Sad

In our second season here in the park we met a wonderful couple. She was fun and outrageous and he was full of wit and insight. We hit it off immediately and became fast friends. He who is not likely to remember names gave them new names. Pete and Paula. All I can say is that the first letters are right. He does this a lot.

Pete and Paula came to the hospital and sat with my husband while I went under the knife and came out with our dinner when I was came home from the hospital. Just wonderful caring people. We stayed in contact with each other after they decided to no longer have a seasonal site. Just phone calls mostly. It is so hard to get out of the park for any appreciable amount of time. I was thinking of them earlier this week. Paula had said that they might try to drive out and visit for an afternoon in the spring and it occurred to me that I had not seen them or heard from them. Pete was diagnosed with stomach cancer last year, but was doing okay last I had talked to them.

They were camping here for the very first time when the rogue hillbilly bunch was here that stole all our firewood. They were in the site next to them and were entertained greatly. They were here when the naked lady made her debut. Paula has a wicked sense of humor and can tell the story so well with her New York accent. Pete is full of dry wit. I miss having them here and coming in every afternoon for their ice cream after they nap.

I am reminiscing with a heavy heart today. I talked to my friend who's real name is Patti this afternoon. She called to let me know that Paul is in kidney failure and will remain at home with hospice in attendance. She was in fairly good spirits as she told me this awful news. Of course she has had time to digest it. Paul also had Alzheimer's and Patti has been his caregiver all these years. Not an easy task to watch someone you love fade away. I have watched her be patient and kind and also seen her at the end of her rope. I am hoping to be able to go visit him one last time next week. I don't know if he will remember me, but I want to go.

I am crying as I write this. I can only imagine how hard this must be for Patti. When we were first married, Drew and I would talk about what would happen should one of us die. We agreed to simply die together. But we had kids, so that wouldn't work out so well for them; so we agreed to wait until we were old to die together.

When he had his heart attack and I realized that he could actually die and leave me here ........ well, it was sobering to say the least. I can't imagine which way would be more devastating......... to know and have to watch and wait or to not know and be suddenly alone. I am not fond of either option. I am just sad.

Cameras ........ I Need Cameras

The internet is still iffy out here in the middle of nowhere in the great state of Missouri (or misery) I can sometimes open other blogs I like to read and even comment. Commenting requires a lot of patience, though. I am long on patience and short on time, due to constant interruptions.





After talking to three different men at Sprint and explaining the problem, he who handles the phones and the internet accounts talked to a woman this morning. Oddly enough, she was able to ascertain the necessary solution to the problem. She put in a work order for an engineer to come out to the tower and do whatever it is that engineers do. It has been determined that lightning struck the tower during the a thunderstorm and now the triangulation is off. He who has chatted to all these folks incessantly found it amazing that a woman would be the one to get to the root of the problem. Last night's call involved some long drawn out down load of software and I was scolded for having the TV too loud, so I went to bed to watch TV.





Aside from the internet problems, business is slow. Fuel prices and the current economic situation has conspired to make for a very slow season. Today the pool is busy. Good and bad. I will have to patrol the area constantly to make sure every one is folowing my rules. The young woman who just came in with cigarette dangling from her lips is my target today. I have a sign at every entrance to the building that says NO SMOKING. Nowadays most places do. So she saunters in and inhales deeply and as I am telling her that you cannot smoke in here she exhales as she very slowly makes her way to the door. She doesn't look old enough to vote, and had that youthful insolence that I detest. Not a really good idea to rile the lady behind the desk. One could be ejected as the lady behind the desk is watching the smoker with an attitude.





The swimmers started arriving before the pool opened and my confinement began almost an hour early. As if that wasn't enough to make me crabby, the restrooms were really disgusting today. Food waste in the trashcans, causing a trail of ants. The mens room was especially bad. It looked like someone had a haircut and I hope all that curly hair was from a beard. Really, it looked like Osama had a good clipping in there. The sink was covered and the lid to the trashcan had hair all over it. Things I never want to touch. Everything has been thoroughly bleached now, including the trashcan.





Another Easter lily bloomed and was quite magnificent until someone yanked it off and tossed it to the ground. Cameras. I need surveillence cameras everywhere. We have one on the night check-in area ..... or we did. I need to check and make sure it is still there. It is all set up so that we can watch the front of the building on the TV in our bedroom. Right after he who installs such gadgets set it up, he spent many sleepless hours watching the grainy image of the front parking lot and front door. I would wake and see it on the TV. He wanted to leave it on all night, but I like darkness when sleeping. He soon tired of it and went on to another project. I should take a look and see if the camera is still there.





I think there might be some sort of law preventing me from putting cameras in the bathrooms, but I think one outside the doors would be nice. Then I could see who is taking all the bath tissue and paper towels. So ..... say I see the culprit on the screen. Do I just march over to their camper/tent and knock/call out and demand my paper product back? Or .......... do I create a bill and present it to them? Maybe, if I see it while they are taking it, I could intercept them, red-handed, so to speak. Will they run with their stolen paper and quickly leave the campground? Will I have to tackle them to the ground and wrestle for my toilet paper? I like to anticipate and think ahead.





I had a nice surprise in the mail from a follower. I would love to post pictures, but that won't be possible until the engineer tinkers with the dish atop the tower. I don't think he has to actually climb the tower and manually turn the thing this way and that way while asking "Can you hear me now?". There is a little building on the ground beside this tower of satellites and I suppose he will be inside doing his engineering. As soon as this happens I will be posting some pictures. Just a little teaser to pique your interest.





I am off to make my walk round the poolside. Last time I did this I found many violations and just gave warnings. I admit that I did ask one father "What is wrong with you?", as he was encouraging his children to dive. There are signs posted that warn against this. The pool is only 6 feet deep at the deepest point. I suppose that the minute your feet touch the water, you become illiterate

Friday At The Kampground

Fridays are always busy for campground owners. End of the week and every body wants to get away for the weekend. Dogs woke me early, at 5:30. Too early, so I went back to sleep and slept longer than I wanted to. So I was dragging with that "too much sleep hangover". I grabbed the coffee and was putting my day together in my head. I had some garden work I had wanted to get done early, then shower and go to the grocery. The ice truck arrived as I was heading out the door with a huge bag of potting soil draped on my shoulder. He who is most always absent from the store operations took over for me and I loaded my soil and a plant in my trusty wheel barrow. The golf cart remains stationary as it has been waiting for some mystery "part" for the last month. I came back to make sure that I had actually been excused from desk duty. I stopped and pulled a couple weeds along the way and upon reaching my big yellow wheel barrow found the petunias to be missing. I remember putting them in, but, I still go back and check. They are gone and by then the phone is ringing and he who took pity on me is acting like a little boy about to wet his pants. He leaves and I am stuck in the land of eternal camp desk hell.

Unlike he who I am married to, I can do more than one thing at a time ......... so I took the phone and went to address the restrooms. I only have two tenters and they are men, so I am assuming the ladies side should be pretty much the way I left it yesterday afternoon. It is not. The toilet is running and has been giving me a fit all week. I can fix it temporarily, but I have asked he who plumbs to change out the guts in the tank twice and it has not been done. Sensing my mood he is treading lightly and starts helping me clean. This is only making me more irritated. Finally he notes that I have not been out of here in "awhile". It has been weeks and I need a change of attitude, as well as scenery.

I went into "town" and spent a lovely hour in the grocery. Paula Deen has a Tex-Mex casserole recipe I wanted to try and I indulged in a coconut cream pie from Mrs. Smith. She makes a fine pie with a flaky crust and I salivated all the way home. Swimmers were arriving as I unloaded my bags of frozen veggies and I ended up just dumping the whole bag in the freezer. I will put them up correctly later. I managed to build the casserole, cook the pie and put all the other groceries away while checking in weekend campers and shaving ice for snow cones for swimmers. As it approaches 5:00 I find myself with minutes of inactivity. Dinner is all ready to pop into the oven and I am taking a short rest.

I should be booked, but find that I am not. The big holiday weekend has too many open slots, so I am happy when people without reservations arrive and want to stay two nights. I hear the door and a couple with a young girl, maybe 9 years old or so, come in. I can't tell if she is the daughter or granddaughter of the couple. All three look pretty unkempt. The man tells me that they need to stay for a few nights because his transmission has gone out. I looked out and the fifth wheel looks decent, the truck looks okay. But between the two of them they probably don't have three good teeth. Both are smiling and talking as the odor of decayed teeth hangs in the air. As a business owner I am always cognizant of appearances. I don't want to have something parked here that makes it look like a homeless camp. I can't afford to discourage guests from wanting to stay. On the other hand, I feel bad for those caught in the tsunami of economic misfortune.........

The child in this instance is very bright and inquisitive. She seems to be well-fed and is clothed in clean clothes. They are staying, they seem to have money to get to where they are going (Ohio). They don't have an address, since they are moving. I hope that they have a job waiting for them that has dental coverage. But, who am I to judge? I don't have health insurance, much less dental coverage.

The pie with its' enticing aroma beckons to me as it sits cooling on the counter. So I have a piece. I did, after all buy it for me. One of the joys of being of a certain age, I suppose, is eating what I want when I want it from time to time. He who eats a Hershey bar every night will not begrudge me a piece of pie ............ By the way, "he who" is my husband and his name is Drew. The regular kampers have taken to calling him "he who", too.

Pools Rule or Pool Rules

POOL RULES





1. Children Under the age of 14 MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult. A responsible adult would be someone over the age of 21 who has a drivers licence and is sober (most of the time).





2. No eating, drinking or smoking in the area around the pool (within the fence). We have provided a pavilion for that purpose. We have also provided trashcans in which to place your refuse (trash, stuff you don't want). We have provided a receptacle for your ashes and butts. Please refrain from grinding them out on the decking or simply flicking them onto the surrounding grassy area. If you violate this rule you will be asked to leave and no refund will be forth coming ........ this means I will keep the three dollars you gave me. I will no doubt question your lineage, too.





3. Do not send your small children to the office to beg for food. If you cannot afford to feed your children, you should not be spending money to swim ......... or on the cigarettes. If you insist on sending the tots up to beg, be prepared for some public humiliation ..... or what would be humiliating for most law abiding, sane folks.





4. Accompany your small children to the bathroom. If your child has an accident and, for whatever reasons, smears feces on the seat and the floor, be a sport and clean it up ...... or at the very least, alert someone in the office to take care of the mess so that others won't encounter it. This is assuming that your children don't do this at home ........





5. The laundry room is not a baby changing station, nor is it a dressing room. Please do not put dirty diapers in the waste basket that is intended for dryer lint. This is disgusting and you should be ashamed!





6. No glass containers of any kind are to be around the pool. I am sorry that you prefer beer in a glass bottle over beer in a can. I will explain the reasoning behind this rule once again. Glass is breakable. People tend to be barefoot in the pool area and can sustain a cut if they step on it. Should the broken glass make its way into the pool, the pool would have to be drained to remove all of it. Common sense should prevail here, but I have found that quality to be sorely lacking in those who are drinking the beer and the wine coolers. Rule #2 should cover this issue, but there are still those folks who think they are exempt from any restraints on their lives. A violation here will also result in being expelled from the pool without a refund and being banned from further pool excursions.





7. The pool is open daily from 11 am until 7 pm, weather permitting. The pool is closed during thunderstorms. No, you may not sign a "release" stating that you will not sue me should you be struck by lightning. The pool is not open during storms, even with said release.





8. When 7 pm approaches and you are getting ready to leave, please take everything you brought with you. Do not leave clothing and towels draped on the fence around the pool. It will not be there when you return in the next few days.





9. Do not drop coins in the pool. We sell dive sticks and pool toys in the store. The coins will get caught in the pool cleaning equipment and cause it to malfunction. Purchasing new equipment will cause the cost per person to increase.



Like sand through the pool filters, such are the days of my life ..............

Painfully Slow Internet

Patience is a virtue ..... or so I have heard. This weekend is teaching me to be extremely patient. We had a small tornado pass through early Saturday morning. I slept through the entire incident. It was one of those freaky selective eddies of wind that will make you appreciate the power of Mother Nature. Since then, the internet connection has been sporadic and s l o w. Painfully slow.

I can't download pictures to show you. Well, maybe I could, if I made many attempts and patiently logged back on every time I lose connection while attempting to do so. But I will try to describe things adequately. We have a kamper, who stores his canoe on his site. Never has the wind ever bothered this canoe. But, this wind that visited early Saturday morning picked this canoe up, flipped it over and took it across the road, through a dog pen and into the side of a fellow camper's fifth wheel. The canoe missed a huge tree and surprisingly, missed the window of the unit it hit. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could been, but it did puncture the outer layer of the unit. I sent a cryptic e-mail to the owner of the canoe. You know, the good news/bad news message. Told him that the good news was that his RV sustained no damage, but that his canoe was in his neighbors living room. I did exaggerate a bit, but this particular kamper lends himself to a certain amount of word play.

This was the only major damage we had here, I learned later that two semi-trailers were flipped over on the interstate close by. I suppose this same wind messed with the tower with the Sprint satellite receiver and resulted in my internet agonies. So, even though I have pictures, It would take hours to download them ........... I tried.

The baby birds were just too new to survive and they were both dead by Sunday. I won't miss breaking apart worms and squishing them up to feed them to the little open beaks. I was going to call the feisty one Amelia. In just two days, it was amazing that their pink skin was already covered in the gray fuzz that would turn into feathers. I imagine some mother bird out there lamenting at how fast they grow up and leave the nest. One mother bird is out there telling about the wicked human who tossed her nest and babies.

It is hot and humid here at the kampground and I am manning the desk that separates people from the pool. I expect to be busy all day, then mow as soon as the sun subsides. In the meantime I will see how long it takes to actually post this .........

Who Does This?

See the baby robins? Wonder why they are being hand fed? Because Good Samaritan, animal and bird loving Barb discovered them in the dumpster. Someone went to the trouble of putting the whole nest inside a WalMart bag along with three newly hatched babies and one unhatched egg before tossing the lot into the dumpster. Who could be this cold hearted?? Barb and Nan had come up to toss their trash and heard them chirping. I grabbed the garden rake and Barb fished them out. I say fished because it had rained buckets and they were in a few inches of water at the bottom of the almost empty dumpster. One had already drowned and the remaining two were putting up quite a racket.

This was late yesterday. We had a doozie of a storm blow through last night ........ I slept through it. But this morning I found the box with the baby birds had fallen from the top of the Pepsi machine. We put them up there because it was warmer outside than in. On top of the machine they would be high enough to avoid being a tasty delicacy for the cat and hot air rises. And ...... there was always a chance a motherly bird would adopt them. They survived the fall and have been fed and warmed in the palm of my hand (that has been washed and sanitized since). They are snuggled together in the nest in the box ......... in the office.

It is only noon and the day has already been filled with many strange things. Not so many of my regulars are here, so I didn't do the dough thing and served muffins instead. Cherished that extra two hours of sleep. So, while the coffee was being consumed and the talk was on, a lady and a child came in to purchase firewood. We don't pre-bundle the wood here at our kampground and I have been told that our bundles are generous. We deliver the wood to your site. This is a service we provide to those staying here, in our kampground. This lady was staying at the state park down the road. We are happy to sell wood and other necessities to those camping there. I took her money and called he who delivers wood and asked that he bring a bundle of wood to the office. Just like I always do. I sat down with my coffee and my friends and watched as the lady and her child got into her car and drove away before the wood arrived. We all looked at each other, kind of surprised. I suppose I could have run after her, but I haven't run much since I did the splits on Thursday. Not because I am that sore, I just don't want to do them again. I am actually a little surprised that I am not in a whole lot of pain from my amazing feat.

She returned several hours later, wondering why we had not delivered her wood. She was a little put out with me. I tried explaining that we only deliver within our kampground, but she was thoroughly miffed. I suppose she won't be staying here in the future. That's okay. She drove out the entrance drive and I would no doubt have to explain all the signs to her. It is for the best.

He who delivers firewood had news when he brought the wood up. The wind picked up the canoe that was stored on site 1A, flipped it right side up and drove it through the fence on site 2 and into the side of the 5th wheel on that site. I am waiting for Marshell to call me. I sent him a cryptic e-mail this morning about good news/bad news. Told him that we had powerful winds last night and the good news was that his motor home was fine, and the bad news was that his canoe was in Yvonne's living room. He will either call or just suddenly appear. In the mean time, I can take a measure of pleasure from messing with his head.

I noticed that the sun was a big blazing ball of orange as it was dipping low in the sky last night .... was that an omen?

Boys Love Toys

This is my sweet son, Jeff. He was helping his dad clean out fire rings and empty trash. These are some of the things that folks who come out for a weekend of camping never think about. I had never thought much about it until we bought the kampground.

The tractor makes life a little easier for he who loves all things that have a motor and roll on wheels. I usually just take a bag at a time out and sling it into the dumpster. I can always leave the bags at the end of the sidewalk and he who loves me will pick them up with is tractor for me, though.

Boys never really grow up, the toys just get bigger.

Frustrations and Pain

Today is Thursday. I start to get ready for the weekend on Thursday. This is the day to mop the store and give it a good once over with a dust cloth. My family left Monday and I was a little weepy that day. I did laundry all day ...... lots of towels. Tuesday I cleared the fence around the pool to get it free of vegetation and ready for the new boardwalk to be constructed. I already had some patches of poison oak on my person from the re-stacking the firewood event, so I figured I would just go for broke.

My dad had told me to purchase a bar soap that was used for laundry purposes. He said my Grandmom would make him bathe with this soap to prevent and help clear up poison ivy. I had searched for this soap and could not find it under the name he had given me. I did happen upon a bar of Fels Naptha soap in the laundry detergent aisle on a trip to WalMart. Figured it had to be very similar to the other and bought it. For a mere 97 cents. I have been using it since the last out break. It won't make the rash disappear, but it does keep it from spreading. It makes you feel squeaky clean. The only drawback is the dry skin, but that can't be helped until the rash is gone. It has occurred to me that I mention WalMart often enough to be paid!

So, I awoke this morning feeling a lot less itchy and ready to get going on my chores. I prepared the mop bucket and quickly mopped my living quarters, changed the water and moved on to the store. I was ahead of schedule and was thinking about doing a little rearranging of some merchandise. It was then, while totally distracted, that it happened. My right foot slipped and I went down on my left knee. Still holding on to the mop and trying to catch myself, the mop slid away from me and the handle whacked me in the head while my right foot slid out in front of me and my left leg, bent at the knee, went behind me. I did a split! First thing I did was to look around and out the window to make sure no one witnessed this amazing feat. Then I managed to pull myself into a sitting position to access the damage. My knee was a little bloody. That's all that is visible. I thanked the good Lord for my good fortune ....... since He knows I don't have health insurance. I am sore from stretching all those muscles, but I did a split! You may laugh now ............

Frustration? The frustration is with blogger. I can comment on some of the blogs I follow, but some just keep asking me to re enter my e-mail address and password. When I do, the comment disappears. Very frustrating. I am open to suggestion .........

Determination

Meet Zara, my three year old granddaughter. She is one determined girl. She likes my cinnamon buns, it seems. Just look at that happy face!

After breakfast, Papa got the riding toys out and she was off. I cringed at those bare little feet on that gravel. Didn't seem to bother her ..... or any of the kids. I remember preferring my bare feet when I was a lot younger, too. She was headed down the drive with her daddy right beside her. Now she needs to turn around.

She likes to do things for herself, so we just watched as she did it her way.

She is very determined.

I wasn't close enough to hear her.

Seems she finally has it in the position she wants .....

Sweet success!

Early Morning Walk and Season Passes

I wake with the sun most mornings. In the winter months, it is easy to roll over and go back to sleep. But, during the spring, summer and fall, there is too much to do. After being house bound all winter I am ready to be outside anyway. So, while the coffee was brewing I tossed the laundry in the machines and found the bathrooms to be as clean as I left them the night before. Coffee cup in hand, I took advantage of my reprieve of not having to scrub toilets and took a little walk around my world. The happy frog windsock was a gift from a kamper passing through.

This old porch swing was left after the garage(less) sale. I dare not hang it, lest it become a liability. But, with some tree stump bottoms, it becomes a bench. I thought about painting it, but I kind of like the green ........ Thanks, Julie!

I have finally managed to get out all my froggy decor that has been stored inside all winter. Every year I tell myself that I will remember where I put it ........... and every year it is an adventure to find it all. Oh, well. Sweet Nan made this one for me and it holds a special place of honor.

Finally ...... my Easter Lily bloomed! A little late?



The marigolds are popping up every where. Soon I will be thinning and replanting them to fill in "holes" in my other gardens.



The cone flowers are getting ready to put on a colorful display..........


Tiger lilies and iris are popping ...........



Love iris!

"When are y'all gonna have season passes to your allses' pool ready?" Um, never. " We don't do season passes." "How come?" "Because you would pass the pass around to all your friends ..... " "Oh, you can't do that?"

Really, really can't make this stuff up. Maybe I should offer season passes for half of what it would cost to swim every day that the pool would be open for the season. That would be Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend ....... or 102 days. Subtract 22 days for rain and that leaves 80 days at $3 or $240. Half would be $120. I asked one person what they thought a fair price for a season pass would be and was told $30. Big gap there. Then consider that the entire town would be swimming on maybe ten passes. I think I will pass on the season pass. But .......... my gardens are lovely to look upon.

Put Up A Clock At The Pool??

It has been hot and the pool has been busy. The pool is open to the public daily from 11 am until 7 pm. I have said those words at least one thousand times. I also say, "No eating, drinking, or smoking inside the pool area; we have provided a pavilion for that purpose." There are signs on the restrooms to remind you not to smoke in them.

Signs, words .......... no one is listening or reading. Some days are just that way. Today was one of them. At 6:45, I put a sign in the door and slipped out to the side yard to stack the wood pile and attack some weeds. I worked until almost 8:00. I noticed that some of my swimmers were still at the pool, so I walked over and said, "Hey you guys, you do know that the pool closes at 7, don't you?" One man didn't even turn to look at me, but said, "We'll get ready to go in just a bit." Like he was dismissing me. So I told them it was almost 8:00. The other gentleman informed me that he knew Drew and that maybe I should put a ***damn clock up. He also told me that he would tell Drew. I just looked at him. Tell Drew what, I wondered as I walked away to go clean the restrooms. I also wonder what he will think the next time he tries to sign in to swim and I tell him he is banned from the pool.

The very first thing I notice as I approach the restrooms is the lights on and the doors open. I go into the laundry room to gather my supplies and notice the foul odor, then see the nasty swim diaper in the trash can along with half eaten food. This is a small trash can for things like dryer lint, etc. I clean that mess up and go on to the men's room. The disgusting odor of cigarette smoke greets me. As if I wasn't already in a crappy mood, someone has peed on the toilet seat. I am assuming it was a child, but having met the nice gentleman demanding a clock at the pool, I can't be sure. The ladies room was a real treat. A swim diaper full of poop is in the shower stall along with a cigarette butt. The water was running in the sink and it looks like someone had a water gun fight.

So, I decided I needed to take a walk through my gardens to calm down .........

The peaches are coming along nicely. Looks like I will have lots, too.

This garden is on the side of the building, I see it when I wake up each morning from my bedroom window. Know what these are? This is one of those happy mistakes. I planted onions here last year and didn't harvest all of them before it got cold. I had no idea they would survive the winter, but they did. They aren't fit to eat and I could have pulled them up and added them to the compost bin, but I decided to let them go to seed.

I like them. They add height. There is rosemary and basil planted here, too. I can just go out and snip what I need when I am cooking.

This hosta looks like it is on steroids!

My tiger lilies have started to open. The weedy looking stuff on the ground is marigolds just coming up.

These tiger lilies are very hardy and I have found that they will grow just about anywhere.

Day lilies are circling the flag pole.

I weeded Gavin's garden last week and added more day lilies. He will be here Friday!!

Lots and lots of day lilies. I feel better now.

Mint has taken over my hollow log. I think I will have a glass of iced tea with mint, then I will feel much, much better.

Clean Dirt

For some reason known only to blogger, I am unable to post more pictures. This garden is 4 years old. It started as a low spot of the lawn that I hated to mow. Any amount of rain would result in a soggy ground that was difficult to mow and easy to lose one's footing in. If he who only rides to mow tried, it resulted in deep grooves from the weight of the mower carrying him, so it was left for me to handle with the push mower. I don't mind pushing a mower. I need to walk anyway and I might as well push something as I go. Mowing is kind of like painting ......... you get to see the results right away.


But, this low area was hard to mow and when it dried out, the grass was sparse and unsightly. So, I decided that it needed lots of dirt brought in to create another spot for a garden. I wasn't sure what the shape would be or what I wanted to plant. I like to let these things evolve, you know. I commissioned he who loves his loud equipment to climb upon his trusty tractor with the bucket on the front to go forth and bring me some dirt! He had told me that he had a spot in the field that had some nice rich dirt with no weeds. I believed him.


He brought load after load of this "clean" dirt to the designated spot while I was busy with swimmers. I happily anticipated leveling my dirt and planting some flowers. At closing time I eagerly grabbed the hoe and garden rake to get started............ You can only imagine my disappointment when I saw the weeds sticking out of each and every pile of soil. "Um, I thought you said this was weed free ......" "Those are wild flowers!" "No, really, those are weeds."


We went back and forth, but nothing could be done at that point. Some one had given me one of those giant packet of wild flower seed, so I strewed them about and waited to see what would happen. I didn't like the results. The flowers were tall and leggy and looked all weedy and scraggly. So, I pulled them all up and started over. It has taken four years of constant weeding and mulching and finally it looks the way I want it to. Tiger lilies are in the middle and the area facing the front is lined with day lilies. Hostas circle the area near the maple tree and the ground cover, that I do not have a clue as to the name, adds a lovely yellow hue. The iris in front of the tiger lilies is just beginning to bloom. Soon there will be marigolds popping up every where. I save the seed every year and simple toss it on the ground before I add mulch every spring.


The sycamore tree started out as nothing more than a stick coming out of the ground. That must have been in the "clean" dirt from the field. I suppose the tree makes up for all the weeding ......

Invasion of the Cicadas

I overslept. It was almost 8:00 when I dragged myself out of bed. I was cranky and out of sorts as I stumbled around trying to organize my thoughts. I needed coffee, but I also needed to get the rest rooms cleaned and mopped. And there was a little issue of dog incontinence to deal with.

As I brushed my teeth, I prioritized. I grabbed some laundry to toss in the washers as I scrubbed bathrooms. I decided that coffee would have to wait until I opened the store and was stuck firmly behind that counter. He who is making the major trip to Sam's to restock the store had left me sleeping while he did his morning drive through the park with Wall-E the wonder dog in tow. Upon finding his wife up and about when he returned, he set about to annoy me with questions. I am not nice to be around before the magic of caffeine has soothed me. Did you make a list? Where did you put my list? No, don't stop mopping the bathroom, just tell me where you put it ............

I did stop what I was doing so I could get him on his way. I went back out to attend to my morning chores. Without the sound of his voice firing questions at me, I noticed another sound. It sounded like a diesel engine running. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw nothing, just empty sites. It was the chorus of the cicadas singing in the trees. They are out there just waiting to see the lights come on ............. then they will invade the rest rooms!

The lights outside the rest rooms illuminate the building for night time relief. Campers will use the facilities, neglecting to flip the switch that will douse the lights in the bathroom and leave the door wide open ............. inviting all manner of insects and critters to come on in. And they do. I have been seen encouraging frogs out the door with my broom. Anything bigger will have to be a job for he who is my hero (I am delicate, I tell you). The mosquitoes love the warm cocoon of the lighted space and apparently, so do the cicadas.

People will smack mosquitoes onto the wall and leave a smear of mosquito goo on the walls. Some very tall people will take on the task of smashing bugs up high, out of my reach. In the past I have had to drag a step stool out with me to clean this up. But, I had an epiphany the other day and decided that a sponge mop would do the trick. O'Cedar makes a good mop. The sponge side is down, but there is a scrubbing strip on the side that is easy enough to access by turning the handle. I cleaned the ceiling and most of the walls in the men's room this morning. The ladies room will have to wait until tomorrow. The tiny little speckles of night bugs came off the ceiling easily, as well as the smeared mosquitoes .......... but, cicada juice is not easily removed. Rusty colored cicada juice is every where. I will now spend my free time researching ways to clean up cicada juice. The carcasses land on the floor and are easily swept away. I am thinking I should put them in the compost bin.