Elephant Pipe

 We have owned 12 acres on the side of a mountain (a very small mountain) in North Carolina since our 25th wedding anniversary. Traditional 25th Wedding Anniversary gifts are usually something in silver....generally not land! 

At the time we bought the property our intent was to use it as a camp. We had an old camper hauled up to a beautiful spot on the hillside, and spent many weekends there as well as time in the summer. We had no electricity (other than the 12 volt lights in the camper), we had no running water, no TV, no Internet, no cell phone coverage. It was a very peaceful place. 

As I was approaching retirement we found a floor plan for a retirement cottage that would be perfect on our property.  The plans were from Canada and had to be redrawn by a US architect. We met with one, shared some changes we'd like,  and were ready to sign a contract with him to prepare the plans. But first, we had to take our younger son to Colorado to visit two colleges.  We all fell in love with Colorado. Our son picked the Colorado School of Mines to pursue his mechanical engineering degree, and we decided to find a home there where we could have horses, and become residents so our son's tuition would be reduced to 'in-state' charges. The NC retirement cottage did not happen.

Our property sat for over 15 years. We would visit it occasionally, working on the ditches on either side of the drive, and cutting down emerging trees, to preserve the roadway, and reminiscing about the enjoyment we derived on the property in the past.  Two years ago we were heading across country in our motorhome and stopped in the area to talk with a realtor. We had decided it was time to put the property on the market.  The Mister arranged for the driveway to be cleared and we were able to, once again, drive to the former camp location. It was love all over again. Everything that attracted us to the property when we were young, still made the property special. We couldn't sell it. So instead, that summer we worked on clearing and sprucing up the land. We hired a logger to remove the large trees in the immediate area of the camping spot. 

Then Hurricane Helene hit. We were no longer able to get back and forth easily. 

Then winter came. Camping in the mountains was not something we cared to do. 

Then we bought a house in Florida with 6 acres, and a long list of improvements we wanted to make. Any improvements we had planned for NC were put on the back burner.

So...now we are back in NC, and faced with our property and so much new growth due to removing its canopy provided by the hardwoods. We have begun clearing...a bit. When faced with what seems like an immovable obstacle I often think of the saying, "How do you eat an elephant?" with the answer, "one bite at a time!" So...as I cut a few saplings, and rake some leaves, and clear one tiny area....I keep thinking of taking one small bite at a time. And I think, where there's a will...there's a way. But a little voice in the very back of my mind, sometimes pipes up suggesting that perhaps all of this is a pipe dream? 

Happy Easter

 It's a drizzly, rainy day in Lake Lure, NC this morning. The family is on a plane, flying from San Francisco to Charlotte. Depending on when they land and are reacquainted with their luggage, we may meet up with them on their way to Asheville for dinner this evening.

If that doesn't work out, we will see them on Monday.

At some point this week I will play "Easter Bunny" 

and hide their gift bags filled with Easter goodies. 

They can enjoy a delightful romp through the campground

hunting for their treasures. 

They can find their bags, eat the candies,

and we can send them home with Mom and Dad! 

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and

can enjoy the wonders of spring as it arrives 

in different areas of our country. 

Diverging Diamonds

We loaded the RV and turned north to enjoy spring break with our son, DIL and our two grandkids, and to take a break from yard/house work and projects ourselves. They are flying into NC to spend a week in Asheville, which is less than an hour from our camping oasis near Lake Lure (now that the road is open*!)

We generally skirt Jacksonville by taking Rt 301 from Ocala north, crossing I-10 and going through Eulee, FL to get to I-95 north. This year we were greeted by a new (and improved?) interchange to get onto I-95. They have constructed a Diverging Diamond Intersection here.  I think of it as 'Chris-cross applesauce'! 

Instead of the right lane staying to the right, the two lanes swap positions. Here's an Apple map view of a DDI that was constructed near Ft Myers. When we used to live there we tried to avoid this intersection at all costs....even before they began construction. After 4 1/2 painful years (delays caused by Covid, supply chain issues, hurricanes, etc) that intersection is finally complete and traffic is flowing, as is the one we traversed in Eulee.

According to Mr. Albert "I"n- stein, a DDI can increase traffic capacity by 33 1/3%

I guess that makes the construction phase worth it

* Hwy 74A between Chimney Rock and Bat Cave, NC has been closed since the 2024 raging flood waters of Hurricane Helene ran amok through the gorge, wiping out bridges, roads, shops, cars, and homes as well as denuding the beautiful tree-lined mountain sides leaving a boulder-strewn field in its wake. The new road opened last week...just in time for our visit! 

 

Changing the Rules Mid-Game

Today was the CCCQ monthly meeting, whereat I provide an update on the annual Quilt Challenge. I've posted several times about the inception of this challenge and my progress:

January:  Stepping up to the plate

February: Introducing the Challenge to the Guild

March:  My "Big Book" about the challenge: Milt

Sew...what should I do next? I thunk, and I thunk, and I thunk a bit more.

Then, I discovered/realized that we would be meeting on April Fool's Day. I could have some fun with that!

When it was my turn to speak I said something like this:  

"Ladies,  I have received some feedback from others. Some folks are saying my "Challenge" isn't much of a challenge. Heck, a person could take a quilt they made 10 years ago that had tan and green in it and declare that it was a quilt representing New Mexico because it has tan for the desert sand and green for the cacti." 

I went on to say:

"I received some suggestions that I provide a fat quarter of fabric (for the uninitiated a fat quarter is approximately 22" X 18" - it's a 1/2 yard piece cut in half on the fold) so I hunted for something that would work fairly easily with everyone's projects. Something that's....oh, how do you say it?..."

"Oh, yeah. Something that's kinda "neutral". Something that would go with any color. Oh, and by the way, since I had to use some of my budget to buy the fabric,  the prize money will be changed a bit. Instead of $75 for first place, that will now be $45. 2nd Place, instead of $50 will be $30 and third place will be $15 instead of $25."

Maybe they weren't too happy about the prize money changes!

Then I rummaged in my bag and brought out the length of fabric that I brought with me, which would be rather ugly in most quilts. It's a Route 66 themed material that I have on hand to make some journal covers for a Route 66 trip we are taking later this year.  As I held it up I explained,

"It has every color in the rainbow; red, green, blue...and oh yeah, it has some highway signs and sections of maps. It's perfect!" I said as I walked around the room showing the fabric. 

There were only a few ladies who were laughing.

Everyone else was less than impressed!

I explained that I wasn't able to get enough of that one cut of fabric, but found another with similar colors that would work just as well, and participants could pick which fat quarter they preferred. 

That's when I rummaged in my bag and pulled out the next piece:

Our guild president is in the background, laughing,

As were most of the ladies in the room by this time!

(Thanks to my bff for suggesting the sign!)

It was all fun. No harm. No foul. 

Now my only problem is...what can I do next month to inspire, instill enthusiasm, keep folks interested in participating? If you have any ideas, I am open to suggestions! 

A Tale From the Past; Thinking About Tomorrow

Do you enjoy April Fool's jokes, or pranks? When I had my Haflingers they pulled a joke on me. I posted about it....way back then. I stumbled upon the posts the other day and decided to post them again.

I used to think that my horses had the personalities (horsonalities) of Goofus & Gallant, from the Highlights magazine that was always at my dentist's office. Pippin was the goofy guy, and Doc was made of sterner stuff - he was an old stick-in-the-mud!

Here's the first post: 

Pippin's Point of View: The Haf Laugh

I pulled a prank on Mrs. Owner! ROTGL (no floor in the paddock...has to be G for ground, instead)!
This morning when Mrs. Owner came down to feed us, I didn't stick my head around the corner of the barn and whinny at her as I usually do. [Giggle] I wasn't in my stall walking in circles waiting, not so patiently, for hay. [Snigger] She couldn't find me! [Chortle] Guess where I was? Do you give up? Huh? Can you guess? I was rooming in with Doc! [Snicker...Snort] I spent the night with Doc and Mrs. Owner can't figure out how I did it! [Yuk, yuk, yuk] Yup, there we were, in his stall together! Mrs. Owner scratched her head. The stall doors were shut and latched. The stall wall was in tact. The Priefert panels were all standing, and none were bent down (as if I'd be stupid enough to try to climb up the panels)! [Guffaw...Hee...Haw] The gates between the paddocks were all latched. [Cackle] And here's the best part [TeeHeeHee] she figures I musta jumped the panel! Me?! Jumping 5 feet from almost a standstill? Now, that's funny! Well, [Hiccup] anyway, it was the best prank and I'm not telling anyone my secret! It's so deliciously funny!

Imagine my surprise when I came down and found both horses in one stall and paddock. I thought that our neighbor (not a neighhhhh-bor, since I'm speaking of horses here Hahaha!) may have tiptoed over to move the horse....he was a jokester, but I just couldn't see it. 

Here's the 2nd post....and the end to the story!

Pippin's quite full of himself after pulling the prank on Mrs. Owner. Of course, I had to put up with the pipsqueak for half the night. Thank Gawd he didn't get in early enough to eat my hay! Anyway, I'd like to set things straight and let you know that Mrs. Owner did figure it out, and pretty darn quickly! You see, we have a gate between the paddocks and Pippin, the Pipsqueak, plopped one of his size two's down on it with a bit of force, right near the hinge end of the gate. It seems that his not-so-dainty hoof, along with a little heft on his part was enough to break the weld on the hinge of the gate. After a winter of good hay and lots of rest I imagine we have both put on a few pounds here and there which may have added to his 'heft'. The end of the gate dropped down to the ground, which allowed the upper hinge to slide off the hinge pin. Pippin pushed the gate open and later, leaned his not so tiny hiny against it and shut it again. The chain that latches the gate on the other end acted like a hinge and held the gate upright. In fact, other than being a bit lower, the gate looked almost normal!

Mrs. Owner took a trip to the cowboy 'WalMart'. The good folks at the ranch supply store had never seen that happen before and gave her a new hinge piece. By the afternoon the gate was back on its hinges, ready to keep us apart.

See the pretty, new, green hinge?

Oh, I see the new hinge!

So, who's the April Fool?

I really do miss my two guys - they never failed to entertain!

Tomorrow's April Fool's day. Do you have a prank to pull? You have time to think one up! Have fun!

More Gophers

Gopher tortoises....a nuisance with whom we must coexist (but why can't you live across the street in the drainage easement? Or next door somewhere in the 6-acre vacant lot?)

And then there are pocket gophers. Cute little devils, right?

Wrong!

Another bane of our existence. These little critters, 5-14" in length, wreck havoc with our yard. They dig burrows...looongggg burrows, and deposit the spoilings from the tunnels in various size mounds in our yard. 

The Mister was at one of the local farm stores. I suggested he get a certain type of trap which may be effective. The store did not have the trap, but the Mister did have an enjoyable time commiserating with other guys perusing the anti-rodent options. He came back with a sonic stick:

I was thrilled. (Now just how many women do you think would be thrilled to receive a Mole & Gopher repeller?!)

I immediately went out and plunked that thing between two huge mounds the gopher had made the night before. 

The next morning....

what to my wondering eyes did I see? 

Another *%$^& mound right in front of me!

Gopher Tortoise

Our area is home to the endangered Gopher Tortoise. 

Of course...our 'soil' is almost pure sand,

a tortoise can dig a burrow in a heartbeat!

Our pastures have several tortoise burrows, 

(they don't make us very happy!)

although we are not certain whether the burrow openings 

 belong to one tortoise, or to several.

Their burrow systems can be quite extensive 

and are home to many other critters. 

Vickie's checking out a newly-active burrow.

With the advent of warm weather, s

the gopher's have come out of hibernation.

(We are curious...how do they know??!!)

Here's our guy...or gal. 

She was on the move,

looking for something! 

I like the beasts, but with horses around, their burrows are a

 bad accident waiting to happen.

OK...so we don't have horses now, but who's to say we won't want them later?!