Too many calories yesterday necessitated a long bike ride on Friday.  After a 2-mile walk around the resort and breakfast, I rode through the Mission Nature Park, and then east.  As I entered the town of Granjeno, I was chased by 4 dogs, including 3 Blue Heelers.  Intending to ride further east, I looked up and saw 4 more dogs crouching along the road, waiting for me.  Chickening out, I turned around and faced the first 4 dogs again, and managed to ride by without getting bit.  I exerted so much energy that I was spent for several minutes.  I rode to Anzulduas Park, but it was closed for the holiday, so rode back to the Mission Nature Park, and then to “home” to the resort, a total of 20+ miles, stopping to take photos of the citrus fields along the road.  After a quick lunch, I drove to Costco to have the new hearing aids checked while Kay prepared leftover food for the after Thanksgiving palapa buffet; we sure do eat a lot!  I was tired with bicycle saddle sores, and stayed in the rest of the night, but Kay enjoyed a couple of hours among friends at a campfire in the middle of the circle—she’s such a social butterfly.

After a late breakfast on Saturday, Kay and neighbor Shar drove east towards McAllen and Donna for shopping while I hopped on the bicycle for a ride to the National Butterfly Center.  Instead, I rode back to the Mission Nature Park (and the Roadrunner trail) and managed to photograph a Roadrunner and a tarantula—the beginning of what was to be a fortuitous day.  Kay was still shopping when I returned, so I rode to the National Butterfly Center with neighbor Lorna.  I have been desperately looking for Orioles, and for Mexican Bluewing and Zebra Heleconian butterflies.  As we were locking the bikes, one of the staff said both the Mexican Bluewind and Zebra Heleconian had been spotted today!  We walked down to where they had been seen, and after a short while, Lorna spotted the Mexican Bluewing open on a tree.  Regretfully, I did not get a photograph as I was trying to get close rather than take the sure shot.  She said she was going to walk around a bit and would yell if she saw the Zebra Heleconian.  After only a few steps, she yelled, and we saw the Zebra Heleconian floating among the plants.  There ate two beautiful butterflies!  I hung around the area a while longer hoping to photograph the Mexican Bluewing, without success.  I slowly walked down to the bird feeding station only to find a couple of Altimira Orioles feeding on a nearby limb allowing for a decent photograph.  Wow, what a day.  We saw many other species of butterflies and took lots of photos, and returning to the bird feeding station, saw a Long-billed Thrasher, Clay-colored Thrush, American Kisskadees, Gray-tailed grackles, Green Jays, White-tipped Doves, Chachalachas, and a rare-to-this-area American Robin.  Score today a 10!  Back at the RV, we visited with neighbors at the palapa until about 5 PM when I returned to the RV to download and edit photos and write this portion of the blog.

 My, oh my, but do we have an infinite number of things for which to be thankful.  God has truly blessed us, and though we should and do thank Him everyday, Abraham Lincoln set aside today for our nation to give thanks.

Despite the warm weather, shorts, and T-shirts down here in the RGV, Thanksgiving is a big holiday—and our Canadian friends graciously help us celebrate even though they celebrated Canada Thanksgiving in October.  Kay made cornbread in the oven using hints from last night’s viewing of YouTube, and the top racked pan did well, but the bottom was a bit undone in the center.  While the uncooked pieces finished cooking, we mixed up the dressing ingredients, and added the remaining cornbread pieces, and began the almost hour long baking.  Once again, the top pan came out great, but the bottom pan was not cooked through and through; lesson learned is to only cook one pan at a time!  At the same time the dressing was cooking, the green bean casserole was cooking outside on the electric burner.  Fortunately, all was ready bat 1:45 PM, just in time to carry over to the clubhouse for our 2 PM meal.  Our group had “reserved” two tables, and the resort furnished the turkeys and gravy, and each table (or in our case, tables) provided a pot luck assortment of food for their table(s).  Kay and I were the only US people at our two tables.  We had scrumptious food, and the pumpkin pie (from Costco) was the best I have ever eaten.  So, rather than the turkey getting stuffed, it was us who got stuffed!  Here are photos of our friends and neighbors here in the Valley, beginning with Kay and me, Paul and Lorna Graham (our next door neighbors on the passenger side; Paul is like neighbor Wayne in that he can fix anything, and Lorna is a great birder and butterfly person), Regie and Jim Miles and Debbie (Regie and Jim are our next door neighbors on the driver’s side; Debbie drove a diesel pusher motorhome and towed a car all the way from New Brunswick traveling with Jim and Regie), Shar and Brian Ward (Shar does a lot of Karaoke and has a great alto voice), Lynn and Clint Charlesworth (our neighbors in 2011), and Cherly and Ron Lowe (our other neighbors in 2011).  The rest of our circle will straggle in between December 1 and January 1. 

After all the food, I did a short ride (5 miles) in the Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park, but didn’t see any new birds.  

The rest of the evening was spent recovering from all the food!

Our weather has warmed considerably, allowing us to spend considerable time outdoors, despite early morning temperatures in the low 40° range.  After our morning walk around the park and breakfast, we rode over to the National Butterfly Center to see if anything new had arrived on the winds of the recent front moving through the area.  We didn’t see anything new, but did see more butterflies than expected.  Here are a few photos.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we committed to bring cornbread dressing and green bean casserole, two Southern favorites.  However, each required an oven for baking, particularly the cornbread dressing, and we haven’t had overwhelming success with the combination microwave/convection oven.  I did a search on YouTube using the brand and model of the microwave/convection oven in the RV, and lo and behold if there weren’t several instructional videos!  We watched these and had a much better “understanding” of how the oven worked.  Now, tomorrow will be the real test.

On Friday I was looking forward to some downtime to catch up on inside activities; those were finished promptly Saturday morning.  However, the cold and rain has hung on through today (Monday).  Temperatures have hovered around the mid-40° mark with little change from daylight to dark, and winds have been pretty constant at 15+ miles per hour, yielding a windchill of near 35°.  None of the RVers like the cold weather, and residents of the RGV treat it as we would treat single digit temperatures at home, wearing heavy winter coats and hats.  Guess it’s what one is used to.  The “downtime” has provided an opportunity to read several books, visit with neighbors, watch a couple of movies, and catch up on  recorded television shows.  Of course there has been no birds, butterflies, hot tub, or pool, though I did see a Vermillion Flycatcher in the RV park Saturday morning as I was walking, but it left before I returned with a camera.  We returned to the 9 AM contemporary worship service at FUMC, Mission on Sunday, and continue to enjoy attending services there.  The sermon was on shepherds, both good and bad, and it brought to bear on family, work, church and politics and the good and bad shepherds we’ve experienced in these areas—quite thought provoking.  Monday was overcast all day, and though we only had misting rain for a brief time, it was not conducive to partake in any outdoor activities.  However, we have enjoyed the quiet time, and are appreciative of all blessings, even the drab and dreary days.

A repeat of the last couple of days, Monday was wet, cold, and blustery—a good day to stay in and read.  A game of Court Whist was on the calendar for the evening, but at 7 PM, the Activities Center was dark and locked.  We watched another Mission Impossible movie via Netflix.

We awoke to sunshine this morning, the first since Friday.  However, wind was howling with gusts to 30 miles per hour.  Nevertheless, Kay and I rode bicycles to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, but few birds and butterflies were around.  Riding with the wind was not too bad, but riding against the wind was a challenge, and with temperatures still in the 50s, it was a bit cool considering the windchill factor.  Happy hour at the palapa resumed today as all the neighbors were anxious to get out and socialize.  We enjoyed the hour of socializing, and Jim Miles was on a roll with jokes causing us to laugh until we cried.  We watched recorded television, and I read another book to wrap up the evening.

Jerry and Karen Smith invited us to travel to Port Isabel and South Padre Island for birdwatching and a seafood lunch.  We drove to their new place in Alamo, and it is very nice.  As previous RV fulltimers, this long single-wide mobile home is quite spacious, and they have furnished it nicely.  It has a large screened-in porch, great for morning coffee and reading the newspaper.  After picking them up, we drove east to Harlingen,  continuing on US 77 towards Port Isabel.  One of our key objectives in the birdwatching trip was to view the Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona) which had been seen at a resaca (oxbow lake) east of the intersection of US 77 and Tx-100 about a quarter of a mile.  We were successful!  Recent sightings of this bird are comprise only the 2nd time it has been seen in North America.  (NOTE:  It is the second documented ABA Area record of this species, which ranges widely from southern Tamaulipas, Mexico, into South America as far south as Uruguay and Argentina.  The first record was an individual in Laredo, Texas, in late January of 2010.  That bird stayed just over a week before disappearing in early February.)

After viewing the Amazon Kingfisher, everything else was lagniappe.  Our next stop was at the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. Dune meadows, salt marsh and intertidal flats are all represented here, along with thickets of native shrubs and trees that are irresistible to migrating birds in their season.  Long boardwalks provide viewing for the many species of birds visiting the area.  Next door is the South Padre Island Convention Center.  Formerly, one could walk between the two on the board walks without interruption, but a political dispute has ended that, and one now has to drive or make a long walk along the highway from the Birding and Nature Center to the Convention Center to view birds and butterflies at both places.  We saw heroes, egrets, curlews, and an assortment of ducks, and I was able to take some pretty decent photos, particularly at the Birding and Nature Center.

After birdwatching, we stopped by the local kite shop for Kay to purchase a whirly-gig to put on our RV site.  She chose a hummingbird, and it is pretty neat.  Perhaps I’ll post a picture after all the raining quits (this is being written Saturday morning).  We returned Jerry and Karen to their RV park, drove to BPVRV Resort, and Kay went to happy hour while I downloaded and edited photos.  We spent a quiet evening in the motorhome watching a few recorded television programs.

With only one more day of warm weather forecast for the immediate future, I rode to the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park next door and joined a bird tour.  There were only three of us, and it was a bit slow, but enjoyable nevertheless.  The highlight of the day for me was seeing and photographing the Malachite butterfly, so named for the mineral malachite, which is similar in color to the bright green on the butterfly’s wings. The Malachite (Siproeta stelenes) is a neotropical brush-footed butterfly (family Nymphalidae).

We saw birds common to the area including the Green Jay, Greater Kiskadee, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and Chachalaca, as well as a Gray Hawk and the tree North American species of kingfishers:  Belted Kingfisher, Green Kingfisher, and Ringed Kingfisher.  Regretfully, I missed seeing and photographing a couple of species of the Heliconius butterfly, one of my objectives this winter in the RGV.  Heliconius comprises a colorful and widespread genus of brush-footed butterfly commonly known as the longwings or heliconians.  Kay and I made it to the pool and hot tub despite intermittent clouds.  About mid-afternoon, the skies darkened and the wind began gusting, resulting in an almost 40° temperature drop in only a couple of hours, and bringing several inches of rain.  I am looking forward to the downtime this cold, blustery weather will afford.  We spent the evening watching a Mission Impossible movie on Netflix.

Despite warm weather, Monday provided a great opportunity for a long bike ride—after our morning walk and breakfast.  Last year, Chuck Mercer and I rode the “Roadrunner Trail” almost every day; he so named the trail because of the presence of roadrunners almost every time he rode it. This year, the City of Mission has added a new segment of trail, bisecting the old trail, adding an additional mile or two distance if one chooses to ride the whole thing.  Sure enough, I saw three roadrunners crossing the trail at different times, and they were not too terribly skittish.  The 11-mile bike ride was completed in just over an hour.  Kay opted to do laundry while I rode, but I was gentleman enough to at least carry the clothes to the laundry and upon return from the bike ride, carry them back!  A faulty water hose connecting the faucet to the water filter developed a significant leak, and no amount of tightening in combination with gobs of teflon tape would help.  It was off to Walmart for a 10-foot section of hose as they did not have the right parts to repair the old hose—another job for another time.  The palapa party provided a venue for celebrating Debbie Creaghan’s birthday and a big chocolate cake was enjoyed by all.  Afterwards, we accompanied her to PF Chang’s for dinner, and it was very, very good.

Tuesday, we enjoyed a morning walk around BPVRV Resort, had breakfast, and rode bicycles to the NBC for viewing birds and butterflies.  The bird feeding station attracts birds up close and personal, providing great opportunities for photography.  I had not put the new Sigma DG 150-500mm 1:5-6.3 APO HSM lens through the paces.  It’s a heavy piece of equipment, but the picnic table at the bird feeding station provided an elbow rest.  We saw Clay-colored Thrushes (Turdus grayi), Plain Chachalacas (Ortalis vetula), Golden-fronted Woodpeckers (Melanerpes aurifrons), Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas), Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), and a couple other common species.  Though the weather was not optimum, we saw lots of butterflies, several new to us including a Great Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus) and a rare Red-bordered Pixie (Melanis pixe), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Common Mestra (Mestra amymone), Brown Longtail (Urbanus procne), Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus), Dusky-blue Groundstreak (Calycopis isobeon), and others I could not identify.  Shown are the Clay-colored Thrush, Red Admiral, and Great Purple Hairstreak.

Kay opted to shop Wednesday morning at Don Wes Flea Market, a standby in the RGV, and some of her other favorite shops.  I went for a long bicycle ride to Anzulduas Park, then back to the Mission Nature Park, and then back to the BPVRV Resort, a distance of over 18 miles.  Anzulduas Park is on the US/Mexico border, complete with a levee to protect from Rio Grande River flooding, and the border fence.  It was a good ride despite the heat and light wind.  We both returned about 12 noon, and visited the hot tub and pool where we met Ty and Ida, originally from Green Bay where he was the Executive Director of the Green Bay Nature Center.  As we talked, we discovered they were serious birders, friends of Jerry and Karen Smith, and full time RVers—we meet quite interesting people in our many travels, and have discovered that the RV world is relatively small.  After pool and spa time, we drove to Costco where I received new hearing “behind the ear” hearing aids.  My first impression is that they are good, but not an improvement over those I’ve had for 3+ years.  However, they were MUCH less expensive, and the “old” hearing aids were becoming somewhat unreliable.  Back at BPVRV Resort, we walked over to the Margarita Party though neither of us were drinking margaritas—it was too noisy, and there were far too many announcements, reminding me of a typical meeting when I used to work!  Afterwards, we watched a couple of recorded television shows; we’re finding there is not much time for television.

Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort looks the best of any of the 3 years we’ve been down here.  With heavy fall rains, all the trees and shrubs are green, and the grounds crew has done a great job of trimming, mulching, and repairing and adjusting the irrigation system.  All the parking pads are clean, and ready for their winter visitors.  The resort is still largely empty, about 20 percent occupancy, but RVs are pouring in everyday, with today’s (Friday) group being the largest, including two members of our circle, Circle 3:  Jim and Reggie Miles next to us and Debbie Creighton a few spaces around.  Debbie is our new hero, driving a diesel pusher and towing a car all the way from New Brunswick, Canada, following Jim and Reggie.  Jim called it his harem!  It’s a great sight when “new” RVs arrive, as everyone exits their RV at about the same time to come welcome friends from last year.

On Thursday, Kay and I made an early trip to Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Costco to stock up on supplies, and timed it just right to eat at Diaz Diner, our new favorite Mexican restaurant.  Many regulars from winters past were there and were greeted warmly by the staff.  Back at the RV, we continued to organize after the trip down, and did a pretty through cleaning of the inside, particularly dust that had accumulated over the end of summer and early fall at home.  With great weather, highs in the 60s, I washed the road grime off the Honda, and it’s now clean and shiny—for the most part.  I stole away part of the afternoon to visit the National Butterfly Center and there were lots of butterflies, including the Mexican Fritillary shown here, but a light rain forced me out of the elements to return to the motorhome.  I did get some great photos in the brief time, though.

Though we had the heat on during the night, we awoke Friday and immediately turned it off, and opened the roof vents.  Trying to establish a routine, we began the mooring with a walk around the resort, and returned for  breakfast at the RV.  After cleanup, we went for a 45-minute bike ride around the area, probably covering 7 miles or so, and necessitating a trip to the hot tub and pool—my, oh my, but they were great and rejuvenated these old muscles.  After lunch derived from cleaning out the refrigerator (ugh), I visited the Hearing Center at Costco for a hearing test and new hearing aids (huh?).  The palapa party was already in full swing, with many traveling stories from Jim and his harem, and I only caught the tail end.  We tried to follow the group to Church’s Chicken, Jim’s favorite, but got lost on the way there, and a visit to all the Church’s we could find proved fruitless.  We drove back to BPVRV Resort, only to have Paul and Lorna knock on the door and drop off two Church’s fried chicken meals; we’ve got to think of some way to repay them!  With our time so monopolized with getting settled, there has not been much time for television, so it was an early night for me.

Our efforts on Saturday finally got us settled, hopefully.  We did our walk around the resort, Kay went grocery shopping, and I washed the RV—wiping out a beautiful Saturday morning, but also accomplishing these necessary evils.  We immediately headed for the hot tub and pool after finishing these chores, and soaked in the warm water, easing muscle aches and pains—oh, what a relief it is.  Back at the RV, we had grilled scallops, salad, and broccoli for our mid-afternoon meal and it was GREAT!  Kay took a long nap, and I went for a bicycle ride to Americana RV Park, one we have recommended to our friends Wayne and Loretta when they come to the RGV.  It is a very nice park, and well-maintained.  Potential sites for them to hook-up will allow a great satellite signal for their roof-mounted dome, and is wide open to allow Wayne’s solar collectors to operate at optimum efficiency.  Americana RV Park is only 2.3 miles from our site at BPVRV Resort, and a straight shot down South Bentsen Palm Drive.  With no wind, it is about a 10-minute bike ride.  We enjoyed a lengthy palapa happy hour with neighbors, and watched Skyfall, a 2012 James Bond thriller, to wrap up the evening.

Our first Sunday in the RGV this season was filled with spending time with old friends.  We had breakfast at IHOP with the Sunday breakfast bunch, returned to BPVRV Resort to dress for church, and made it to the 11 AM traditional service.  On our way in the door, we met Bob Pataglia, our dance instructor since 2008, coming out the door.  We exchanged pleasantries and found where he was teaching near us.  Looks like it will be dance lessons on Wednesday.  Pastor Bill Duke preached on Idle Worship, and he can say a lot in a few minutes.  We really like him, and like First United Methodist Church in Mission.  Kay and I rode bicycles north on South Bentsen Palm Drive to Green Gate RV Resort to visit friends Wayne and Bessie Nickerson from Nova Scotia.  After the ride back in temperatures hovering in the mid-80s, I changed for the pool to cool off while Kay caught up on email, etc.  Our Sunday afternoon concluded with Happy Hour at the palapa where the mosquitos feasted on my ankles.

With high winds forecast for the day, bringing in COLD temperatures to much of the south, and overcast skies, we forewent walking Tuesday morning in favor of packing up and departing Lake O’ the Pines early.  The wind was a bit daunting as we left the campground and drove to the main highway some 10 miles to the north, but our western and mostly southern route largely shielded us from the brunt force of the high, gusting winds.  We drove some 300 miles to Frank’s Restaurant in Schulenburg, Texas, where we parked for the night.  Frank’s Restaurant in the hill country of Texas serves some of the best German food we’ve eaten, and we make it a point to stop there each time we travel to and from the Rio Grande Valley.  And we order the same thing:  homemade smoked sausages, German potato salad, sauerkraut, green salad, and whole wheat bread.  Our friend, Uncle Jack Nimon, met us there for dinner, driving over from San Antonio.  Jack is a full-timer, i.e. he lives in his RV year round.  We met as “neighbors” in RedRock RV Park in Henry’s Lake, Idaho, in August 2011 and have remained in contact since then.  We really enjoyed our brief visit with Uncle Jack, and will see him again possibly this winter in Rockport, Texas, and in Arkansas in the spring.  After Jack departed for San Antonio, Kay and I headed for bed at 8 PM, with our motorhome parked in the back parking lot of Frank’s; Kay had secured permission to park there a few weeks ago.  Despite noise from some semis parked there, and nearby Interstate 10, we slept soundly—until midnight when we both became wide awake.  We debated whether to “saddle up” and drive at night or wait until early morning, and opted to try to sleep.  After a couple of hours watching television and talking, we fell asleep at 2 AM and sleep until 5 AM.  

With generator power, we turned on the heat and made coffee.  We had to unhook the Honda, move the motorhome a few feet, and hook back up before leaving Schulenburg, but were on the road shortly before 6 AM.  While yesterday’s drive was our most arduous, today’s 300 miles was a breeze with a stiff northerly wind blowing us down the road.  We stopped briefly for a rest break about half way, and then again in Edinburg at the Flying J station for gasoline, before pulling into Bentsen Palm RV Resort at 11:45 AM.  Kay checked us in while I pulled into our site to begin setting up for the winter.  We were greeted by the Grahams, Wards, and Charlesworths, neighbors who had arrived earlier.  After hugs and greetings, we did all the set-up, finishing at about 2 PM.  Kay made us a great lunch, and we took a deep breath and enjoyed being home.  I picked up the internet access equipment, and installed it, and we made our first happy hour in the palapa at 4 PM, catching up with those already here, and exchanging information about those on the way  We really like where we live in the winter, and especially like our many RV neighbors—the sense of community is alive and well!

Apparently, our timing is impeccable, as winter weather is quickly approaching.

Our departure was not uneventful. First, the chassis battery was too weak to start the engine. However, our house batteries were switched over and the motorhome was started without a further problem. And then, after attaching the Honda to the motorhome, the newly installed electrical cord between the motorhome and the Honda was a bit too short, and I was sure it fit when I made it. Without it, we would have no brake lights, turning signals, etc. I removed the drop hitch extender, and though the angle between the motorhome and car was a bit too much, the cable fit and everything worked. And, we hooked the newly rebuilt BrakeBuddy, crossed our fingers, and hoped it would work. We departed the house at 8:00 AM, heading toward the Rio Grande Valley of Texas for the winter.

Always, the first two or three hours driving are the most difficult, because of the hills, curves, rough roads, and slow traffic in the Ozarks. We stopped between Quitman, Arkansas, and US Highway 65, for gasoline, our first stop of the day. Our next stop was at the rest area near Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and we were beginning to get a bit more comfortable with our travel. It took about five hours of driving to get into a comfort zone, or rhythm, of traveling in the motorhome again, not constantly worrying about the BrakeBuddy, the tow car, bicycles, compartment doors flying open, the hood hinge breaking loose, etc. We stopped again at Mandeville, Arkansas, just a couple of miles north of our turn off around Texarkana, at the Pilot station for gasoline; Pilot stations have RV lanes that make one’s entrance and exit easy.

We stopped for the day at about 4:00 PM near Avinger, Texas, some 350 miles down the road at the Johnson Creek recreation area on Lake O’ the Pines. The park attendant was a little bit on the slow side, but nice, nevertheless. He pointed out some possible sites, and we set up on the one he recommended. After leveling and deploying the slides, we plugged in to the 50 amp electrical box, only to find that it wouldn’t work. We unhooked the car, withdrew the slides, and moved to another site, negating the ease of the pull-thru site.  Kay called DishTV a couple of hours before our arrival, giving them our location for the evening and to our surprise, when we hooked up the satellite dish and turned the receiver on it worked–a first for us. Of course, she asked for a US representative in the technical department. Creek Recreation Area is a very scenic park, with great sites and beautiful views.  It has not been well maintained, however, and the roads are very narrow and some of the pull-thru sites are difficult to enter.  Kay prefers Rocky Point Campground at Wright Patman Lake, but it is nice being a few miles further down the road.

Kay prepared a fabulous dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing,
green beans, and salad, and we gobbled it all down.

After our last bite, we rushed down to the lake shore and watched the beautiful sunset, essentially ending our first day of travel.

Early Sunday morning was a repeat of early Saturday morning with Ridge awaking in the middle of the night.  However, this time, he came to bed with us and went to sleep.  I couldn’t sleep, and got up so as not to wake Kay and him—two short nights in a row for me!  After breakfast, we headed for the playground at Burns Park where we found a gym set with several slides.  He climbed every step at least a hundred times, and posed for pictures along the way.  He has so much energy that we tire just watching him. 

His mom called about mid-morning, and we arrived at their house just about the time they did.  After a little transition time, we departed for home, and on the way Kay decided we would clean out the storage building in the little time we would have between arriving home and dark.  Over the course of the last year, we have had significant moisture, and resulting mold and mildew.  Everything was unloaded from the building, and in the process I got stung on top joint of the ring finger of my right hand.  The pain, though short lived, was excruciating, and the finger began swelling immediately.  It has been years since I have been stung, and then this summer/fall, a stinger came my way 3 time, each causing swelling, etc.  We proceeded to finish unloading the building, and pressured washed it outside and in.  To try to rid the inside of mold, we cleaned every square inch with a mixture of water, tri-sodium phosphate, and bleach.  A power blower and fan assisted in the drying, and about half the stuff was put in a pile to give away or donate.  Any valuable gardening equipment was store in the garage for the winter, and the rest was repacked in the building.  Soaking we and tired, we called it quits for the day.

More cleaning and disposal followed on Monday.  Old used oil was taken to the Baxter County Road Department for disposal, and the other unneeded stuff was disposed of.  A bit more packing for winter took place, though we’re pretty much finished, except for loose ends.  Otherwise, it was an uneventful day. 

Tuesday, I picked up a new bicycle ordered the week before, a TREK FX 7.6, an early Christmas present.  This road bike is a better fit, and much lighter than the LL Bean Cruiser hybrid ridden the last year and a half.  We’re looking forward to a lot of bicycling this winter.  A haircut followed, and the stylist did a great job; sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s great.  And then, it was off to Edward Jones to move a 401k account from post retirement consulting work.  Finally, I drove back home for some quiet time; these chores wear me out!  

(NOTE:  Driving by Ackerman-Handicap Access, I noted Arkansas Game and Fish Commission dredging the Norfork River on the left descending bank.  It is on the inside of a bendway, and material will deposit there again in the future.  Each river is dynamic and has an energy level associated with it, and will move material from one place to another in an attempt to reach equilibrium.  It had made great progress in “healing” itself after the 2008 floods, but this new work, in combination with minimum flow, has disrupted that equilibrium and so material will be moved from upstream (scouring the channel on the OUTSIDE of endways and removing all life-supporting substrate), and depositing the material on the INSIDE of bendways downstream.  And the rocks being placed in the river for habitat will likely be covered with sand and gravel eaten away upstream as a result of this alluvial process.  So, what we’ll have after all this work is a narrow, more defined channel generally devoid of substrate, with faster and deeper flows upstream, and generally slower flows downstream.  If they had only asked…  There will be no more nor no less fish as the Norfork is for the most part a put and take fishery, and while the fish may be more active upstream, the fishing will be more difficult for waders, and easier to navigate water craft—perhaps this is what was desired!  And, we’re already seeing a plethora of drift boats and kayaks.  And our neighborhood has our road ’s remaining useful life cut short by loads of heavy equipment and rocks.  The way we did business in the US Army Corps of Engineers looks better and better. )

Back at home, a new and improved camera and lenses were delivered late in the afternoon—another early Christmas present—and the rest of Tuesday evening was spent reading instruction manuals.

Free at last, free at last—Wednesday’s calendar was void of any scheduled activities.  We continued packing for winter and I spent some time gathering manuals and instruction books on the internet in pdf to avoid carrying so much paperwork in the motorhome.  We have virtually all of our records, etc. digitized now, and stored on the computer and a backup external hard drive.  I gave the rest of our music collection, except for vinyl albums, to Wayne who enjoys the same eclectic taste we do, so no more cassette tapes and no more CDs.  We honored the day by having a late lunch in town at Chen’s Chinese buffet, our favorite restaurant.

Kay was busy Thursday with much of the day spent in town for “beauty” work (don’t even go there), shopping, etc.  Upon her return mid-afternoon, we drove to our GREAT dentist, Dr. John Lane, in Calico Rock for semi-annual checkups and cleaning.  Dr. Lane is the greatest dentist ever, and such a low key, personable fellow.  He and his wife, Lorie, share a lot of the same interests as Kay and I.

We were honored with a visit from HARP (Harper Ann Riley Painter), Jenny, and Brian on Friday for our early Thanksgiving weekend.  As we’ll be spending the Thanksgiving holiday in the Rio Grande Valley, it’s our final visit before the Christmas holidays, and Jenny wants us to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  For us, that means vegetarian cornbread dressing (stuffing), broccoli, mashed potatoes, lima beans, ham and pork shoulder in lieu of turkey, etc.  We usually try to prepare at least one of each person’s favorite foods.  HARP has not been feeling well for the last couple of days, so we were surprised at how active she was.  She “investigated” everything within arm’s reach, and climbed every piece of furniture in the place.  She would climb to a precarious position, then stand atop the item with no hands.  She loves to dance, and since many of the Dunnhill toys for Ridge and her are musical, she danced all afternoon and evening.  As dusk approached, we built a fire for marshmallows and s’mores and she had a blast outside, running all over the place—her parents don’t allow her to have sugar though, so she passed on the sweets.  All of our grandkids really enjoy being outside, and it’s fun for us, too, though it is getting more and more difficult to keep up with them as even the 2-year old and 15-month old can outrun us.

Saturday, we were up early expecting HARP to be up so we could take care of her, allowing Jenny and Brian could sleep late.   But Jenny and HARP were up by 7 AM.  While the BABY and Disney Jr. television stations interested her, neither kept her attention for long as she continued to explore every nook and cranny, low and high.  She climbs more than any kid I’ve ever been around, though Kay says Karyn was a climber.  And she doesn’t seem to be afraid of heights.  We drove to Quarry Park where HARP played briefly on the slides and other gym equipment, but she was more interested in walking and exploring the grounds.  Back at home, Jenny and Brian built a great fire to generate coals for s’mores.  After it began burning without assistance, Jenny and I began preparations for an early Thanksgiving dinner.  She definitely has a better sense of taste than I do as to what seasonings a food items needs; both of us use a recipe as a guide, and make adjustments based on taste.  Dinner was great.  HARP got a bath after playing outside and in the dirt most of the afternoon.  Afterwards, Jenny and Brian stoked the fire and made s’mores while Kay held HARP.  Though busy and full, everyone had a great day.

HARP woke up feeling a bit worse than the previous two days, but she was a real sport and didn’t whine.  A dose of Advil seemed to ease her discomfort.  We visited until about 11:30 AM, and Jenny, HARP, and Brian left for Memphis as the Advil wore off and her discomfort returned.  

Kay and I washed clothes, cleaned house, and finished packing for our winter down south in the Rio Grande Valley.  We finished just before bedtime.  Tomorrow, we leave for our winter place of residence, the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.