Last week-end we took our second camping trip of the year. This time it was supposed to be family only, and it was, though we did have an 'extra' to come along. A girl of 17, K is my mother's spouse's daughter, and had never been camping. She also happens to be a very good friend of both my elder girls. Of course I had no issue with having her along. She's family, after all, and it would be fun! My mother came out, bringing K along with her and visited with D. A2 opted to stay home with my mother, rather than camp. She insisted regardless of how often I asked and never swayed in her choice. So we met them on the route to the campground and traded kids, then trucked on along to the camp.
We set everything up, you would have thought K was experienced the way she pitched right in with whatever needed to be done. Our usual first-night dinner fare of roasted weiners over the fire was prepared and we bedded down for the night. About halfway through the night, the rains began. On the tent roof the sound was amplified and woke me, which was a good thing since I had just enough time to move our things to where they wouldn't get wet. Unfortunately it rained and/or sprinkled throughout Saturday, it saturated the tent walls and dripped through in some places, but for the most part our things were dry. There was some skepticism by the kids though as I went to start a fire on Saturday night, but doubt not! I have long since mastered the fine art of building a fire in the rain and we did enjoy marshmallows on that stormy night.
J took the opportunity to fine-tune a summer project for her advanced English class. A video she needed to create based on a specific scene from To Kill a Mockingbird, which she had read over the summer. She wrote out a script and K and A1 had to memorize lines, since they were the primary characters in the scene (Gem & Scout). I operated the camera and was very briefly in one moment. J directed and played a character that attacks the 'kids' and falls on a knife when the kids' father, Atticus (me), pulls him off. It was very dark by the time we commenced videoing and I wound up using an electric spotlight/lantern I happened to have as well as operating the camera. It turned out very well! The venue couldn't have been more perfect, pitch black everywhere but where I had the light, the summer insects singing their nightly chorus. There were a few tiny pinpoints of light from the other (distant) campers, which added to the story line. J edited the final video and it turned out fantastic! The actors perhaps could have used a little more prep time, but considering everything it really came out well.
On Sunday our group split. I took A1 & Bubba to the lake to swim and J & K went hiking. Then we met my mother again and switched K for A2 and they headed home. We, on the other hand, stayed for another night's camping. Thankfully, the sun came out on Sunday and dried most everything out, so packing up Monday morning was quite easy. A short nap Monday afternoon and I was ready for work that night.
This was our longest single camping trip to date, and it was a great time! I'm hoping for one more trip this season before we pack everything away for the winter.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Camping
Each year I try to take the kids camping in the summer. Usually we manage one trip per year. I know that's not much, and I'm trying to increase it this year. Seems as though our summer week-ends fill up so quickly! Generally the whole summer is fully booked by mid-June. I took the kids for the first camping trip this past week-end. I allowed each of the older girls to invite one friend (J's first choice couldn't go, but her second did, A1's friend's mother said she couldn't go because she was afraid the girl would be eaten by bears... insert eye rolling facial expression here)). So we packed everyone and everything in the van, retrieved the extra girl and headed to our all-time favorite campground. We left on Friday and returned on Sunday.
The best part of camping is that there are no electronics permitted. And because we camp in a National forest, there is no cell service. Once we are there, the only real rule I have is that there is no leaving. So for the few days we are camping, the kids are just kids! No phones, no iPods, no computers. We take board games and cards, we visit with fellow campers, we build fires and talk around them, toasting marshmallows and telling stories. We use a tent, we play flashlight wars, I make all our meals from scratch on a camp stove (an adventure in itself!), everyone takes turns with chores, we hike the mountain trails, we swim in the nearby lake, and we flat-out just have good old-fashioned fun.
I've been doing this every year for almost 10 years, and I love it! The first year we went, the girls were quite small, 5 or 6 maybe. I got us a sleeping bag (the girls already had little ones) and a 6-man tent. We took food like Poptarts and hot dogs and marshmallows. I took a couple flashlights and everyone a change of clothes. I think that was about it. Since then we've upgraded our tent to a 15-man tent with 3 rooms, 2 air mattresses and good sleeping bags for all. a medium rug for the middle of the tent and a mat for the tent door helps cut down on dirt coming inside the tent. A canopy to put over the picnic table and a cloth tablecover, canvas chairs for around the fire. A propane campstove and a tote-box of cooking equiment, a good clothesline plus pins for drying wet towels and suits. A large cooler plus 2 smaller ones. Various buckets and wash basins. Also flame lanterns and flashlights and a first-aid kit and a myriad of other little things that make camping out easier.
There is one thing that I will not leave home without, that is pre-cut wood and lighter-logs, usually the 3-hour kind. Our first camping trip we went without any fire and ate cold food. I couldn't get a fire started with newspaper and sticks. Then I got some of those 50-cent firestarter things and STILL couldn't get the wood to ignite! When I finally switched to the 3-hour logs it literally eliminated the stress of fire-making. Simply put the log in the firepit, light it, then add larger wood across the top of it. These days we purposely save smaller wood for just that purpose. Though this last time I did see several trees had been carried to a communal place for people to cut and use, so I'll take my ax and saw with me instead of loading up with our own wood. We'll still take some of ours, but since we'll be there longer next time, I figure it would be a good idea to use some that's already there too.
The best part of camping is that there are no electronics permitted. And because we camp in a National forest, there is no cell service. Once we are there, the only real rule I have is that there is no leaving. So for the few days we are camping, the kids are just kids! No phones, no iPods, no computers. We take board games and cards, we visit with fellow campers, we build fires and talk around them, toasting marshmallows and telling stories. We use a tent, we play flashlight wars, I make all our meals from scratch on a camp stove (an adventure in itself!), everyone takes turns with chores, we hike the mountain trails, we swim in the nearby lake, and we flat-out just have good old-fashioned fun.
I've been doing this every year for almost 10 years, and I love it! The first year we went, the girls were quite small, 5 or 6 maybe. I got us a sleeping bag (the girls already had little ones) and a 6-man tent. We took food like Poptarts and hot dogs and marshmallows. I took a couple flashlights and everyone a change of clothes. I think that was about it. Since then we've upgraded our tent to a 15-man tent with 3 rooms, 2 air mattresses and good sleeping bags for all. a medium rug for the middle of the tent and a mat for the tent door helps cut down on dirt coming inside the tent. A canopy to put over the picnic table and a cloth tablecover, canvas chairs for around the fire. A propane campstove and a tote-box of cooking equiment, a good clothesline plus pins for drying wet towels and suits. A large cooler plus 2 smaller ones. Various buckets and wash basins. Also flame lanterns and flashlights and a first-aid kit and a myriad of other little things that make camping out easier.
There is one thing that I will not leave home without, that is pre-cut wood and lighter-logs, usually the 3-hour kind. Our first camping trip we went without any fire and ate cold food. I couldn't get a fire started with newspaper and sticks. Then I got some of those 50-cent firestarter things and STILL couldn't get the wood to ignite! When I finally switched to the 3-hour logs it literally eliminated the stress of fire-making. Simply put the log in the firepit, light it, then add larger wood across the top of it. These days we purposely save smaller wood for just that purpose. Though this last time I did see several trees had been carried to a communal place for people to cut and use, so I'll take my ax and saw with me instead of loading up with our own wood. We'll still take some of ours, but since we'll be there longer next time, I figure it would be a good idea to use some that's already there too.
Monday, July 23, 2012
The Beehive
Last year, in late spring, I built and installed a beehive in front of the barn. I watched and worried over them through the fall and winter, they seemed to be barely hanging on. Lucky it was a warm winter, I did very little in the way of disturbance. When they began to stir in larger numbers in the spring, I added the 2nd deep hive body, then finished the honey super and put it beside, thinking I wouldn't need it anytime soon.
Then 2 days ago I cracked open the hive and added a queen excluder and put on the honey super. For those that don't know, the queen bee and drones are larger than the workers. The excluder keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey super, that honey is excess and is meant for human collection. The bees are thriving, there is no reason not to give them that super, and I may actually need one or two more. I plan to add another hive, perhaps next year, but that's a different story.
Before I opened the hive, I had to prepare myself. I put on jeans and a sweatshirt over my T, tucked them both in to keep out any of the nosy worker bees. Then I retriever my hat & veil, gloves, hive tool, and smoker/fuel/lighter. I lit the smoker so it could be establishing while I geared up. When I picked up my hat/veil, I noticed a spider web inside... that's not a good sign. So I got the bee brush, separated the hat and veil, and brushed them down. The last thing I needed was to entrap a spider inside the veil, where I couldn't get to it! After brushing it down I put it on and tied it down, as usual. Then I picked up a glove and started to put it on, as soon as I had my hand in the glove part a very large, black spider ran up my arm to the veil and tried to get inside! The spider had to be the side of a nickel, including legs. I managed to brush it off, I think, and then I ripped off the glove and veil and searched both more carefully, squishing the fingers on the gloves carefully before putting each of them on my hands.
I'm not arachnophobic, but I was definitely startled! When I was finished, I put my gear in the shed instead of the barn. I'd rather not have anymore visitors and currently spiders have no need to be in the shed.
Then 2 days ago I cracked open the hive and added a queen excluder and put on the honey super. For those that don't know, the queen bee and drones are larger than the workers. The excluder keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey super, that honey is excess and is meant for human collection. The bees are thriving, there is no reason not to give them that super, and I may actually need one or two more. I plan to add another hive, perhaps next year, but that's a different story.
Before I opened the hive, I had to prepare myself. I put on jeans and a sweatshirt over my T, tucked them both in to keep out any of the nosy worker bees. Then I retriever my hat & veil, gloves, hive tool, and smoker/fuel/lighter. I lit the smoker so it could be establishing while I geared up. When I picked up my hat/veil, I noticed a spider web inside... that's not a good sign. So I got the bee brush, separated the hat and veil, and brushed them down. The last thing I needed was to entrap a spider inside the veil, where I couldn't get to it! After brushing it down I put it on and tied it down, as usual. Then I picked up a glove and started to put it on, as soon as I had my hand in the glove part a very large, black spider ran up my arm to the veil and tried to get inside! The spider had to be the side of a nickel, including legs. I managed to brush it off, I think, and then I ripped off the glove and veil and searched both more carefully, squishing the fingers on the gloves carefully before putting each of them on my hands.
I'm not arachnophobic, but I was definitely startled! When I was finished, I put my gear in the shed instead of the barn. I'd rather not have anymore visitors and currently spiders have no need to be in the shed.
The girls on a cool day
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Wind Storm
It happened on June 29, a Friday. It was short, but very damaging. The Grandaddy Wind Storm. Nothing like it had been seen in this valley in any living person's memory. The power company said it was twice as damaging as any storm they had ever seen!
I went to work, like any other day. The heat had been unbearable all day, around 106* or more with the heat index and even triple digits without it. The storm clouds drew in around 9pm, just in time for my midday break. I went out to my car to eat and relax as per usual, until I saw the heavy clouds and flashing lightning. I knew a storm was coming, the wind began to pick up a little at that point. I grabbed my cell and tried to call J to bring in my young chicks from the storm, but couldn't get through. I tried D & A1, who answered only to inform me they weren't at home, but had gone out to find a birthday gift for D's father. I said okay, hung up and tried J again. Then sent her a text. At this point, not 5 more minutes, the wind was really howling out of control. No rain yet though, but strange light flashes all over the sky. Like extreme heat lightning. At this point I stepped out of my car to assess the wind strength, then called A again and talked to D. Asked them to please get their hind ends home and out of the storm.
The wind began to howl intensely and a slight roaring could be heard easily. I looked back at the building to discover all the lights were out. Looking around I realized they were gone all around the area. The outside lights had gone out shortly after I went out, but I really hadn't paid it much mind. At this point I noticed one of the leads in her car near the door. The roaring was increasing in volume, so I asked her if her key (to let us in the building) would work without power. She left her car and joined me inside the building. The wind storm continued to rage outside while the small group of us, about 3 dozen or so, sat just inside with cell phones and iPhones trying to get any news. Without power, we all knew there would likely be no more work done that night, but the company also couldn't send anyone out into the storm either. So we were stuck until a decision was reached. The wind continued howl and roar it's way through the valley. After about an hour, it wound itself down. Not a single drop of rain fell that night, but it didn't need to. They released us shortly after that, we each left for home around 10:15pm.
Immediately after leaving the lot I realized the power outage was much farther reaching that at first presumed. The traffic lights and most of the power from the building to my home street were dark. There were cars all over the road though, I hadn't been expecting that. I turned up the road leading to our neighborhood, but was stalled when I came upon a bright yellow backhoe in the middle of the road. A gigantic tree (a Maple, at least 2 feet in diameter) had been uprooted and fell right across the road. The power lines were all over the place, entangled in the trunk and branches. I left my car and walked around to see how bad the other side of the road was. Another tree, or broken branches had come down on the other side, blocking the secondary turn on my usual route. Lines were broken and dangling a mere 2 feet off the ground.
I returned to my car then and turned around to go a different route, only to find that way blocked by a police car, more branches, more downed lines. Backed up and went another way, got almost to my block when another downed tree blocked the road. Again, more lines down. Back in the car and snaked my way around and up the alley. That way was clear and I finally made it to the house... where I had to park in the grass, because a huge branch had broken off the neighbor's (across the street) Maple and come down over the street and in our front yard. In the process of coming down, it ripped down (and nearly out) our neighbor's (next door) power lines. I went inside and checked on the kids. Everyone was okay, helped them light the hurricane lamps. J had been watching the 2 youngest and when the storm hit, she grabbed them, a light, and a blanket and herded them into the basement. She did manage to get the chicks in before the storm hit as well. The backhoe and a pair of guys with chainsaws showed up around 2am to clear the brush from the road.
The next day the city managed to get our power back up by midmorning... they tied the neighbor's line up to our tree to get it off the ground. That was it until Monday. The rest of the downed lines were repaired throughout the week. The brush and downed trees are still being cleaned up. There is damage everywhere you look. The weather folk claim there were no actual tornadoes, but not everyone believes it. That branch that came down on our lawn broke, then went up and over 3 power lines before it fell. The 'branch' was nearly a foot in diameter. It would have taken a powerful updraft to have accomplished that feat.
Still, I'm grateful no one on our street was hurt, no serious damage that insurance won't cover, and the power was returned quickly. In the back yard, only a few branches came down from the Black Walnut, and the roof on the pigeons blew off. The winds we had were hurricane force, extremely rare in this region.
I went to work, like any other day. The heat had been unbearable all day, around 106* or more with the heat index and even triple digits without it. The storm clouds drew in around 9pm, just in time for my midday break. I went out to my car to eat and relax as per usual, until I saw the heavy clouds and flashing lightning. I knew a storm was coming, the wind began to pick up a little at that point. I grabbed my cell and tried to call J to bring in my young chicks from the storm, but couldn't get through. I tried D & A1, who answered only to inform me they weren't at home, but had gone out to find a birthday gift for D's father. I said okay, hung up and tried J again. Then sent her a text. At this point, not 5 more minutes, the wind was really howling out of control. No rain yet though, but strange light flashes all over the sky. Like extreme heat lightning. At this point I stepped out of my car to assess the wind strength, then called A again and talked to D. Asked them to please get their hind ends home and out of the storm.
The wind began to howl intensely and a slight roaring could be heard easily. I looked back at the building to discover all the lights were out. Looking around I realized they were gone all around the area. The outside lights had gone out shortly after I went out, but I really hadn't paid it much mind. At this point I noticed one of the leads in her car near the door. The roaring was increasing in volume, so I asked her if her key (to let us in the building) would work without power. She left her car and joined me inside the building. The wind storm continued to rage outside while the small group of us, about 3 dozen or so, sat just inside with cell phones and iPhones trying to get any news. Without power, we all knew there would likely be no more work done that night, but the company also couldn't send anyone out into the storm either. So we were stuck until a decision was reached. The wind continued howl and roar it's way through the valley. After about an hour, it wound itself down. Not a single drop of rain fell that night, but it didn't need to. They released us shortly after that, we each left for home around 10:15pm.
Immediately after leaving the lot I realized the power outage was much farther reaching that at first presumed. The traffic lights and most of the power from the building to my home street were dark. There were cars all over the road though, I hadn't been expecting that. I turned up the road leading to our neighborhood, but was stalled when I came upon a bright yellow backhoe in the middle of the road. A gigantic tree (a Maple, at least 2 feet in diameter) had been uprooted and fell right across the road. The power lines were all over the place, entangled in the trunk and branches. I left my car and walked around to see how bad the other side of the road was. Another tree, or broken branches had come down on the other side, blocking the secondary turn on my usual route. Lines were broken and dangling a mere 2 feet off the ground.
I returned to my car then and turned around to go a different route, only to find that way blocked by a police car, more branches, more downed lines. Backed up and went another way, got almost to my block when another downed tree blocked the road. Again, more lines down. Back in the car and snaked my way around and up the alley. That way was clear and I finally made it to the house... where I had to park in the grass, because a huge branch had broken off the neighbor's (across the street) Maple and come down over the street and in our front yard. In the process of coming down, it ripped down (and nearly out) our neighbor's (next door) power lines. I went inside and checked on the kids. Everyone was okay, helped them light the hurricane lamps. J had been watching the 2 youngest and when the storm hit, she grabbed them, a light, and a blanket and herded them into the basement. She did manage to get the chicks in before the storm hit as well. The backhoe and a pair of guys with chainsaws showed up around 2am to clear the brush from the road.
The next day the city managed to get our power back up by midmorning... they tied the neighbor's line up to our tree to get it off the ground. That was it until Monday. The rest of the downed lines were repaired throughout the week. The brush and downed trees are still being cleaned up. There is damage everywhere you look. The weather folk claim there were no actual tornadoes, but not everyone believes it. That branch that came down on our lawn broke, then went up and over 3 power lines before it fell. The 'branch' was nearly a foot in diameter. It would have taken a powerful updraft to have accomplished that feat.
Still, I'm grateful no one on our street was hurt, no serious damage that insurance won't cover, and the power was returned quickly. In the back yard, only a few branches came down from the Black Walnut, and the roof on the pigeons blew off. The winds we had were hurricane force, extremely rare in this region.
Friday, July 6, 2012
My Wheel
She came to me like this:
and then I saw that she was actually more like this (with a few more pieces):
And after several months of work and effort on my part, I turned her into this:
Hello Victoria Rose!!
Then I spun this on her:
And then this:
Love my wheel!!!
and then I saw that she was actually more like this (with a few more pieces):
And after several months of work and effort on my part, I turned her into this:
Hello Victoria Rose!!
Then I spun this on her:
And then this:
Love my wheel!!!
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