What ELSE have we been doing these last 8 weeks?

Well, glad you asked that!  OK, so I asked it for you...nonetheless...we've been BUSY!  As we walked the various trails, we'd occasionally come across cairns that kids or other hikers built and left for others.  We were tasked with dismantling the cairns when we found them, so that lizards and other creepy crawlies could have their homes at least returned to them, if not fully restored. Here's Driver, up at Cactus Rock Trail, at Warbler Vista returning neatly stacked rocks to their more natural, scattered state.

But, just around the corner, what did our eyes behold?  Holy smokes, someone must have spent HOURS arranging all these rocks, juuuuuust so, in perfectly concentric and even circles.  The entire structure was about 4 or 5 rocks high, and a good 10 feet across.  It must have taken over 2 hours to amass and arrange all these rocks. Oh well, c'est la vie. Or death, if you really want to get technical.  We killed the cairn...

But we thought the path here could use a little more definition, so we took the biggest, flattest rocks and lined the pathway with 'em.  You'll note, we left plenty for the lizards and other creepy crawlies...

This little cactus was nearby...the very littlest one was only about the size of a dime.  I really did want to take him home, but...yeah....we live in an RV and we already have a houseplant, what would we do with another one? Besides, I'm pretty sure since this is Federal land, it would/could be considered a felony to remove plant material.  Especially if it turned out to be a rare type of cactus.  So, in the end, we took his photo (I'm sure he gave consent, even tho I cannot produce a signed release form) and simply moved on.  

Back on the homefront, I was able to get a little bit of sewing done.  This is an applique project that I have had in a bag for several years now.  About 12, if I stop to really count them up.  The fabrics were purchased on my very first shop hop, which took place in Sarasota, waaaaay back when I first started my quilting journey.  Gail had talked me into buying the pattern and fabrics, but I always felt it was way out of my skill set to complete.  As I recall, I knew we'd have some downtime eventually, so I bagged everything up and stuck it all under by bathroom sink.  Well, I was looking for a specific cleaner one day, and I ran across the bagged fabric.  Since I wasn't doing masks anymore, I thought it was high time to get started on this puppy.  Over the course of about 3 days, it all came together, and it's ready to be quilted here.

Here we are at the end of June, and we ventured out to the grocery store.  We were pleasantly surprised to see this posted prominently at the entrance:

And, have you heard about the Saharan Dust Storm? We had never ever heard of it before, but, apparently, it's a normal thing, at least around these parts.  We didn't really know what to expect, but when it arrived, we knew it. It was super hazy and our eyes burned after just a few minutes outside.  The hillside we could so plainly see last week is hardly visible through the haze today.

Here's the newscaster, showing downtown Austin.  Usually we can see all the buildings plain as day, but tonight, it was only clear as mud.

The next morning, Cixto, the head maintenance dude warned us about a creepy crawly that was accidentally run over on our driveway.  This is what a very large, very dead coral snake looks like.  Coral snakes are rather reclusive, but they do come out in search of water and food during excessively dry periods.  They usually only bite when handled or stepped on, but, ya know, I'm really not crazy about taking that chance, and, sorry, not sorry, I won't be missing this little guy.  (Little, he was NOT.  He was about 2 feet long, which, for a coral snake, is pretty danged long!)

Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow.  I think this is the first venomous snake I've ever seen whose head is not triangular in shape, nor could we tell if his pupil slits were vertical (venomous) or not (friendly).  Heck, we couldn't even see his beady little eyes! Yeah, sorry dude, not sorry.  RIP

We went out to another part of the Refuge, one that is not open to the public.  There's an old ranch house there, with 2 more campsites in the front yard, that we were tasked with cleaning up.  We were to trim trees, weed whack the flower bed and cut the grass all around.  You know, all the things Driver gave up when we sold the house in Crystal River.  At one of the campsites, we found another volunteer's rock collection.  There were some really pretty ones, and I was tempted...but, like the cactus, we just took a photo and moved on.  There's only but so much room in that camper, and I'd really rather have food and fabric.  Or maybe fabric and food, yeah, that's probably more accurate. 

And speaking of food, look what WE got gifted with!  Homegrown 'maters, with a side of fresh basil.  YUUUUUMMMY!

Good thing we ate well last night, and yes, those tomatoes were the star of the meal.  We waited till it got good and hot, then we headed out to Warbler Vista, to help Cixto put in the bumpers for the new parking lot at Quarry Canyon trailhead.  You can't really tell from the photo, but, just behind Driver's left foot is a 2 foot drop-off.  And, from what we heard, someone had already driven off the "cliff."  Or maybe the Refuge Manager was afraid someone would drive off the cliff.  I don't really know for sure, but I know we were there to put those bumpers in.  Neatly, and evenly spaced.  There were 15 bumpers, all told, but only room enough for 12, so we put the other 3 as parallel spaces, on the other side of the lot. Sure made me wish I understood geometry better.  As it was, we relied on the string, the measuring tapes, OCD and my eagle-eye.

Here are the masterminds, debating on whether or not the bumper is in line with the other two.

Every now and then, I volunteer to finish up a quilt.  Sometimes, it's just a collection of blocks, sometimes, it's a whole top that's been quilted and just needs binding, sometimes it's a top that needs batting, backing AND binding.  This was one of those. It is comprised of fishing-related fabrics, with a few Norman Rockwell scenes thrown in.  I had originally planned to donate it to Friends of Balcones Canyonlands, for them to auction off at a fund-raiser if we ever return to normal, pre-COVID processes.  However, it appears to have been made with fabric that is, shall we say, less than expensive?  There were a few places where the sewist kinda skimped on the seam allowances, and the fabric is fraying a bit.  And the only way to repair it is with fusible, but there's just no fabric to turn under, sooooo.....I don't think it's going to be good enough to auction off.  I know if *I* were to win a quilt at a raffle, I would expect it to be in perfect condition, and not already falling apart.

So, I'll fix the bad spots, and one by one, I'll quilt the blocks with this splashy-looking design.  I think it looks like the water splash made by a fish and it suits the fabric perfectly.

And, back out on the Refuge, the work never ends.  The couple that was here prior to us did nothing for the entire time they were here, because they got here just as the Refuge closed to the public.  Personally, I don't see HOW they could sit and do nothing - I can look around and see at least 16 projects that need doing, in every direction!  All I can figure is they were not the outdoorsy type, nor were they self-motivated.  Or maybe they were counting on doing office work only, and since the office was closed, there was no work for them.  I dunno.  Doesn't really matter, either.  Just so long as WE were busy, we were happy.  Here's Driver, cleaning up the Handicapped path at Doeskin Ranch.

Didn't he do a good job?

We traveled Cow Creek Road again on the way back to the camper.  Check out the babies head-butting in the back.  They were sooo cute!

Daddy kept a close eye on his harem.  He was a monster.

And the next day, we got to pack up a couple of shelving units and move 'em.

This is the Arts & Crafts section...just about rivals MY collection, doesn't it!  LOL  Yeah...I am NOT looking forward to moving our storage unit contents again, but I AM looking forward to accessing it!

And, this time, along Cow Creek Road, they were just walking down the shoulder of the road.  Well, it would be the shoulder if there had been room to have a shoulder...I mean, I rolled down my window, and SHE.WAS.RIGHT.THERE!!  I could have reached out and touched the end of her horn, but I didn't.  Remember, Daddy was somewhere nearby, even if I couldn't see him, and I didn't really relish the idea of explaining a new dent in the company truck.

That night we watched the weather forecast....y'all know I like it hot, but geeze, this is just a wee bit excessive.  Break out the icees!

And what ELSE did we do?  Well, at Doeskin Ranch, there's a trail that's a bit overgrown.  A long time ago, a Boy Scout Eagle candidate created and installed numbered posts, correlating with points of interest along Creek Trail.  I don't know if anyone has ever trimmed the foliage back from the posts before, but we decided the post numbers needed painting and the foliage needed trimmed.  So that's what we did, by gum.  Yeah, it was hot this day too.  

See, this is the same post.  Doesn't it look much better now?

Annnnnd, the next day, which I think may have actually been the next week, we're back at the new parking lot up at Quarry Canyon trailhead.  Talk about figuring.  Wow, this one was quite the challenge.  First, there are specific ADA regulations governing this sort of space, and they had to be in compliance or we might just as well not have a handicapped space.  But, regulations said we HAVE to supply at least 1 handicapped space, soooo....break out the protractor and string lines again.  

Boy, that looks good.  Cixto was sure proud.

All of our shadow selves were proud and happy to call it done (almost).  But wait.....look at the blue stripe, just over Cixto's hat....Look really close!  See that place the blue paint is missing??  What the heck???

Well, here's the thing.  And, yes, you can imagine our disappointment when we discovered it.  This parking lot is GRAVEL.  And even though it was sealed, this paint laid just on top of the gravel.  And the least little scuff with your toe (or the end of the measuring tape, in the case of that blue line) dislodged the gravel enough to make the lines disappear.  Yup.  For reals buddy, for reals.  Oh.My.Gawd.  All that work.  Ugh.  Now what?  Well, let's think about this a minute.  There are firemen onsite....firemen have firehoses....So, Ben, the purveyor of those yummy tomatoes came up with the bright idea of nailing lengths of firehose into the gravel, then painting the hoses.  I'll be a son of a gun.  Genius!  So Cixto spent another day with us, installing the hoses and nailing them through packed gravel and rock.  It was hard, yes, and yes, it was HOT. But, after nailing and painting, boy, oh boy, did it look good. 

That's some even striping, even on a curve!

So, check out our campsite improvements.  In the front there, you'll see Driver's tomato plants - they're doing so very well.  Remember, they only cost 10 cents a piece!  And Ben gifted us with a little jalapeno pepper that got planted in the middle section; it's doing great too, just loaded with little flowers and little bitty jalapenos!  And, what exactly is that bright blue thing behind the camper?  Well, you've heard me mention it's hot, right?  Just how hot is it?  It's hot enough that we talked Amazon into bringing us a little kiddie pool.  Oh yeah, baby....  Yes, we have to put a few gallons of new water in every day, just to cool it off a bit, otherwise, it's scalding hot. But, whooooweeee, it is like sitting in a hot tub, very relaxing and refreshing after a hard, hot day at work.  Definitely worth the investment.

And, speaking of improvements....Cixto noticed the road leading to our campsite was eroded and almost impassible.  So he brought some bedrock and gravel up the road and started rebuilding it.  Just for us!

I tried to get him to let me drive, but, nooooo...he wasn't playing that game..

So, ya know I'm writing this post from Whitney, TX tonight, after a short day on the road.  We are on the way to PA, to clear out, and hopefully, sell my dad's house.  We have Craigslisted the darkroom equipment and stained glass supplies, and we have interested parties for both lots.  We also have 3 potential buyers for the house, and one appraisal that may or may not be done (long story, not worth telling).  But, I did want to catch you up on what we've been doing over these last few weeks.  Still lots more to come, so stay tuned!  And, YES, it stayed HOT!

Seeing the Sights at LaMardiGras Volunteer Fire Dept Fundraiser

And, POOF!  Just as quick as she disappeared, she has magically reappeared in your Inbox!  Sorry for the long absence, but sometimes we're out having so much fun, I can't get it all documented in a timely manner.  Unlike SOME of my good friends, who are sooo much more reliable, and manage to blog every.single.day!  Not naming any names, mind you, but Barbara, you and your cats entertain me daily with your travels, stitching and other antics and adventures.  Soooo, where did WE go for Valentine's Day?  Well, every day is Valentine's at our "house," so it was really "just another day" in Paradise, but we managed to reserve some time for another lovely dinner at Charlotte Plummer's, one of our very favorite seafood sellers.  We called for reservations early in the morning, but we were told they don't accept reservations.  Whaaa?  On Valentine's Day??  Well, we went anyway, expecting a bit of a wait.  We were not disappointed.  We were told the wait would be around 25 minutes, which we considered fair, considering how long the line was already, and how good the food was.  While waiting, we were treated to.....well, heck, I don't even have words....THIS:

Seriously.  What would YOU have written?  Not passing judgment, just sayin, that footwear was on a gent.  I tried to be inconspicuous as I snapped that photo.  I showed it to the Driver, and had to laugh when his jaw literally dropped and his eyes literally popped.  Never saw footwear like that before.  Nor since.  Shown below is the waiting "room," aka, unused bar area.  We've never, ever seen people in line here before.  Oh well, our fault for not getting there earlier, I suppose.  Although, the hostess did mention that it had been that way all day.  As always, though, dinner was fantastic, and I couldn't ask for better company.

So, what was LaMardiGras all about?  Well, we started with a parade.  Have I mentioned, we are NOT always early risers.  Puppy gets up about 7 am, gets walked (thanks, Honey!), then we laze around and often have a leisurely breakfast, long hot showers (thank you Newmar!), and by 10 or 11 or so, we walk the pup again and are ready to start the activities of the day.  Well, not THIS day.  Lamar is the town north of Copano Bay, which is north of Fulton, which is north of Rockport, which is where we are currently parked.  Lamar's population in 2010 was 636, and, personally, I don't think it's any more or less than that today.  We looked at houses to buy there, way back in 2010, but we didn't think there was much "town" and ya know - there still isn't!  

Wikipedia has this to say about the town:

Lamar was founded in 1839 at Lookout Point, on the channel entrance to Copano Bay. President Lamar agreed to relocate the custom house here, and the town thrived as a port and the site of a salt works. This prosperity ended abruptly on February 11, 1864, when the town was bombarded and practically obliterated by the Union Navy.

For most of the 20th century the population was less than 200, but by the 2010 census it was over 600. The restored cemetery is a Texas historical landmark. Goose Island State Park is within the CDP.

But, there is a volunteer fire department, and for about 18 years now, they have been staging LaMardi Gras as a fundraiser.  The event kicks off Saturday morning with a parade.  And, if you want a good seat, you have to stake out your space EARLY Saturday morning.  The parade lineup starts at 8, thankfully, we weren't IN the parade, so we could go about 10.  Plenty early to find a good spot.  Here we are, all lined up and ready for the first float to come by and throw us some beads.

Not sure what Larry was looking for (or at), but he was sure studying hard.

It seemed like forever, but, finally, the first group came along.  It was the Harleys, making lots of noise and throwing lots of beads.

Then came a couple of fire trucks.  Each one trying to outdo the others with their sirens.  I think there are a total of 3 fire companies in the area, and each one was well represented.  I hope no one's fire got out of hand, 'cuz we had all the guys in the parade.  We had Bailey with us, too, and she was NOT a fan of the sirens.

In fact, she was SUCH a non-fan of the sirens, I hardly got any decent pictures, and most of the video I shot was of the street, my feet or the phone tumbling to the ground.  There was a pirate ship at one point, and they were having lots of fun shooting off their cannon.  By the time they got to us, and shot the cannon off RIGHT.IN.FRONT.OF.US, poor Bailey was a nervous wreck.  She had managed to get her front leg out of the harness, and up into the NECK of the harness, so, of course, that added to her anxiety.  So, all that's to say, here are some floats; I have NO idea who they are or who they represent, sorry.  These are "chicks gone wild."

The Queen of Hearts

A tiny tot with beads to spare.

John Deere was well represented.

There was a whole group of Spyders.

A swamp buggy from Lamar Fire Department.  This is coastal country, winter home of the whooping crane, and as such, there are acres and acres of wetlands.  You kinda need a vehicle that can go places.

Somehow, Don got a margarita from the lady parked net to us and since he was the driver, he gave it to Lynn to finish off.  She pronounced it "just fine." 

Texas' most famous grocer, H. E. Butts was well represented too.  They had a giant-sized, self-powered grocery cart carrying employees down the road.  Beats walking, eh?

Afterwards, Larry and Sharon took us to the food tent.  They had been raving about the brisket tacos all morning, so we decided we should give 'em a try.  But then we found they were loaded with cheese, so that was a hard pass from me.  I opted for the ribs instead, and Driver had a brisket sandwich.  Sharon stuck with her choice of brisket tacos, and Larry went with ribs and a brewski in a souvenir mug.

Some people purchased special headgear for the celebration...

and then there was this guy, serving as a reminder of why we were all there.

Here's a breakdown of the cost to equip a firefighter.  Oh.my.gosh.  I had no idea it was so expensive.  This display really opened my eyes!  Remember, you can click on any photo to enlarge it (and make it readable!)

So, the parade was Saturday, and that Tuesday, we celebrated again at the local club's square dance.  It's not often they get to celebrate right on Fat Tuesday, but this year, it worked out.  We took all the beads we had collected from the parade and wore some and donated the rest to the club.  I guess I should have taken a picture of the heaping pile, but, lemme just say, we could easily have provided enough beads for a float of our own next year, thanks to the combined efforts of Lynn and Sharon.  (I had my hands full, literally, of squirmy puppy, so I hardly collected any beads, and absolutely NO candy of my own.)  Here we are at the dance hall, in all our finery.  Yup, dances here are casual, so no need to dress up in crinolines and lace!

Stay tuned for further adventures!  Grab a hamburger, there's lots to ketchup on!  ROF!!