Ditches, Water Lines and Backyard Ponds

Last Saturday the man with the backhoe came to dig the trench and put the line in for the sewer so we can have full hook up. It was a nice sunny day and although we had plans to just kick back and then go see Kenny race, we were still glad to get this done. One more thing off our list of things to accomplish here at Leisure Lake before winter. When spring comes, we will be pretty well set up.

Well that is what we thought. Remember how many times we moved the wood pile because the places we had chosen for the shed were not going to work? Well the day before the backhoe operator showed up, we had gotten the gravel in place for the shed. Whew that was heavy work shoveling that gravel!



Shed site ready to go

Well, the backhoe driver had to drive over our shed site to get some of his digging done. Oh well, he only messed it up a little. No big deal!

Ken and one of the trustees, Bob, stayed with the backhoe driver most of the day assisting. He was a friendly and intelligent man who knew what he was doing.

But alas, another thing that was not going to work out easily. He hit a water line that no one realized was behind our camper. And to top that off, there was an electric line right next to it and yes, he cut that too. "Oh boy," I thought, "we are not going to be well liked here at Leisure Lake." They had to turn the water off for the whole park to get the line fixed. And some of the park was without electricity until that was fixed. It didn't take long for either to be fixed and we were back in business. The sewer line was put in place and the trench was covered up.

We were now happy campers!




No more tanks to empty!!!!!

So Sunday while I was inside doing some chores, Ken was outside raking the dirt to even the ground. I heard him calling me but ignored him because I was busy and selfishly felt that if he wanted me he could come inside and tell me what he wanted to say. Finally, I went outside to see what was going on. He told me to come behind the camper and there was something oozing out of the ground. Ken had sunk in the dirt and was stuck when he was calling me to come help him out. But what was that coming out of the ground? Had we hit oil? No, not oil. The water line broke loose again and water was coming up out of the ground.

Surprised? No not really. It goes the same way other stuff here has gone. Not easily. So all the trustees that are in the park stop by to take a look. Ken and one of the trustees tried digging but the hole just kept getting wetter, heavier and bigger. The backhoe operator has to come back and redig and fix the water line again.

So now we have a small "pond" behind our camper. I think there is only one other campsite that has a pond on it and it was man made with a plastic liner. Ours is natural.  I think I will buy some rubber duckies or plastic fish to put in it until it is fixed.

Our shed arrived the next day and is now in place. It looks great. But we have to watch where we walk to get in the shed because the ground along the trench line (which is right in front of the shed) is sinking from the water filling in below ground level. One good thing about all of this is that the water in the park will be shut off the first weekend of November. If the waterline is not fixed by then, I am guessing we will be waiting until spring.

Here is a picture of the view from our pond area overlooking the hill. We have plans to develop this area with a deck next  year. The view is beautiful.

All in all, even though things have not gone as smoothly as we had hoped, we love it here.

Followers

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my blog. When I started blogging I wasn't sure if others would find it interesting enough. But I had fun doing it, so I continued on. People have told me they enjoy reading it and that makes it even more enjoyable for me.

A special thanks and welcome to those who have become Followers of my blog.
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Happy Birthday!

Today my mom turned 85 (oops...sorry Mom, I mean 27). Happy  Birthday.

I am a lucky person because many of my relatives lived to an old age (unlike my mom who is still young). My grandfather on my mom's side lived to 85 (just like my mom should be) and my grandmother on my mom's side lived to be 104. Good genetics are in my blood. I tease my kids and tell them they will have to take care of me for a long time. My son in law is too smart for that and says, "I won't be here that long to take care of you." I hope he is wrong.

I have no idea how long I will live, but I hope that I enjoy and am thankful for each day, for the family and friends in my life, my healthy, and for all the things, large and small in my life. There is a song that says something about living each day as if you were dying. I have an idea what he is referring to and I think he is right.

If we knew we only had a set amount of time left to live, I wonder how differently we would live it. All the things that we put off until tomorrow (and I am THE PERFECT example of someone who does that) would soon become so important to us.

Go out and enjoy today!

God's creations

The link below shows beautiful and moving pictures of the marvelous things God has created. I'd love to experience, see and hear all the beauty of these amazing things shown in this video. For now, I'll take the small chunks of life around me, explore them and marvel at each one of them. My eyes, ears and heart are open to new places, creatures, changes in the environment, recreation through birth, metamorpheses and the beauty all around me.

Sometimes we miss these things because we are in too big of a hurry. Today, take a moment, stop and look around you. Be still and listen. Sniff. Do you see something different or long forgotten in front of you? Can you experience the thrill of watching a frog jump in the creek, darting after his food? Or the way the breeze gently rocks that flower back and forth?  Can you enjoy the aroma of the leaves drying on the ground or the crunch of those leaves under your feet? Have you noticed the smell of that wildflower you used to think of as a weed? Have you run your fingers through the water making little waves or dipped your toes in a creek lately? Have you listened to the birds lately or the sound of distant children laughing and playing? Do you know what that soft little caterpillar feels like?

I hope you enjoy this video and that it slows your day down for a while so you can enjoy God's wonderful beauty all around us.

http://andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html

Still Kicking

After more than a week's silence, I just wanted to let you know we are still kicking. Well really not kicking but lots of other stuff. We got the gravel shoveled on Sunday into the spot where the shed will go. The shed should arrive Monday, October 10th. Once that is in place we can bring the rest of our stuff we want to keep at the campground along with the refrigerator. It will be nice to have more food available in the bigger fridge.

We had a few trees donated to us on Monday so we had to handle that....no not planting them. These were cut down and the wood was donated to our benefit. So Monday we hauled the logs to our backyard and Tuesday we started splitting them with the log splitter. We didn't even make a dent yet in the woodpile in our back yard. It will be easier to transport the wood to the campground once it is split. In the meantime, we picked it up, put it in the truck, took it off the truck and stacked it on Monday. On Tuesday, we started lifting it again to put on the splitter, then catching the pieces and restacking them at the back of the woodpile. We have many more days of splitting in front of us before it is all done but it will be worth it. Ken says this is the last time he is getting his own wood. Can't say I blame him!

I'm not sure, but it seems this new campground has caused us a lot of work with gravel and wood. Oh well, we are enjoying ourselves. We went to the clubhouse on Friday night and watched a group of people we know play pool. On Sunday afternoon, Ken and I went back to the clubhouse and tried our luck at the game. We are pretty miserable players right now but hopefully we will improve. Saturday the A-team came to see Paco's new golf cart. They really liked riding in it even though it was raining.

Lots of people camp in the winter at Leisure Lake. We will have to bring in our own water because it gets turned off in November. The shower house and clubhouse bathrooms and showers will be available though. We are really looking forward to doing some winter camping with our new friends.