My boat needs some arranging

My boat along with my nephews ready for a trip out

It is early this morning and I am already on the lake with bait in the water. Floating along watching the sun come up over the trees and waiting for that first strike.
In the distance I can see the RV and my sweet wife sitting on the patio. She is enjoying her coffee while keeping tabs on me. She is not as confident of my skills in an inflatable boat as I am. 
As I am watching her watching me I get the first strike and this one is the mother load! My rod bends over the side of the boat and starts twitching as the fish fights desperately to get off. What seems like a long time passes as I wrestle with the rod. Soon I see a flash of white just below the surface and I can see that this is a keeper! I fumble around in the boat trying to hold the rod...which by this time is making my wrist soar Grappling for the net to capture Mr. Fish before he gets off proves to be a challenge. Finally I feel the handle of the net just to my right and behind me. Now I have to work it up and around me and past the trolling motor then over the side and dip it it under my prize fish!
Got him and now the fun begins! This is an angry catfish. You know that catfish have sharp barbs on the sides and the top just to stick fishermen with. One other thing they can do is put a hole in a inflatable boat! Trying to keep that from happening and unhook this fellow without him sticking me was an undaunted task in itself. 
With my left hand I grabbed the fish just below the barbs and worked the hook from his lip. Now it gets harder from here. I have to hold this twisting wild fish with my left hand and locate my fish basket...which once again is behind me and to the left. Have you ever seen a fat man in a small boat trying to twist to the left...holding a pissed off catfish...while feeling around for a fish basket that he cannot see?
OK you have the picture. All turned out well and I did get the fish into the basket and put it over the side of the boat out of harms way.
This is when I came to the conclusion that I need to re-arrange my fishing gear so I can get to it in the chance I might hang another whopper!
Hang another whopper...no. I did catch some more fish and they were netted and put in the basket with much less problems than before. It was a great hour or so on the lake and then it was time to beach the boat and clean fish.
No I don't have any pictures of the fish and I know this sounds like a fisherman's tale but I do have a reliable witness.
Tomorrow is another day and more fishing is in the plan...

Somewhere in Time   

From swamp coolers to refrigerated air

Being so caught up in the beauty of this lake and the weather I have not taken many pictures. Normally I spend a lot of time snapping photos of everything I see but for some reason I have not had the camera near me. I guess I have been so taken with enjoying the great outdoors I have failed to share it with others. I shall try to do better from now on...but I can't promise that...LOL
The clouds from yesterday had cleared and we were experiencing hotter temps this morning. I guess the humidity was the big thing not so much the heat. I can't take humidity...this coming from a guy living in Texas? I guess being born in west Texas and moving to east Texas has an effect on you. In west Texas we had swamp coolers. Now if you have ever lived in a desert climate you know what a swamp cooler is. I think you would be surprised on how cold they can be! I remember at nights pulling more cover over me to keep warm when the cooler was running. We had a cooler that fit in the window of the car that worked off the same principle and it would cool the car off...well as long as you were moving...LOL.

 OK nuff about that.
Back to the humidity...I was wringing wet by noon and decided to take the kids swimming. They were all for it..DUH! We loaded up and drove the short distance down to the beach where I hurried up the chair and umbrella installation. I almost beat the kids down to the water and ran in waste deep and sat down! WOW was that nice! Humidity??? What humidity?
We spent several hours down there having fun floating around. I was nothing but a big wrinkle when I got out and loaded the kids up in the truck for the ride back to the camp site.
We had a great day...

Somewhere in Time

Wildlife abounds here

While sitting on the porch this morning we saw a raccoon scurrying down the bank of the lake searching for something to eat. The kids have been putting food out for the many birds that are here and they come right up to the patio to get their breakfast. It is so nice to see all these things around you while sipping your coffee.
Deer are also all over the park. We see many on the way to the swimming beach and Franki said she saw some polka dotted ones the other day.
We spent much of the early morning on the porch watching the sun come up and then I took a spin in the boat. I stayed out for about an hour and then came back into shore for some breakfast. This morning we had some pancakes and bacon.
We were taking the kids swimming today and once we were through with out breakfast we piled in the truck and headed out to the swimming beach.
The beach here is real nice but the sand has tiny gravel in it and it is a little ruff when you get some inside your water shoes.
We set up the chairs and the umbrella and sat back to watch the kids have a good time. It did not take long...me sitting in the sun...to head out into the water with them. It sure felt good to sink below the surface and cool down.
It was not very long after we arrived that some black clouds showed up and we had to leave. The wind picked up and we could hear some thunder in the distance. It was a short dip in the lake and we all had fun...

Somewhere in Time

A little rain is good for the soul

Up before the sun...coffee in hand I am enjoying the cool temps and the companionship of my best friend. Sherri and I sat silently waiting for the sun to peek over the pine trees on the opposite side of the lake.
The sky began to turn a pinkish orange mixed with some bellowing dark clouds that would soon cover up the sky. The wind was cool and refreshing as we sat back and watch the morning unfold before us.
It was not too long and we could here the sound of little raindrops tapping on the roof of the RV. I went inside and pushed the button for the awning to come out and rain began to hit it as it covered our porch.
"Now it does not get any better than this"... I told Sherri. How great is this that we can sit out here and enjoy the view while it is raining. There was no thunderstorm to speak of, just the cool rain coming down and dripping off of the awning. I could do this all day! And for the most part we did.
No boating today.
 We fixed some breakfast and ate outside on the picnic table. Now that is the best breakfast you can have. Outside with a cool rain and hot sausage and eggs. Toast and jelly to round it off and I was a happy camper!
We could not ask for better weather here in June! We have not had a day over 80 degrees so far. I know that this will end, however, and we will be heating up soon enough.
Until then we will enjoy this...

Somewhere in Time

Dollar General just down the street

Even though we are at the lake we are up at our usual time every morning. Five am seems early to many folks but it is the time we have been getting up as far back as I can remember.
This morning was no different. I was outside making coffee in the outdoor kitchen and Sherri was getting dressed. We met just as the coffee was ready to pour. Then it was time to watch for the sun to come up over the trees.
We don't waste one minute of the day other than the time we drink our coffee. That is far from a waste when you witness the beautiful sunrise. We have tried to see all of them as long as we have been free to do so.

I thank God every day that I was allowed to live long enough to retire. Everyday is a Saturday to me and time is for the most part irrelevant. We do have our appointments to keep but other than that we don't need clocks or watches to tell what time it is. When we wake up it must be 5:00...when we get hungry it must be 11:00 and when we get hungry later it must be 5:00 pm. This is the clock we live by now. 
Today will be a day that we run up to the Dollar General and get a few things. It is so nice to have one just outside the campground. We don't need that much but not having to drive a great distance to shop is a plus here.
After returning from the General we once again retreated to the patio and enjoyed the cool temps that we were having. It has rained here most every morning keeping the temperatures down in the 70's.
Tomorrow we take the kids to the swimming beach. Well that is if it is not raining here...

Somewhere in Time    

Enjoying the lake

Unlike many of the travelers out there Sherri and I don't do a lot of site seeing. We spend most of our time enjoying the scenery where ever we land on our journey. Eating out to us is fixing breakfast lunch or dinner out side on the patio. I don't have many pictures of touristy things around the area only pictures of us having fun around the RV. 
Now that I have a boat I have been spending a lot of time out on the lake exploring new coves here and there. Drifting along the shore line with a line out produces shocking strikes that result in nice size fish. 
Yes this is our adventure now days.
Kris loves to ride his bike and do his own exploring. We worry about him going off and try to keep a close eye on his travels but then that is what makes future explores. It would not be fair to real him in too close and let him miss the sites and adventures.
Lake of the Pines is one of the prettiest lakes we have visited over the years. There is so much of the lake to see that is not filled with homes and man made ugliness. Some lakes are surrounded with so many structures that you don't really fill like you ever left the city.  
Today started out with coffee. We just sat out on the patio and gazed across the lake as the sun came up. 
The sun was just about to pop up over the trees when I slipped my boat into the water. I had bought some shrimp and wanted to try it out. It was just a short time after I sent my bait over the side of the boat that I had a tremendous hit. The fight was on! I was using a light weight rod and real and was afraid to bring Mr Fish in too quickly. Soon I had him just inches off the surface and eased my net under him. WOW! Now that was fun! I had three or four more good fish and then it was time to come in. When the sun gets up high it gets hot out on the lake.
The rest of the day was spent sitting under the awning sipping cool beverage and telling the story of my catch that morning.
If the rest of our time here is like this I will be a happy camper...

Somewhere in Time  

Lake of the Pines 38 years later

It was 38 years ago when Sherri and I first camped at Lake of the Pines. Sherri's mom and dad volunteered to keep the kids so we could get away for a while. We started out in Arkansas and slowly worked our way down to Lake of the Pines in East Texas.
The lake itself has not changed that much since we camped there in a tent. I tried to find the exact camp site that we used but after 38 years one forgets some of the details.
We have a real nice site and I have launched my boat to go fishing this morning.
We got up early and made coffee in our outside kitchen. It was nice being able to make our coffee outside and not have to go back and forth inside to get the next cup.
Fishing turned out to be quite lucrative. I bagged 4 nice size catfish and soon had them cleaned and bagged for the freezer.
Having never used my boat for fishing I learned a lot about what to take and what not to. I don't have much room to move around or stow things so I have to be very particular on what I bring along.
Drift fishing is my favorite form of fishing and this little inflatable is idea for just that.
After returning to the camp site I made everyone a big breakfast of bacon and eggs with toast. It was about 9:30 and this would do us until after noon. We skipped lunch and spent the rest of the day sitting under the patio cover watching it rain. Yes we had rain the rest of the day and it cooled things down to the 70's.
Our first day was all we could have hoped for...

Somewhere in Time

Our adventure begins

The alarm going off took me out of my slumber. I was dreaming about going on an adventure somewhere far away from all the projects. 
This was not only a dream but soon to be a reality. Yes we were getting loaded up for our first real trip in the RV. 
I know for all of you that are still full timing, your saying your adventure never ends and you are so right! We did that for 7 years and it was great but all good things must come to an end.
We have grounded ourselves here in our new home and don't take this wrong we love it! We still have our lake lot and we still can have many adventures. 
The biggest difference for us is that we have to plan and load all our needs prior to leaving out. Unlike living in our RV we had everything that we needed already loaded so all we had to do was drive off.
Having the travel trailer is a little bit harder to manage everything but it is more like camping out than ever before! Going and staying now reminds us of the early years when I was working and we planned our trip for weeks. Planning and getting ready was part of the excitement we had.
OK we were up early and put the last few things in the truck for the journey to the lake. This is where we store the RV. We hooked up and headed over to the State Park to dump our tanks. 
That being done we drove down to our house and parked out front where we loaded our clothes food and everything else we needed. 
Then we were off! We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us which was uneventful and pleasant.

We arrived just at check in time and the site was everything that we had hoped it would be. We had lake front access and a great place for me to launch my boat and tie it up at night. 
We made ready the patio area and soon were enjoying the great out doors...again...

Somewhere in Time

Yard Sale is on

Today is Yard Sale Day! We put everything out that we could live without.
This reminded me of our days at First Monday Canton Sales Day. We did that Flea Market for 18 years. Sherri sold doll clothes and I sold doll furniture. We did really well for all those years but then decided to hang it up and retire.
Retire we did not but we did not have to drive to Canton Texas every first Monday and set up our booth. Come rain or shine we were there. Through snow...hail...rain and wind we were there religiously.
Sitting here in the garage we spent time visiting with each other and soon with the neighbors we had not had the privilege of meeting yet. If you want to meet all your neighbors have a yard sale.
This evening after we close I have to mow the front and back yard. several things that have to be done before we pack all the left over sales items to the lake. What ever is left will be for the Fall sale we are planning. More money for our later adventures...

Somewhere in Time

Back fence is done

We were up early Saturday morning to start on the back fence. It gets hot here earlier now so we had to hurry through our coffee and drag out all the tools to get started.

Our back yard is the city ball fields

Looking the other direction you can see that we have open spaces 

Sherri loads the truck with the old fence material 

This is the back side of the fence looking from the city side

Some used and new fence is up and looking much better than the rotting wood we had 

We finished up just in time. The temps hit high 80's soon after. We have some other areas that we plan on redoing in the near future. Some more mulched areas and new fence for the side of the house.

New mulched areas in the corner of the yard

Our front fence needs to be replaced

All this keeps me out of trouble and in shape for my upcoming fishing trip...

Somewhere in Time 

Many things to do

Monday I have to get our yard sale permit and then put an add in the paper.
Then I have to stop by the City Hall and get the water turned on to our sprinkling system. It is on a separate bill than our other water. We have to pay a sewage bill with it but not with the irrigation system.
Back home again to finish up some projects in the back yard and then nap time.
We finished our fence and planted our new shrubs. All is coming together here. The new shrubs are going through a little shock but I read where they will be OK in a couple of weeks.
Our house is coming together now and we love how everything looks. We are so lucky to have the best of both worlds. Our RV at the lake and a nice home to come back to. Now all I need is a boat! LOL.
I do have the inflatable which works great for me when we are on the road. I can throw it in the back and blow it up where ever I have a place to launch it.
I really need to post some pictures of all so everyone can see what we have been up to...

Somewhere in Time