Getting Ready For Winter

 It has been quite some time since my last post and a lot of things have transpired over the months. First and foremost is the fact that we finally sold our Coquina Key house! We had a hectic three weeks or so getting things packed and ready to move. Not to mention that we made dozens and dozens of trips from that house to our mobile home in Clearwater. It could not have gotten done under that deadline without the help of Kim's sister April. She worked hard every day for 10 days and had to put up with my frustrations and being overwhelmed by it all. I finally did what most men do in that situation and said, "What do you want me to do next?" The last couple of days we were also helped by another sister-in-law, Michelle, and April's son Douglas. They were a big help doing the final cleanup and packing. So it is done. We are moved. I can breathe.

After getting settled in to our new place I knew that I had to make a run to the cabin to winterize it since the weather up there was starting to get very cold at night. I had two main goals: Insulate the new water pipes that Jimmie and myself installed months ago and to finally put the right gutter guards in place to stop all those leaves from clogging up the gutters. As it was, you had to clean them out 3-4 times a year and they would always be full. Could it be from all the trees that surround the place?? So after using a great gutter guard I had found for the mobile home I thought that they would work great for the cabin problem. And they did. After some small snipping and modifications they fit nice and tight and the gutters will now be leave free! That makes me feel great about  not having to haul out the ladder and fool with that mundane task each time I go there. And I'm sure William will be pleased as well. He and a friend had just cleaned them out a few weeks before I went there, and yet, they were almost full again. 

My friend Rick White came down late Friday evening and stayed until Sunday afternoon. He was a huge help and he really made the cleanup effort go a lot quicker. Saturday we blew leaves covering the parking area and all the way up the lane. We used the weed-eater and the mower to cut all the tall grass and weeds growing up the lane and at the top of the drive. It really looked great when we finished. I only wished it looked like that whenever we arrived instead of looking that good just when we have to leave. With Rick's help the gutter work went easy also. 

Of course, in the evening we made our usual trip to Hanson, Ky to eat at The Campus Fish House where the catfish can't be beat. We discovered after walking inside that the decor had been changed and new faces greated us. The server explained that she and her husband had just bought out the previous owner and had taken over. The menu had a few changes to it but the catfish had remained. We ordered that of course and it was almost like the other visits, very good fish. The only drawback was it appeared that the breading was a little lighter in color than the old owner used and maybe that's what made me think it was not quite as good as before. But we enjoyed every bite and I'll make the trip back there each time I go to the cabin.

On Saturday I had put out some corn and a mineral block at the usual deer-feeding spot just off the lane near the cabin. We can always count on seeing deer there on our visits. Sunday morning it didn't appear that any deer had found the bounty and I assured Rick that they would find it before long. Rick finally left Sunday afternoon and just before dusk I had went out and sat in my truck to listen to the NASCAR race on my Sirius radio. While sitting there facing the feeding spot I saw three large deer crossing from the hillside and walking across the lane toward the feeding spot. One of the deer walked over and started eating but the other two started walking up the lane toward the cabin, and toward me sitting in the truck! They didn't appear to be frightened of the house or truck and obviously they didn't notice me sitting there staring at them. They walked within 20 feet of the truck and one turned around and went back and started eating with the one that was already there. The last deer walked toward the fire pit and went around the backside and crossed the creek slowly strolling around the other hillside. After a good 15 minutes or so she fianlly walked back to the others and ate a little corn that was up on the road. I took a few pictures of all three using my cell phone and I'll post those as soon as I get them uploaded, although I'm not sure how well they turned out considering the lighting. But it was a nice treat to watch three deer walk so calmly around the place and eat the corn that I had left them. Another reason why I love going to the cabin.

 I'm not sure when the next trip will be up there for Kim and I but I'm sure Will, Lindsey and the kids will make it back there before we do. It's always sad closing it up for the winter and I worry about the freezing temperatures it's about to go through. But I look at it as I went there to add a few more covers on the ole girl and tuck her in for a long winter's sleep. Its the hybernating cabin. Looking forward to waking her up next spring.