What Was That?

Today is Friday. It was supposed to be an easy day. Not that any day in our retirement is really a hard day. Carol was going to a quilt class so she can network with some folks with common interest - quilting. Me - well I had a date with the llamas. We have a lot in common, we have attitude, we eat and we poop. That's about it.

Anyway, while Carol was off to her quilt class and networking event today, I helped owner Pam with the ladies, then took Chuck Wagon down to the boys. I cleaned up their barn, fed and freshened their water and hay. All of that took about an hour.

Then with broom, rake and scoop (tools of the trade) I hopped into Chuck Wagon and took of to clean the pastures. While I am cruising the pastures looking for fresh dung beetle dirt piles, I also check the ground for ants. With all the rain we've had this past week, the ants are coming up for dryer dirt. I have special food for them that sends them to their final resting spot. Additionally, I check the fence line to make sure the lower wire (electric fence, remember) is free of excessive grass or weed growth. This took an additional hour to complete.

Yesterday and this morning I recognized it was time to utilize the Round-Up sprayer. So, off I went. I actually got pretty good at spraying the fence perimeter while steering Chuck Wagon and maintaining forward motion. When I got to the back side of the property, I could see the need to get the Troy-Built Walk Behind String Trimmer Mower to clear some overgrown grass from the fence. I parked Chuck Wagon at the RV and decide I would do that later in the afternoon.

After cleaning up from brunch I felt a short nap coming on. I kicked back in the recliner, sipped my last cup of coffee and let Mr. Sandman take me away. About an hour and a half later, I heard this large thunder bolt. Oh SHEESH, God is talking again. A quick check on the iPhone WeatherBug app confirmed what I heard. A peak outside also confirmed sunshine was about to change to the liquid form. 

OK, change of plans. Put Chuck Wagon back in the barn and get back to RV before the rain starts. I almost made it. The worst part - the rain also brought wind. I quickly stowed our outdoor stuff, got into the RV and retracted the awning just about the time the bottom fell out. About an hour later, the rain tapered off to a sprinkle then quit. I thought What was that?

The local weather guru from WBS Atlanta said the rain was caused by a cut off low. A cut off low is a low pressure system that has disconnected from its steering currents. Normally, lows are steered by the jet stream. This cut off low is just floating between Georgia and North Carolina. That means until a different weather system pushes the cut off low out of the area, we will have unstable air in the area for the next few days. This sounds to me like a weather forecaster's nightmare. Accurate forecasting requires stability. This cut off low is anything but stable. Good luck with the forecast. For me and my house, I think we will just expect rain.

Carol's quilt class was a refresher on the Cotton Theory Method of quilting. She had pre-cut the fabric she took to class, and she completed one of 4 reversible place mats which will adorn our dining table. Carol is using this as a refresher to help her design and make a new quilt for or bed.

Yesterday, Carol took a tumble outside and hurt her left wrist. She did not tell me until today as she was headed to the local hospital ER to have someone look at her wrist. Thankfully nothing is broken. Her wrist is sprained and she needs to keep her wrist wrapped for a could of days. Since we are off for the weekend, this will give her wrist time to rest.

It is OK for retired folks to take a vacation so we are also planing a vacation trip to Piney Flats, TN to visit my former boss. We are going to spend two nights at River Plantation RV Park in the Sevierville, TN; three nights at Lakewood RV Park in Bristol, TN, and two nights in the Cherokee, NC area. We'll let you know more as we get things firmed up.

Thanks for stopping by.