We had a tremendous thunderstorm just after I went to bed, and I lay there watching the flashes of lightning and listening to the rumble of the thunder. At one point, the storm was directly overhead or at least seemed that way, it was so noisy and there was no time between the lightning and the thunder. 

Me and the dogs snuggled up feeling safe in our environment and even with all that noise and activity, managed to drop off to sleep. I slept very well, not waking up until the morning, not even for a bathroom break which has not happened since I was a young man, many years ago. 

Needless to say, when I woke up this morning, I did not want to get up except for Nature calling with that stored-up bathroom break. It was a big temptation to go back and snuggle with the dogs, but I forced myself to crawl out of bed and stay out. 

I could see where the rain had pounded some of the plants and had washed dirt onto the blacktop but other than that, it was nice and peaceful as I opened all the blinds to let the sunshine and the new day in. The rain has saved me from having to water the plants for a couple of days. 

I brought out the feeders filling those that needed it especially the two big ones and then we harnessed up for that first walk around the campground. There was no obvious damage from the storm. 

Back in the RV, I fixed us all breakfast which the dogs ignored. I ate mine but only because I was hungry and then settled down to work on the blog. I caught up with yesterday and then started work on today. 

I have no plans except to relax and enjoy the day and the dogs. We went out walking three times through the day and managed to cover exactly 2.2 miles. Not bad going at all. 

After the last walk, we sat on the deck just watching the world go by drinking a small bottle of wine which always helps me relax. Finally, it was time to bring in the feeders except for the two big ones which were empty, …again. Way too many Grackles.  

With the feeders all stored away, we adjourned back indoors for the usual evening meal all around. Today was a good day as Sandy ate her food. I was tired for whatever reason and went to bed a little after 9:00 pm. 

Written Monday, April 22, 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com 

Living in an RV Henly RV Park Monday 04/22/2024

I got up at a very reasonable hour, for me that is, and the first thing was to bring out the feeders as it usually is. Both big ones were empty and needed filling, which I did before we went walking around the park. We covered a little over a mile on that first walk. It was a bit breezy, and the wind had a chill to it. 

We met a couple of other dogs taking their master’s out walking just as Sandy and Mikey were doing to me. When we got back, I brought out the small bird feeders and refilled the two big ones. I thought that I needed to assess the merits of refilling those tomorrow morning and decide that it was worth one more try. The darn Grackles just waste so much seed and it ends up on the ground. At least, it gives the deer something to eat.  

Back indoors, I fixed breakfast that neither dog ate. Maybe, I need to change the food and think about something different in their diet. I ate mine refusing to be caught up in the dog’s bad habits. Incidentally, they always have hard food available, so they are not going to starve if I do not feed them. It does present a problem with Sandy and her medication as they are crushed up pills on her food and are too big to feed any other way. 

I settled down in front of the computer and worked on the blog for a bit before switching my attention to the website. I spent at least three hours working on it trying to work out the problems with the posting. Altogether, a very frustrating three hours. 

Then it was time to go walking again and we took the road that leads to Hwy 290. The reason for this choice was because this morning on our walk, one of the mature cows in the field next to the road was walking in the same direction as us and seemed very upset bellowing at the top of her lungs as she tried to find the other cattle that are in those fields along with her. Presumably, one was her offspring. 

This got me curious so instead of turning into the park, we walked up the road following the direction of the cow. I could not see the other two cows and two calves either so now the mystery was, “Where are they.” 

Unfortunately, the heifers are bred for slaughter but usually the couple of female adults are fertilized and the cycle starts all over again. The only part that did not make sense is where were the other two adults. As there was no way I would solve the mystery, we went back to the RV, but it still bothered me. 

When we got back to the RV, the first thing that I noticed was that the two big feeders were empty…again. So, I will not bother to bring them in tonight nor will I fill them tomorrow and they can hang there empty. Let us see what the Grackles do about that? They have trouble balancing on the other feeders so maybe they will leave them alone. Yeah right. 

It was not yet dark but out of spite to the Grackles, I brought in the feeders for the night. That was our last outdoor job for the day. The rest of the time was spent in the usual way with the evening meal and then watching a Premier League game on the TV. Incidentally, I was in bed by 9:30 pm. 

Written Monday, April 22, 2024, read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com