The evening sky looks bruised. I feel bruised from this endless heat. I can only work in the early morning and late evening and the heat is still oppressive then, just without the sun burning down.
The second round of peaches is almost ripe. The poor tree is so heavy with fruit. Every day I go out and prop the limbs and press the fruit, and taste it. Any day now and it will be ready.
No pesticides for my trees. This year the main problem is the birds. I have wind chimes hanging in the tree. They are getting wise to them, so it is good that I will soon be picking.
I feel myself waiting. Waiting for the sun to go down. Waiting for the garden to yield it's bounty. Waiting for the pool to clear. Waiting for the rain to finally come.
I am tired of explaining to campers the necessity of being frugal with the water and that we can't allow camp fires. I suppose they feel like they paid for the camping experience and they will have have it, no matter the risk involved.
The DNR (department of natural resources) called with a survey today about consumption of water and contingency plans should our well be depleted. What a cheery thought. He told me that some wells in a nearby county had already gone. Fire departments are trucking water to these areas. Well, they were until they realized that the water was being used to water lawns and top off pools. What is wrong with these people?
My contingency plan? I have 60,000 gallons of water in a pool that I could filter and use. Of course, no one wants to stay here in this heat without a pool ........ But, life goes on and I waited for the sun to hide before I ventured out to clean the rest rooms. A surprise waited for me.
I was changing the trash can liner and happened to look up to the ceiling. Most of my surprises are closer to the floor. At first glance I didn't know what it was. Too big to be a spider and I was without my glasses. I could not bring myself to lean down and grab the trash can, though ......
So, I went inside and grabbed my camera. I zoomed in and saw EARS! It had ears!!!!
Do you see the tiny little feet on the ceiling and the ears down low. It is hanging upside down! A bat in the bathroom. I can honestly say I have never encountered this before. He who is in charge of all things scary or gross was sweeping the bottom of the pool. I waved to him and tried to wave him over. He just gave a little wave back, you know, like "hi". Apparently my frantic mime act was not working.
So, I did what he would do if he was unable to catch my attention. I called him on his cell. Just as he answered a nice lady camper was about to enter the restroom to shower. I wasn't going to let her and was trying to think of a creative way to discourage her from going in. Nothing came to mind, so I just said, "You don't want to go in there right now." She looked at me and asked why and I just told her there was a bat on the ceiling over the toilet. She asked what I was going to do as he, who is my hero, came up and I told her we would send him in.
She told me to hold my hair, that she had a friend that had a bat land in her hair and pull it out. It was a good thing that he who was on task has no hair! He took off his hat and used it to scoop the bat down and it flew out the door RIGHT TOWARDS ME! I did what every self respecting delicate lady of a certain age would do ....... I screamed and wet my pants.
The internet has not been my friend for the past few days! Took me 3 hours to download the pictures and by then I was so frustrated I had forgotten what I wanted to write! Didn't matter anyway, since I kept losing my connection. So here it is, a disjointed blog post! I was able to read blogs, but not to post a comment. I felt like I had been cut off from the world!!
Black-eyed suzies bobbing in the wind, face up looking for that rain.
My lone sunflower. Guess he is too tall to be picked by flower thieves.
This is what the grassy fields are looking like these days. The little rain we had on my birthday was not nearly enough.
Kind of scary looking down there! I put a hose in one of these holes for about five minutes and the water never came up to the surface!
In case you are wondering ..... he who loves his wife gave her a new office chair for her birthday! I mean, he did break my old one, after all. Like the driver's seat in my car, he always has to mess with the setting of the chair and I had it just the way I wanted it. Not too high, not too low. I could tip it back just so and catch 20 winks and those entering were none the wiser.
In his readjusting he broke the hydraulic thingy that will let you adjust the height. I could sit on the very edge and sometimes it would hold, then without warning just drop to the lowest setting. Like a crazed carnival ride every time I sat down. He kept saying he could fix it ......... then I heard something about cutting a 2 X 4 and using it to fix the chair so that it would stay at one height. I told him I liked riding up and down in my chair, as I pictured the 2 X 4 flying up to hit me in the head ..... or worse.
Patrick and Julie, some of my favorite kampers, gave me the frog statuary.
It has a secret drawer for an extra key. I guess it is not a secret anymore. I think I will find an old key that goes to an old vehicle long gone (he who loves to trade cars also loves to keep the keys) and put it in the drawer. That way I can frustrate a would be house breaker.
As I sit here in this 59 year old body, I realize that I have only one year left in this decade of my life. 60 sounds a lot older than 59, doesn't it? I was not bothered when I hit other milestones. I embraced 30. I loved being 30 something. The 40's seemed to fly by, filled with grandchildren arriving. Then 50 came along and we started to consider "the rest of our lives" and bought a campground. Which proves that one is never too old to learn ........
What do I want to do in my 60's? This is the year to plan. Next year is the year to put my plan in motion. I can start today.
In the meantime, I woke to the sounds of thunder this morning. I got rain for my birthday! The temperature dropped and it is glorious outside. Everything has been washed clean by the rain. My gardens are happy and the pool ............. is still green. Lighter, but still green.
Another $200 was dumped into the murky depths yesterday. The Green To Clean company is sending more chemicals free. It was guaranteed to work. So was the new stuff he got at a pool supplier yesterday when he bought new sand for the filters.
The robot is sucking up green stuff and we are cleaning the filter in it every few hours. I have perfected the process. He who is in charge of the pool would clean the filter bag by draping it over the hydrant and spraying it with water. Wasted a lot of water and made a huge mess. And we all know how I feel about waste.
I prefer the bucket method. We have lots of buckets from the chlorine. Fill the bucket, rinse the filter, then pick the bucket up and walk to a garden or a tree, empty the water where it can do some good and repeat until the water is clear. He will use the bucket, but just dumps the water right next to the hydrant and it runs under the pavilion and causes weeds to grow. His methods are wasteful and create yet another problem to deal with. Now, I just need to think of a way to make him think it was his idea all along ........
Now I am going to stroll through my park, coffee in hand as the light drizzle graces my head with its cool comfort.
After the first season of owning a campground we decided that we should each choose one day of the week to be "off ". Couldn't be a weekend, of course, but everybody needs some time off, right?
So after much discussion about how it would work, we each chose a day and agreed that the one left "on duty" would handle everything and not bother the one "off ". Sounds like a plan. None of the "ladies first" stuff with he who wanted a day off. He went first. He left the premises and had a day off. He did end up running some errands, but that is what happens on any one's day off.
My turn came. I asked work camper Sharon if she would like to go with me and we hopped in my VW bug and took off for the mall in Columbia. We did manage to get lost because I called he who is directionally challenged and he had us take the wrong exit, but we found a JoAnn's fabric store, so it was all good. This particular store had not undergone a remodel and was jammed so tight with merchandise one could barely navigate the aisle, but that is another story.
We found the mall, with a Target as the anchor and we strolled the aisles and hunted bargains and then had lunch. Both of us tired with full stomachs, we headed home. There was construction on the interstate and one lane of traffic. We were not moving fast and at times stopped. There was a huge semi in front of my little car and one behind me. The one behind me was really close.
I was watching him in my mirror, then looked away for a second to say something to Sharon. We felt a bump, then Sharon turned and looked at the truck as he hit us again. She was getting a little hysterical, telling me to get out of his way. There was literally no where to go. We were under an overpass and had concrete barriers on both sides. I don't know why I was able to keep my cool and calmly tell her to get my phone out of my purse and dial 911, but I did. Sharon swears the trucker looked her in the eye and that he was crazed.
When we finally made it out from under the by pass and I pulled over, we watched the truck race by us. The tag was on the far left of his truck and there were no identifying logos to be read on the side. The state trooper on the phone with me pretty much told me there was nothing he could do. Sharon got out and looked at the damage to my car. I eased back onto the interstate and drove home. in the slow lane. We had suddenly run out of conversation. It was the longest ride ever and as soon as I was back on the premises, he who had his time off decided that I did not need an entire day.
We abandoned that plan. Seems he who loves to be on the move does not appreciate the confinement of the store. I am not all that fond of it myself, but I tolerate it better than he does. Still, sometimes I need to be away from here. For my sanity. I call it escape day. These days are not scheduled, but if you know me you will become aware of my need for one.
Today was escape day. I went to Mexico. Mexico, Missouri, that is. The WalMart in Mexico has not abolished the fabric department. I fondled fabric and had 21 pieces cut. Got some great deals, too. I went on from there to obtain necessities for the store and home and was gone all morning and into the afternoon. I am here in my prison now whiling away the hours until closing. Not too bad, though, my psyche is at peace. I have new fabric to play with.
This trip went a lot better than my first escape day. And I do not like to be in front of big trucks!
Famous last words. Whenever he who helps stranded motorists says this, it always turns into hours. And it seems like it happens whenever I have prepared a decent meal. I will give him 30 minutes. Then I eat.
Not that I have much of an appetite in this heat. I went out about 30 minutes ago and checked the thermometer ........ 109. In the shade. I was thinking about mowing the side yard. Now I am thinking it looks okay. It is mostly clover anyway and is only growing because I water the vegetable garden. We haven't mowed in almost a month. The insane heat and lack of rain has managed to turn the lush green fields into a brown desert with an occasional weed sticking up.
The pool is green. I noticed it had a turquoise sheen last Wednesday. I grabbed my scrub brush and bucket of Clorox water and set about scrubbing the water line. It looks like a tub ring of soap scum, but is suntan oil and sunscreen residue. Only way to clean it is with a good brush, bleach and elbow grease. As I approached, the water looked like the blue water in the toilet bowl after you pee. Turquoise. And you all know you look at the water after you pee.
So, there I was scrubbing away. I decided to clean the skimmer baskets as I was right there. What do you suppose I found? A bouquet of flowers from my very own garden. No, I am not kidding. I am assuming it was a child. Okay, the mind of a child. That was skimmer number one. They looked like they had been in the water all day releasing all their green plant substances to the pool water as the sun cooked it. I decided to check basket number 2. This one was even better. A clump of grass, complete with roots and dirt. It was probably a clump I pulled up myself in my flower garden. Opportunist not only picked my precious few flowers, but grabbed up some of my weeding, too.
Gee, I wonder why the pool is filled with algae? I ordered the Green To Clean for overnight shipping. This stuff was guaranteed to work. It didn't. I am sure the intense heat is not helping. I don't even want to think about the money sitting in the green residue at the bottom of the pool. Lost revenue. The money saved from not mowing gone. Oh, wait it was already gone in the power bill for the air conditioning that I normally don't run in my house. Over-nighters with kids don't want to stay without a pool.
We will be installing surveillance cameras at the pool. So beware, swimmers who would deign to disregard the rules, I am watching you. As if my time behind the desk was not boring enough ......
The day with my son's family was so fun. All the girls are growing so very fast. Maya is all legs and arms. Jada is catching up fast. Wall-E was enchanted with them. He loved all the attention they gave him while Zara was more interested in the kitten and when we would eat.
It is always hard to get a candid shot of Jada. She loves the camera ..... and it seems to love her. Wall-E, well, bless his little heart, is just plain homely.
Maya is gentle with Wall-E and he appreciates that. Isn't my daughter-in-law pretty?
Jada just likes to pose. She is posing with the candy. All grown up, she no longer begs for candy. She is more subtle ..........
Wall-E has chosen .......
Jada moves on to Mr. Martha. I can't help but wonder if I could achieve that position. Maybe not.
Maya likes to read and was excited to get a copy of my book. The other two weren't all that impressed with it.
No, this is not a candid shot. It is of Maya, but Jada is too quick for me. Always posing.
We had such a nice visit with them. They will be in St. Louis Monday to visit the arch. They encouraged us to go with them. I do not like heights ...... at all. I don't even wear high heels!
I don't want the girls to see Gramma wet herself high in the air, so I will be here at the kampground. No doubt scratching a new outbreak of my malady. It had subsided, now it is back. I am sure the insane heat wave has something to do with it. My last outbreak was in all the major sweat areas. This new one is on my hands. It looks like a series of ant bites. I rubbed my hands in Campho Phenique. I reek of camphor now. It is not an unpleasant smell to me. If it acts as an idiot barrier, I may start using it as cologne .......
As I sit here sipping this magical brew, I am thinking about my son. He brought me coffee. This one is amazing. We brewed a pot yesterday afternoon and I drank a cup then. I was still able to sleep last night, but it would have been worth the insomnia. Heavenly, it was. The smell, the taste. Sigh. I will guard it and brew only for special occasion. I won't share, so don't ask! He who is addicted to Diet Coke took a sip and proclaimed it to be nasty. What a waste. I drink it black, so I can enjoy the taste of the coffee. Maybe he was expecting something with sugar and cream?
I love this face! My boy, all grown up. He is sweet and sensitive. One year on my birthday he came into my office with a bag in his hand and handed me my most favorite cookies in all the land of store bought cookies. Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies. They are thin and crispy. They taste like the crunchy top of a pound cake (homemade, of course). Just don't look at the nutritional facts on the side of the bag. Just savor the delicate buttery, sugary essence. I let it melt on my tongue, then sip coffee. Oh, I wish I had some!
Zara is four. Mr. Martha, the kitten looks huge in her arms. Martha was pretty well behaved for the most part yesterday. It was a little loud and exciting with three little girls trying to pet him and hold him.
Zara found Gramma's camera. There were many interesting shots on it. This is Zara's legs and feet.
This is Gramma and Papa. There were some other shots of me ........ they have been deleted. Let's just say they were less than flattering. Thank the good Lord for digital cameras. I would have really struggled with paying for developing and then having to destroy the evidence.
We are not sure why Zara was climbing through the stools. Maybe Martha, the kitten extraordinaire, was showing her how.
She didn't get stuck ......
She seems to be intrigued with Papa's ever present cap.
Another face I am smitten with. She walked into the kitchen while I was working on our dinner. "What are you making?" she asked. "I am making dinner, what are you making? I asked her. She looked up at me very seriously and said, "I am not a maker."
Zara, the clown.
