HALFWAY BENCH

6/30/18

Piddled on Paper

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Adventure Date:June 30, 2018
Click a pic to enlarge it.

Well the day started out with a crash dive. The OFM was feeling rough and about 0900 the migraine hit. So for once he did a smart thing and just rested after breakfast. Sure enough before lunch he was up and around again and doing much better.

Since he and the day were stuck in first gear he did a little gentle maintenance on his massive fat body. He whipped out a machete and carved off a few rolls of belly fat from his Happy Buddha Belly. OH, wait a minute that is just what he dreamed he could do.

What he actually did is cull some of the excess golf clubs out of the Castle. The Castle is now a BUNCH of pounds lighter. Sierra will appreciate it when we head back to Rockport in mid-
August.

For the rest of the day he piddled with PRISMACOLOR COLORED PENCILS for drawing artsy junk. Then he got the wild idea of using his watercolor pencils dry to do artsy drawings also. Well a lot of nice art paper was used up (wasted)  in piddling with that idea. The good news is that the dry watercolor pencil seems to be a great idea. We will know more in the near future but it looks promising.
Piddle Paper

Scribbling and wasting paper is a lot of fun and a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun especially when recovering from a migraine.

6/29/18

Down into the Holler

Adventure Location: Cullman, Alabama
Adventure Date:June 2018
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Tonight we dip into the holler below the Clarkson Bridge. The land starts to fall away immediately from the edge of the parking lot. The front porch of the dog run cabin has a short ramp for wheelchair access to the restrooms in the right hand cabin. The backside of the cabin is two story high.



From the rear porch you get a nice view of the mill pond and the water driven mill house. The stairs and wooden walkways are definitely not ADA in design. In fact very little down in the holler is wheelchair accessible. There are lots of steps and dirt sloped paths.


After we meandered for a while we came up to the mill house from the back side and captured this nice picture of the waterwheel. Notice also the small water fall coming from the mill pond we saw in the first picture. This was a nice shady place to take a short rest.



When the OFM was rested enough we climbed up to the mill pond walkway and started across it. Naturally when the OFM got to the  water flow that was creating the water fall, he had to stop and take a picture of the waterfall from the top. It made a nice picture as you can see.



From this point we had a great meander around the holler. The upstream portion of the crick had some really nice places but it was too dark for the pictures to come out well. The hill up to Sierra was a steep one but the OFM made it well. There is lots of nooks and crannies for looking into if you want to do that. Personally we were getting tired and hungry. There was the sound of lunch calling us back in Cullman. This turned out to be a nice place to visit after not having seen it in over forty years since the last time. Yep a good place for trying to have tooooo much fun chasing memories.

6/28/18

Clarkson Covered Bridge

Adventure Location: Cullman, Alabama
Adventure Date:June 2018
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You have to drive a bit out into the country west of Cullman Alabama to get to the Clarkson Covered Bridge Park. The drive is easy and on good roads. There was plenty of room for parking vehicles like Sierra but even small motorhomes will have trouble if more than a couple of other vehicles are there. Trailers need to stay away.

We rolled in on a very warm morning and Sierras AC had been doing a great job of cooling the camera as well as the OFM. So when Mr. Knucklehead jumped out to take the first and only  picture of the sign, the lens was still fogged. We did all we could to make the writing legible but it is still a struggle to read it. 




After that we meandered on over to the covered bridge to get some more pictures. It is a rebuilt as was structure due to horrific floods but is a really nice place to visit. 




We did and do recommend taking the walk across the bridge to the other end. It gives you a nice view up and down stream of the hollow that the bridge crosses. The little crick at the bottom does not look dangerous at all but apparently it can have a real temper tantrum now and then.



We meandered on down into the holler bottom to look around. It is a nice place to visit with picnic tables and rest rooms. We went over to check out the bridge supports since we had risked our life crossing earlier.

The towers have visible lines where new stones were stacked on the older base to rebuild the bridge. Look closely and the lines can be seen in the picture above.

As the OFM gazed at the far end of the bridge he realized that the far end appeared to rest on a ledge projecting out of the cliff wall. And that ledge looked to have a large cave under it. The brush was thick and the OFM a wimp so we will not know the whole story on that until a reader goes there and checks it out for us.

The rest of the holler is pretty neat also and we meandered it pretty well, but that story will wait for the next blog writeup.

There were lots of flowers blooming in the area and one of them was near the bridge entrance. The Teams spent a good while talking to another tourist that walked up while we were deciding which flower to photograph. And the winner is 


Rose of Sharon Flower


We still have a couple of very neat pictures to show but they will wait to decorate the next blog entry. We were very pleased with our visit of a little more than an hour. It is a nice place for meandering around with a camera trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/27/18

Break Dancing

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/27/2018
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We headed out to the trail through the woods. The first special thing we see as we enter the trail is an old tree knocked into pieces by the storm the night before. It had the Castle dancing a nice amount but as we found out some of the old trees really were break dancing. You can see in the photo two of the broken spots on the tree trunk. There were a couple more pieces that looked like they snapped when the tree hit the ground.




After seeing some more snapped off trees, we decided that the Teams had come through that storm very well. Several of the downed trees were large enough to have meant the end of the Castle. But none got us so here we are meandering around again.

Back off near the lake was some sort of weird object in the lakeside brush. After we got some brush pushed aside without getting alligator or snake bitten we could see it was an old stump from a tree that had been cut down. The stump was lying on its side and the core had rotted away. The hole was oriented just right for us to see light coming in from the evening like a flashlight shining towards us. That is what caught the OFM’s atten we think. Here is a picture of the camera captured while attempting to photograph the hollow interior of the stump.




Another interesting to us thing we have been seeing is rows of holes in living trees along the paths. The holes always go around the tree trunk. They are about 3/16“ in size and about an inch apart in the row. The rows are usually around 3“ apart vertically. We are wondering if these are rows made by woodpeckers drilling for bugs.




We get to see lots of strange things just by looking closely wherever we are at any moment. It certainly has a habit of making any moment a good effort at trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/25/18

Tree Teeth

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/25/2018
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A couple of years ago a tall tree got blown over and laid across a small gully. The tree stayed mostly rooted and kept on growing. Upon returning this year the Teams went to check on the horizontal tree. We got a neat surprise. The tree was putting out vertical branches. Notice how the new branches are all growing vertically toward the sunlight. 



We think that within a few years this will be one interesting tree formation.

And now speaking of weird formations on trees, there is a tree over on the golf course that looks like it has teeth! It grows near hole four at the edge of a golf ball collection pond. You know the ponds that folks seem to just have to waste a ball in regularly. 

The OFM was not able to get a really good picture of it but here is his best effort. There is an old wound in the side of the tree near the ground/pond. In that wound is something growing that looks like snaggled teeth.



To get the above picture the OFM risked life and limb to ease out on an old root while balancing on one leg and leaning against an adjacent tree with one hand and the other hand holding the camera way out there trying to be still. We are certain that if anyone had seen the event we would have got great applause for the acrobatic act.

This next picture was taken with the zoom of the camera while still balancing on the root but now squatting. That shallow muddy bottom pond did not look like a nice swimming hole to him. Fortunately he stayed out of the pond. However the closeup did not give him any better clue what the teeth are.



If you can tell what the “teeth” are, plese let us know.

Getting those pictures was a very interesting way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/24/18

Trail Styles

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/24/2018
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Tonight we get to see what the trails are like in  Point Mallard Park. Sometimes the walkers are not the strongest limbs on the trees. The tourist came hurrying over to the Teams when he saw we were taking pictures. He said that we needed to go to a special wonderful viewpoint nearby to take pictures. It is fantastic over there and "nobody has ever been there before me." Just follow that gravel surfaced trail to get there. And away he went.

Now back to reality. The park has basically three types of trails. Some are paved and walkers, golf carts, bikes and bikers are allowed on them. Sometimes, like July Fourth, these are really busy with golf carts and bikes. 




Some of the trails are gravel surfaced and normally passable even when it has been raining. These trails run through the woods back away from the lake edge. These are mostly foot traffic and bikes trails. They frequently can be a bit muddy or damp during rains. Lots of trees surround these trails.




The third trail style is close to the lake or creeks. They are usually fairly nice with a softer style of footing. There is gravel in smaller quantity and in rainy weather there will be pockets of shallow water to dodge. Bikes and walkers are allowed on these. Sometimes you will also see red wagons etc carrying small children out for the scenery,




Something the Teams finds unique is the lichen laden tree tunnels. For some unknown reason to the Teams, every now and then there will be a hundred feet of trees lining the trail covered with lichens or what we think are lichens. The lichens vary from light gray to a faded blue green.




Tomorrow we will talk about some of the unusual things we sometimes sight on our trail travels as we work on having tooooo much fun.

6/22/18

A Bear in the Woods

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/22/2018
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Awoke early this morning to torrential rain pounding the area. Minor street flooding was already well underway by the time we could get the OFM to look out a window.  But the rain quit and it was nicely almost cool outside. The OFM decided it was a chance to practice golf so right after breakfast we hit up the golf practice area. 

About an hour and a half later it got hot enough for the Teams to chase down the air conditioned part of the Castle to cool off.  Then it was off to grandkid present hunting. That kept us busy until well after lunch.

During all the last weeks sick time the OFM had started to attempt to set up some sort of general plan for September and onward. Our sticker for no more cost camping in New Mexico State Parks is good until until the end of April 2019 and we are thinking of making good use of it in the near future. We are wanting to stay in Decatur until at least middle August. We have a couple of months to make up our minds as to what is next.

Back at this campground the OFM was finally well enough to also take a small couple of mile walk but there was very few things to photograph. 
There are some berries growing off in woods. Some critters four legged and two legged have been picking them for food. They are small but plentiful.



While walking along a very heavily used trail along Flint Creek we notice some fungi that had a black bear crawling up the fungi. At least it looked like a black bear at first. The “bear” was only about an inch long but it certainly caught the OFM’s attention. WOW we got to see a bear in the woods.



Now that the OFM is more mobile again maybe he can get busy running around trying to have tooooo much fun again.



6/21/18

On The Contrary

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/21/2018
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It has not been the best of times but it is OK times. The OFM decided to quit using the Flonase a few days ago and is feeling lots better and no migraines since the day after quitting. Flonase worked well on the allergies but if the OFM is sensitive to it, then it has to go away.

A few other chores around the Castle are taking up a good bit of time so it is not surprising that we have had to push the blog writing to an un-lit back burner for a bit. Hopefully this will line out soon.

 Tied in with this is shopping for birthday presents for two grand kids who have 13 of everything ever marketed. It is unreal what the prices of kid things are these days. Anyway we found something for Piper but Gavin is proving to be a much more difficult search. 

Contrary to a lot of folks statements, we do not find shopping for grandkid presents in crowded stores a a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.


6/18/18

Gnome Home

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/18/2018
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This mornings walk was a pleasant little stroll along the lake and golf course. Most all the flowers are finished blooming and the forest is maturing. It is a nice place to walk/ride a bike just for the fun of it.

Along the way the OFM spotted a Gnome Home made from a hollowed out tree next to the creek. This gnome has some nice waterfront property to enjoy and watch the folks pass by on the adjacent path. We bet there might even be some fish and turtles in the back yard.

Here is the hollowed out tree the Gnome lives in.

Gnome Home


And it is even decorated with some pretty flower buds outside the front door. They will soon be pretty flowers if the OFM recalls correctly.



The heat is not slacking off so all exercise walking is done early in the morning. But that is OK because a nice early morning walk is a pretty good way of trying to have tooooo much fun to start the day well.

6/16/18

Way Too Hot

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/16/2018
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At least the two migraines today were lighter in intensity and lasted a good bit shorter time. That means the OFM is not near as bad as yesterday. It was still a lot of bed time day. 

By supper time the OFM was good enough to head out to a new restaurant he had been told about down in Priceville, Al.  It was supposed to be very good and it was. We will be going back again.

 The menu is catfish and other good meats with excellent vegetables tonight. His meal was much larger than we expected. Two LARGE filets of catfish, 6 hush puppies, a cup of cole slaw topped with fresh slices of onion, a sweet potato and iced tea made up the meal. From the looks of the other diners meals, the meals are all large.

The miserable heat is keeping most folks inside during the day. The pine trees are dense enough that the Castle only gets a minor amount of sun on it during the day. Even without the sun heating the campsite, Sierra’s temperature gage about 1600 today was still reading 97 degrees in the shade. There is no golf happening for the Teams in those conditions.

Tomorrow is a visit with the OFM’s folks over in Madison. Their home AC works very well and we will enjoy it.

The heat is not letting the OFM run around outside to have adventures or take pictures. Do not worry if no blog is posted for a few days. The OFM teams are not going to fight the near 100F heat in an attempt of being outside for trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/15/18

OFM is Mentally Out of It.(Update)

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/15/2018
Click the picture to enlarge it.



The OFM is having a couple of migraine attacks each day the last two days. He is about beat to a rancid pulp by them. We will return when we have nicer news. Migraines are not good for trying to have tooooo much fun.

UPDATE: The OFM took it real easy today. Might have been due to the crowbar I was threateningly holding next to his head. Anyway it has been recovery time without any new attacks so we are hopeful. The big trouble is the extreme unusual heat in the area. Mostly we just stay in the AC.

We actually did dump the black tank this afternoon with no trouble but that was about it. If you did not know it, a 20 foot long trailer can get much smaller on a day of not getting out of it for trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/13/18

Location Assistance Requested

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/13/2018
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It started innocently but the OFM imagination took it onward at light speed or faster. The Boondork had mentioned south Alabama as a place to spend some time. The OFM knew a little bit about the area from several years in the past.

Fast forward a couple of hours worth of the OFM brain whizzing with thoughts. The Teams are Escapees members of nearly 22 years. The Escapees campground at Summerdale, Al has been our home once for a couple of weeks. So the OFM started digging through the Internet to check out things down that way. Records for temperatures were checked and it is a couple of degrees cooler in the winter than Corpus Christi Tx. That is well inside our tolerance.

Next we checked for golf. Good grief lots of golf in the area.  Ok now how about shore fishing.  A major nice pier on the surf in the Gulf and another pier at Fairhope in Mobile Bay. Then we were able to determine there is a nice amount of shore fishing on the bays. Maybe even some kayak fishing! A lot of things have changed in the last few years.

OK so far so good. What we are asking for is personal experience information in the area including including the other side of Mobile Bay from September until April. Good, Bad, and whatever you wish to help with would be appreciated. We have not really explored that area very much so we think a few months there might work out pretty nice.

You can email the OFM directly at texnomad@hotmail.com or you can leave a comment. We are very willing to dig into Internet sites that you might recommend.

Of course we are REALLY interested in places where we can take great pictures to post while trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/11/18

Healing Again

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/11/2018
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This morning dawned with the OFM not ready to get going. The migraine that started last Saturday evening was a mean one this time. This morning was not a feel good morning yet so things moved slowly. It seemed to the Teams that the OFM needed to get some gentle exercise outside.

Eventually he got himself together enough to grab the camera and his hat for a walk. We heard activity at the soccer field and headed that way. The maintenance crew was into a big maintenance job. It looked like an aeration of the field in progress. Other chores were going on out there also but the OFM could not tell what it was. One thing for sure, it was pretty large equipment working.

Along the north soccer perimeter road is a heavily wooded drainage ditch. We had never looked into the foliage for fear of something insectual biting us. Today the OFM was doing his usual GrannyJ impression and noticed a narrow path going into the ditch area. It looked like a critter trail so he was very careful when going into the brush.

Well it was bright sun outside but in the jungle the light was about 80% less. In this next picture the flash had fired so it looks brighter than to regular lighting.



It was a nice little crick and no insects attacked. But he did not dawdle any longer than needed for the picture.

From there we had a nice meander at a gentle pace down to the river and along the river trail toward the water park. Trees and shoreline on our left and play fields to our right most of the time. A few pictures of tree leaves were taken trying to make the light of the morning create a magic effect. None turned out well so they went bye-bye .

We did find one fungus getting a good start. It is about the size of a quarter in this picture. The natural color was tending toward a beautiful purple in the dark spots. We will keep an eye on it for future photos.


Most of the rest of the day involved beds and chairs as the OFM continued to get better. By evening he was doing well and decided a yard bird salad would be good. A large bowl was centered on the counter and the refrigerator was emptied of lots of good stuff not the least was a double handful of sliced and cooked yard bird from a couple of days ago.

8" Wide Bowl


It was wonderful.

Meanwhile our friend Darrell Goza (http://gozatravels.blogspot.com/)  is hitting the road tomorrow after being held up for several months helping taking care of a family medical trouble. His blog is definitely worth reading. He is completely capable of trying to have tooooo much fun. 



6/9/18

Three Generation Family Gathering

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/9/2018
Click a pic to enlarge it.

Early this morning the e-mail came in from the OFM’s son. Somebody was needed to hold the backup wrench and be the general laborer for the lawn mower deck repair. So naturally the OFM took time from his hectic schedule to get over there and help.

When we got there disassembly was well on its way.


There were some boxes with the new parts in them on the garage floor. There was some old parts scattered around. We were hoping someone knew where the parts went during the repairs.

A conversation with the OFM’s son revealed the failure of the mower blade jack shafts and the new parts were on site. Several other parts were inspected to find out how near failure they were. They all seemed to be adequate for another season or two but the whole rig was definitely worn from the previous ten years of use.

The mower deck was in the yard being blasted clean by grandson Gavin with serious effort being applied.


Then the OFM and his son moved the deck to the sun baked drive way to dry to a crisp. That did not take long. We were still discussing parts and potential repairs until well after the deck was dry. Then the deck was moved inside the garage to the shade and in front of the fan for the real work.



Now more clean up was done to the deck. A torque wrench was brought into play and assembly began. It was slow going because we were very careful to read and follow the instructions. We did not want carelessness to result in a whirring lawn mower blade coming off to injure someone.

It took a good while to get everything done on the deck. Then it was time for lunch. The whole family and the OFM headed out to a burger place nearby for a good lunch. Grandson Gavin was so good he even got a DOUBLE SCOOP ice cream cone for desert.

Now it was time to put the mower deck back under the mower and get it all put together. The OFM’s son did the rolling around on the floor hooking up the connecting parts while the OFM wobbled around handing him parts and connectors. When that was all done, the OFM did a quick check of the whole piece of equipment to see if any loose tools were evident.

Now it was proof time. The key was turned and the equipment sprang to life. Nothing seemed wrong so it was put in gear and a test mowing strip was done. OFM’s son pronounced it ready to work. 

During the testing the OFM swept the old grass clippings and other debris out of the garage and stood in front of the fan until testing was finished.

A successful repair was declared and it was a wonderful day of visiting the OFM’s family and being of some use. This made for a wonderful day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/8/18

Sierra Decoration

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/8/2018
Click a pic to enlarge it.

It was hot today and the OFM tried to play golf today. The change is he took a golf cart for an attempt to tolerate the heat better. It worked he made it one hole farther than walking before he had to quit. He quit on hole 5. He was very hot and his body did not seem to be sweating in the high humidity, so he quit and headed for the AC.

Meanwhile back at the campground the mail arrived with a decoration for Sierra. The new Texas registration sticker came in.



We got it installed on Sierra and now we can go back into Texas legally again. Of course that will still be a while but we are glad the to do list is a bit shorter now.

And there you have it, all the exciting things we did today in the effort of trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/7/18

Body Slam!

Adventure Location: Decatur Alabama
Adventure Date:6/7/2018
Click the picture to enlarge it.

The OFM slept very late this morning. In fact he slept clear through the night without interruption for ten hours. That means it was1000 hours before breakfast and cleanup was finished. It was hot outside with the usual no wind. A bike ride was suggested and all the Teams thought that was a good idea.

The OFM gathered the things together for a bike ride. Helmet, gloves, keys, water, turn on brain, and a few other nicnaks were gathered. Then we checked on the bike and it was still asleep under the picnic table.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


Well we woke it up and got it ready for riding. Air in the tires, seat uncovered and our other stuff loaded. Then it was time to get riding.

We rolled the bike out from under the table and got ready to ride. The OFM forgot he is the OLD Fat Man. He attempted a flying start by stepping on a pedal and swinging his other leg over the bike and riding off like he has done in the past.  Well it did not quite work out. In fact it did not even come close. As he leaned the bike over slightly to swing his leg over the gravel under the front tire let loose and a sliding we were going. He hit the brakes as the tire slid farther sideways and the OFM went the other way.

Now you may be wondering where Sierra the faithful truck was during all this. Sierra was standing close by to help if needed. And Sierra was right, help was needed.

As the OFM was going down Sierra closed in to give the OFM something to bump into instead of the hard ground down there. So the OFM basically slammed into Sierra’s driver door and slid down the door surface to the assist step and stopped.

The feverish activity came to a sudden stop. KABANG.  OK take a minute to evaluate the situation. Blood: one small gravel scratch on a leg. Bruises: Probably will show up later.
Bike Damage: None in sight.
Feeling of STUPIDITY: Strong in the OFM.

After a moments checking that the event was now dormant, the OFM started to get up and untangle the participants. It did take a few moments but actually went very well in spite of the fool doing the untangling.

OK time to try again. This time the OFM applied the bike brakes and did a no rolling straddle of the bike. Then the pedals were positioned for a start and the gravel was warned about what would happen if it misbehaved again. The OFM pressed on the pedal and the gravel behaved and away we went. We rode through the campground, around the soccer fields, past the ice rink, along the road around the golf course, along part of the path near the river, near the water park and past the tennis courts. About then the left knee decided it wanted to go home so we did.

When we got home to the Castle, the OFM was extra careful when dismounting to come to a complete stop in a straddle position before doing a dismount. One uncontrolled body slam a day is plenty. It was pretty warm but the ride was a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun. 


6/5/18

Good News for a Change

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Adventure Date: June 05, 2018
Click the picture to enlarge it.

The email came like lots of other junk or scam email. Then another later and another later for three days. So we researched it a bit as best as the Teams could figure out how to research.

You are supposed to print a coupon and take it to the pharmacist when you get your new drug. Well we printed it out since the OFM’s supply of eye drops was on its last drip. Away we went to the local Walmart to get the new one month supply and check out if this offer was a scam or what?

The clerk took a glance at the print out and said it is a real thing. And the coupon was good. In fact they fill a lot of prescriptions using it.

The coupon had a price that was supposed to be near the current real price. The clerk checked and the price was correct. Good grief the OFM thought that is a lot of difference. So we let them fill the order.

After our short 15 minute wait the time of reckoning was upon us. We sure hoped it was still a good coupon. IT WAS. Check this next picture to see the reason. Our price today was the one on the left. The one on the right was what we had been paying every month for the last year.



Now that is the kind of numbers that makes the SSA income feel a lot better. The coupon came from a company named GoodRx.  It seems that you put the drug into the search bar and GoodRx will be one of the results with prices for local druggists on that drug.

This is an totally new to us event. If it continues to work out, it will go a long way toward our efforts at trying to have tooooo much fun.

6/2/18

Playing Lumberjack

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Adventure Date: June 02, 2018
Click the picture to enlarge it.

When the OFM finally awakened it was well into the morning. He was not enthusiastic this morning for quite a while. After breakfast and some Internet time he decided the rain would hold off today and we could get some outdoor cleanup done.

A quick look around told us that the Castle needed to have the roof “unlogged” of the tree debris from all the wind storm effort. Then a quick look around the campsite told us that the ground needs some cleanup also. The yard blower was brought out to go to work. First was the roof. The ladder was brought to see if we should use it for access for the blower.



We gave that a try and it was a BAD idea. So the OFM went back to using the rear ladder of the Castle. He prefers to stay away from standing on the roof due to his “wobblyness”. Today he did  well and the blower was put to work. Sticks, limbs, leaves, pine needles etc went flying every which way. The blower has been a very worthwhile purchase for the Teams.

The OFM did notice the small gutters at the edge of the roof were getting clogged with tree debris. So he squatted next to the edge to try to clean the gutter with his finger. AIN’T NO WAY THAT WAS GOING TO WORK OUT WELL. So he got back up (that was a sight to see) without falling off the roof ( another miracle). The blower was set next to the edge of the roof so he could use the A style ladder. This is seen in the picture above.

He headed back up the A style ladder and stopped to try to clean the little gutter. His thought is we need a wire bent on the end to use while standing safely on the ground. Nothing came to mind immediately so the blower was retrieved and blowing all the leaves etc. away from the Castle was done. Then it was put it away time.

The ladder was folded and stored under the rear of the Castle. The electrical cord was coiled and tied. Then the storage bin was opened and there it was. The canopy hook for the canopy we got rid of years ago was waiting to go to work. So we put it to work.

We tried it out several ways and it worked sort of. 


Then we raised the loop end some and the hook end fit right into the gutter and the debris came on out easily. WOWOW are we happy about that.



Now we have an easy GROUND BASED no OFM climbing required way of keeping the gutters clean so water does not puddle back onto the roof. In short order the gutters were clean, the hook put away, the electric cord stored and the blower secured in a cabinet and the sweating OFM back inside in the AC cooling off. Now it was time for trying to have tooooo much fun again.

6/1/18

Rain Hibernation

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Adventure Date: June 01, 2018
Click the picture to enlarge it.

The OFM was less soggy during the monsoon seasons in Viet Nam. The steel hand rails at the office are sagging from being soaked. This is getting old and still more is in sight.

Adventures are hard to come by. A little walking gets done and even one picture got taken. Check out this cute spider web.



We will be glad when it dries out enough to drive on the street without leaving ruts. We are still alive and paying bills hoping for some sunshine. Eating an ice cream cone has been our closest attempt at trying to have tooooo much fun lately.