December 15, 2000
Yikes! 10 more days to Christmas! Frightening in that nothing has changed in our routine, other than me making our cards this year (after Barb wrote the letter) and Barb wrapping and shipping the gifts she's picked up all year long. With no family nearby or even friends we've made "traditions" with, it truly is rather strange.
I hardly know where to begin to get all caught up, so will just start with some pictures and we'll see where it goes from there. But before I do that, I'd like to introduce you to my oldest son, Doug. I'll put his website on my links page, but in the meantime check out www.dougjenkinscustomhotrods.com..
On the left we have another "Kodak Moment" sunset, but this time Barb's there in her shorts and tank top, and the Christmas tree on somebody's dock is in the background. What made this picture fun to take was the fact that we were on our way home from someplace and when Barb saw the sunset on the very calm lake, she asked me to go back to take a picture. Well, I was a grouch about it because I didn't want to stop (was looking forward to visiting the bathroom at our next stop) and besides, one sunset looks just like another one. Yes, they're all fantastic, and yes I love them, and yes, they're all "different", but one picture of a sunset is enough, for crying out loud! And then there's this "tree" in lights, and a restroom at the little park to boot. Hrumpf. And while we were goofing off, we might as well stop at the Florida Hospital to see what all the publicity is about with their lights. A local church had their band playing carols, and the lights were nice, so the stop was a good one.
Well, yes. As a matter of fact that IS a rendition of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a trailer of toys being driven by St. Nick. But at least there was some credit given to the reason we have Christmas in the first place, in the picture on the right.
And there's (on the left) even a Nativity scene in lights. I particularly appreciate seeing the Nativity displayed in public places. On the right Barb caught me getting ready to try a pond that has a reputation for good tasting catfish.
AHA! I hope my good friend Tom Olson in Anchorage appreciates this picture on the left. He'd been complaining about me wimping out and not getting any close-up pictures of alligators. Well, this "close-up" nearly cost me a $7.50 fishing lure!! That little dot in the picture in front of the 'gator is my lure that is acting like a wounded or sick fish. It's supposed to fool a big bass into taking a bite. On three different occasions this smallish (about 6' - 8') 'gator took a shine to it, and I had to crank quickly to keep my lure. The picnic table in the picture on the right is where Barb was sitting when she shot the 'gator as I was standing on the pier fishing. Isn't that a gorgeous setting? Even if the fish weren't biting, it was fun to be there, and kind of exciting to have the 'gator attack my lure.
OK. On the left, I want to know where the alligators DO clean their fish if it's not at the pond? On the right I caught Barb doing "extra duties as assigned" just before the fire ants got to her. We'd just been pulled off the gate duty (seniority finally caught up with us) and we're supposed to be getting ready to "help" the big-wig dugout canoe people preserve this specimen that was found in the creek that drains the lake we love to fish and ride around on. But in the mean time, the weeds needed cleaning out from this little bridge that leads from where the canoe is to the main recreation office. And only one ant bit her, and a quick shot of WD-40 instantly took the sting out and no blisters resulted.
And on the left we have the office. It's back porch (which we're facing) is where the harvested animals are brought for weighing, blood-testing (rabies and some kind of disease that gets cows sick that starts with a "bucol...." kind of sound that I don't remember) and measuring before the hunter can leave the base. And on the right is yours truly resting his left shoulder just like the Doc told him to. Those trash cans behind me are full of water and pieces of the dugout are soaking in them. Next to them is some fiberglass insulation that has been placed over the canoe and soaked with water to prevent the canoe from drying out and subsequently cracking. We're building a box (tank/coffin) to put the canoe into so we can fill it with lake water rather than use city (treated) water to act as a holding place until the normal dispute over who owns the canoe, who's going to pay for it's restoration and where's it ultimately going to live comes to some kind of a conclusion.
And now I'm really resting my shoulder. It was rather interesting working with Barb. She's very mechanically minded but hasn't had a lot of experience with building stuff out of wood. She made me feel good by letting me explain which way a nail should be placed before being driven so it wouldn't split the lumber and little things like that. And besides, she managed to cut a pretty straight line on the last of the side material for the box.
And that's me trying vainly to show that we do have a plan for how this thing is to be built. Maybe nobody but me knows that, but that's what it is, by golly. So we have the box/coffin/tank on the left, the canoe with it's broken side sticking out of the insulation all covered up with fiberglass insulation that we keep soaking with water, and then the trash barrels with the smaller pieces. In the background you might be able to see the pumper trucks used for starting and controlling (and sometimes not always very well) the fires to keep the bombing range clear of underbrush. The installation has an excellent reputation of being ecologically sensitive. Not only because of the legal requirement to be so, but because they have people who work here who really do care about the future of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, the Scrub Jay, and the tiny little Grasshopper Sparrow. To say nothing of the concern for all the various Indian historical sites. This canoe is just one example of the concern. It may have been made by the Calusa or Timacuan Indians. Probably not the Seminole Indians who had a totally different history of existence here, but that's another story for another time. We finished the box today but since we couldn't figure out how to get lake water into the box (which by now is all braced up and lined with visquene (sp?)) the canoe is still all wrapped up in it's blanket and we'll have to go give it it's shower twice a day over the weekend. All this rather than work the gates. I wonder if it was a good decision on our part. Speaking for myself, I'd rather be puttering around building stuff than sitting around waiting for somebody to come through my gate. Unless, of course, I'm behind on my website or e-mail. Hrumpf.