I had a funny old night waking up in the early hours and then having problems in dropping back off to sleep. I lay there with a very active brain which was worrying about my taxes that both Malinda and I had been working on. I finally dropped back off to sleep with the final consequences of not waking up until 9:00 am. 

We went through the usual bird feeder routine and walking and managed to cover 0.7 tenths of a mile. The skies were very overcast and there was a chance of rain. I sure hope so as we really need it. Sandy wanted to walk further but Mikey and I outvoted her 2-1 and we turned round to come back home. 

Breakfast and coffee were the next thing on the agenda followed by sitting and playing catch up with the blog although I was not very far behind.  

As I looked out of the window at the feeders, I saw that we had different visitors. This time, a large flock of very black looking Grackles had taken over and being much larger than the usual sparrows and such, quickly drove the other birds away. Birds are very resilient and just make a circle to come back again or just sit in a tree to wait it out. 

Malinda called me to say she would be over to complete the work on my taxes. I had earlier, emailed her trying to figure out where we were, and she had told me that they needed a bit more work. True to her word, she and Remington showed up on my doorstep and she settled down to review where we were. Remington, of course, made herself at home and wandered around the RV exploring every inch of it followed by my dogs who were keeping an eye on her. 

Malinda eventually finished and we printed things off for the final work of the afternoon. I thanked her over and over as she and Remington took their leave. I sat there for a while figuring out the next move and concluded there is no time like the present and let’s make that trip into town to the H&R Block office in town. 

I said goodbye to the dogs and jumped into the Jeep for the short journey in. First stop was the H&R Block Offices where I handed my package over to the pretty lady behind the counter. It really helps at a difficult time like taxes to have a pretty young thing serving you. Or maybe not… 

From there, I headed to the Hairdressers as I badly needed a haircut and as usual, discovered the wait was 1.5 hours. I put my name on the list and headed for HEB where I could spend time walking the aisles and buying the few things I needed. Incidentally, the “few things” cost me $120.00 but it did include beer for the park. 

I drove back to the hairdressers and sat outside for a while until it was close to my appointed haircut time and then went inside and sat some more. Eventually, it was my turn, and I was in the Hairdressers chair for the ten minutes it took to actually cut my hair. Even so, I was very satisfied and tipped the hairdresser very well for her efforts. 

I contemplated for a bit and decided to splurge on a Starbucks coffee which I drank on the way home where I was welcomed by my dogs who were very pleased to see me. Not sure if it was me that provoked all the excitement or the fact they had to “go”. Anyway, we harnessed up and went out for a short walk, long enough for business and managed to cover 1.9 miles for the day. Thank goodness for large box stores as that is where I really can rack up the miles. 

Today, Jeff and Terri were sitting outside with their firepit going and I decided to stop and say “hello”. I had a beer thrust in my hands and we sat and chatted for probably an hour and three beers later. They are an interesting couple to talk to as they have both had to put up with Army life. Jeff was in the service for almost ten years and Terri was an Army wife with all that entails. Jeff told us story after story of his time in the forces overseas and Terry added to it her stories of being that Army wife. 

I spent an hour or more chatting to them. I said my goodbyes and we walked back to The Caboose and this time; I remembered the bird feeders. With everything taken care of outside, we adjourned back indoors for the usual evening meal and entertainment. 

Written March 15, 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com 

Living in an RV Henly RV Park Saturday 03/16/2024

Lake Bastrop North

I awoke and looked at my watch and was surprised to see that it said 9:15 am. I knew that I had slept well but even so…It was a dull and gloomy day, and the air was full of moisture without it raining very hard. Still, everything was wet. 

The first thing after taking a shower was to take the dogs out walking and we wandered around covering a half mile or so. When we returned to the RV, I put out the bird feeders and once my back was turned as I headed back indoors, the birds swooped in especially the black Grackles. 

I fixed breakfast but neither dog ate any, so I fixed my own which I did eat. After taking care of a couple of items, I settled down to write and spent the next hour bringing the blog up to date. 

We went out walking again and just wandered around the park and finally ended up at Daniel and Malinda’s RV. Actually, it was a dog thing as Remington was outside with Malinda and my guys wanted to go say hello. I dropped the leash and they both galloped off and quickly all three dogs were saying their “Hellos” in the usual doggy fashion of sniffing butts. I finally caught up with them and I resorted to the human way by just saying “Hello”. 

Daniel invited me to sit down and quickly thrust a beer in my hands and we sat and talked for a half hour or so before we were joined by Greg and his wife, Linda. We sat and chatted for a while and then decided to go to the Crab Shack to eat. We all piled into Malinda’s truck and off we went. As usual, the food was very good although many of the different dishes, I did not recognize so I played it safe and ordered something I thought I recognized at least by name. It actually tasted very good even though I could only eat half of the helping and a doggy box was provided. 

We had a good time eating, drinking and talking and not necessarily in that order and then hopped back in the truck for the ride back. I said “Goodnight” to everybody and went back indoors where my little dogs were all over me. Not sure if it was me that they welcomed or the doggy bag they could smell. 

We went out for a quick once around the block before it was back indoors and shut up shop for the day. 

Written March 17. 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com