I got home safe and sound and happy from that late June 2023 camping trip to Bay View State Park. Towhee the Trailer was put away snug as a bug in her storage spot. I drove to my home and did laundry, picked up the mail, paid the bills, checked in with friends and neighbors, bought groceries, weeded my flower beds, etc, etc. And I was planning my next camping trip for 2023, yay!
But on the morning of Sunday, July 1, 2023, I hopped out of bed at home to find the floor inside my home was covered in water. The water main that feeds water to my house, that is in the dirt under my house, below the concrete slab, had burst and had forced water up into my house, flooding the floor. Slop, slop, slop, slop!
I moved me and everything I owned out of the house. I got the water pipe (UNDER the concrete slab) fixed, and the flooring in the house and everything else fixed. I moved back in (eventually). But I couldn’t plan any camping trips because I never knew when any of the contractors or insurance adjusters would need access to the house. So that camping trip to Bay View State Park was the last camping trip I took in 2023, not happy about that! I may share more of the leak-and-repair story with you in another blog post (it took almost seven months for the repairs and insurance issues to be completed such that I could move back in, along with some communication from my attorney). But in the end, it did all get fixed. So I can share some of that with you here one of these days but I have happier things to share for now. That story can wait!
I went camping in 2023 twice … to Eightmile Campground in late May, 2023, and then to Bay View State Park in late June, 2023. Then the leak happened in July. But then in late August, 2023, friends of mine took a trip and asked me to house/cat sit for a few days. As of July 2, I’d been living in my trailer, which was parked in front of my house, so I sure said YES to being able to live in a “real” house for a few days. Here are just a few photos from my stay at my friends’ home. The cat’s name is Shadow, and you’ll see why that’s his name. 🙂
The photo below is the view from their back yard over the pond (golf course water hazard) and then the 15th fairway and 15th green beyond the pond. The view is to the southwest, with the western late afternoon sun to the right.
The reeds in the pond are so pretty. Ducks come every morning. Other birds hang around too. And my friends have seen mammals (coyotes!) come by in the middle of the night for a drink of water.
The photo below was taken while I was out at the pond. I turned and looked back up at the house where I was cat-sitting with Shadow. Notice the red/orange folded umbrella on the left … and the glass patio doors right behind the umbrella. Immediately outside the patio doors is a large storage container that holds cushions for the outdoor patio chairs, keeping the cushions dry and clean when not in use.
After taking the photo above, I walked back up to the house and to that patio area, opened the storage box to take out a cushion so I could sit outside and enjoy the late afternoon sun (and watch the late afternoon golfers).
As soon as I lifted the lid to that storage box, here’s what I saw inside the frame/wall of the storage box. I think it’s a Brown Tree Frog … it was big. It took me a few moments before I noticed the spider to the right. I don’t know what the spider’s name is. How that frog got in there, and why, is sure a mystery.
But then … over in the far left corner of the storage box was a smaller frog (photo below). It was quite a bit smaller than the brown frog. I believe this green one is a Green Tree Frog. The two frogs aren’t related to each other, but they both sure liked this place to hide.
And then I looked back at the larger Brown Tree Frog (below) … looks to me like that spider is about to become a bite of supper for that frog.
I didn’t hang around to watch the frog shenanigans. It was time to feed Shadow the cat.
I went indoors, prepped his supper. Then took a tour of the house to find him. Here he is on “his” bed in the master bedroom. It’s awfully nice that he allows them to sleep there too when they’re home.
Isn’t he gorgeous? (click on photos to enlarge them)
So, even though I didn’t take any more camping trips in 2023, I still found fun and adventures and joy in my life. I’ll share more interesting things from 2023 here too. And in a few weeks, I’ll start posting my 2024 camping trips. Stay tuned! Cuddle up with your pets, and other folks whom you love, ok maybe not the frogs. 🙂