New Beginnings...

As mentioned in my last post Im going back thru old posts replacing photos when I can find them...but the  years, 2013-15 seem to be the hardest hit area...so MANY of those posts will remain like the frame  of a house burned down...thank you greedy YAHOO. 

 This digital world; easy come easy go eh?   

                                                    saw this in the mechanics junk yard

So my van's in the hospital and won't be let out till I pay the ransom That's why I don't like dropping off a vehicle to a mechanic at an end of a week, but that is how it goes.  So I went nowhere.  Its been gone a week today...It took 4 days just to tell me, it needs some work and he has  to order the parts and Monday was a holiday so that slowed the process. 

Im currently working on a Florida 2016 post  It was good to remember that trip with Casey riding shotgun with me...I sure miss him.   Every single time I walked him in FL someone would warm me about small dogs and alligators.  I guess I looked stupid to them...lol So I've been jumping around in the old posts...found a few old photos in Facebook..,here is one. 

                                                        
                         he was so small and vulnerable...but he had the heart of a lion
                                           and the soul of  an ancient gentle butterfly.

Around the Homestead

Annie yesterday 

Annie today

Thank you Annie, but you keep it...

She chews up stix for fun

and bark sometimes

The sun brings out the cold blooded herps...

Spring is not far off the Plants are ready 

Daffs creeping up thru the leaves

Flossie

 I have more photos of Annie than Flossie, because she follows me around, Flossie has mobility issues so she stays put more..

Her chronic leg troubles from the old ACL tear and now even a front leg seems gimpy and gives her pain. They are in their senior years now and they are happy to just lay around out in the yard and bark at the occasional things going by on the road, sometimes it's a horse and rider, sometimes its a walker with a dog off leash and sometimes its the UPS man they always bark at his truck whether he stops or not...Fed Ex too,  Dogs are so smart. 

                                                                   
                                                                            Flossa-rator last spring 

I nicknamed her Flossarator cause she is like the terminator when it comes to stubbornness, She never gives in...she just defiantly grins and walks away.  

The yard is a buzz with birds getting ready to hi tail it in a couple months...I'm going to miss these little Red Breasted Nuthatches and the little squeaky call...the sunny day brought them all out to the feeders.  

It's good to have them around.  I've started getting the yard cleaned up for Spring... my fruit trees are all setting buds, I guess I should fertilize them now, Give a boost to hopefully bloom...If the deer don't come to browse on them all will be good.  

Peach tree Sapling

The Purple Finch female still looking gorgeous

The last time I went to what I call the Sparrow Fields, they had put in a sign in book in a mailbox here's what I found when I opened it,,,

                                         

                                                                 Click middle to play

The inauguration went very well I thought, I hope all learned a lesson, when someone is obviously lying, NO One should agree with that, IT has to be called out for what it is, this includes the news media.  Extremists from both sides need to realize we live in a bubble, it will never be perfect; harmony is the one thing we can hope to achieve.  A call to action that harms one over the other is NOT the way. We dodged the Fascists bullet this time.  We got a taste of what a Dictatorship would feel and look like, LIES and half the voting population actually fell for it.  I hope there is a reckoning for them to come out from under that veil of lies. 

there she goes again..

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Grand Mesa Lakes II

The sun tried to come out after that hail strom....here is another video I made of the hail...

                                         

Sorry about my Southern twang it comes with the territory...So anyways we left Ward Lake and back to the highway ducked into Corbett Lake Campground it's the smallest of the campgrounds up there...very cozy tho...and here is the lake..

....after you check out this little immature white crowned sparrow is he not adorable??

Corbett Lake

It was not a long walk to get back to this lake...so back in the van we headed to Lands End road again...a creek is just off the road in this wonderful meadow with a creek tumbling through,,

A good place to let Annie and Flossie out to play in the water...

Annie likes the water more so than Flossie soooo I splashed Floss and got the dust off her coat...she seemed to enjoy it...well not really, lol 

Annie jumps right in...it's shallow

...and Casey is really starting to show his years he enjoyed some peaceful time in the van...I have moved the 3rd seat into a spot behind my seat for the trip back to give them more room...so now it's Casey's Car Seat.

... he can jump down for a drink but he can't get back up unless I give him a boost...

I pulled over when I heard some bird chatter in the Aspens...and Several Mountain Chickadees were flying in and out and all around and down...and I snapped this shot when one dropped down on the ground to investigate my phishing...

Oh such a cutie!  

The next lake I stopped to see was Carson Lake...it's a beautiful drive down to see it...

these trees are dropping leaves already....there's the lake down below in the distance...

 some of what we saw by the  lake....

 White Crowned Sparrow, Female 

Carson Lake Park area

Holly Hock in the park area

Half of Carson Lake 

I stitched this -- because I forgot to take a pano...

the flat light made poor lake shots....


back up on the highway this is Reservoir numbers six and nine.  

Then the distant thunder sent us hightailing toward Home,  what a great day me and the pups had, 

Grand Mesa really is a Land of Lakes! 

Here 's a little map snagged off the net showing many of the areas I have blogged about for those of you who enjoy putting everything into perspective!

You can pick out the areas where I've been adventuring 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Heritage Corridor to Hamilton Branch SP

Okay let me see I left off just after the Charlie Manson look alike served me ice cream...in a waffle cone and charged me $5 for it! I COULD HAVE PURCHASED MY OWN COW I'm sure on a good day at the slaughter house..

Back at site 59 it was our last night there I took another whack at the picnic table it was still in horrid condition so I left it be...Another night of cool down I watched a movie on my little 7" DVD player...an old Australian movie about some kids on ponies out witting a gang of horse thieves it was adorable!  Listened to the sounds of the night deer crashing in the woods nearby, owls gliding overhead so stealthy...but the girls always let me know when anything moves...

okay actually they are a couple of cowards! Here is Annie hiding in the van when ONE thunder clap sounded off...I had to put both fans in there for her...ughh..

                                                              Explorer Annie

...morning broke and this time I had pan seared hash browns, more of my everything Bagel, and some pineapple juice! Broke camp pretty fast just haphazardly tossed in in any ole where cause I had to set up camp in our next stop in a few hrs.  The Plan for the day was to add another waterfall to the list...this one over in GA.

  I did put u-p a quick post of this spot but I'll fill in a few blanks now...and some photos may be repeated...

 We were about 30 miles from Toccoa Ga, and Toccoa Falls.  The falls is on a campus of the Toccoa Falls college, a college with a Christian based philosophy and everyone there was super nice to me...including the two young guys who allowed me to take the grilz right through the gift shop to the falls viewing area! Not to mention there was some very cool gifts and chatzkies too!

this lady is probably wondering why I left my dogs sitting under the sign that says "dogs on leash only"...well they did have on their leashes, the sign didn't say "owner must be holding onto said leash," now did it?

Flossie ignored me...and wouldn't smile for the camera...

The falls is awesome at 186 feet of free falling water, the mist is super cooling! In 1977 there was a flood when an Upstream dam broke and 30 people lost their lives, many in the same family it was an awful tragedy!

Well worth a visit....We headed out and off to our next camp at Hamilton Branch Sp back in SC.  It's on the Strom Thurmond Lake which is fed by the Savannah River.  

We took the Heritage Corridor which loosely follows the river, but not close enough that you can see it, it weaves and meanders through some interesting spots along the way this corridor travels from the foothills to the coast if you go the entire length! We covered about half of it..One interesting stop was this interpretive center about the old way of life and being self sufficient...

all sorts of cool buildings of waybegone times...

I spent many an hour ensconced in rubber such as this when I was a kid...wonder if they can make a digital version of this?

So at our site it was pretty nice right by the water....a big warm on this day and a storm did circle around...the dogs took to the van and left me in the shelter to die alone if the case need be....yellow bellies!

Notice this picnic table has all legs and seats attached! This is site #12..nice and shady and the water is right there...

I wish I had my own Kayak this was the perfect put in spot...IF I could lift one..

We had a good night  it was again cool, and this night I watched (after the sun set) 

the movie Contagion, Matt Damon and others, pretty good! I can prop my small DVD player up at the foot of my bed and watch movies in comfort! Not a whole lot to do when the sun sets and  you're camping alone! I stay up till about 10 then I'm ready to sleep! I heard some barred owls in the night....cooking for y'all

TBC...

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.