a house in an area that would allow a llama farm.
Stability is especially important if you have kids. By living in the same area for several years or longer, you get the chance to build long lasting relationships with the people around you. Also, your consistent existence over a long period of time in an area will help bring structure socially and in education.
How often have you heard that the kids were freaking out because they had to leave all their friends at school because they had to move?
There are so many joys and benefits to owning your own home and to many it’s the fulfillment of reaching the American dream.
Are you thinking about buying a home? Give our office a call and schedule an appointment to speak to one of our agents to discuss your home search. 254-965-7775 or Contact Us through our website
