I Just Want To Play In The Dirt!

Years ago, like 10, I think, I was driving my grandson, Gavin, from his home in Minnesota back to the kampground to spend a month with us. He was almost 3, a man of few words. We left very early in the morning, saying tearful goodbyes to his Mom. I cried and his Mom cried, he was pretty stoic.

But, that's not the point of the story. Gavin was seated safely in the back seat, in his car seat with a DVD player attached to the back of the seat in front of him. This is 9 hour drive, and while I knew he would sleep some of the time, I was a little worried about his wakeful hours and boredom. He did take a long morning nap and when I noticed his big brown eyes looking at me, I asked if he might be hungry. "No, I just want to go to your house and ride the 4 wheeler with Papa." I stopped anyway and bought the child some food, which he did eat. All that long, long drive, his answer to every question I asked was the same ..... "I just want to go to your house and ride the 4 wheeler with Papa."

He did stay a whole month and was such a good little guy until the very end, when he was missing his Mom and was familiar enough to tell me he was not going to take a nap, he was not going to pick up toys and he might have had a tantrum or two. That is not what I remember, though. I remember the sweet feeling of a sleepy boy in my lap, those laughing brown eyes and the smell of his skin when I put him to bed.

Once again, I digress, because this story is about ME! I want to embrace the single-mindedness of a three year old. I don't want to check in campers, I don't want to pick up all the trash they toss to the ground and most of all, I don't want to answer the phone! I just want to go outside and play in the dirt. I want to pot plants and pull weeds and yes, even mow. But, I don't want to deal with any interruptions!

This day did not start well. I got up at my usual time, 5:30 am with Cujo and Eddie. They will usually run out and do their business and then wait at the fence, watching until their cat, Martha, leaps down to join them in a race to the back door. I then scoop Eddie into my arms and with Cujo on my heels we head back to bed for an hour or so.

This morning, Martha was waiting at the back door, where he had just yakked up his midnight snack. Martha likes to weave in and out of my legs when he comes home and I tripped over him as I tried to grab Eddie and prevent Martha's midnight snack from being a morning delicacy for Eddie. I succeeded in that endeavor and was just cleaning it up when I looked over to see that Cujo had found the remnants of BugsBunny and was eating the hind quarter. Crunching the bones. He ate it as fast as he could to keep it from Eddie and as much as I appreciate that, I was not happy when he vomited in my bed during our little morning nap.

I pulled the bedding and woke HeWho can sleep through the sound of a dog vomiting. I started the laundry and fed the canine contingent, then poured the coffee and sat down to try to put my mind in order. I looked at my phone to see that I had missed a call at 7:25 am. I listened to the message and then called the caller back. It was still quite early, I normally would not call anyone before 9 am. It was a would be camper with reservations a week away inquiring about flooding. Now, while I do know that some of the surrounding areas not far from our location did get significant flooding, we did not. As far as I know all the roads that were closed in St. Louis are now passable and beyond that, I couldn't tell you much about the route you might be taking.

I was thinking to myself that this same caller had called me before with same query. She asked if I would check her reservation and I asked for a minute to get into the office ...... "you weren't in the office last time I called, either." I know, pretty benign statement, but it did annoy me. (Last time she called I was mowing the dog park with the push mower. My office does not open until 11 am, so that I can tend to my outside chores. The phone is always on my person, though.)

I had not even had a cup of coffee and I am not all that nice before coffee. She wanted to know about the road conditions. She then said she was coming from the east and I realized that she is on Eastern time and I am on central. She seemed to be annoyed with me and I told her that I had just gotten my day started, as it is an hour earlier here. I don't know if she cared or not.

Things just continued to get worse. Wall-E peed in the bathroom floor. It is, after all, the bathroom. Feeling like I was just cleaning up one mess after another, I escaped to my garden and picked another bowl of strawberries and 4 spears of asparagus. Then I set HeWho in motion, prioritizing his tasks of the day and checked the bathrooms.

Despite the many signs that ban smoking in the building, the men's room toilet is backed up with cigarette butts. If that was not annoying enough, I went to get the chemicals that would open it up (plunging did not work), only to find that it was gone. We keep our cleaning supplies in the laundry room and have never had a problem with theft. I had just restocked the toilet tissue and paper towels and can now see that we will need to build a closet with a locked door. HeWho says that someone has been in his beloved barn. Looked to him like they were going to pilfer an auger, so perhaps they were having plumbing issues? I suppose the chemicals were easier to use.

Whenever I have a problem pop up that seems to repeat itself, I always look back to see when it starts and then look to see if a permanent tenant has come in around that time. Makes sense, you know. I know where my problem lies, I just can't prove it. I just want to stay in my own little world and play in the garden.

Leftover Leftovers

The rain finally came  late yesterday afternoon. I had piddled around and read some blogs and commented and I even ventured out to check the progress of the vegetable garden. My beans and corn are coming along nicely. The kale is finally growing and the potatoes and garlic seem to have shot up over night. Beets and carrots are taking their sweet time. The early peas .... are late!

Remember, I had sort of left the soaker hose on all night the day before the rain came ..... I had the soaker hose that ran through the strawberry patch and the pea patch and ending in the asparagus hooked up when I turned the hydrant on to water the potted plants in the front of the building. I don't care how much it rains, potted plants need to be watered daily. I got distracted by checking in a customer. I totally forgot about the water, since I had completed my task when the camper pulled in.

Good thing strawberries like water. They seem to like it a lot. Just look what I picked this morning!

This is today's. I already gave some away yesterday! Looks like I will be making some jam .... and pies and cakes.

No rain today, but it is dreary and drab and just right for a little nap with Eddie in my lap. I might even cook a decent meal tonight! Last night involved leftover leftovers. We were both too tired to care. The good thing is .......Charming Eddie.

Is Was Supposed to Rain .....

Yesterday was a marathon mowing extravaganza for me. I did have other things I would have rather been doing, but the forecast had me pushing the mower. Today I had planned to sit like a zombie and rest.

Yesterday I arose with doxies and got myself suitably dressed for a shopping excursion at Walmart and the Dollar Tree. Why? Because I would prefer not to be photographed and presented on-line as one of the People Of Walmart. Anyhoo, I was up and on my feet early. I was already done at the Dollar Tree and decided to stop in and see if my favorite cutter of hair might be momentarily idle and could perform her monthly miracle on my bleached out tresses.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I glanced at the clock in  my car .....8:30. They don't open until 9. Pushing my disappointment aside, I was resigned to finishing up with my shopping and heading home.

I was recently told that my current hairstyle was unbecoming ...... "Mom, what is up with your hair? It looks like a mullet. You need to get that long stuff in the back cut or something." Really, face-timing is not all that great. I remember telling this same child, who was too timid to make a phone call and wanted me to do it for her "Just make the call, it's not like they can see you!" The good old days, when one could rely on anonymity!

If I had not been so tired (Spring time in a campground), perhaps I would have questioned the clock on my dash. Dollar Tree does not open until 9, either! By the time I figured that out, I was already pushing a near full shopping cart. By the time you heave a big bag of dog food, followed by a big bag of cat food and a flat of wave petunias that were begging to come home with me, you are committed to continue shopping. The petunias waited forlornly on the shelves all the way in the back of the garden center. The discards that have been reduced by 50%. Nothing wrong with them that a good dead-heading would not cure. I rescued them!

I raced home and began mowing and after finishing, I dug in and created 3 hanging baskets for the newly roofed pavilion. I weeded a good sized plot of garden and generally stayed on my feet until dark. We ate supper at 8:45, showered and fell into bed exhausted. I am still exhausted.

Men at work ....

All work sites need a supervisor ........

 and a boom box. Gotta have some tunes!

Since no rain did fall I decided to see how much of the back of the main building I could paint. I came in at 1:00 and just realized I am done for the day. I am so very tired. I am kind of glad the rain has held off, since I might have left the soaker hose to the strawberry patch on all night. There were lots of strawberries this morning. The entire garden is a little soggy as that water saturated all the way to the road. I might, or might not share my little faux pas with HeWho will never let me forget I made a mistake. No wonder the water pressure wasn't so good in the shower last night! 

More Signs/More Lights?

I woke up, still trying to recall the dream I was having. I could tell by the meager light around the edges of the shade that it was still very early. Too early to be awake. I changed position and had just resettled when I heard the distant ring of the phone.

I toyed with thoughts of ignoring the ring, but my dachshunds had taken note of their master's wakefulness and started climbing over me to make known their desire to go out. I lifted the dogs to the floor; no, I lifted Cujo to the floor and shuffled out while cuddling Eddie's warm little body to my chest. The phone had stopped ringing, then started again, but stopped before I could answer it.

I took the dogs out after I ascertained that the call was not from one of my children, and therefore NOT an emergency. While I waited for the canines to take care of business, I tried calling the caller back. It was 5:25 AM. No answer. So, I went back to bed. It was far too early to be up and my feet were cold.

I had just settled in and was happily warming my toes on Toni Louise when I heard the phone again. I went out in my bare feet to try to catch the call, but they hung up before I got there. I called back and was treated to a litany of complaints from a woman. She told me that they were "stuck on all this chopped wood" and that she was at my front door. I was looking at the surveillance monitor and saw nothing at my door, so I stepped into the office and looked. I can assure you that no one was blocking the entrance to the office.

I relayed this information to the caller, who was informing me that her husband had made reservations and they were trying to find site 30, but the roads are so twisted and winding and they were stuck. She said she asked the lady in the house near them where I was and that she was told I live here and that she was at my front door.

There are no houses here in my park. We live in the main building behind the office. The park across the interstate does have a separate residence and also has several buildings that house meeting rooms, as well as the office and laundry. I asked her if she was sure she was in my park ...... she conveyed this to her companion and he barked that he was in this park. I was trying to pull a robe on and find some shoes to go outside, as the woman whined on and on about how they were stuck on this chopped up wood.

This made me wonder if they had meandered down the private drive, which does lead to my firewood pile, but could not imagine them running atop it, since it is shoulder high ......... but you never know. I rounded the main building and saw them. The chopped wood she referred to was railroad ties that line the road. She was telling me that the "sharp turns" had "messed them up".

There are no "sharp turns" here. The roads are set up to accommodate big rigs! I told her that I was going to wake up my husband and to please give him a few minutes to get dressed. She implored me to hurry, because they were tired and needed to rest! I asked her how long they had been here in the park and she told me they had just arrived!

Hey, I didn't tell them to drive all night! HeWho tows told me to go back to bed, and I tried, but sleep eluded me. I am now wondering which one of my kampers were awakened, or how many were disturbed.

So, tell me, would you have bothered others in the wee hours of the morning, or would you have just waited until a reasonable hour to request assistance. They were traveling in a motorhome and had their bed readily available. They could have napped until daylight. Not too different than sleeping in a Walmart parking lot.

Update. HeWho tows just told me how they managed to get a railroad tie wedged between the motorhome back tires and the tires of the car trailer. They were going the wrong way and tried to turn around. There are signs that indicate "ONE WAY" and the gravel is stark white, while the railroad ties are black and we do have dusk to dawn lights ........ Maybe we need more signs? Or signs with illustrations, instead of words .....

Rain and More Rain

Rain, rain go away .....

I mowed until I could no longer see last night. I mowed way more than my fair share. HeWho is no longer towing (supposedly) kept taking calls yesterday. In case you are wondering if he repaired my mower .... he did not. He did, however, get an older push mower going. My old mower cuts a wider path and the self propel function was functioning. See, I don't ask for much.

I prefer the blade on the old mower as well. It goes lower and I like a nicely shaved lawn. No, I do not scalp it and leave raw spots. But, that is neither here nor there. The fact was that we had one day and one day only to accomplish the mowing. It can be done, we do it all the time, but it does require two people on task. It was late yesterday afternoon when HeWho mows and tows discovered that he needed a new starter for the zero-turn. He had to go purchase this very not cheap part and install it before he could actually mow.

As annoyed as I was, I still took pity on him and mowed all the low areas that were particularly wet. Well, if I am truthful, I mowed them because I don't like the way it looks when he leaves muddy tracks in those areas. Not to mention that there is always a chance he will actually get stuck and make a huge mess pulling the  mower out .....

I had a brief respite when Kamper Terry borrowed the mower to mow his site. Then I mowed until darkness fell. I took Meloxicam and aspirin, but my legs and back hurt all night. Cujo curled up against my back and acted as a live heating pad, but Eddie was restless and kept trying to climb up on my side. I felt like I had just dozed off when I felt a furry face on the side of my face. A little tongue gave me a doggy kiss and for just a second I thought it was Eddie of still sweet (though no longer puppy) breath. For just a second a smile was forming until I caught a whif of nasty dog breath. Cujo. It was Cujo. Cujo has been warned to keep his mouth shut and only accept my affections and not to reciprocate. Guess he forgot.

So, I have been parked in front of the TV most of the day, still tired from yesterday. I had stuck a slab of corned beef in the crock pot and was expecting to at least smell it after 2 hours. I went to the back door, as I had been doing periodically all day, to try to persuade the canines to go out. I took a peek at the crock pot. I had the temperature set on WARM. No wonder I didn't smell anything!

It was mostly frozen when I put it on. I turned it up, but I may have to resort to the pressure cooker or make different plans for dinner. Eggs? Frozen pot pies? I don't really care. I just know I am sick of rain!

MY Mower!

The sun is shining!! When last we met I regaled you with a tale of turkey eggs. You know, how when you know what you are referring to, you just assume everyone does? Well, the carton contained chicken eggs. There were only two turkey eggs, that is what I found nestled among the receipts. Make more sense now?

Speaking of large eggs, meet our resident goose. I have decided to name her Gizelda, her husband's name is George. Her eggs are still intact, but during a pause in the rain I saw her out in the field, foraging for bugs and worms. You can't really see them, but Henry and Hilde are out there with their babies, too.

The sun is out, but it is still wet out there. No matter, I still had to mow the back yard. Eddie could hide in the grass if I didn't. You might recall that I started last season with a nearly new mower. Fancy, with an electronic starter. HeWho is in charge of lawn equipment can no longer locate the charger for that function ...... says it is my fault, since the mower is mine, I should have taken care of it. I have no idea what it looks like and am therefore exempt from blame.

The mower starts easily with the pull cord and I am not complaining. Well, not about the starter. We have quite a few tenants here these days and one family has teen boys. One of them got in trouble with his dad and was sent up to the office to do some manual labor as punishment. I suggested to HeWho was in charge of choosing a task that weed eating needed to be done at the dog park. Let's face it, nobody likes to do that. The equipment is heavy and your back hurts afterwards. Punishment.

So, the kid shows up last week before the rains and I am busy inside, secure in the knowledge that HeWho rarely listens to his wife is taking care of the punishment. I go outside for some reason and see that my mower is being used in the dog park. By the kid. I can just see the cut grass being thrown into the newly mulched area that I had just worked so hard on. Am I happy? What do you think?

Later, after mowing, the kid is weed eating around the fence. Backwards. You weed eat first, then mow, that way the mulching blades will chew up all the long grass and you won't need to rake it up. Later on that day, another helper used my mower. A responsible adult. He raised my blades to avoid rocks and such in the tent area. After he was done, he mentioned to HeWho allowed the kid to use my mower that the self propel function was NOT WORKING!

This is an important function when you mow as much as I do. HeWho saw fit to let my mower be used even told me about this change in mowing status. He said it should be quite easy to fix. Remember this all occurred before the recent torrential flooding rains. One would have thought that someone would have taken care of this "easy fix" BEFORE his wife had to mow this morning. You know, to avoid her wrath.

I mowed the back yard, which is not big, but with all that rain, the grass was high and the ground was boggy in places. I was totally spent after that. I usually do the side yards and under all my trees after mowing the back. Not today.  Now that I have rested and vented some anger I will attempt to mow some more. Although, now that I think about it .... I should have held on to my anger to propel that mower.

Belated Easter Egg Hunt

During a brief break in the rain yesterday, I took a stroll through the yard ....... to look at the WEEDS!! I have my work cut out for me in this garden.

And more weeds under the peach tree. The taller "weeds" are actually baby peach trees. I will be relocating some of them throughout the park. I found a small oak tree among the weeds, as well. It will be easy to dig with all the rain.

This is my small patch of bee balm in front of the Iris. Seems like I worked for hours carefully plucking out the stray tendrils of grass and other weeds. Mainly dandelions. I don't hate dandelions in the open fields. I just hate them when they try to choke out my more desirable plants.

It was supposed to be a dry day today, but I woke up to rain. And it is cold out there. I had big plans for those weeds ........ Instead I am stuck inside again. Not that I don't have plenty to do in here. First day of the month and my desk is calling me, so I answered.

I keep a tray next to the register for the credit card receipts. I usually remove them and file them after one month. Trouble is, that tray becomes a catch-all for HeWho finds things in his hands, and wonders what to do with them. HeWho often finds himself in a quandary. If you should stop him while he has a tool in his hand, that tool could end up anywhere. If he is near the check-in counter, it might end up buried under receipts. I am guilty, too. I found my ear buds among the credit card slips .......

But today, I found the oddest thing yet.

We have some new tenants. Super nice couple and they have some friends who happen to have chickens. They have been giving us eggs. I love fresh eggs and appreciate them so much. Just the other day, we were all talking about fresh eggs and I was asked how the turkey eggs turned out.

Turkey eggs?? I must have looked dumbstruck, because I was. I had no idea what he was referring to. Then I remembered that HeWho is always out and about the park had handed me the last carton of eggs ....... We all looked at HeWho. He remembered the turkey eggs, but not what he did with them. I suggested that he search his vehicle, because if those eggs went bad and burst, he was going to have a big problem.

But, you have already guessed what I found in the credit card receipts, haven't you? Like a belated Easter Egg Hunt. That is my life.