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!

Sometimes I Wonder.....

Sometimes I wonder if the bucks in the forest spend as much time thinking about me as I do about them?

Sometimes I wonder, why do the fish pick Barb's jig when mine is just feet away?

Sometimes I wonder, what the dogs dream about?

Sometimes I wonder, does Dino really need his scooter? Or is it just a ploy for sympathy?

Sometimes I wonder how much wood could a woodchuck chuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

These, and others, are they mysteries of life that keep me up at night. 

Deer hunting has been going good. The bucks are not chasing does yet, but they will be soon! I still enjoy just sitting there and watching Mother Natures wonders. The squirrels, the birds and of course the deer. Oh, I forgot the turkeys. Out flock is over 50 birds right now and are just obnoxious! There is one hen in the flock that we call "Hop a long" as she only has one leg. What happened to her is one of the mysteries I mentioned above. She is always the last one in the flock, sometimes 50 yards or better behind; hopping on her one leg trying to keep up. 

While all the other turkey's stand on one foot to scratch the ground, she scratches and hops at the same time. To turn, she has to completely stop and turn in one place, she cannot turn while moving forward. I thought about making a video to show you, but it is just too sad. I have thought about putting her out of her misery, but she is getting along these past few weeks and who am I to say she is in misery? I saw her jump up on the water tank the other day and drink so she seems to be getting along well, just a little slower than the rest. Which, I am afraid, will make her easy prey for a coyote. 

Every time I look at a picture from that camera, I am reminded that I need to fix the time and date on it. It is a month and 10 hours off. 

I wrote the above earlier in the week before I got the news that our good friend Mike had passed away. Many of you know Mike from our Florida adventures. We first met Mike and Liz in 2016 during our first Alaska adventure. Guess where? A brewery of course!

Subsequently, we got together with them each time we went to Florida. We have stayed in their driveway several times, happy hours in their garage, numerous breweries and distilleries visited. 

This is the same Mike who treated us to a guided fishing trip on the Withlacoochee River. This is the same Mike who had these wine bottles made for us for our 38th anniversary. 

Even when we weren't in Florida, Mike and I would talk on an almost weekly basis keeping up with each other's lives. I could go on and on, but what's the point, he is gone and his passing leaves a hole in our hearts. Saying our thoughts and prayers go out to Liz rings hollow as they were each other's worlds and adored each other like none other. 

I thought about rewriting the beginning of this post as it seemed too lighthearted for such a somber week, but Mike had such a great sense of humor, he would have not wanted me to change a thing. 

The rest of the week was somber as we continued to work on the camper and garage. Barb got the stairs done in the camper; a slow and tedious job but they turned out great!

For my part, I got the steel installed on the front of the garage and got the lights installed! I just have the east side of the trailer port. Then I am about as far as I can get on the outside for a while. Here is the goofy/frustrating part of where I bought the steel from. I bought the side steel some J trim in red, the roof, some J trim and the facia in charcoal. A few weeks later when I went to order the soffit, they said that that company does not make soffit in charcoal! So, now Barb is looking for F channel and soffit from somewhere else that either exactly matches the charcoal or compliments the two other colors. 

We don't get a lot of time to work; getting up at 4:30 each morning to go deer hunting then going out to the stand each afternoon really limits the time I get to work. It is my daily therapy where I relax and reflect on how lucky we are to live and love the way we do. 

We had neighbors Jim and Carmen over one night for a bourbon tasting. It was all fun and games until Jim hit the wall and laid his head down and went night night. 

Bingo night with Dan and Bonnie was also fun, but alas, we were not winners.

The "fun" continued with a morning of concrete work with Kevin in Pringle where we poured an apron at the Fire Hall and a couple of sidewalks at the Community Center. Nothing like pouring concrete when the temps are in the 20's!

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Forrest and Lily made the 6-hour drive from Tennessee to visit Jessica and family. Lily and Kendall went trick or treating and Dylan had a special birthday as he turned 16 and got his first car!

My first car looked nothing like that! I believe mine was an early 70's Ford Galaxy 500. 

Who knows what fun is in store for us this week, more project work I suppose. It reminds me of those Progressive Insurance commercials about not turning into your parents where the guy says something like "Raking leaves is something you have to do not get to do. we kinda look forward to working on our projects, which apparently, we are not supposed to do!

Winter Travel Plans Revealed!

So many places to visit so little time! For years (12 now), we have been somewhere down south for the winter. Even after building and moving into our home, we have made an annual pilgrimage somewhere down warm.  One of these years we will spend an entire winter here, this is not the year. 

But where to go? For the past few years we have been going to Florida by way of Kentucky, Pennsylvania and then heading south along the coast to Florida. We absolutely love everything Florida has to offer (except the bugs); the fishing, the food, not to mention the friends and family we have down there. Sadly, we are not going there this year. In fact, we are not going East/Southeast at all. 

For years we have been wanting to explore the Texas coast from Port Arthur to Port Isabel. While that is still on our short list, this is not the year for that either.  

That leaves the Southwest where we have spent several years basking in the desert outside Quartzsite Arizona, but again, not this year. Well, at least not Q. We ARE however going to Arizona! Why, you ask? Several reasons. One, we have several friends who spend the winter down there. Two, it is warm. We need warmth! And lastly, we need to go to the dentist. For those of you who are RV'ers or former RV'ers, you know that Los Algodones Mexico is the place to go for affordable dental work. Both Barb and I have broken a tooth over the past couple of months and need some work. Luckily, neither one of us are in pain, nor are the broken teeth up front, but we do need to get them taken care of. So, it is off to Arizona we go!

We have plans to spend a few days in Yuma while crossing back and forth into Mexico. Once that is done, we plan to spend a few days in the Tucson area visiting friends who are wintering down there and we have a few days planned in the Prescott area, again visiting friends. 

Not a long trip, maybe a month, but it will be nice to get away for a few weeks in the heart of the cold season in South Dakota. And bonus, we found someone to stay at the house while we are gone! We are not leaving until late January, which will allow us to have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years at home. Heck, we may even get some ice fishing in!

Speaking of ice fishing, we had our first hard freeze on Wednesday morning. Mother Nature did not mess around. While we have been below freezing a time or two, this was our first hard freeze when it got down to 17°f. The good news is that it did away with all those darn stink bugs! Which reminds me, the other night, at like 2am, I feel something crawling across my head. I swatted at it and "crunch", I smashed a stink bug on my forehead! 

While that was the lowlight of the week, the highlight was getting the new generator installed! What a pain, I can see why no one wanted to work on it. Barb and I built a system using boards, milk crates and a jack to get it back up into its housing. We got it almost all the way up and started hooking things back up; the gas and three wiring harnesses. Once that was done, I went into the camper to test the remote start button and....it started! Loud, as it still did not have the muffler on, but at least it was running! But now the true test; did the remote shut off stich work....Nope. 

From previous troubleshooting I knew it was not the switch, it must be the wire somewhere between the switch and the generator. To confirm this, I removed the switch and was going to splice it in at the generator. I set about removing the wire nuts at the generator to splice in the switch. As I removed the first wire nut, I noticed something, do you see it?

Look closely at that white wire, see the greenish discoloration on the end? Corrosion! Meaning it was not making a connection. I cleaned all those wires up, restripped them, added a wire nut and viola, the remote shut off worked! After months of dealing with this issue, I basically tripped upon the cause. 

Barb and I were able to then lift the generator back into place using the jack, reinstall all the mounting brackets and it was back in!

So glad to have that project behind us!

Meanwhile, Barb is still going crazy inside the camper. And when I use the word "crazy" I mean it quite literally. After removing the toilet last week and installing LVP, I expected to see a completed bathroom. But no, she went ahead and ripped out the sink and countertop! 

But wait, she is not done. She then went about ripping out the carpet under the dinette. You know, the spot where Dakota spends all her time? Barb said it was disgusting. The carpet was both glued and stapled so she had to remove each of the staples one by one (right picture) after she got the carpet removed. 

I "think" she is done tearing apart, but I have thought that before. Time to start putting things back together. 

Tuesday, we rented a trencher to trench a path from the power pole to the shed and then the shed to the garage so we could have power out there. This was my first time trenching. Not too bad, but the rocky terrain did make it challenging. 

Over the next few days I laid the wire, installed a couple of breaker boxes, wired some outlets and I now have power in both the shed and the garage! I just need to wire in the rest of the outlets to call that project complete, but no more extension cords running across the driveway!

That was not the only electrical work I did this week. Neighbor Jim had a couple of breakers and a GFCI he needed installed and Dan had a couple of breakers and a three-way switch that needed wiring. I also helped Jim install a butcherblock countertop in his laundry room. 

A day or two later he sent me this picture of the completed project. He had installed trim, a sink, backsplash and shelving. It turned out great!

That pretty much wraps up the work for the week. We did get out three times for fun; lunch with Dan and Bonnie, we had Kevin out one night for walleye supper and friends Allen and Elizabeth invited us over for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner! Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, salad and a pecan dump cake for dessert. Something about us being the guina pigs for their real Thanksgiving dinner. So good! So full! Of course, no pictures were taken in any of these outings. 

Deer hunting has been going well. I got out almost every morning and night, even when it was in the teens. I am seeing lots of deer but have my eye on one specific deer. I have him on camera, yet to see him in person. Hopefully soon! 

While I am out hunting Barb has been in a baking mood making both pumpkin bars and apple crisp! You are going to need to roll me out to the blind if I keep eating like I did this week! Barb peeled, cut up, vac sealed and froze 10 gallons of apples that we brought back from the farm. Enough to keep us in apple desserts for most of the winter!

Barb and I did make a run over to Buffalo Gap to get some bulk whole corn to feed the deer over the winter. They have a chute that they put into my tote to fill it up. Roughly 2,500lbs of corn, cheap entertainment to watch the deer as we are huddled inside next to the fire this winter. 

No blog is complete without a dog video, right? And being it was Halloween yesterday what better video and picture than Sophie and Zoey dressed up for the holiday!

So scary, have a spooktacular weekend!