One of the bird feeders set ups.
 
Today is May 1st which conjures up things like,” First of May, pinch bum day”, an old English expression among kids which was usually accompanied by pinching the other persons nether regions or getting pinched. One of the English customs used to be and maybe still is for the villagers in the more rural parts of England, to gather for a Fete. A kind of social gathering that was held outdoors with booths selling local merchandise and the village band playing. Some of the village members would dance around the Maypole making intricate designs with their ribbons. It was generally recognized as the start of Summer or at least, the hopes of better weather. I know of no American traditions associated with this date although there may be some out there. As I am too bloody old to dance around the maypole anymore even if I could find one, I guess that custom will not happen, this year either. Incidentally, I have never danced around the Maypole even when I lived there, so it is never going to happen. Darn, look at what I missed… 

For me, it is just another day. I am thankful to wake up and greet it as this late in life, every day is a celebration. 
 
As usual, the first thing was the walk around the campgrounds saying hello to every person and dog that we met along the way. The weather was great and had every indication of being another beautiful Spring Day. 

Back in my RV, I noticed Quatro pulling in and getting ready to park as Malinda and Daniel returned from their weekend trip. I watched as they unhooked their Jeep having had the hookups completed for this trip and then backed the unit in exactly where it had to go. I am incredibly happy that they bought Quatro. Not only is it in good hands but it has already received much more love and attention than I ever gave it. 
 
A while later, Daniel stopped by and asked if I wanted to ride with him as he checked out a couple of things. I hurried back inside to put my shoes on and the dogs away and joined him in his 4-wheeler.  

The first stop was one of the campers who was getting ready to leave and was having electrical problems at his service pole. We worked on that for a bit, or rather Daniel did the work and I handed him tools and such. With that fixed, we moved over to the drain field and worked on some of the pipes that had broken. This involved plastic pipes which was something I do know a lot about although again, all I did was fetch, carry, and hold things. 

Daniel asked me to move the 4-wheeler and as I had never driven one before, it took a moment to orient myself with the controls. Just as I got it started, I was hit by a blast of water as Daniel turned it on not realizing I was still in place. We both broke up laughing even though I was soaked and carried on with the repairs, wet clothes, and all. 
 
We did a couple of other things and then I went back to my RV and sat outside for a bit before taking the dogs out walking again. We, as usual, just wandered around on the outside roads and then returned to the RV.  

It was time to go grocery shopping and I drove in to the HEB in Dripping Springs and wandered around. Malinda had asked that I pick up a case of water for her and at the same time, I picked up two cases of beer, each of their respective brands. Beer is the least I can do to repay them for all the help they give me. 

Again, I ignored Starbucks and made the short drive back home where I was met by my little buddies, who, as usual, helped put the groceries away. Just prior to that Malinda had stopped by with the four-wheeler to pick up the water and beer and she handed me the groceries through the RV door which was nice of her. It saved me going up and down the RV steps. 

I took the dogs out walking and noticed that Daniel, forever the busy man, was working on the roof of his RV so I just had to go over and be nosy. Malinda and one of my other neighbors were sitting outside and I joined them, and we chatted. All the while, Daniel was up on the roof waterproofing a couple of areas and periodically either Malinda or me would holler up at him to make sure he had not slipped off the other side. It was more to harass him than any fear of his falling. 

Eventually, he got down and we dropped the ladder to the ground, and he joined us in drinking a beer. The other neighbor left and the three of us sat talking for a while until I deemed it time to go back to The Caboose. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with food, wine, and English Premier League Football. 

Written 05/01/2023 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com