Week 2 in Rio Grande City, TX

On Sunday of week 2, we finally got the group together after church for a picture.

From the left are Lou Ann and Pat, Jenny and Stan, Avis and Gary, Diane and John, Jan and Jerry and Jodi and Stel.

On Monday it is back to work at Janey's house.

Diane adding spindles to the stairs

While Stel attaches the lattice sections.

After another coat of paint by Jodi, Stel and Diane, the finished product from the side and

from the front.

Janey chats with Jodi while admiring the new look.

With one job completed, we visit four other team members at Esmurelda's house where they have been working for over a week.

Avis is building some new steps in the rear.  

Jan and Jerry have been repairing and replacing missing and damaged siding.

Gary is mudding the ceiling of this bathroom where he and Avis have installed new drywall to close off the ceiling from the rafters.

It's a big room but they are almost finished with the mudding in this area.

Jan got too close to Gary when he was hard at work with the mud.

It's off to a new house for Stel and Jodi. This is Maria's house and she is 87 yrs. young. 

Maria would like a handrail at the front steps so she could get out to care for her flowers more securely.

She would also like a deck over the existing concrete, uneven steps so she could come and go safely.  Stel consults with Avis on construction and materials for shopping.

We begin in the front by adding a post.

By the end of the day, the handrail is complete and a second support is added to help her get back onto the sidewalk.

Final touches by routing the sharp corners of the handrail.

Stel begins cutting boards for the rear deck and

begins to attach the frame to the house,

constructs the frame for the bottom step.

The frame is joined together and deck boards added with posts now installed

the post are cut to fit the handrail.

At the end of the day, the rear deck is complete and Maria and her son Victor proudly pose for pictures.

 As this house is now complete, we visit the other crew at Esmurelda's once again.

Jerry, Avis, Gary and Jan are finishing the front ramp they built for her.

Gary has patched more drywall in the living room.

Lou Ann and Diane are mudding the ceramic tile for the bathroom floor.

Avis has finished the rear steps and

and Pat is cleaning up from mixing the thinset for the tile work.

John, Stan and Jenny have finished the painting of the church.

With another week complete, it's time for some fun.

A few of us went west to Roma to see the area near the river where the Bureau of Land Management has set up a camp for volunteers to draw visitors with the feeding of the birds. 

These felled trees serve as a perfect spot to make food stations for the birds.

This green jay really loves the peanut butter.

This oriole is enjoying an orange.

This downey also likes peanut butter.  Just a small sample of the birds.

A short walk away is the Rio Grande River, again,

and I was able to catch a shot of this beautiful osprey who has just finished his fish dinner.

The area is full of beautiful cactus and other plants in the Nature Reserve along the river.

Another chance to cross into Mexico is over this Dam just north west of Roma.

Another week is over and we look forward to what next week will bring.