STOP Means STOP

Martha, the boy cat leads a hard life. He saunters out before we go to bed and wanders the park, catching prey if he chooses or just checking things out before bedding down in the shed to wait for the back door to swing open around 6 am.

Upon entering the house, he proceeds to rub his body against my legs. Sometimes so vigorously he trips me as I head to the bathroom. He sits next to me for a good head rub until the dogs come back inside. The day begins as he indulges in his favorite activity ..... annoying his canine siblings. He taunts them with his ability to jump up on furniture and swish his tail relentlessly at them. When they tire of this antic, he will hide himself and jump out at them as they go about their business.

This lasts only about an hour before Martha leaves to head for my bed.

He was giving me the stink eye because I was moving him in order to make my bed. He covered his face for the camera flash.

I feel the need to remind this creature that I rescued him and he should be more thankful!

Wall-E came home this week. His ashes are here, nestled next to the ashes of Sarge, Louise, Oscar and Emmy. He is in good company. I still find myself looking for him in my half sleep. I miss him, but I miss all of them.

But on to my rant for the day. I was outside putzing around in my flower beds and watched as EVERY car blew through my stop sign. As the drivers got out and approached the store, I would remind them that the stop sign was there. The responses were incredibly annoying.

I wonder if they just disregard stop signs entirely or am I just special. One woman seemed to think I was being silly. She admitted knowing it was there, but that she had slowed down and rolled through it. Nothing is wrong with my vision! I was WATCHING as she just sped right through. She was probably going about 15 mph. Right before she came in, a big Penske truck towing a car came in the exit drive, not slowing down at all until I walked out into the parking lot.

The passenger side window came down and I asked if they knew they were coming in the wrong drive. He said, yes, but there were no signs until he was already half way down the drive. There are signs aplenty. I painted each and every one of them in big bright colors with giant lettering. I went on to tell him that had he entered the correct drive, he would have seen the "no turn around" sign. "We aren't turning around." he said. "We are going to park over there (indicating a shaded site) to rest and maybe take a swim."

Really? "This is a private park, not the state park." I informed them. "Well, where is the state park? The sign said it was here." The sign indicates that the state park (Graham's Cave, totally different name than my park) is TWO miles and my park is ONE mile down this road. I am assuming they are moving somewhere and wondering how they will make it when they seem to be unable to read road signs.

My favorite reply to running my stop sign is the woman who stared at me in awe when I pointed to the two stop signs and said, "Well they weren't there last year!" The signs have been there for over 12 years. I saw to the installation personally and I am the one who repaints them annually.

I informed HeWho does my bidding that I want an audacious speed bump installed about midway the drive on both the exit and entrance drives. I want it to be big enough to hit your head on the top of your vehicle if you speed over it. I want new signs installed right where you will stop after hitting my speed bump. On the entrance side the sign will say "STOP AHEAD!!!!!" and on the exit side the sign will read "BACK UP, YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!!!" No, I will make both signs double sided! 

Just Paint It On

 I have always wanted to plant something in this wishing well that would flow over the sides to the ground. I have tried various plants and never succeeded. So I just painted it. 

I still planted a sweet potato vine with great hope. I am thinking that maybe a bumble bee or a butterfly should round out things. And a frog. Always need a frog.

I painted all my big pots this year. Red white and blue. You can't really see, but the frogs are wearing tiny overalls in red, white and blue. The little seedings are a mystery. I can't remember what I planted.

The pool is open now and I find myself extremely busy once again. The season is off to a big start!

A Memorable Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend 2019 is , indeed memorable. 

Last year I did a good deed for someone and it came back to bite me this weekend. "They" say that no good deed goes unpunished. I don't want any accolades for what I did, I was just trying to help someone get on their feet. There were children involved and I am a sucker for young children. They were crammed into a very small camper and an opportunity arose with another camper leaving and wanting to sell their camper. It was such a good deal, but they couldn't afford it, so I bought it for them and let them pay me back as they could. No interest, no monthly plan. I just wanted the children to have room and for them to get on their feet.

The man did pay me back. HeWho is also a sucker for children and just likes to help people, got the guy a good paying job. I don't know what happened, I can speculate, but I won't. That is their business. The guy stopped working and decided to leave the park. That is fine. I don't hold people hostage here. But, he owed rent and I will hold property hostage to get what is owed me.

To be clear, I never even threatened to hold his camper here for my money. It is just common knowledge that campgrounds will do so, just like any other landlord. They did not even state an intention to leave until after they called the sheriff's office for a civil assist to get their belongings out of their camper ......... ON A BUSY HOLIDAY WEEKEND. That was fun. They paid their rent today and pulled their camper out. Little did we know that he also yanked the guts of the electrical box out, rendering that site useless until we fix it.

Last night, the tent campers that I found to be of questionable character when checking in .... I said, "You two look like trouble and I am not sure I want you here", proved my instinct st be right. I know, pretty blunt, but I just had this feeling. I warned them about shenanigans and last night at closing time they decided to have a free for all fight. They were camping with what was presented as a family, man woman and two children. The nasty language started at the pool and went on to the tent site, where witnesses say some slapping around of the woman took place. 

The child looked to be about 6 that the father, boyfriend of the mother, whatever he was, slapped. I kicked them out. The instigator was definitely drunk and his pupils were pin point. I think he considered slapping me for just a second, but I didn't back down. HeWho came up behind me with his calm voice and told them they had 20 minutes to get out. The woman/child slapper said it would take longer than that to take the tent down. I told him he needed to put it in high gear, he was wasting time. I think he probably wanted to slap me again. I told him to hurry, because I cared not if he left in handcuffs. Those tents went down quickly.

I overslept this morning. Got up at 6:30 and decided to sleep just one more hour and woke at 9:30. That was unfortunate because we are supposed to open at 9. All weekend long I have been juggling who is staying one night, two nights, or three nights. So folks are coming and going and not everyone is parking where I tell them to. It happens and you just have to rearrange and do the best you can. All the while I am selling ice and making snow cones and selling candy and sodas and pool toys and answering phone calls from travelers who forgot to make reservations.

The view out my window is the parking lot. I can't see the back of the park. I took one of those quick power naps after eating a sandwich for lunch and HeWho manned the store. It wasn't a real busy time of day, but he did check in a tenter and a camper. The camper pulled into a vacant site that happened to be a seasonal site. The seasonal camper was not in the site. The site was empty and I am sure it just looked like a vacant site to the camper. I was still foggy headed when the phone rang.

Although soft spoken, the caller had a accusing tone. The site holder was upset because someone was in her site. I didn't tell her that the phone startled me to wakefulness and I was trying to figure out what might have happened. I asked her to let me find HeWho was out in the park and see what I could do. I did know that the night before a red van pulled in after hours and apparently parked on their site to sleep before traveling on. They paid in the morning and the site was checked to make sure nothing was disturbed. I thought that perhaps they were here and trying to access the site, but she said they weren't and went on to say that she did not appreciate us LETTING someone park on their site. I tried to explain that we never intentionally put anyone on any site that "belonged" to a seasonal camper. I knew that she was not happy when she hung up, but I also knew that nothing I could say would make her happy.

I went on with business and sold some candy and lots of ice and then things slowed down. I normally close early on Sunday and it was 8:00. I decided to lock up and go outside for a bit. A little weed therapy would clear all the cobwebs in my head and the strawberries had not been picked for a day. I dead headed the pots on the porch and was headed to my strawberry patch when a truck pulled in. 

I am not a vehicle connoisseur. If asked what make and model a vehicle is, I couldn't say. I could tell you the color and whether it is a car or a big truck or a little truck. I just don't really care about vehicles. I drive the car I am given. As long as it is in good working order and has fuel and does not smell bad, I am content. The truck was the seasonal camper who called. I didn't recognize her until I got closer, having abandoned my glasses inside. She seemed insulted that I didn't recognize their truck, it is apparently one of a kind.

The whole issue of the camper on their site began again and I told her that we were happy to relinquish the fee we collected from the invader. She asked how much it was and when I told her, she said it was not enough. It was $30.53. Based on her thinking that was not enough, perhaps I should raise my rates? According to her, I should be outside walking the grounds and know where every camper is. 

It was about then that I got a call to be on the watch for an ambulance coming to get Kamper Kevin. He was in pain and not really able to get up and walk. Yes, I was upset. This put the problem of the seasonal camper in perspective, so I told her I would buy her out of her contract. I opened the store and calculated what was owed to her and even included this month in it. I wanted to have her on her way so that I could see about my friend. I over paid her, based my calculations on a 50 amp site instead of a 30 amp site and included a month that would be due into the next year. The entire time she is complaining and telling me that I am not managing my campground correctly. I just wanted the woman to shut up. I admit that I did raise my voice and tell her that I could not be in two places at once. She went to the door to get her husband. Why? I have no idea. The man never said a word.

After the ambulance pulled out and things got relatively quiet, I sat and waited for a camper headed my way. I had warned them not to engage a GPS to locate me. I give good directions and the lady on the phone wrote them down. The man driving did not follow my directions and the had to double back, adding 18 miles to their trip. They pulled in at 10:30. And this is when we discovered the broken electrical box on the recently vacated site. Good times.

It was after midnight before we settled down and then I could not sleep.

  

Scary Event

This event was by far the strangest one yet. I know you find that hard to believe if you read my blog much ….

I was gifted two nice benches after a wedding ceremony that took place here last year. I decided they needed some froggie décor, so I painted some frogs on them. Whimsical little creatures, but no teeth like my other frog that greets campers as they come in. I decided I should letter the one bench with our campground name. I sat on a stool with my back towards the road and took advantage of a pleasant day and happily painted while listening to a novel on my phone. I heard a vehicle come into the parking lot. It was a small SUV towing a small camper. A woman was driving and needed propane. None of my propane fillers were available, so I asked which direction she was headed and advised her where to go to get what she needed. I had noticed a boy get out of the vehicle when she did. Not unusual, I was focused on her and didn't really pay attention to him. 

She thanked me for my help and got into her vehicle and I turned back to my paint brush and settled back in to paint. I did hear a child's voice and what sounded like a car door slamming. I didn't look around, figured the boy was getting back in the car. He didn't sound distressed.

She drove out and quiet fell over the park and I was in my happy place painting and enjoying the nice day. Then I heard feet pounding towards me. It was the boy running! When he got close enough for me to hear him he was shouting that he needed a phone. 

"My mom drove off without me! I need to call her!!" I had my phone in my hand and asked for the number and as I punched it in, I learned the rest of the story.

Like me you are, no doubt wondering why a mother would drive off and leave her child at a campground. I confess that I did put one of my own out on a corner and drive around the block before letting him back in the car. They were all fighting and screaming and I said the next one to make a sound would be evicted from my vehicle. You have to keep your word, you know. Empty threats do not work. It was the 80's, a more trusting decade than the one we live in now and I was watching him in the mirror. It worked, too. Not a peep did I hear for the remainder of the trip.

But, this was different. They were traveling, on vacation, I assume. Why would she want to double back? Was she leaving him here like a stray dog? What would I do with the child? So many scenarios are running through my mind as I put this number in my phone.

"I went into the camper to get something while my mom was talking to you." he said. "She must not have known I was in there because it started moving and I knew it was dangerous, so I JUMPED OUT OF THE CAMPER AND ROLLED INTO THE DITCH so I wouldn't get hurt."!!! "Please tell my mom to stop immediately, I left the camper door open."

She never answered the phone. We looked up and she was pulling in the drive. The boy ran to her and told her what happened. They both got in the car and drove away. I suppose she was so scared, then so relieved that she couldn't talk. Me? I was so relieved that she realized he wasn't in the car and came back!

Driving Faux Pas

So, yesterday started off with a bang. I was dizzy and queasy, then I could see the squiggly lines that precede a hum dinger of a headache. I don't get them often, but when I do …. Realizing that I had to stay on two feet and check all the campers in,  I dosed myself with Ibuprofen and Tylenol and caffeine and sugar. 

I kept the headache at bay, but I was still not 100%. Four different campers yelled at me because they wanted to just change sites at will and did not like the sites I assigned them. One woman literally screeched at me. There is mud on my grounds. Mud is unacceptable it seems. I gave her a refund and sent her on her way.

But we are talking about drivers today. You know you can go to any RV dealer and drive out in a 45' motorhome with no training to drive one. This does not let those pulling campers behind them out of my rant. I think you should have to take a course to be able to pilot these down the highway. Thursday's railroad tie dragger being a good example.

Yesterday, a man towing a travel trailer about 32' long informed me that it was impossible to park in the site I  assigned him. So I moved him and spent a lot of time rearranging sites with my pending headache. Wouldn't be so bad if the guy had not been such a jerk and yelled at me. Later, I parked the really big 5th wheel whose site was taken by travel trailer guy in that same site and he knew how to drive and pulled right in.

I happened to be standing up when I saw a truck towing a camper come flying in and do a 180 turn in front of the office. Dust was flying and I waited expectantly for the bad driver to enter so that I could chastise him. Some of my regular weekend campers I have watched grow from toddlers to teens rubbed their hands together in anticipation.

"Going a little fast, aren't you?" I said to the driver. He tried to charm with his boyish good looks and golly gee little lady attitude. Didn't work. I told him he could ask the state trooper who ran my stop sign how I feel about those who disobey my rules. Then I asked if they had any discount cards. I reeled off those acceptable - Military, Veteran, AARP, AAA, Good Sam, active police and firefighters. His wife said, "Well, he is a policeman" very quietly. The good dose of public humiliation he got was the highlight of my day! I heard his little boy tell him that he should stop speeding.

I checked in my last camper at 8:30. Never have I been so happy to be done for the day!

Long, Long Day

I made a fairy garden in a flower pot. Can you see the gnome at the door?

They even have a well to get water when they need it! Not lately, though. Plenty of water keeps falling from the sky.

My most favorite part of this little garden is the tiny "Eddie dog"! A gift from kamper Stacy. She knows how much I love my fur babies. See him on the "gravel" by the travel trailer, just beyond the fairies on the see-saw. They even have a good supply of firewood for s'mores. Gotta have s'mores when you camp!

Memorial Day weekend is here. All week long I have fielded phone calls. Wednesday brought 11 cancellations for various reasons. One man proclaimed he could not be here because the Missouri River is cresting. I am not close to the river, nor any body of water that would cause flooding. We are on a knoll of sorts and we get wet when it rains, just like everyone else, but we do not flood. 

I filled all 11 spots with campers just hoping to find a spot, then 3 called back and cancelled. Yesterday my phone rang every two minutes from 7 am until around 4 pm. No exaggeration! I have no sites left to rent and I now hate the phone! This morning a man called "to check on my reservation". I asked what he needed to know and he said he just wanted to check and make sure it was still here. "Did you call in and cancel it?" I asked. No was his reply. I checked and found his reservation still on the books and assured him that he still has a reservation. Can't wait to meet this guy.

It started yesterday with those folks lucky enough to be able to get a jump on the revelry. Unfortunately, they all seemed to show up at the same time. HeWho drives had my car, getting new tires. His transmission died in his truck and he was driving my car the day before and had a flat tire. He says he was doing this for me ….. I really could have used some help here and I won't be going anywhere for the for the weekend, so why this needed to be done on a day when we both knew it would be busy is beyond me. 

I plowed through it, answering the phone and checking in campers without incident …. I thought. We have maps of the park. Pretty good ones, easy to read. And I always highlight the path to the site. I try to always talk to the driver and have been known to tell them to pay attention when I highlight that path. I speak clearly and enunciate and use terms easily understood. 

Sometimes the driver will dispatch his wife to check-in and wait for her in the RV. These women will ask questions to make sure they know exactly how reach the site. I call them the navigators. Sometimes the drivers ignore the navigators. And, of course that happened yesterday. Big motorhome towing a pick-up truck decided to go his own way and took out about five railroad ties. Three were caught up under his RV and the truck was up on another one. Kamper Sharon saw him turning the wrong way and yelled and tried to stop him, but until a man told him to stop, he just kept on going.

We put the railroad ties there to keep vehicles off the soggy grass and prevent them from getting stuck. I arrived after kampers Terry and Craig were helping get the ties from under the RV. The man's wife was frazzled and said she tried to tell him he was going the wrong way. Then she said she needed a stiff drink, but that she is not a drinker. I understood her sentiments.

It is noon now and I have already checked in 4 campers (check-out is noon, therefore check-in is anytime after noon). Two of them came to tell me that they did not like the sites I put them in and wanted to move. I might have been a little witchy, since I am booked solid, but I did some magic rearranging and managed to keep my thoughts in my head and not let them come out my mouth.

It is going to be a long, long day. I am getting far too old for this.

Cold Feet

This weather! I refuse to put real shoes on,  it is May and my feet like sandals!

I hope this cold snap goes away quickly and does not affect my peach tree. It already has tiny peaches on it. The strawberries are ripening and my tomatoe plants have finally started growing.

The peony bush was looking ripe.

It started popping with blooms and now it looks sad after the heavy wind and rain from last night.

My side of the bed felt empty last night with only the two short legged babies. I reached out several times in my half sleep to touch Wall-E before remembering that he was gone. This morning I stepped out in my bare feet on the cold wet grass while calling his name to come in, having forgotten again. I will probably do that a few more times. 

This is the last picture I took of him. He wanted to get down and find one of his favorite woobies to sleep with. He doesn't look sick, does he? His blanket was in my desk chair this morning. HeWho put it there when he took it out of his truck. I admit that I sniffed it before I gave it to the other three dogs. Toni Louise has claimed it now and is taking a nap on it. Cujo and Eddie were excited to smell him and both ran to the door to see him. Then I felt guilty for getting their hopes up.

If I can just make it through this day, tomorrow will be better. I hear the sun is supposed to shine again tomorrow.