It was supposed to be a lovely post. A photo of my campsite in the ponderosa pines with an undergrowth of blueberry bushes. Then there was the mule deer doe that hangs around the edges of the campground. However, I’m down to a cellular hotspot with only two bars of service. I spent two hours trying to get the photos included, but no bueno. In fact, I have my doubts whether this text only post will upload, so here goes nothing.
It was hot yesterday. Somewhere in the nineties. This is tough on bulldogs, but we have power here, so the AC helped a bunch. They were restless most of the night. Otto decided to get up somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00 this morning. It’s either listen to him pace and whine with no hope of going back to sleep, or get up. My MO is to get up. When it’s time for breakfast, it’s time for breakfast.
Frankie rarely eats when we go out like this. Otto was content to clean his bowl, then hers. I picked it up before he got a double breakfast. Old What’s Her Face got to sleep in a little, then she gave them some hamburger and an egg, so Frankie isn’t starving.
I plopped down under the awning while it was still dark. The first order of business was to deal with the final critiques for Lanternfish. I don’t need wifi for that, and it’s all resident on my iPad. It can save to the cloud when I get home. Good suggestions, and it’s in the fermenter for a couple of weeks. Then I have to read it from start to finish, because there are always things that get missed.
Next order of business was to send out a chapter for Mrs. Molony. For some reason, while slow, that went off without a problem.
I’m still going to add a couple of paragraphs to this story. They aren’t needed, but there is a minor theme that could be addressed. I’ll let my critique group decide when they see the final chapter.
That left me the short story with Jason Fogg. It’s time for it to come out of the fermenter and get the last reading. Only I found two boneheaded errors. I fixed those, then put it back in the fermenter. I’m on vacation all week, so during the staycation part, I’ll make sure it gets submitted.
We took a drive today and saw quite a few deer. I only took the one picture and it didn’t upload anyway. I hoped for an eagle here on the lakeshore, but he never showed up.
There are still quite a few mushrooms in the darker parts of the forest. I hoped to do a snoop for a good one to add to my breakfast, but the mosquitos were pretty bad. I’d sprayed myself with repellent, but my wife was having none of it.
I did see one I’ve never seen before called Dead Man’s Fingers. It was a pitiful example, and looked more like a bunch of thin black spikes. I have a hunch it wasn’t mature yet. This thing looks like zombie fingers poking from the earth if you find a good one. I fully intended to look for one, because I wanted a photo. But Old What’s Her Face insisted we leave.
Tonight we dined on grilled lobster tails and some kabob vegetables. I’m washing it down with a bottle of stout right now. We’re having a good time, but the post would look better with pictures.
Update: The guy camped across the street from us is a piece of work. He is there with a girl of about thirteen and a son at about four, if I had to guess. Then grandma is with them. He’s one of those guys who is on his phone all the time. He tries to sound like a big deal, and has that wheeler-dealer mentality. He called his boss and is going to miss work on Monday. I couldn’t help but overhear. Something about the ex-wife and how he had to hire a babysitter one night because he had some function to attend. Then he was contacted by Central District Health. There is a trail of Covid-19 exposure going through the alleged babysitter. He said he has to take Monday off to get his entire family tested, but none of them are showing any symptoms.
I’m not totally freaked out, and they are about fifty feet from us. He’s been down at the dock fishing with the post-toddler. The dock is swarming with people. He’s also been in the neighboring camp telling them about his fishing prowess. Not one mask in sight.
If I’m not mistaken, the rules are to stay home until you get the all-clear. Not to go camping and mingle with other people, because you might not have Covid. The teen had the little one and was pointing into our camp. “Look at the puppies.”
No. Don’t look at the fucking puppies and keep on your side of the god damned street.
He’s a tent camper, too, so that means they’ll all be using the restroom facilities.
Between you and me, I think the guy was lying to his boss. He’s that kind of bullshitter. I’m not willing to take that chance, and if Otto misses out on making one friend he’ll get over it. We have social distancing on our side, and we’re outdoors to boot. I’m not letting any of them near my stuff, or allowing them to pet the dogs.
Sounds like fun. Good thing you have the AC.
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Come back and check out the update. Amazing situation. Today was only in the upper 70s. Much nicer.
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Wow. I hope he’s lying, but that type of mentality is disturbingly common. Totally agree that you should stay far away.
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They live among us, and it’s frightening.
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It’s why I don’t go outside unless I really have to.
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And I thought I was being outrageous when I added cyber shut ins to my last novel.
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Nope. They’ll outlive us all. Maybe. We’ll never know for sure.
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The grandma was up early, looking for firewood throughout the campground. Not the guy. He’s snug in his bed. I should have done a different post about them, because the fun of camping is almost an afterthought with the update.
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True. You could have done one today after every plays out. Get the sense that more will come from them.
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Oh well. You’re probably going to get more slice of life from me, since I won’t be posting about word count. Maybe some storyboarding posts or something. I’ll try to keep the tantrums to a minimum. Ha ha.
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I feel like this type of stuff is okay to rant about. It’s a pretty big thing.
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Great post, glad you are allowed to go camping. Though I take it you’re not under canvas, in a motor home? It sounds beautiful there, it does you good to get away.
As for the twit across from you, why is there always those types, who flout the rules, don’t play the game and endanger all. Selfish and ignorant. You are quite correct if you get contracted by track and trace you do not go out for 14 days unless it’s for a test!
Stick to your guns and avoid them all.
Sadly we have plenty of idiots here in the UK too, swarming beaches, parks and now shops thinking they are invincible. They are not! Not to mention the riots and Brixton street parties??! Oh! Well duck here comes the second 🌊?! …. sorry that turned in to a little rant. ..Be safe and sensible, enjoy your break and be careful of which mushrooms you eat 😀😀💜💜💜💜💜
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Our canvas days are behind us. We have a little trailer we pull with my truck now. Sold all my canvas a long time ago. These idiots seem to have no idea they can spread the disease to us. If they do, they don’t care because they are the center of the universe.
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Yes indeed, they are the don’t give shit generation! Stay safe 💜
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Hard to imagine it being hot! We’re in a clear but exceptionally cold snap here. Nights dropping down to -3 at the moment.
Good luck with the COVID idiots. We’ve got a second wave happening here in our state right now. So much idiocy around 😕
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I can’t believe it’s stupidity. The warnings have been in our faces for months now. It’s a cavalier attitude that nobody else matters but them. Hope you stay warm and safe.
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Yeah, good point.
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Lots of people aren’t taking Covid-19 seriously, Craig. The US infection rate is very high and people are still dying so I really can’t understand it. The UK is the same with people packing beaches and parks. People in SA aren’t taking it seriously either but it is more expected here because our people are so poor and can’t afford to take the necessary precautions. You can’t social distance when you live in a shack in a squatter camp.
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It’s pretty here. Otto ate his breakfast beside a browsing deer and didn’t even notice. Hard to distract that boy from breakfast. I understand why people want to rush out to places like this. There are some simple rules to follow, but there’s always somebody who is selfish enough and arrogant enough not to follow any rules.
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That is very true, Craig, and very irritating.
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Goodness, Craig. I wouldn’t go near that mess either. We had an incident where hundreds of teens got together in a park for a beer pong party last weekend. In another week or so we’ll see what hath God wrought. People are simply stupid. I hope you enjoy the rest of the trip.
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I’m not going to let them get me down. I’m also going to be watchful at the same time.
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Good idea.
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It’s always fun to find something new, like a mushroom you haven’t seen before. The neighbor sounds pretty obnoxious, though. Guys like that always think they’re so clever.
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America in the 21st century. The mushroom was cool and I’d like to have poked around a little more.
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Pictures or not, it sounds like a lovely office. Minus the obnoxious neighbor, of course.
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Nothing’s perfect I suppose.
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Pity your pictures couldn’t join us. I’m glad you had a good time! 90! Oof! And y’all went out into the woods? Just thinkin about it makes me feel sticky! Ha!
Jeez, you’d think self-important jerkfaces would have more self-important things to do rather than camp with the fam. So glad you’re mindful of distance and puppy care.
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Hey, missing you around blogland. We’re home now and I need to catch up on everything I missed.
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🙂 Thanks! Me too, I’m going to read about 200 of the 1461 and try to stay on track. Let us know if you get the photos uploaded!
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Got the pictures up this evening.
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I love it! Lobster tails for camping, no s’mores:) And air conditioning. I like the way you camp! People are getting more and more careless about masks and Covid here. Guess there always has to be one bump in the road. At least your neighbor’s across the street. But I looked at your pictures. What a beautiful campground. And I have to sympathize with your wife. I hate mosquitoes.
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A little repellent and it could have been a cool day.
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Camping sounds perfect until neighbors. I hope he wasn’t just tested and out about, that would be very selfish.
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Seem we have to be suspicious of everyone, because the majority are not playing by the rules.
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God! I would have been skipping up and down in anxiety and locking everyone in, had I been in your place. Nice to see you keeping your calm in such a situation. Apart from this, I hope you are enjoying yourself in the woods and savoring this little breather sway from all the chaos! 🌸
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It seems you can’t hide from the chaos. Vigilance is key, and there are measured risks we have to take from time to time.
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Seems like there’s always some idiot who only thinks about himself, right? Keep your distance and have a great vacation, Craig. Hope the weather cools down some.
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It cooled down perfectly. Back home today, it’s still raining.
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We camp as often as possible on our weekends. We go to the same campground and have great neighbors. Very respectful. I certainly hope your obnoxious neighbor is not spreading anything. What a piece of work.
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Idaho is a different place. In some ways we miss a lot of the bad stuff like riots, but we double down on other parts.
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I enjoy camping. I hope you had fun despite the Covidiots you had camping nearby. My husband had to return to work after a month of working from home. He has asthma and is hypertensive, but he takes every precausion to stay safe. He’s the only one at work wearing a mask and the Covidiots give him a hard time about it. Well, they had a training session last week, and it turned out that the lady giving the training tested positive for the coronovirus. She didn’t feel good and went the previous Friday to get tested, but instead of erring on the side of caution and wearing a mask, she came in to work without one and without letting anyone know that she was waiting for results on whether she was positive for the coronavirus. Long story short (too late, I know), her test came back positive and she had infected 5 other people that had gone in for training. Thank God my husband wore his mask, he tested negative. I just can’t figure some people out.
I need a camping trip or some kind of trip, but I’ll hold off a little longer. It must have been great to take the doggies, though. ❤ xo
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It seems like a lot of thought happens after the fact with this thing. I ran to Home Depot and forgot my mask until I was halfway home. It’s just not normal to me. I wanted to wear it. I intended to wear it. Now I’m an idiot, too.
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I keep my mask above my visor in the car. This way I have it where ever I happen to go. Maybe that will help. And I have one in my lunch box for work. 🙂
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This situation we’re in isn’t easy and it ‘s certainly not normal. We’re bound to make mistakes. At least you’re trying.
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