This is the picnic table where we sat and drank our refreshments. You can see how muddy the ground is below it. This area floods when we have any amount of rain which is also why the grass does not grow there.
Before we went to bed last evening, the storm clouds had been brewing and the sound of thunder was off in the distance. Sure enough, the storm arrived after we had retired. It was one of the typically spectacular Texas thunderstorms with brilliant flashes and the roar of the thunder accompanied by lots of rain.
Mikey cuddled a bit closer as he doesn’t like storms and we all dropped off to sleep not waking until the morning. The storm had passed but the much-welcomed rain continued off and on. We harnessed up and then wandered around for a bit in between the showers on a short walk around the campground which was quiet.
Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast and coffee for me and then sat in front of the computer to while away the time working on the blog. I was a couple of days behind in the posting and worked for more than a couple of hours playing catch-up.
It is surprising just how long it takes to work on the blog, not only In the writing but developing and posting pictures and then posting the entire blog.
I had the blog sorted out at least as far as I could go for the day as I had no way of forecasting the future and my mind turned to practical things. In this case, it was a trip into Dripping to the HEB store to stock up on groceries and of course, the inevitable bottle of wine or the small bottles depending on my supply needs.
I made a list of the groceries and then took the short drive in. The store was as busy as it always seems to be, but I knew pretty much where everything was found. I worked my way along the aisles buying only what was on my list, sort of. A couple of extra things snuck into my basket as they usually do. I blame that on the list maker for not including these items in the first place.
I finally reached the check-out counter and walked out $183.00 later but to be fair, I did include beer for Daniel and Melinda in that. Still, that does seem to be around the normal price for my groceries which do not change very much and this time, I did not buy any potted flowers.
I stopped at Starbucks and bought a cold Latee for the drive home which was uneventful. No turtles crossing the road and we made it back to the RV where I unloaded my groceries helped by my two little buddies.
After we put everything away, Sandy had already decided that we were going out walking and I harnessed them up and we wandered around the park. When we returned, we sat outside drinking a small bottle of wine just contemplating the world. I had watched as in the distance, and I could see Daniel and his crew working on assembling the parts for the new building.
Back at the RV, the dogs and I, continued to sit outside and suddenly, we were joined by Delores who plonked herself down and willingly accepted my offer of the small bottle of wine, which I too happened to be drinking.
We sat there for a while talking about the world in general and going over our experiences of the day before painting the deck when we were joined by Gary who is not a drinker even though I offer every time he sits with us. He sticks to whatever he has in his glass that is his constant companion.
We sat chatting between the three of us for a while before both Daniel and Malinda joined us and then the whole conversation started up all over again. Daniel was in fine form aided and abetted by Malinda and the stories kept a rolling. I continued bringing out more wine for Delores and myself and beer for Daniel and Malinda, incidentally of the brand I know they like, along with some snacks to munch on. We sat and told stories, each wilder and more farfetched than the last until it was time for us all to go our separate ways.
Daniel, being the nice guy that he is, picked up the trash and empty bottles and such and took them over to the dumpster on his way back to his RV. I picked up any remaining things laying around and put them away. Satisfied that we were in ship shape condition, we went back inside for the usual evening’s entertainment this time, I did not drink anymore wine already having had my fill. All in all, it was a fun day.
The finished paint job. Now I will have to repaint the handrails to the steps to match them.
I crawled out at what I thought was a reasonable hour to the sound of the phone ringing. It was Delores telling me she was outside. This was a bit of a shock as I knew her sleeping habits were a bit like mine. I hastily threw on some clothes and opened the door. Sure enough, she was sitting at the outside table checking her phone as I peeked out of the curtain.
I opened the door and told her I would be right back, took the dogs for a short circuit around the park. We returned to the RV, and I tied the dogs up, so they could be a part of the action. Between Delores and I, we dug out the paint and brushes and got ready to work on the deck.
We painted nonstop for the next 6 hours working as a team and managed to get the entire deck and framework painted, both the visible portions and that hidden from the human eye. This is the area that Delores worked on the most. She had to sit on her rear and reaching up overhead, to paint the underside of the deck boards and the legs and framework.
We painted as much as was visible and as the deck is high, most of the underside was just that.
Incidentally, she brought her own 1 Inch paintbrush with her and quickly wore it out. I gave her a 1.5 inch brush, and she worked with it for the rest of the time. I, on the other hand, had a 3 inch brush so we worked out a system. She did all of the tricky stuff that needed the small brush, and I did the larger areas using the 3 inch one.
Daniel came over as we were finishing along with Gary who had also stopped by. I had brought out a bunch of small wines and beer for Daniel and with the exception of Gary, who had brought his own cup of coffee, the rest of us enjoyed a social drink as we sat and chattered.
I looked over at Delores and we exchanged glances that said, a job well done. We both sat there for a while enjoying the moment knowing we had worked hard in some difficult and hard to get at areas. Eventually, the small party broke up and I took the dogs out for a very short walk and then came back to sit in front of The Caboose. I must have closed my eyes as the next thing was Malinda standing there wanting to know if everything was OK. I assured her it was, and we chatted for a while before she headed back to her RV.
We went inside and spent the rest of the evening in the usual way. At least now, the deck is finished which is one less thing to worry about.
When I awoke, there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was already beginning to climb. We wandered around on the first walk of the day and stopped to talk to Malinda and Sarah, the Park owner who were just wandering around. I did not recognize Sarah as she had her hair down and not under the cap she usually wears, stupid me. I will look more closely next time.
We ran into Daniel out and about as he usually is and stopped to chat about his weekend trip which he said was a major success and they had a wonderful time.
We went on our way with our walk. My hip was still a little sore and I will be glad when it clears up. Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast and the inevitable coffee and wrote in the blog after catching up with the world’s news.
The rest of the day was slow with not much going on and I spent a lot of time just looking for things to do.
Malinda called me to say that a few of them were going to one of the local restaurants to celebrate BJ’s birthday. Not the one from Bastrop but the one from the BJ and Peggy combination. I happily agreed and was given strict instructions as to the timing.
At the appointed time, I scrambled out of The Caboose and into Malinda’s truck for the short drive into town to the El Rey Mexican restaurant on Main Street. There, we were seated at a large table. Included in the group were Malinda and Daniel, BJ and Peggy, Delores, Gary and myself. BJ and Peggy had driven in on their own individual cars having come from their employment with Dripping Springs School District. They are both school bus drivers.
We had this wonderful Mexican meal of our own choice amid a lot of chatter. Incidentally, the meals were huge and more than one of the party asked for doggy bags. I finished mine and was literally forced to eat the last piece of birthday cake which I happily obliged. Who wants to miss out on free cake?
The party broke up and we made our way back to the campground. I sat outside for a while just watching the world go by and contemplating how nice it is to have friends. We eventually went back inside to watch television and drink wine. I certainly did not need any more food.
I slept very well and even got up at a respectable hour. It was overcast and had rained through the night making work on the deck, a no-go. The wood needs to be dry to paint it and it might take a couple of days for that to happen.
I was searching for Delores number when there was a knock on the gate, and she was standing right there. I opened the door, and we all went outside where she made a fuss of the dogs. She said she had tried to call but my phone was off, which was strange as I had not turned it off deliberately. Maybe because it was in charge mode?
We chatted for a bit, and I told her it might take a couple of days to dry out and would let her know when to come over.
She went on her way, and we went out walking. As we passed the “girls” RV they both came out and we chatted for a bit. I took their trash bag as I was walking towards the dumpster anyway with BJ’s parting words of, “You don’t need an invite to visit” ringing in my ears.
I hobbled around for a bit with the hip still sore from yesterday’s excursions and then we came back to the RV for breakfast, following which, I caught up on posting the blogs and then writing about today.
Incidentally, the sun is out, and the wind is blowing, and maybe the deck will dry off pretty quickly. Now all I need is for the hip to heal.
Looking around for something else to get up to, I let the dogs out on the deck where they could watch while I fiddled around with the bird feeders. First, I refilled them including the humming bird feeders. For them, I cheated a bit and bought a four pack of canned, clear sugar water especially for Hummingbirds. I used one to fill both of the Hummers feeders.
With both the seeds and sugar water taken care of, I turned my attention to anchoring the feeders so that the deer would not tip and empty them for the seed. I had tried to do this several times before and so far, the deer have come out as the winners. They are either very strong or very ingenious as they have managed to clean out all of the seeds to date. I will just have to wait to see how the latest effort goes on my part.
I turned my attention to the step boards that I had on the outdoor table. I had purposely removed them so that I could paint both sides as the lower ones would have been too low to the ground to paint under them in place. I turned them over and realized I had not painted the other side and went about doing just that. While I was at it, there were a couple of other places that would be hard to reach under the steps once they were put back on and as I still had the paint brush and opened can of paint in front of me, went ahead and covered that area too.
That was it for painting for the day as I carefully used the hose to wash the paintbrush clean and went about the task of putting away things that were not being used. The, new to me, storage bin that I had bought from Malinda was doing a great job for these outside things. I even keep the bird supplies in there.
We were sitting on the deck and listening to the same Audiobook which was coming to an end when my phone chirped. It was BJ, my neighbor telling me to come on over for a beer. I harnessed up the dogs and we wandered the 100 yard over to their campsite. I had barely sat down when I had a beer thrust into my hands.
I got a call from Delores saying she had a bottle of wine to drink, and I told her where I was. Five minutes later, she arrived, wine bottle in hand ready to empty it. In the meantime, Gary had joined us, and it turned into another fun evening of stories, jokes and lots of booze. Some of the stories were pretty wild, others funny and sometimes sad. I think we all learned a bit more about each other.
It was getting late, and the dogs were restless, and I bid my farewells falling over when I got out of my chair which brought howls of amusement from the rest. They helped me up and Gary walked me back to The Caboose. Another fun evening although, I just got to stop accepting the offer to taste all this wine. Incidentally, my taster is not a sip rolled around on the tongue but a mouthful or two, swallowed until the bottle is gone.
I had not eaten although Peggy had given me a covered dish of Spaghetti to bring home with me. I found something quick and simple to eat but I did refrain from drinking any more wine and then watched television until 2:00 am in the morning. I realized that I had fallen asleep in my chair and made my way to bed to sleep the sleep of the innocent. Yeah right…More like the sleep of the drunkard.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Sunday 05/21/2023
Camper Decorations…
I got up at a reasonable hour feeling no effects from last evenings drinking sessions. My new found friends are all a bad influence on me with the drinking and wine “tasting”. I could say no but where is the fun in that? Besides, I only have less than 100 yards to stagger back to my RV and there isn’t any traffic to watch out for.
We went out for a walk to a dull and wet day with intermittent showers and the general air of dampness all around. Delores was out tending to her plants and bemoaning that the deer are eating everything. We chatted for a bit commiserating in the fact that “damned deer are eating my plants too”. before we went on our way again. We met another camper doing chores around his rig and Sandy would not leave until she had gone up to him and made friends. Funny things, dogs.
We finished our walk and returned to The Caboose. I decided to throw in a load of laundry as it was a miserable day outside and we had no plans to do anything. As far as I could tell, yesterday’s deer proofing efforts had paid off as everything was still intact, but I have no way of knowing that the deer even visited last night. My famous “watch dogs” are more interested in sleeping rather than doing their jobs. Maybe they have an agreement with the deer or something.
Incidentally, laundry takes around an hour and a half to wash and the same to dry not counting any time in between when I am not paying attention.
I wrote for a while and as I had nothing else that was really pressing, decided to watch as Brighton played their next to last game for this season. Even though they got hammered last time out by a team a couple of spots above them in the standings, they are currently in sixth place which will qualify them for European Competition if they can hold onto it. This will be the very first time as a club that they will have done that, no mean achievement.
BTW, the way the English Premier League works is on a promotion/relegations system from the four different leagues below them with the Premier League the very top division. The problem is, at least as I see it, the disparity in the size of the different clubs. Many have been around for nearly a hundred years and needless to say, those are the ones with the biggest Stadiums which produce more revenue and a larger bank roll. This enables the “Richer” clubs to buy the better players and pay higher salaries to them. So, even before a ball is kicked, those wealthy teams have an advantage in the quality of the players although not all of them live up to their billing.
Many of the games are a “David versus Goliath” sort of affair and if the lesser team happens to win, it makes headlines. Many, many years ago, players’ salaries were controlled, and no club could pay any other player more than the next one which meant that Super stars of which there are many, were not getting paid their worth. The Football Associations answer was to do away with the top end on the salaries and now some players are paid hundreds of thousands of pound (dollars) per week. That was not the original intent but business being what it is, the most highly skilled players can command huge salaries.
The game was very exciting although, Brighton’s style of play was very frustrating. It works for them, which is the most important thing, and they won by a score of 3-1 against Southampton. This was almost a local derby as the teams are based only sixty odd miles apart on the South East Coast in England. Incidentally, Southampton have been relegated to the lower division because of their win/loss record.
When I was finishing up the blog, Daniel and Malinda re-appeared after camping out since Friday with their RV. Can’t wait to hear how it went.
With the game over, I folded the laundry and put it away before harnessing up for that last walk. We wandered around the park and although my hip was hurting managed to cover a little over a mile for the day. I’ll take it…
I caught up on the blog, again and the rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
I was not sure what I was expecting when I awoke but all was good. No hangover or headache or any after effects of last night’s drinking. I can’t wait to find out what sort of an idiot I made of myself or what stupid things I may have said. Amazing what happens when you have drunk too much alcohol..
We went out walking and I noticed that both of Danels and Malinda’s vehicles had gone so they were probably back at the school, working. We wandered around but it was already hot and humid and uncomfortable. We walked for a while, but I could tell that neither dog was really into it, and we returned for breakfast.
This was followed by the usual world news and then emails which, luckily for me, produced no surprises. Incidentally, my efforts of preventing the deer from eating the bird seed were only partially successful so it is back to the drawing board on that one. There is no rain in the forecast for the next ten days and the temperature will reach the high 80’s again. Summer is almost here in my part of Texas as from here on out, it will get hotter and hotter.
I worked on the pictures that I had taken in Lightroom before bringing them over to the writing program where I can post them as needed. Many of the pictures are almost duplicates of others but with a slightly different twist to them. It is hard to find new things around the campground that are picture worthy.
With the blog up to date, I looked around for something else to get up to. I thought about re-arranging the closets and drawers and the more I thought about it, the less appealing that Idea was. There was nothing much I could do outside, and I certainly was not going to fill the bird feeders until I fixed the deer problem and who knows when that may be.
In the end, I took the dogs out for a short walk before returning, grabbing a small wine bottle and then sitting outside to listen to an Audiobook. The current story, Fairy Tale by Stephen King, is interesting and great to listen to.
We sat there for a couple of hours and then went out for the final walk of the day just wandering around the park. It was still hot and humid, and it was great to find shade to walk in. Must be at least ten degrees cooler.
Back in the RV, I folded up the chairs and then we adjourned back indoors where first, I completed today’s blog and then it was the usual evening meal and watching a Premier League Football game.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Thursday 05/18/2023
Another cat on a leash
For some reason, I did not wake up until almost 10:30 am probably due to excessive drinking the night before. Normally, this would not be a problem, but I did have a 2:00 pm Lawyers appointment up on the North side of Austin. We had time to go walking around the park and I heated a burrito and made coffee, eating and drinking fast with one eye on the clock.
I knew it was a 2-hour trip to get there probably even longer as I could not remember exactly where the Lawyers office was having only visited once before. I put the address into my phone and hoped like hell.
After a 2-hour trip, I eventually found it and walked in the door right on 2:00 pm, the appointed meeting time and was led to a Conference room, given a copy of the new will and told to review it. After struggling with the Lawyer talk in the will, I found the part that had been changed to my satisfaction and we went through the process of signing it in front of witnesses.
With that out of the way, they quickly supplied me with my copies, and I paid the bill before walking back to the car. The last time I was here, a stray rock from the nearby road had cracked my windshield but this time everything was OK as we drove off.
I headed back in the direction of home, but I had one more stop along the way at the usual Walmart’s that I normally stop at in South Austin. I really did not need very much but still managed to spend $189.00. Amazing how quickly a lot of nothing mounts up. I did stock up on wild bird supplies while I was there which accounted for quite a bit of the cost.
The drive home was uneventful, and we stopped at Starbucks on William Cannon before driving home the “back” way. I had managed to spend nearly all day in town, and it was almost 5:00 pm when we got back.
We went out walking at once just so the guys could stretch their legs and do their thing before heading back to The Caboose to sit outside, listen to a very good Audiobook, drink wine and watch the world go by.
The older gentleman, Greg, stopped by, and we sat at the picnic table and shot the breeze. It was a very interesting 30 minutes before he got up to resume his walk around the park. In his case, it is medicinal as he had a stroke or heart attack a short time ago. He tells me that he will be here until the end of this month and then is heading back to Illinois for the summer. He does plan on returning here for the winter. Don’t blame him for that at all…
I went inside and wrote in the blog before getting ready for the usual evening rituals of food, wine and television in that order and I could always do without the TV.
I really wanted to sleep when I first opened my eyes and although I tried really hard, to no avail. So, heaving a deep sigh, I crawled out and got ready to face the day. I harnessed up the dogs and let them loose on the porch as I gathered up the trash to take to the dumpster.
Gary walked by and I took a chance and opened the gate and let them run to meet him. Mikey flew off the porch dragging Sandy with him in his hurry to get to Gary who went ahead and made a fuss of both of them.
I came down the steps laughing my head off at their antics and chatted with Gary for a while before we moved off on our morning walk. We wandered around in no particular direction before returning for breakfast.
I ate breakfast, a burrito, and read the world news. If the burrito did not give me indigestion, then the world news surely would. As far as I could tell, the end of the world had not yet happened, so I continued with my day, not that I have anything special going on yet.
I worked on a few things which included registering the Jeep for the annual stickers. I thought that I had received the proper forms in the mail, but closer inspection showed they were for Quatro. I made a mental note to give them to Malinda the next time I saw her.
I remembered that I had received mail in my Far West Blvd mail box and one of the letters was from the Department of Motor Vehicles. I put together a list which included a stop at Walmart’s and headed into town.
The first stop was at the Mail box service as I had already called ahead to arrange the pickup. I only had three letters, two were the usual junk looking for donations but the third was the one I was looking for, the registration forms for the Jeep.
I headed to the closet Walmart which was a different one than what I usually use and wandered around finding everything that was on my list plus a couple of other items that sort of snuck into my shopping cart placed there I am sure, by the invisible shopping gremlins. These are hired by Walmart’s and are the reason we sometimes end up with things that we could not remember buying.
I think they are probably the ones that placed the 24 pack of Michelob Ultra-Pure Gold in the bottom of the cart…Actually, that culprit was me and the beer was for Daniel and Malinda, my small token for the kindness they show me.
On the way in, I had spotted a Great Clips hairdressers on the outskirts of Oak Hill and told myself that I should try it on the way home. I pulled into the parking lot and took a chance as I had not called ahead to make an appointment and walked in. All of the four chairs were occupied, and the lady told me to wait as it would not be long. I was the only person waiting except for a mother and child waiting for the father who was in one of the chairs. It only took 15 minutes and then I was seated. My hairdresser was very good and patient with my requests which were simple, “Short back and sides and pay extra attention to right side as it has a double crown and grows all over the place”.
In the time I had waited and including the haircut, 30 minutes later I was back in the car driving home very satisfied with the look, not that it is very important except to me. I definitely am not out to attract anyone of the fair sex into my aging life and besides, the dogs do not care what I look like as long as I smell OK to them.
The drive back to Dripping Springs was uneventful and this time, I made a point of stopping at the Dry Cleaners to pick up my blanket which will be stored away in the RV until the cold weather returns.
The drive back was uneventful with no little Turtles crossing the road, thank goodness. I may have used up my nine lives rescuing the last one. Wait a minute, is it only cats that have nine lives? Back at The Caboose, I dropped of the groceries and looked around for either Daniel or Malinda to come and pick up the beer and the large steak that I had bought for them.
They had both been away on a work project and when they returned, I happened to be out walking the dogs and we ran into each other at one of the RV’s which was having water leak problems. We chatted for a while and Daniel stopped by to pick up his stuff and I continued walking the dogs with his, “Come over and have a beer” ringing in my ears.
After completing the walk, I made a point of feeding the dogs before going over for that beer. Through the course of the evening and after a couple of beers. Daniel, knowing that I like wine, brought out a couple of small bottles although they were bigger than the ones I was used to.
The three of us shared the two small bottles pronouncing it “very good and tasty” which was our first mistake because Daniel then produced a full sized bottle of the same sweet wine which we also went ahead and drank. Incidentally, I found out later that it was 13.9% Alcohol.
We drank and told stories until almost midnight with me getting more and more inebriated. I don’t know how the others felt and neither did I care very much as I was quite happy in my own drunken world.
They must have been able to handle the stuff much better than me as when it was time to go back to The Caboose, they went with me, one on each side with an arm around my shoulders, back to my RV and waited as I unlocked the door and fell inside.
Actually, I was not that drunk as I managed to fix myself some food as I had not eaten and then sat and watched a football game until almost 2:00 am in the early morning. Well, I thought I was watching but in fact, fell asleep waking up to read that one team had beaten the other by a score of 3-0. In the good old days of early television, the National Anthem would have been playing with the TV station signing of with a “Goodnight America”.
I went to bed and slept very peacefully waking up at a reasonable hour and no hangover. That wine must have been very good, but I never want to drink it ever again. Way to powerful for my aging body. Or maybe, next time…
The front yard is flooded and water is pouring down the street is how hard it rained.
The sun was shining when I opened my eyes even though I had managed to sleep until 9:30 am. I crawled out and took a shower to wake me up and we went through the usual routine of walking and then breakfast.
Chris stopped over as we were going out for the walk and inquired if I still wanted to borrow the picnic table awning while his RV was being repaired, which I did. He brought it over along with the metal base and even set it up while we were out wandering around.
After many months of waiting for the parts to arrive, they were finally taking their Airstream in to get it repaired. Originally, they were going to use Quatro while this was going on, but events did not work out that way as Daniel and Malinda bought it instead. Now, they plan on visiting friends and family while it is being fixed.
It started to rain, and I mean rain… The skies opened up and along with thunder and lightning it just fell out of the sky. There was also a very strong wind. In no time flat, my front yard was flooded with water running rapidly down the hill. No wonder the grass does not grow there.
It finally eased off after a half hour or so and the sun came out. There were still a few clouds in the sky and the forecast is a chance of more rain showers. The only problem with such heavy rain, apart from any damage it may cause, is that it runs over the ground instead of soaking it in and a lot is wasted. Maybe that is not the right word as no rain is ever wasted. What I meant was that instead of soaking in and around the park, it gully washed off into places unknown.
I let the awning out for it to dry as when it is rolled up, rainwater collects on the top of it. I would say that is a flaw in the design but what do I know?
I was sitting and working on some pictures and the dogs went to the door where I saw that Daniel was at the foot of the porch. He had just filled my propane tank and we chatted for a while before he went back to what he was doing, and I returned to my writing.
I thought about going into town to get a haircut and pick up my quilt, but my heart was not into it, and I figured it would keep for another day. Maybe tomorrow…
It was almost 4:30 pm and time to go out for another walk. We wandered around as we usually do before returning to The Caboose where we sat outside just contemplating the world around us.
I decided that I should refill the bird feeders if only to feed the deer which I went ahead and did. I worked on the anchoring system to try to prevent the deer from eating everything. So far, I have not stopped them one little bit from doing their thing.
Daniel stopped by with a beer in hand and one for me. We sat at the picnic table and chatted for a while and then he went back to his RV. We went out for the final walk of the day and just wandered around.
We ran into the little French Bulldog whose name is Olive who is the funniest little thing. She always has a stick when she is out walking and when the owner, Greg, stops to chat, sits and chews on it always being sure to take whatever is left with her when they move on.
We did not stay out long as the storm clouds were moving in, and it looked like it might rain again. Back in the RV, I brought the shade back in just in case the wind got up if and when it rains. I had extended it to let it dry as it was dripping on me when I went outside.
We sat and wrote and waited for it to rain as we prepared for the usual evening meal and then more Premier League Football. Incidentally, Solly is out for the rest of the season with that torn hamstring although there are only four games left for Brighton to play. At least, he will have the summer to recover but he will need to report back in for rehab when he is ready, which could spoil his time off. It is a long season, and the professional players only get a month or so off every year.
We wandered around as we usually do in what direction we had no clue wherever Miss Sandy wanted to go with me and Mikey along in tow she dragged us here and then over there using her nose with scents so clear that to me did not exist I pulled and tugged but she did persist and in that direction we would all go for her to explore what her nose did show
Mikey does his share of using his nose but where she goes he too must go to smell the same smells but different to him as both are driven on a whim as maybe they can interpret the smell a boy or a girl they can they both tell a wondrous world of sights and sounds add to the smells which their world abounds while us humans are stuck with what we can see our scents not defined as incredibly.
In many ways it can be said that a dog’s life though short is not misread they love the people that treat them well and truth be known would go through hell to look after the ones they love the most guarding and loving at their post protecting the ones that with their lives in days gone by helping to survive but now just a pet sharing a home both never wanting to be alone.
This one is just a baby. The one I rescued was at least 8-9 inches long.
I slept well after yesterday’s excursion of doing nothing and awoke around the usual time. There was heavy rain in the forecast, and I wanted to beat it by going walking as soon as possible. Incidentally, it rained 2 inches during the night.
Sandy has developed a new habit. Now, when I get up, she generally stays in bed until it is time to go walking. As soon as she hears me harnessing up Mikey, she comes bounding out of the bedroom all excited and ready to go. I wonder how long she would stay in bed if I did not harness Mikey and did something else instead? Maybe I will try it just to find out.
We wandered around trying to cover our usual half mile, but it started to drizzle and we beelined back to the RV managing to get inside before the sky opened.
This was followed by the usual breakfast although the actual food was just a little different. I had cooked a couple of ears of corn in the microwave last evening and for some reason unknown to me, left them in there. Without further ado, I reheated them and they made a very substantial breakfast along with the coffee. Unusual, maybe, but still tasted good and definitely much healthier than a bacon sandwich.
I am not a big meat eater although since becoming friends with Malinda and Daniel, I have been eating much more of it than I normally do. They love to barbecue meat and sausage and such and I get a lot of invitations to eat with them. Usually, they will not let me get away with just one helping, darn it…although they have learned that I drink beer slowly on purpose so as not to overindulge and/or get inebriated.
It started to rain hard, and we sat and watched from inside the warm and cozy RV. The dogs found their hidey holes and zonked off while I sat and wrote for a bit. Again, we have nothing planned. I do need a haircut and a couple of things in town, but they can keep until the weather clears up.
I caught up on the blog posting to bring us up to today and then looked around for other things to get up to. With the weather as bad as it is, any outside activity is not going to happen, and we are restricted to whatever I can find to do indoors.
I cleaned the place up and the rain stopped so I took the opportunity to go into town mainly to pick iup from the dry cleaners. Of course, when I got there, they were closed, which I should have guessed being a Saturday.
I made my way to The Home Depot as I needed to get some tie downs to try to anchor the bird feeders better to prevent the deer from eating all of the seed. I found what I wanted and, on the way, out, spotted a miniature rose bush that I just had to have. I had been really trying hard to avoid the flowers, but the tie downs were right next door. Oh well…
I drove back to Henly but on the way, I noticed a large turtle trying to cross the road about 50 yards ahead. He had already started to cross, and I just knew he would not make it as the road was very busy. I pulled a quick U-turn and screeched to a stop on the shoulder opposite where the little bugger was scrambling for his life, heading for the opposite side of the road. Turtles are renowned for how slow they travel and over the years, have been subject to many stories and nursery rhymes to that effect.
With a quick glance up and down the road, I jumped out of my car and ran, sort of and picked the little guy up. Actually, he was not small at all and a very fine specimen about 8-9 inches long and in great shape. We kept running as one car went by on the inside of me and then an 18 wheeler screeched to a stop on the shoulder not 50 feet away. I waved at the driver and pointed to the turtle, and he went on his way with a wave probably thinking just how stupid I was.
I climbed the bank on the side the turtle had been trying to reach and carefully placed it on the top so he could scoot into the field where I guess he was trying to get. Maybe scoot is not the right word as we are talking about a turtle.
I jumped back in my car and sat and thought about what I had just done and why did I do it. The answer to the last part was easy, to save the turtles life as it would have been squished probably by the same truck that had screeched to a halt to miss me.
In retrospect, it was probably a dumb thing to do but I had to try. I also learned that my body still knows how to run but probably only because it was being chased by an 18 wheeler.
We went on our way back to Henly to be greeted by my little buddies and we went out walking the park for them to get some exercise. Me, I already had mine walking around the big store and rescuing turtles.
Back at The Caboose, I sat outside on my new porch, which, incidentally, still needs staining and listened to an Audiobook. As it happens, it is a very exciting story. It is named, Billy Summers by Stephen King and although unusual as most of his stories are, is gripping enough to not want to put it down. In my case, turn it off.
We sat listening for a couple of hours, Mikey in the spare chair and Sandy on my lap looking for and getting, continuous petting. Eventually, my arm got tired from all of the stroking, so we compensated and went out walking again.
This time, we ran into a couple of our friends, one with the funny little bulldog. The other was the older guy who has had a couple of strokes and walks for exercise. We chatted for a bit and the dogs got different degrees of attention until it was time to move on.
Back at the RV, I took one final look at the various bungee cords that we have intertwining the bird feeders hoping they would be enough to hold off the deer. Incidentally, probably because of the free seed, the deer have left the flowers alone.
We adjourned back inside of The Caboose for the usual evening’s entertainment and food.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Sunday 05/14/2023
About this size although this is not the one. I did not have time for a picture as I was being chased by an 18 wheeler…
The first thing I did after we got up was check the bird feeders to see if yesterday’s efforts had succeeded. I was frustrated to find that they had not. The big feeder was empty, and I tried to tip it and was unable to so I can only surmise that the loose-fitting lid is easy for the deer to lift and for them to empty it that way. When it comes to free food, deer can be very ingenious.
The small seed feeder on the other pole was also empty and evidently, they had been able to tip that one too. So, it is back to the drawing board for me, bird feeders and deer.
We went out walking the park as we usually do saying “Good Morning” to whoever we met along the way. I had managed to forget my phone…again but I guess we covered around a half mile. There was very little activity but as it was Sunday, that did not surprise me.
The weather was cloudy and there was a chance of rain in the forecast. It had rained overnight but not the gully washer we had the night before and by the time we walked, it had cleared a little.
I made us breakfast and then settled down in front of the computer to read the world news. I read an article about the Texas State Legislation, and it mentioned that even with all of the shootings in the State this year alone, the party in power keeps making it easier and easier for almost anyone to own a gun. I really do not understand the peoples love of guns. Maybe it is the power that it gives them when they hold one but with some people’s current mental states, they definitely should not be able to even get close to one let alone own it. What is worse is that the guns do not have to be registered and can have high-capacity magazines. Go figure… On the other hand, maybe the idea is to let everyone shoot everybody else to lower the population or something like. Now if the politicians were honest people and did not take contributions from the gun manufacturers, that would also help.
Or even to start a civil war.
In this State, my thoughts and beliefs are in the minority. Texans love their guns. Incidentally, I own a handgun but mine is locked in a safe place and only comes out for the occasional cleaning. At one time, I owned several handguns but as time wore on, I realized there was no glamor in owning them and got rid of all but the single one that I kept. To be truthful, I do not know why I even kept that one! I do not think I could shoot to kill unless it was their life or mine.
I wrote in the blog trying to get caught up and posted yesterday. We have no plans to do anything special and it is a Sunday after all, a day of rest…Of course, that only applies to the working people as every day is a day of rest for me and the dogs. Most of the time, the hardest thing we do is to go walking or write out a grocery list.
I had thrown a load of laundry into the washing machine, and it was doing its thing as I wrote. An hour and a half later, I switched it to dry mode after adding a couple of nice smelling sheets. Love that washing machine… The only thing I have to remember to do is to open the grey water valve to allow the washing machine to drain and of course, close it when the laundry is finished. I could leave it open but the theory is to allow both tanks to fill so that when the black water tank is flushed, it is followed by the grey tank to help clean everything out of the system.
Sandy was giving me “the look” and we harnessed up and wandered around before returning to the RV to sit outside and listen to an Audiobook. We sat there for an hour before I just had to have a small bottle of wine which turned into a couple before Daniel appeared at his RV gesticulating at me to come over and have a beer.
We wandered around for a little bit before I put the dogs inside and walked over to Quatro although that may not be its name anymore and sat and worked on a beer.
Peggy, BJ and Kerry were there, and we sat around and told or listened to each other’s stories which produced many moments of amusement. The two roomies left, and we sat and chatted for a while until Kerry decided she had to go as well.
We watched as a small truck camper pulled in right below us and we were interested in the setup. The truck looked especially different almost a custom job. Intrigued by it, Malinda walked down the hill to chat to the owners and then came back with the scoop. The truck camper was an $80,000 model and there were only 3 like it according to the owner. Not surprised at that price. The truck itself was indeed a custom job like the camper and the back seat had been removed and a generator and other mechanical things installed in the space. Incidentally, they also had a regular truck that they used as their vehicle while at the campgrounds.
We discussed the fact that between the two units, the set up cost as much as Quatro when it was new at around $160,000 but with much less living space. On the plus side, the owner said they were totally self sufficient when they went boondocking and could stay out for two weeks at a time or more with their only limitations being food and water.
The three of us sat and talked, swapping stories. While this was going on, Daniel had lit his grill and had small steaks cooking away which we ate along with potato and pasta salad. Again, I had not expected to be fed looking more for their company and maybe a beer or even, two.
Finally, I left and walked back to The Caboose and even though it was getting dark, took the dogs out for just a short walk. Then, back indoors, it was the usual evening’s entertainment although, this time, I did not have to feed myself. I did feed the dogs which of course, they gobbled down as by then, it was almost 9:00 pm.
It is truly great to have so many interesting friends.
I awoke early and even got up early, at least for me. I have no idea why I could not sleep but obviously, something was on my mind. I am sure it would surface during the day if it was important.
We went out walking around the park with the weather not sure of what it wanted to do. It was already hot and muggy, and the temperature is forecast to be in the high 80’s. The walk was uneventful, and we did not see anyone as we wandered around.
Back in the RV, I fixed us breakfast following which, we tidied up the RV before settling down to catch up with the blog.
I went outside to work on the bird feeders as the deer had done a number on some of them. The work involved anchoring the bottom of each feeder down with bungy cords to stop the deer from tipping the feeders sideways and emptying the contents to eat. I had the dogs tied to the picnic table so they could watch and “help” while I was doing this. While I was at it, I refilled the couple of feeders and replaced the seed cake that the deer had worked on. Incidentally, they must really like the seed cake as after they broke the holder down, they ate the entire cake. Still, as long as eating seeds keeps them away from the garden….
With the outside work done, we went out for another walk, this time, we wandered over to where the new swimming pool is being built just to be nosy. For somebody that has spent a lifetime in construction working as a very high level, I was interested in watching the pool being built.
With my observations out of the way, we wandered to the outside lane and walked it back to the entrance to the park and then back to the RV where we grabbed a seltzer and sat outside listening to an Audiobook for a couple of hours. In that time, the seltzer turned into a beer but only just a single bottle. No sense in overdoing the stuff.
Time passed and a couple of people stopped by to chat before moving on with their own walking exercise. Seeing them walking made me decide that it was time that we hit the Trail again and I harnessed up the dogs and we wandered around for the last walk of the day.
Back inside, I fed the dogs and Sandy wolfed hers down as she normally does. Mike had been eating grass on our walks, a sure sign he was not feeling well and would not eat his food. He had also thrown up while we were out, which is what the grass eating was for. Nature’s way for the dogs to relieve their sore bellies. This probably explained why he would not eat his food.
I fed myself and watched a Premier League game with Mikey sitting in the chair alongside me. Sandy was in her usual spot in her basket under the table. Just on the off chance that he was ready to eat, I put his bowl alongside him and he just wolfed it down. Not only that, he investigated Sandy’s bowl just in case there were some left over. Of course, there wasn’t as she eats all of hers, and if it was edible, she would eat the bowl as well. I was very pleased that Mikey was feeling well enough to be eating again and it was a big load off my mind.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Friday 05/12/2023
We were up early and walking the park at a very reasonable hour, at least by our standards. It was overcast and there was rain in the forecast, but it had not started yet. We did our usual walk about chatting to the few people that we met. We even stopped at the puppy that had scratched me up before, only this time I made sure to be just at the end of its leash. Not going to get scratched again by that exuberant puppy. This time, he rolled over on his back looking for belly rubs which of course, he got.
Back in the RV, we had breakfast or should I say, I had breakfast. I feed the dogs one meal a day in the evening, which I have found by experience, is when they like to eat. Sandy is always looking for a share of whatever I eat and sometimes, if she is lucky, she just gets a nibble. Mikey could care less and is much more disciplined in his eating habits and his taste of food. Probably why he still has his boyish figure…
I thought about going into town as I needed a couple of things and then decided that it would keep for another day. Instead, I concentrated on the blog posting the very latest one and started another. I could almost write way ahead as nothing very much changes from day to day.
We went out for yet another walk around the park and the outside roads. Upon our return, we sat outside listening to an Audiobook with both an exceptionally good story and a very good narrator.
Sitting on the new porch is a very pleasant experience. I am up a bit higher than the ground and can sit and watch the world go by. Other campers sometimes stop and chat when they are out walking and generally speaking, those that drive by in their cars always wave a greeting. We may not know each other by name but are familiar enough to greet each other. That is the camping way.
The rest of the day was spent doing nothing except listening to the Audiobook. We went out for the last walk of the day and just wandered around and managed to cover 1.3 miles.
One of the Hummers who was not quite still hence the shaky looking picture.
I got up early and poked my head out the door to find a dull and overcast day. It had cooled off quite a bit and I had put on an extra shirt for the walk. We ran into Malinda and Delores who were also out walking and stopped to chat with them.
I wandered back to the RV after walking the park and BJ, of the BJ and Peggy pairing, pulled up in her car to stop and chat. They had bought a larger RV and because of its size and moved to a different site a little further away.
For clarification, the sites are different sizes based on location and space availability when the park was built so, RVs are paired by size to each site. That does not mean that if the only site available is a big one and the incoming RV is only a small camper, the park owners will not allow it to park. After all, money is money. The law of physics of trying to fit something small into a too big space does not apply here. On the other hand, trying to fit something big into to a smaller space is a whole different problem.
Back at The Caboose, I tied the dogs up so they could watch and went about the business of straightening up the bird feeders. Today, there were three of them on the ground where the deer had knocked them down to get to the contents. The 4th one was empty but still hanging. The very large one that I had secured with the bungie cord was still upright and full of seed, so I need to devise a similar system for the ones the deer have knocked down. At least, as far as I could tell, they did not eat the flowers…
Back in the RV, I fixed a bacon sandwich and made the all-important coffee and settled down in front of the computer. I spent time reading the World news marveling at some of the stuff I was reading. Are people really that stupid or that gullible?
I read of a couple of instances where someone shot somebody else for the simplest of reasons, which means they will probably spend the rest of their days in jail. You must wonder what drove them to be so bloody stupid as not only did they end the other person’s life but theirs as well, essentially. There is no logic to those decisions. How can you possibly get that angry?
The new computer still sits in its box, unopened. I really need to decide if I want to keep it or return it now that the old one is working again. I think I will hold on to it for a couple of days to see how the old one works out.
I posted a couple of blogs and am now caught up in that department. It is surprising how much work goes into blogging. In my case, subject matter is easy as basically it is a journal of my daily happening. I try to take a lot of pictures although many of them are repetitious as there are only so many different interesting things in my little part of the world. As I have mentioned before, I write to keep my brain active not because I have the most interesting things to talk about.
We went out for the afternoon walk before returning to The Caboose where we sat outside listening to an Audiobook and drinking seltzer. Both Daniel and Malinda stopped by to enquire if I had a certain size drill bit which I was sure that I did. We went back to my single storage area to look but after getting everything out, had no luck in finding it. I even went inside and looked under the bed which, incidentally, leads to the outside storage but again with no luck. Full of apologies, and a bit worried because I know I have a whole bunch of large drill bits somewhere, we put everything back.
Daniel just blew it off and told me to come over for a beer which, incidentally, included supper although I was not to know that until I got there. We sat and talked and before long, we were joined by Kerry who sat and chatted with us for a while before the party broke up and I went back to the RV.
I fed the dogs, and we settled down to watch English Football before going to bed.
The new swimming pool that is currently under construction
It was cloudy with a chance of drizzle and had cooled off quite a bit when we took that first walk. We just wandered around as we usually do, getting to talk to a couple of other campers and making a fuss of their dogs.
Back in the RV, we had the usual coffee and breakfast, and I settled down in front of the stupid computer, trying everything I knew to get it to boot up. Of course, it refused to cooperate so I decided that I would take it into the nearest Best Buy to see if they could do something with it.
I drove into Bee Cave to the Best Buy located there and of course, they had a waiting list a mile long and could not fit me in straight away. I opted to drive in to the closest one in Austin which is the one I usually use.
Their waiting list was even longer, and they could not fit me in until almost 4:00 pm. I wandered over to the area to buy a zip drive to store my data on and made the mistake of stopping at the new computers. I chose one that would work for me and made the purchase. I did not go top of the line as all I do nowadays is basically word processing and a bit of photo touch up. I am not a “gamer’ and do not need the extra bells and whistles.
I paid for my goodies and made my way to the exit where there is always a person that checks you out to make sure you have paid. He had to take the storage case off the flash drive and worked hard at it with a special opening gadget. He was getting frustrated, so I took it from him and went ahead and opened the case using just my fingers. He looked at me in amazement, but I shrugged it off, not telling him that he had already loosened it up and all I did was give it that extra tug.
I drove home the back way so that I could go into the HEB on William Canon to get that milk and of course, a couple of other things snuck in my basket.
This time on the way home, I stopped at Starbucks right next door to HEB mainly because my stomach was empty, and I needed a snack to eat on the way home. I ordered a regular Latte which tasted much better. Lately, I have been drinking the nonfat variety although, I do not limit myself on calories for anything else I eat and drink so in reality, it was pretty stupid of me.
Arriving back at the RV, I was met by my excited little friends who gave me the usual help with the goodies and then we harnessed up again for yet another walk before I went back to The Caboose to try to get the original computer to fire up before I took the new one out of its box. The drive I had bought turned out not to be the right one to start up the old computer, but I persevered and managed to find a password that made the computer work. Before long, I was back at writing away playing catchup after missing the last couple of days. I worked for a couple of hours and brought us up to date, including today to the present time.
At that point, it was doggie walk time again and I hooked them both up and we went out just to wander around. We took the lane that leads to Hwy 290 and walked it to the end. I had put a jacket on because it had turned quite chilly and was glad of it. Incidentally, while I was away in Austin, the campground got 2.5 inches of rain which was very obvious as we walked around.
Altogether, I covered 3.2 miles for the day, a very good one as far as I was concerned.
Back in the RV, I continued playing catchup until I had today completed. By then, it was almost 9:00 pm and time for real food as the chips and wine I was working on did not really do the job.
This pictures and the lead in one are taken on our walk on Henly Loop. These are just the ones that have washed into the creek. By the same brands on the cans, I imagine one or maybe, two people are responsible for this trash. Shame on them…
I awoke early but decided to just lay there and must have dropped back off to sleep as it was almost 9:30 am when I got out of bed. It really does not matter very much as we have nothing planned except a trip into town for groceries.
The first thing was that all important walk around the park. When we got back, I put the dogs on the porch and then went about the business of refilling the bird feeders that the deer had emptied overnight. They had even knocked one of the feeders off the hanger but luckily, it did not break.
As I was working, Malinda and Sarah, the lady who owns the park stopped by. Sarah complemented the work on the deck, and I asked her if I could paint it grey to match the RV. This was at the suggestion from my friend BJ in Bastrop whom I had sent a picture. Sarah had no problems with the color in fact suggesting it was a good idea and even offered me some tips on what to buy. I thanked her and she left along with Malinda.
With the color resolved, all I need to do is work up the enthusiasm to buy the paint and then do the actual work
As it happened, I had to go into Dripping Springs on a grocery run and the first stop was at The Home Depot where I made my way to the paint department. After some discussion with the lady behind the counter and referring to the pictures of the RV on my phone, I was presented with a gallon can of grey stain which, hopefully, will be close to the RV’s colors. I also bought a couple of paintbrushes so that I am ready to go. All I have to do is work up some enthusiasm for the work. Have I mentioned that I dislike painting…
I wandered into the plant area and bought a miniature rose bush to add to the collection which now resides on the steps. I gotta stay away from those plants…
From there, I went to the HEB which is located virtually next door. Originally, all I needed was milk but of course, I found a few other things to put in the basket. I limited the booze to just a single bottle of wine. Incidentally, I forgot to get the milk.
Back at the RV, the dogs helped with the groceries in their usual way before we harnessed up to go out for the afternoon walk. We wandered around stopping at Daniels RV just to be nosy as he was busy working on his Jeep. Turns out, he had bought a carrier for the back, similar to the one I have although, his does not fold up like mine.
I didn’t stay long, and we continued on our walk around the campground, finally ending back at The Caboose. I thought I should catch up with the blog as my memory, being what it is, does not recall things like it used to. I opened the computer only to find that the operating system was asking for a password. I have two books where I record the passwords that get changed often and the list is constantly growing. One of the notebooks must be at least 10 years old. I could not find a password that would work to start the operating system and get it going again. In the end, I had to give up as I was getting frustrated and had to catch myself from throwing the bloody thing through the window. The only thing that stopped me was the damage it would cause to the RV window.
I took it out on the dogs by making them walk around the park with me although, they did not mind one little bit. We returned for the evenings meal and then a Premier League Football match.
The new deck and stairs. It will get painted grey to match the RV.
We got up at a reasonable hour and did our usual walk around the grounds. We met a couple of other people with their dogs, and we went through the doggy greeting ritual each time. Most of the time, after a couple of barks and then the usual sniffing routine, the dogs are friendly to each other. Very occasionally, they will not get along and it is time to continue walking with apologies to the other dog owner.
We had the usual breakfast and I sat in front of the computer to write about the previous day’s events. There was nothing planned for today as big as the past couple of days, mostly just some rearranging and straightening up kind of stuff.
The dogs started barking and I saw Malinda outside with a couple of her Grandkid’s. I opened the door to hear her remind me about breakfast in the Commons and get my ass over there. OK, maybe, she did not use those exact words, but the meaning was clear.
I finished what I was doing and wandered the 50 yards over to the Commons Area. The usual group were there, BJ and Peggy, Gary, Kerry, and her husband along with Malinda’s son, his wife and their three small kids and of course, Daniel and Malinda.
It was a very pleasant gathering, and the food was good. The fact that I had not eaten all day yesterday until extremely late in the evening and that today, I had two breakfasts all in the space of an hour, reeked of overindulgence. Quite literally from famine to feast.
We sat around talking, laughing, and joking and then the party broke up with people going in all directions. I wandered back and decided to throw in a load of laundry that could be washing while I was writing. I have gotten to where I trust the laundry machine to do things right without tearing itself apart from where it is located, and I no longer get close to hold it during the spin cycle.
We went out for another walk just wandering around the grounds. I could still feel the effects of the past couple of days’ work but most of the aches and pains had subsided and when we got back to the RV, we took a nap for an hour or so. First time in a long time we have done that.
When I awoke, I felt a lot better, and we harnessed up for yet another walk, the last of the day before heading back inside for the usual evening’s meal and entertainment.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Sunday 05/07/2023
Viewed from the right
We went out for that first walk of the day and just wandered around feeling very glad to be alive. Most of my aches and pains had disappeared and I was ready to face whatever today would bring. Following the walk, we headed back to The Caboose for breakfast and coffee.
It was a dull and overcast day with light showers forecast but we had nothing planned. I was sitting and writing, and the dogs started barking. I looked up and my next-door neighbor, Peggy was standing on the porch. We, that is me, and the dogs went out to greet her and she explained that she was concerned as she had not seen me all day.
I knew that today was the day they were going to move to yet another RV, actually, Daniel and Malinda’s “old” one but I had forgotten about it. I had planned to help as needed but I guess they managed without me OK. Surprise, surprise…Their “New” RV is in site 15, next to one of my old sites. I think they changed RVs to have more room as they too plan on staying here permanently
My friend BJ always gives me a hard time on the number of RV’s that I have had but these two ladies have me beat hands down as this is their third one in a couple of months.
When I offered it, Peggy said they had a lot of help and did not need me but thanked me for the offer and went on her way pulling her cart full of her things. I even offered her my jeep with the carryall on the back if it would help them, but she declined the offer saying that nearly everything was moved and all that they had to do was straighten things out.
I went back to writing and made sure that the blog was up to date before looking around for other things to get up to. Incidentally, I left the sliding glass door open so that the dogs can go in and out as they please, making sure that the deck gates are closed of course. Unless someone walks by or climbs the stairs, they spend their time inside with me. Good job I did not build it for them as it would never get used.
We went out for another walk and just wandered around and finally ended up at the ladies new, to them, RV. They had another friend visiting them and the four of us sat around chatting. Occasionally, Peggy and/or BJ, would get up and hang an ornament or rearrange a carpet or something similar with whoever was still sitting, giving verbal encouragement. Lots of it.
It was a very pleasant experience and we finally left to continue with our walk and just wandered around before returning to The Caboose for the usual evening’s food and entertainment.
Mikey woke me up barking which he usually reserves for something outside, so I scrambled into a pair of shorts and checked the exterior door. Sure enough, Daniel was standing there wanting some help with a project that he had going on in the campground.
I hurriedly got into my clothes after the usual morning ablutions and stepped out of the door to go help him. Before that, I took the dogs out for a short walk, enough to do their business and stretch their little legs.
I jumped into Malinda’s truck and along with Daniel, we drove into Dripping Springs, stopping along the way at a restaurant aptly named The Pig Pen. I ordered a breakfast Burrito taking a guess at what might be in it as there were many choices. That and a a large paper cup full of coffee and I was all set to face the day. Incidentally, the Burrito was gigundous as well as delicious.
From there, we went to the Home Depot and picked up the supplies needed for the work that Daniel had to do and then drove back. I helped unload the material he had bought and then hung around as the others put things together. I helped wherever I could, but it was mostly hold this or that type of help. Hard to believe that in my youger days, I used to do all of that sort of work for a living.
We worked for the rest of the day until it was time to quit, and I headed back to The Caboose to take the dogs walking. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Friday 05/05/2023
I crawled out of bed ready to face another day of doing nothing. We went out walking and ran into Daniel who inquired if I was ready to help him finish off yesterday’s project. I walked back to The Caboose and put the dogs indoors and then went to help Daniel.
We worked for a while joined by Malinda and then Gary. I got a call from my friend BJ, who along with another friend Barb, had come over to visit and were back at my RV.
Excusing myself from the ongoing work project, I walked back to my RV and spent 30 minutes or so with them before they left. I showed them The Caboose and they were both suitably impressed.
After they left, I went back to helping. By now, there were a couple of other people who had stopped by either just to watch or to help or both and this project had turned into a party without the beer.
It was finally completed except for the paint and there was some discussion about who should do that.
Finally, the entire work crew adjourned back to Malinda’s RV to sit outside and chat about the days happening. We have a remarkably interesting group of campers all with stories to tell and glad to tell them.
I was one tired old man with really sore knees when I finally headed back to The Caboose for the evening meal and to watch Solly play for Brighton as they beat Manchester United at the final play of the game.
I slept well and got up at a reasonable hour. Anything around 8:00 am is early for us as 9:00 am is our normal time to roll out. If I went to bed early instead of at midnight or later, I could probably roll out sooner. Really not much point as we have no reason to get up any earlier.
We have nothing planned on the calendar for today except for the usual demands from the dogs. We went out for the first walk just wandering around and ran into a couple of other dogs and their Hooman’s. There was the usual doggy interaction and a couple of friendly words between us, the owners, before moving on.
We came back for that all-important breakfast although, to be honest, I have not found very much that appeals to me in the way of food. I settle for things like toast with various things spread on it or the simplest of things is a Burrito quickly heated in the microwave. Still even they, although filling a hole in my stomach are still not very tasty. Incidentally, I am way too lazy to cook eggs and bacon with hash browns on the side although that is a real breakfast. The coffee is OK but is lacking something which I have yet to put my finger on.
I spent considerable time on the blog and working on pictures that I have taken, bringing everything up to date and posting a couple. I had previously worked on the pictures, adjusting as necessary before posting a couple of them.
With the blog up to date, we went out walking and ran into Daniel who was trimming grass. He really does have the look of the park as one of his foremost jobs and works hard at it. Much different than some of the parks that both he and I stayed at. There, you were virtually on your own after checking in online and there was no physical presence to help upon arrival or at any other time. Plus, the grounds looked like sh…
Back at the RV, I went outside and worked on the bird feeders, filling them as required and on a couple of them, anchored them to stop the deer from tipping them sideways for the seed to fall out on the ground making for a tasty snack.
Then it was back outside to just sit and listen to an Audiobook before going out on that last walk of the day. We wandered around wherever the Boss lady would take us until returning to sit back outside with a small bottle of wine, actually two small bottles and a tasty snack, shared with the dogs to relax as we listened to yet another gripping story. This one was all about zombies taking over the World. Of course, those stories can never have an ending but just go on to the next volume. As I was at Volume 3 of 3, I am not sure what my next listen will be.
We went back inside for the usual evening’s meal and entertainment as the day ended.
For once, I got up at a reasonable hour and following the usual morning ablutions, we went out to wander the park. There was not a lot going on and the park is fairly empty with mostly just the full-timers and long-stay campers here.
Daniel was up and about and being his usual busy self. He stopped by and I asked him if he had a watering can, I could borrow which he had, and I wandered over to his RV. Malinda came out and handed me the can. They knew I wanted it to mix the deer deterrent that had arrived yesterday to water the damaged plants that the deer seemed to like.
I mixed the stuff appropriately as directed and watered the plants hoping they would regrow. Stupid deer. No wonder people shoot them although I never could. Back in my younger days in New York State, I would go deer hunting with a bunch of friends using a borrowed rifle in the Adirondacks mostly for the companionship and fun of being together with a group of crazy guys. When we went hunting and whenever I had a deer within range and in my sights, I would deliberately miss as I had no desire to kill these animals. Up there, you hunted in a long line of hunters heading towards the beaters who were way ahead of you. If the others killed the deer, there was nothing I could do about it, but it was not going to be me. To the others, I was just a lousy shot which was fine.
Not content with eating my flowers, the deer also worked on the bird feeders. They have learned to tip them sideways so that the seed runs out on the ground and eat it from there. Oh well, it is only money…Does that mean the deer view me as a friend?
Following breakfast, I sat and read the daily news and then worked on the blog catching up with yesterday. I would have sworn that I had already completed yesterday working on it late last evening, but I cannot find what I wrote, anywhere. I have no idea what has happened to it, so I had to rewrite yesterday all over again.
Incidentally, my glute is a lot better, and I can get around without the use of a hiking stick making it much easier to go out walking the dogs which we did with a mid-day walk. We did not go far but enough for them to do their business and for me to get some fresh air and exercise.
Back indoors, I decided to do a load of laundry and went about the task of loading the machine, adding the detergent, and turning it on. I tried something different this time and added bleach through the I hoped, proper place and then let it run. I had it set the cycle for wash only which allowed me to add the nice smelly anti-wrinkle sheets which I did when I switched it to the dry cycle.
I put some drumsticks on to cook on the indoor grill and when they were done cooked some chicken cutlets with an additional spicy flavor. Incidentally, the last are for me and the first are for the dogs all cut up and added to their regular dog meat roll. What makes you think they are spoilt?
I wrote and did other things while they were cooking and then broke down the indoor grill for cleaning, leaving it to soak in the sink while we went out for yet another stroll around the park. Altogether, we covered 1.8 miles. Incidentally, my hip muscle is still a little sore but has gotten a whole lot better and I no longer use my walking pole.
We sat outside for a while listening to an Audiobook that is particularly gripping and drinking a seltzer. Daniel and Malinda pulled up in their truck and offered to take me with them into town to eat but I gracefully declined. Maybe, next time.
We sat for a while, and it was time for that last walk of the day. I had some trash, so we headed to the trash bins running into our friend from a couple of days ago. We chatted for a bit, and he headed off in a different direction to get his exercise. We wandered around the park but did not hit the outside roads and then returned to The Caboose for the usual evening’s meal and entertainment.
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.
The park was very quiet as we walked around. We only saw one other dog walker in the distance. It is Sunday so maybe the people are all at church. Either that or sleeping late. One of the campers pulled out this morning waving as they left. Glad I do not do that anymore, but I do wish that I had discovered RV camping much earlier in life and had longer at it.
We hit the outside road leading to Hwy 290 but did not go all of the way. My glute muscle was still sore making it difficult for me to walk. We got back to The Caboose, and I noticed that the big feeder was empty, so I guess the deer have found it. I dug out the seed which is now inside the new to me, storage bin along with seed bells and other items to feed the birds.
One of the holders for a bird “seedcake” was on the floor and the hanging hook was bent so it looks like the deer had a struggle with that one. Hope it hit him on the nose on the way down. I straightened things out and reloaded all the holders before heading back indoors for breakfast and coffee. Incidentally, so far, the deer have only eaten two of the flower plants and nibbled at the roses and even then, not all the way. Just the juicy shoots on the top of the plant. It is a fine balance between eating the flower plants or eating the birdseed with me having no control over any of it. Such is the way of Nature…I would prefer them to eat the bird seed as it is easily replaced. Not so much with the plants. I got to thinking about the deer problem and went online to find a deer repellant which I ordered, and it should be here tomorrow. We will see if it has the desired effect. Pity I cannot use it on the bird feeders, but I can at least anchor them, so the deer don’t tip out the seed.
Following another tasteless but important breakfast, I turned my attention to the world news as I usually do and read a few articles that interested me. One was a piece that claims 14000 plus people have been shot so far this year in gun related incidents in this country. This really surprised me as I did not think the number was that high. Despite these high numbers, freedom to own a gun is increasing in many States across the country. The Founding Fathers never envisaged the outcome of the 2nd Amendment when they included it in the Bill of Rights and although it made sense at that time, it does not make sense in this modern day and age as everything is different. Times and people have changed and not always for the better.
I had nothing planned and spent a lot of time just sitting around interspersed with walking the dogs. I watched another Premier League game telling myself that it was OK to do that during the day as I had that sore butt muscle, which was probably true.
The time passed albeit slowly as we went out for that final walk and then back to the RV for the evening’s meal and entertainment.
We got up at a reasonable hour, at least for us, and then got ready for that first walk of the day. My glute muscle was very sore, and I decided that as we were going walking, I was going to need one of my hiking poles to help me along. After harnessing up the dogs, I stopped at the Jeep where the poles are kept and grabbed one of them. It was a definite help as the glute was very painful to walk on.
We hobbled about just long enough for the dogs to get some exercise and do their business before heading back to The Caboose for breakfast and coffee. I sat and wrote for a while but feeling like a cripple, was not very enthusiastic to do very much else. Like all muscle pulls, they can be very painful and this one was no exception.
I noticed that Quatro had already gone so Daniel and Malinda must have left early. I hope that they both have a great time with their new toy.
I did a lot of sitting around both indoors and out on the wicker couch listening to an Audiobook and feeling sorry for myself. This is not the first muscle I have pulled in a lifetime devoted to sports, but it is the first glute and for me, a whole new experience. I could definitely have done without it…
Later on in the day, we went out for another walkabout and again, it was just a short one for the dogs. Sandy could not understand why she could not wander all over the place as she usually does, but for once, I kept her on a short leash not wanting to get off the pavement and onto the grass.
Returning back to The Caboose, we sat outside sometimes conversing with any campers passing by and listening to the Audiobook until it started to cool off. Then it was time to go back indoors for the usual evening meal and more television.
The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly, TX. Saturday 04/29/2023
The new water drinker
We awoke to a beautiful but windy day. The sun was shining bright and even my glute muscle felt a little better. At least good enough to take that first walk although we only did a half mile. The park is pretty empty, and I counted 15 open spots. Saturdays are often travel days for a lot of campers, so it is not surprising to see so many empty places. Some will probably fill later in the day as campers come in from one place to the next. Happy to say, I do not miss those days although it was fun at the time.
Back in the RV, I tidied up and made the bed so that Miss Sandy can sleep on it as she usually does. That is, unless she hears or smells food then she comes running out and is wide awake and very attentive. Then, I settled down for the usual scan of the overnight news but there was nothing earth shattering and everything else was pretty much the same as the day before.
I turned my attention to the blog catching up on yesterday and then working on today. We are up to date with the posting except of course, for today.
Because of the torn glute, I really did not feel like doing very much and so for a couple of hours, we just sat on the couch, the dogs and me. I sort of dozed off but just had my eyes closed and never went to sleep. Time passed with us just sitting there and doing nothing until I figured out it was time to be active again.
This got me going and we went outside and hooked up the new bird waterer that I had received yesterday. I also refilled the Hummers feeders. I had been watching them for a while and wondered why there were not that many Hummers around and discovered that there was a lone Hummer who had claimed ownership of both feeders and was attacking any other Hummers that came within range. He sat in the branch above the feeders and when one appeared flew down on it and frightened it away. I tried to scare him off but with little success. Selfish bugger. There is enough food for everybody, but he had claimed two feeders all for himself or maybe, herself.
We harnessed up for the last walk of the day with the first stop at the dumpster to dispose of the drinker box and then did a slow circuit around the park as my butt was painful. Even hurting, we managed to cover 1.3 miles for the day. Back at the RV, we sat outside and listened to an Audiobook and drank a small bottle of wine along with chocolate biscuits. Neither very good for me but oh so tasty.
Eventually, as the air cooled off, we came back indoors for the evening meal and entertainment. I watched Brighton and Hove Albion win their game by a decisive 6-0 score. Solly was not on the scoresheet.
