Fat Tuesday......

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

(all pics taken with my phone)

A very warm night lead to an extremely muggy warm day today. The high humidity was tempered with a slight breeze which seemed to lower the temps in our minds at least.  Lots of A/C's running today and still now tonight. The temps outside right now at just past 8:30 pm is still about 68F/20C. 

Lots of these little yellow flowers on our walk this morning...

Today is Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, which means the end of Mardi Gras. Biloxi had a big parade this afternoon and Gulfport was having one this evening, and that will end the parades in this area. We didn't attend either of those just mentioned. I think one was enough for Riley for her first year, maybe we'll do more next year. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which is the start of 40 days of Lent. That of course will lead us to Easter for which we will be in Canada, southern Ontario region. 

These little weedy things were everywhere but they aren't dandelions.

Up at the fire this morning around 6:30 a.m. with just Buzz, Mac, and Ken until Ron strolled up around 7 a.m. or so. After that more stragglers appeared, some bleary eyed, some bright eyed, and others just managing a grunt or two. Always easy to tell the morning folks from the others. ~laugh~ 

I believe this might be a dandelion..

Breakfast left us with no clear details of what our day would be, it was left to chance. A walk at the Sports Complex with Riley going 2 miles and me extending mine to 3 miles. Took about an hour. We noticed a number of flowers/flowering weeds are in abundance in this area. Things are greening up, leaves are out, dandelions have gone to seed already in some areas, Iris's are starting to bloom as well. I think it's safe to assume spring might be here already, which seems much earlier than normal I think. 

The pine cones here aren't big at all.

Leaving the walking path we headed off to Walmart for some things including diesel fuel at $2.22 per gallon. I pumped 30 + gallons into the truck which was sitting around 1/8th of a tank of fuel, so I know it's a big tank. The top is smaller than the bottom though, goes from full to half quickly but then from half to a quarter much slower and I don't run anything much lower than a 1/4 unless I'm just running around the city. 

Her Royal Highness inside, the Nutty Squirrel outside....

We then headed into the store to look at some summer clothing, which we picked up a few things, added to that a few groceries, and before long we were heading back to the Igloo. Unloaded things, put them away and that was it for the exciting part of the day. From there we just kind puttered and putz'd around reading, napping, etc. Riley also was back to shelling pecans again this afternoon. 

Come closer, I dare ya......

 

Around 5 pm the cat was sitting perfectly still and was very tense looking out the door screen. I noticed she was extremely intent and totally focused on the outside. Peering out the screen I noticed this squirrel just outside on the mat, he kind of wandered around the mat in a circle or a zig zag, the cat's head swiveling while following him. The brazen little thing even climbed the steps outside and the cat's paws were now on the edge of the bottom of the screen, the squirrel turned around, went back down, the cat sat down, the squirrel came back up the cat got back up, and then the squirrel went back down, chattered at the bottom of the step for a second and took off with the cat nosing her way into the very edge of the door to see if she could keep an eye on him. ~laugh~ It was too funny.

Prepped dinner which was Garlic Potatoes and Onions, Orange Zest Veggies, and JD Smokehouse Chicken Breasts. Good stuff!!!! Sorry no pic, I deleted it by accident before I uploaded it but after I ate dinner. ~laugh~ 

A quick clean up inside and out, walk to the dumpster, back home for a game of Yahtzee. We will leave it at that. 

Nothing exciting but pleasant all the same. Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time, be safe, take care....

A busy Monday....

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

(more pics of the parade at Pass Christian yesterday)

The overnight temps remained warm, leave the windows and vents open kind of warm but the day wasn't quite as warm as we'd like. Not complaining but well...a bit warmer would be nice. ~laugh~ Tonight's temps are about 67F/19.4C at 9 pm. The rain they forecast for today didn't arrive but it certainly clouded over a few times to make us believe it might start dripping. 

Interesting Police Vehicle, don't ya think?

Morning fire with the regular folks, Ron, Ken, Mac, Buzz and myself soon followed by a few other folks, even Riley came along for a while. 

Not the friendliest fellow I seen on the floats yesterday.....

Home to shower, clean the Igloo and have breakfast which we managed to do all before 10 a.m., fast aren't we? From cleaning we hopped in the Dogsled, headed out to the office to pay for another week. Butch (park owner) happened by as we were paying, we chit chatted for a bit, and we walked off with a Yeti mug cutesy of Butch for being a 'long' time regular here at Magic. 

 

He was a friendly fella though....

 

Back at the Igloo we read for a bit before climbing back into the Dogsled once again, this time bringing with us  our friends Ron & Sharon, we headed off to the Rusty Pelican for the Monday special of Red Beans and Rice, or whatever tickled your fancy. We managed to rearrange the restaurant as we had a large number from the campground all there for lunch. Chuck & Jeannie, Mac, Billy & Charlene, Ken & Faye, Buzz (Paul) & Lisa, Ron & Sharon, Riley & I. So that was 13, I don't think I forgot anyone but it's possible. Oh yes, I forgot Flat Stanley, Lisa & Buzz's school project for a granddaughter. Of course we all know Flat Stanley is a project given at school in which a flat, paper person cutout is sent to a relative, this relative is charged with taking pictures of Stanley visiting, doing, seeing, enjoying his surroundings all while it is being documented. At the end of Stanley's visit, he is returned to his home STUDENT and presented to the class. It makes for an interesting, educational lesson for both the sender and the receiver. 

 

All decked out in his finery.....

 

After the Rusty Pelican we came back to the park, dropped Sharon and Riley off at home, after which Ron and I headed out to one of my favourite stores, Harbor Freight. Ron bought a number of things while I managed to only buy 3 strings of solar powered rope lights. I'm still thinking about an Inverter, and what size I want or perhaps need would be a better way to look at it. 

Flying beads and nice hair....

Back home I dropped Ron at home, thanked Miss Sharon for letting Ron come out to play and then headed home myself. Riley was outside at the picnic table cracking some pecans that we've brought from Georgia and so I mostly picked some nut pieces out of the 'discard' bag and enjoyed a bit of a chat with her. After that it was inside to read and instead of my book I decided I should read some of the literature about the Solar set up. The book is small and the print is tiny, can't read much at a time, gives me a headache. 

Concentration.....

Before I knew it the afternoon was over and we hadn't gone for our walk today. Lazy aren't we? ~laugh~ Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Read for a bit, a book called The First Horsemen, not at all what I expected but an okay read so far. 

Cool hat....

Around 5:45 p.m. I prepped some veggies and by shortly after 6 p.m. I was BBQing dinner. Tonight we had Garden Herb Rice, Italian Veggies and JD BBQ chicken breasts. It was good stuff, even had me licking my fingers. 

The Super Hero Crowd......

After dinner a quick clean up inside and out, walk to the dumpster and a stop at the fire. Riley stayed home tonight. A big crowd around the fire included Ken & Faye, Charles & Roberta, Jeannie and eventually Chuck, Ron & Sharon, Charlene & Billy, eventually Lisa and then eventually Buzz, some new guy as well, plus myself. Oh and Pete was there as well. So a good crowd, lots of laughs, some very witty people in the crowd. 

Look at all the beads waiting to be tossed....

Home shortly before 9 p.m., Riley was already off doing her thing and I cleaned myself up a bit as I smelled like Smokey the Bear, then settled down to write my blog.

Not an exciting but I truly enjoyed my day. I look forward to more like it! Thanks for stopping by, I hope your day has been as good as mine. Until next time..be safe, take care...

Sun, wind, parade, and pizza

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

The morning was very cool today, the temps warmed up but not too high and the cold north wind was a bitch. Even managed to get a wind burn today, not just me, but Riley too. The sun peeked out and warmed up the air some what but not enough to go short sleeves or short pants, or at least not for us. Many hardy souls did manage to seem comfortable in such fashion but ...they may  have been a little heated from other sources. ~laugh~

Some classy outfits on this float...

Up at the fire about 6:30 am or shortly there after, the same regular crew around the circle. A few additions and within a short period of time there was only women at the circle, the men had all just disappeared. Amazing how that happened. ~laugh~ The talk was interesting, and lively, learned a few things, remembered a few things and generally had a good time except for the cold wind up my back. Brrrrr...

Different kind of classy head gear.....

Breakfast was a quiet affair with discussions of what our day should hold. We managed to read until about 9:50 am, then headed out to follow a few folks to the parade in Pass Christian, the next town over. We lost them once we reached the small town city limits and never seen them again until we were parking the Dogsled at the Igloo. 

She was having a ball tossing stuff....

The amount of cars at the parade was amazing, we ended up doing what lots of others did and parked up on the sidewalk along US 90, walked about a half mile and found a place to sit, waiting for the parade to start. A long wait, we had about 45 minutes to wait but if we'd come any later we wouldn't have found a spot to sit or stand. 

They take their parades very seriously down here...

Amazing the way these folks get into it, some dress up, some wear masks, some wear funky head gear, or hair, others dress in a variety of ways, but all are interesting. Foot wear varied from sandals, to 2 inch heels, cowboy boots, runners, clogs, work boots, and even a few slippers. ~laugh~ That was all BEFORE the parade!!!

He was on one of the floats tossing stuff too...

The parade consisted of about 70 floats, all with massive amounts of beads, stuffed toys, hats, thongs, candy, drink holders, cloth roses, frizbee's, tomahawks, balls, cups, and numerous other things. People were weighted down with about 30 extra pounds of beads and goodies, it was amazing how some managed to keep piling them on. Some floats were impressively done, or had impressive themes such as hats, or suits, or hair, or costumes, some were just bare with beads being the only attraction. The rigs pulling were just as diverse as the floats and the people. Riley collected some beads but soon tired of ducking when they hurled them at her, we found a bench and managed to avoid most of the frenzied throwing. She says she had a great time but I didn't think she did. It was too loud and too crowded I think. Anyway, it was interesting for her as it was her first parade. 

These young fellas were riding on the King's float....

The walk back to the Dogsled didn't take long, we just followed the masses. ~laugh~ I had thought we were pretty much to the end of the line for parking but it went way on past us for another half mile at least with people plunking themselves any which way they could in an opening on the sidewalk. Made for some interesting walking around the vehicles. 

One of the more decorated floats.....

On the way home we stopped at Papa John's pizza for a large pizza for Riley. Pineapple, mushrooms, cheese. I passed on the pizza, although I will admit I picked off the pineapple and ate one piece when we got home, it was after all 1:30 and I had no salad prepared for lunch. After that we just kind of hung out and rested, trying to get warm and stop our facing from burning with the wind burn. 

Pretty much half of the crowd could have been on this float....lots of booze before noon today...

Tonight is pasta night, so I will be doing NO cooking, only helping to clean up. I think an early night for me might be in order. ~laugh~ I'm tuckered.

This guy was just walking around BEFORE the parade...

Dinner tonight was Spaghetti/broad noodles with meatballs and sauce. Riley did an excellent job!! My compliments to the chef!

He has a big tutu, doesn't he? ~laugh~

Quick clean up inside, trip to the dumpster and then a call to my dad to shoot the breeze and catch up with the Great White North Gossip and News reel. After that it is off in our own directions. Both of us are tired, I think the wind and the crowd wore us out.

Favourite Float character....

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. Until next time...be safe, take care....

Blue skies, cool wind, and lazy day....

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

(all pics taken with my phone)

A warm night followed by a dampish morning, with a cool that kind of crept thru me and left me feeling a bit chilled most of the day. The cool breeze must have been from the north as I'm certain my fellow Canadians are tired of reading about warm temps and great days. That's my theory at least. 

Our home location in the park..

The morning started late for me, I didn't make it to the fire until about 7 a.m. I slept in for some reason but I think waking up in the middle night and not sleeping for a couple of hours may have had a bit to do with that. Seems to be the new trend in my sleep pattern. Even without an afternoon nap I'm often up for hours in the wee darkness of the night for some reason. Oh well....the way it is.

Standing in front of the Igloo taking this pic

The fire chat was interesting once again, I always enjoy listening to the voices around me, the knowledgeable folks always willing to share with each other, the sound of the accents always delightful to hear, and the warm friendly atmosphere are always refreshing to me. Ron, Buzz, Ken, Paige, and Linda were all present around the early warmth this morning, Mac under the weather wasn't seen until much later in the morning. Many others joined the group as time went on.

Some of the wildlife here in the park.....

Ron offered me the Harbor Freight sales flyer and so off we went to get it from his Motorhome. Fantastic beast they've got there, call it  NewMar!!!Lots of storage, and an airy, expansive feel to the space inside. Truly a very nice home on wheels. We chatted for a bit, discussed the monitoring panels for his solar panels, and spent an enjoyable while just visiting. Riley ended up dropping in as well for a bit, and we chatted some more. I think at some point this coming week Ron and I will head to Harbor Freight to have a look at a few things that caught our eye in the flyer. 

Some fellow Canadians....

Riley and I headed home discussing our plans for the day of which there were very few. A walk, a quick stop at Wally's and that was it for the list. We managed to complete those things and be home at noon. Amazing how we manage to always seem to be getting home around that time, no matter how many errands we run. ~laugh~ 

East fish pond....

Lunch and some time spent down by the pond sitting in the sun pretty much took up the afternoon. Some warm rays from the big ball in the sky but the wind kept the heat at bay for the most part. Still not too terribly bad sitting out in the sunshine. 

West Pond.....

Prepped dinner around 5:30 pm, and managed to start BBQ'ing by 6:15 pm. We had Garlic Potatoes and Onions, Orange zest veggies (asparagus, green beans, mushrooms and peppers), Roger's BBQ  Chicken Breasts. Hm.....good stuff. We topped that off with some ice cream. Not a bad dinner at all. 

Yummy dinner....

Quick clean up inside and out, walk to the dumpster but back to the Igloo as I had a bit of a chill from being outside cooking, plus I'm tired, I think I'll be calling it a night early this evening. 

So that's it, nothing heart pounding but a great day, a great visit with some wonderful folks, and nothing to shovel, or at least nothing white to shovel. ~laugh~ Hope you enjoyed your visit. Until next time...be safe, take care....

Some sunshine, some rain, some heat and a busy day....

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

A warm night, followed by a bit of fog this morning and some warm temps throughout the rest of the day. A splash of rain this afternoon but nothing to drastic, just enough to have to 'close' stuff. ~laugh~ 

Friendship Oak

Up at the fire around 7 am this morning I enjoyed some chatter with a few folks, Riley managed to make it up there as well. Around 8:30 we headed back to the Igloo and breakfast. Of course our meal was delayed while I handled some business with Verizon and then had a shower due to the smokey smell of the wood fire. Riley sorted the laundry while I showered, and I packed it up while she showered. We made a good team. Breakfast and a quick discussion soon had us out the door around 10 a.m. 

It's now fenced off, and you can't near enough to take your picture with it.

Our first stop was the regular parking lot we park in when we walk at the beach. This time however we went west instead of our usual east. We enjoyed our hour's walk, the sunshine was warm, the breeze cooled us off enough to keep us from getting hot and we made it back to the Dogsled in good shape. 

Branches drooping to the ground, too heavy to hold up..

We headed East along US90 after our walk to the University Campus and the Friendship Oak. A Living Oak that is over 500 years old and still in really good shape. They have put a fence around it to keep people from climbing on it now, but it's still a magnificent thing to see. Even though there are many mature oaks on the property, they all seem to be dwarfed compared to the Friendship Oak. The branches are literally too heavy to be supported and have drooped to the ground, some actually taking root they've settled so far into the ground before they head back up skyward. It's amazing how big this tree is, how they've cut off numerous ends of branches to ensure that the roadway is still operational. It produces millions of small acorns each year and is green all year around. A Living Oak does not shed it's leaves until new ones are present to push them off, not a bud but a real full opened leaf. 

 

More dripping branches....see how twisted they are?

 

From the Friendship Oak we came back to the Igloo so Riley could rest, she's not feeling so well today. I think the rest will do her some good. I headed out to Railroad Street and the Laundromat besides Wards. Not many people in there today and the machines are very nice, very new and excellent working. Although the flat rate was $3 per load, it didn't take long to add a quarter, fifty cents, or even seventy-five cents to the price depending on which water temp and wash cycle you chose. However it was still nice to have a choice and I took full advantage of that. Drying was over pretty quickly as well, folding took some time though. However I managed to wash, dry, fold and hang all the laundry and still be home around 3 p.m. Then it was time to put it all away, which Riley helped with. 

 

This tree looks small in comparison to the Friendship Oak, look how big the trunk is....

 

I grabbed a few things to eat as I'd missed lunch. After that I enlisted Miss Riley to help me level up the Igloo. We've been slowly sinking on one side as we've settled into about 2 or 2 1/2 inches of mud. It made us tip to one side and so today we fixed that by moving slightly back and forward while putting a 2 inch board under one side. The folks in the campground were all watching, wondering if we were leaving or what we were doing. It was too funny to see them craning their necks and watching. You could just hear them chattering. ~laugh~ 

 

This tree is about the same size as the one I'm hugging....

 

After leveling us up we headed up to the fire for a minute to explain that we weren't leaving, that we are in fact staying and were only leveling up. That seemed to put them more at ease. Back home I sat down to read some more of my book. It's a pretty good book, a western by Louis L'Amour called Western Tide. 

 

Just a couple of the many sculptures along US 90 using the remains of the trees Katrina killed back in her time.

 

Around 6 p.m. I started cutting up some veggies for dinner tonight, only carrots, green beans, and mushrooms, to that I squeezed an orange over it and grated some zest into the veggies. MMmmmmm...good stuff. Served along side of white rice and mild Italian Sausage we had a good dinner. Truly enjoyed it with just enough orange on the veggies to make it mouth watering. 

 

Tells about the Friendship Oak

 

After a quick clean up inside and out, a walk to the dumpster, and around to the fire pit for a while. Always an interesting crew up at the fire. We only stayed for a short time, about a half hour then home to do our own things. 

 

It was yummy........

 

So that was our day, nothing too exciting but it was interesting enough for us. Hope you enjoyed your visit, feel free to leave a comment. Until next time....be safe, take care.....

Warm, pleasant day.....

Our Location: Magic River Rv Resort, Long Beach, Mississippi

(all pics taken with my phone)

A bright start to the day at 6:45 am as I was up at the fire enjoying the company of a few folks, Mac, Buzz and Ron all greeted me with happy smiles and warm greetings. The air was warm and filled with the smell of wood smoke which was pleasant. As the time slipped on more and more folks arrived at the fire including Butch (park owner), Linda and a few others. Butch being the nice fella that he is brought two boxes of hot fresh donuts to the party. ~laugh~ Soon Swilly and the work crew joined us for a few minutes.

Morning walk at the beach....

Back at the Igloo about 8 am I found Riley up and around. We managed to find some breakfast and make plans for the day. Of course all plans are written in Jello as they can be changed on the fly or while sitting, laying, or resting, sleeping or working. We had great intentions though and that's what counts right? ~laugh~

Looking back in the direction we've come.....

Off to the beach we went to get in a walk, which went well. We managed to chat with a few folks while on our walk and had an experience I've never had before. While walking out onto the pier a Heron flew past us and eventually landed not too far ahead of us on one of the little bench areas of the pier. Graceful and majestic, this bird simply settled it's long legs on the top rail of the pier railing and proceeded to make throaty growling type noises. We managed a number of pictures but they don't come close to showing the wonders of being up close to this bird. We were both impressed with the 'talking' of the bird, it seemed to be communicating it's likes, and dislikes quite easily.

He growled low in his throat and seemed very unafraid...

At the end of the pier we witnessed the same poles sticking out of the water with what appear to be the 'same' birds resting on them, meaning Pelican's. Each pole jutting out of the water has a Pelican roosting on top and they don't appear to leave any time we've been watching. They must be waiting for fish to come by and wave a fin shouting....here I am, come and get me!!!! ~laugh~ We also witnessed a small duck like bird that could dive and stay under water for quite some time, surface for a few seconds and go back down. Quite an interesting little bird.  He seemed to be underwater longer than he was on top of the water.

Just totally at ease with us walking by...

Drift wood picked up after Katrina

Back to the Dogsled we managed to find the Welcome Centre today with it's numerous displays and Mardi Gras decorations. Included in the displays were various pieces of art work including 4 pieces made entirely from driftwood that washed ashore after Katrina. One piece was a horse head or unicorn of wonderful light brown colour. The other 3 were called Burning Man and were made from burnt driftwood. They were very impressive.

Burning Man made from burnt driftwood.....

Leaving the Welcome Centre we stopped at a souvenir shop just because we could. We didn't buy anything but we browsed for a bit. After that it was decided to by pass the Friendship Tree today as Riley seemed a bit under the weather. So another time we'll do the tree.

A Mardi Gras costume

At home we managed to put in the afternoon with both of us taking a nap. We both woke feeling much better after a bit of a pick me up. ~laugh~ Reading, and enjoying the day with the big door open as well as numerous windows, we had zero complaints today. Around 3:45 pm we headed up to the fire to chat with folks, but only Ken was there, we chatted for about a half hour and then came home to prep dinner.

Long guns at the end of the pier...

Around 6:15 pm I headed outside to BBQ dinner leaving the big door open as it was still warm enough. Dinner tonight was a repeat of last night almost, Garlic Potatoes and Onions, Orange Zest Veggies and Jack Daniels Chicken breasts.

Sidewalk art along our path this morning..

Quick clean up inside and outside, a walk to the dumpster and around by the fire showing us that no one was out and about but all seemed to be at home for the evening. We returned home and decided a bowl of ice cream would hit the spot, so we indulged a wee bit. After that it was off to our own directions and our own entertainment.

Yummy stuff....

So there you have it, not an earth shattering exciting day but still enjoyable and interesting. I hope you've had a great day as well. Until next time...be safe, take care.....