hiking and laundry

Morgan & Donna on the
 Hillsborough River

Yesterday we hiked the Florida trail in search of things that start with “A”.  I wanted to find alligators and armadillos but failed to do so.  On the way to the trailhead we met a lovely lady kayaker who inquired as to whether or not I had gotten any good pictures.  Since we had just started I replied “not yet” and we went on our merry way.  The path wound around through the palms and trees and although we looked hard there were only two turtles sunning themselves that counted as wildlife.  And then through the trees dripping with Spanish moss came two women kayaking.  Hmmm.  That’s close enough to wildlife for me, so I snapped away.  I left one of my blog cards on her windshield to ask permission to use the photo in my blog and she called me back and granted the Queen the right to do so.  The photo was lackluster as I was trying to use all manual settings in an experiment to get away from the programmed settings.  I’ve decided to stay with the programmed settings until I can find my instruction manual to learn more.  This is the photo of Morgan and Donna winding their way down the Hillsborough River in the State Park.  All was not lost, however, as I did achieve finding things that started with “A”.  Both our bodies were ACHING from the hiking we are not accustomed to.  Our neighbor then came back to his site next door and told us of the HUGE alligator he had just seen.

Huge burl on this tree

Today is laundry day and I ran the clothes over to the outside washer and dryer by the shower house.  The machines here cost much more than the previous campground so I was forced to solicit strangers for quarters to start the two loads. The bedding I changed that morning would have to wait until later, thank goodness I brought two sets.  Now the clothes were washing but I had no more quarters to dry them.  So, thanks to the suggestion of our neighbors( the Steelers fans), I went to the restaurant/camping supply store close by in the park and begged quarters from them. They are wonderful helpful women and sold me an ample supply.  I took advantage of buying the Florida postcards to send to our two erudite granddaughters for their school project of getting postcards from all 50 states.  By the time I was done with this running around I was able to get them into the dryers (the clothes, not the grandchildren).  This frenzied washing this morning is an attempt to beat the major thunderstorm that is coming in soon.  There’s a great joy in folding clean clothes that you just don’t take time to appreciate in the everyday hustle and bustle back home.  Either that or I was just really getting desperate for some clean underwear.  Added to my shopping list now is a small folding cart to haul clothes in.  It could double as a stroller for She-Devil and she could go around the campground taunting dogs instead of waiting for them to come to her.

Hey, that's my strawberry!

The days have been nice, but very humid.  The canned ham has condensation built up on the walls and windows each morning.  One goes through the day feeling constantly slick and moist—no need for moisturizer here, it would just slide off.  With the verdant green surrounding us and the incessant dampness, this must be what it feels  like to live in a terrarium.

This is the little squirrel that likes to come and steal our food whenever we turn our back.  She-Devil was not amused.

For those of you waiting for a comment from Left Brain, he's still tied up, but it appears the duct tape is getting looser, so perhaps soon.

Long life the Queen