Last night I went to bed earlier than most days; this morning I woke up earlier, too. Forty-eight degrees at about 7:45 when I stepped out to go for a walk. I think it’s safe to say that I didn’t set any speed records with this morning’s pace. I took pictures/video, sent text messages, and watched water running out of a pipe in the ground.
Today, just after I had passed the tractor tire, I heard a familiar whine. The water pumps are on and the cement canals are filling up. The force of the water gushing out is quite amazing. And in the past the water has run for a couple of weeks. That’s a lot of water coming from somewhere.
Farther down the road I saw a man installing the rubber hoses used to siphon the water out of the canals into the fields so the pecan groves will soon be flooded. He was working on the young field planted 3 or 4 years ago; the mature groves have to wait their turn to get a drink.
--------------------
Upon my return from my walk I was met by a pack of Bakker children, one wondering why I didn’t answer when he knocked on the door of my camper, another one asking if we wanted to come have breakfast with them, another just throwing herself at me and the last one getting nowhere fast despite all her 2 year old effort. A good way to be greeted.
--------------------
 |
| Notice how Michigan is spelled |
Today the kids did craft time at their camper and every time a picture was finished the artist behind it was over here to present it to us and of course wanted it displayed somewhere in the camper. Seven new pieces of art, each with a story. There’s the map of a backwards Michigan because a left handed child traced his right hand to make it (he knows about the Upper Peninsula but doesn’t realize that it’s not contained within the Mitten so he is to be forgiven for leaving it out), a police spaceship with red and blue lights on it, a dinosaur with a very short tail because there wasn’t enough room for a long tail, and a couple of pictures involving a dotted field of green grass surrounded by fences. Oh, and hearts with smiley faces...”sort of”, said the artist. 😊 Just the sort of artwork this Gramma likes.
Kim fixed our water heater earlier in our trip by replacing a heating element. However, it still had a problem: it should work on both propane and electric but has only worked on electric since we bought the camper. Today was the day that Marshal decided they needed to figure out what the problem was. Marshal is a ‘doer’...always has been and probably always will be. It is not in his nature to sit still for long...if there's a problem to be solved, he's on it.
It involved using tools that little people thought were so interesting, having a glob of wires hanging out of the kitchen wall, and listening carefully to something that was under the bed. It was interesting to listen to the troubleshooting conversation but I can’t say that I fully understood it. It took several hours to iron out the problem but the heater is now fully functional, heating water using both electric AND propane. When I asked what the issue was Kim replied, “The previous owner balled up the wiring.” So glad he didn’t launch into a technical description that I wouldn’t understand. 😏
--------------------
Shelby, Dylan, Clayton and I went up to the playground for a while today. At one point Dylan asked if I could video tape him performing on the rings. Sure, if I can have a little fun also. So using my best Ted Baxter voice I became “Karen Bakker, reporting from WKDB” which is a persona I’ve used with the TN WonderKids many times. Except today instead of doing traffic, weather and local interest reports from Spring Hill, TN, I was reporting from Picacho, Arizona, on the amazing happenings at the local KOA. The kids ate it up! And when I checked my camera later I saw that WKDB has a good number of videos to choose from for its newscast.
**Clayton wanted to show me his trick on the trapeze type bar; however, when he was hanging by his knees he couldn’t figure out how to get down. He was hanging upside down with his back to me and suddenly I hear him saying, “I need help...can somebody help me? I can’t get down. Somebody? I need help.” The laughter heard on the video may or may not have been me.**
--------------------
Went for a bike ride on my own today since Kim and Marshal were still in the process of figured out the balled up wiring in the camper. Made a Casa Grande/Coolidge loop. The sun was out, the air was warm and the traffic was light...perfect conditions.
--------------------
Took another walk in the evening which brought my step total to over 17,000...not quite a record for me but it was a good amount for my short legs.
--------------------
Finished up the day with a campfire over at Marshal and Callie’s with hobo pies and s’mores on the menu. After the kids showered and went to bed the adults soaked up the warmth of the fire for a few hours longer. Well, and some wine...the ladies soaked up some wine also. J
--------------------
Today’s bike miles: 66
No comments:
Post a Comment