Reincarnation

The other day Barb and I got up early and drove to Rapid City. Of course, we had to stop by the donut store. After getting our donuts as we were driving away, I had an epiphany. I turned to Barb and told her how in my next life, if I get reincarnated as a human, I was going to marry a woman who works in a bakery. 

She looked at me like with a look at was a cross of wanting to murder me in my sleep and mild curiosity.  I went on to explain that people who work in donut shops are often cheerful and friendly. Which is saying a lot given it was 6am. I went on to explain that they must have a strong work ethic as they get up in the wee hours of the morning to make the donuts and this store was only open from 5am-11am which means they probably have another job they work later in the day. Lastly, and maybe the biggest bonus of them all, is they she could bring home the leftover donuts! Genius I tell you!

 But I already have my donut girl. Although she does not and has not worked in such a place, she is more often than not, cheerful in the morning and a very hard worker. Sometimes annoyingly so! This is the best way I can describe it....this is Barb coming down the hallway each morning as I sit in the living room. Sometimes it is just too much for my waking brain. 

I got out deer hunting a few times, but a nagging cough has put a damper on the deer sightings. At the early stages of cold I thought I could "man up" and power through the symptoms and would go out to the blind. Soon I was fighting the uncontrollable urge to cough. After trying to suppress it, I would eventually start coughing and scare everything; deer, turkeys, squirrels, birds, everything would vanish. After two failed outings, I decided it was best I not go out at all until I felt better.  It ended up lasting 5 days. 

The last time I got out though I saw Hopalong! The video is not very good as I took it with my phone, but it is clear enough that you get the general idea of how she gets around. It starts out with her hopping down the hill towards the water tank. As you will see, the bucks are really chasing the does as the breeding season is in full swing! She eventually makes her way to the water tank where two deer are staring at her like they don't know what is going on. 

After getting a drink of water, she starts working her way up hill feeding along the way. She is not one-legged as I originally thought, the leg is there, just not functional. The video ends with two bucks sparring. The scene reminded me of the scene from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer where poor Rudy was sparring with a friend and his nose fell off changing his life forever. 

Here is the ethical questions I have been battling.... Do I put Hopalong out of her misery or leave her alone and let nature take its course? She will not be able to get around with any measurable snowfall meaning she will probably starve or freeze to death in the next few weeks. On the other hand, she seems to have adapted and is getting around just fine for now. I have already made my decision, but what would you do?

Did ya'll see the Northern Lights this week? I say "ya'll" as from what I heard they were seen pretty far south. They were incredible up here! 

Not a lot of progress to show you on the camper or garage. Mostly electrical on the garage. While it is a huge accomplishment, it is not really picture-worthy. The camper is kind of the same. Barb squirreled again. You know how she was going to replace the carpet under the dinette where Dakota sleeps? That plan has now changed. It is going to be vinyl planking instead of carpet. Makes sense as with the dog it will be a lot easier to keep clean. Tedious work as many of the pieces are custom fit. No picture yet, maybe next week when it is further along.

I worked with Kevin for three days. His regular helper is out of town for a few weeks, so I jumped into help. The first house we worked on involved taking down the siding and putting up a faux stone wall. 

Pretty easy work and since the "rocks" are in 2'x3' sheets. 

We also worked on another house where the owner had issues with their sewer line freezing up last yet. Keven rented a backhoe and we set out to dig up the line. Not nearly as much fun as putting up the stone. This was a bit more work and a lot more digging. Once we had the entire 150' of the pipe exposed we quickly saw the problem. First there were 3 spots where the pipe had holes in it. We spliced in new pieces for those. Then there was a 20' section of the run that went uphill. And we all know that Sh#% does not run up hill. So we lifted the pipe, got out the laser level made sure it was all sloped downhill and re-bedded it. Lastly, we laid 4x8 sheets of 2" foam along the whole length of the pipe and reburied it. If all of that doesn't keep it from freezing, nothing will!

Meanwhile in Tennessee, granddaughter Lily has joined a local soccer team where is kicking some butt!

For those of you wondering, I am going to let nature take its course with Hopalong. She's a fighter, if things get worse, I may change my mind, but for now, she seems to be getting around just fine. Who knows maybe this one good deed will guarantee that I am reincarnated as an eagle or a spoiled French Bulldog! But, with my luck, I will probably come back as a stink bug or a dung beetle. 

Woah! I just noticed, the blog went over 2,000,000 views this week! It took 10 years for us to reach 1,000,000. That was in August of 2023. The next million only took 15 months! If only I got $1/view, hell $0.01 would have been a windfall. Alas, though I am dollarless and penniless, but happy share our adventures anyone willing to read them!