Ozarkansas has been seeing morning lows in the middle 50s lately. It got down to 53°F yesterday, and the temp in the cabin bathroom at 6am was a brisk 60°F. I let the shower run for a minute to wake up the water heater and warm up the floor, and then… heaven.
No doubt about it, these are the best showers of my life.
Stepping out of the steam into the (relatively) chilly air was exhilarating. It’s all so very real, so undeniably present, the kind of moments I’ve waited and worked my whole life for.
It’s that way with most things these days.
I can’t remember the last time I walked into the Flippin Walmart — actually went inside, I mean. It’s been all curbside pickup for me. But I found myself in need of one particular item, and it didn’t make sense (to me) to use the app just for that.
Living in an RV, as I did for four years until recently, I didn’t have a supply of regular ol’ light bulbs. Oh, I bought a couple for the heat lamp and another for my trouble light, but I had only one good bulb to test with on Friday. And I’ll need exactly four — maximum 60W — once my new fixtures are working.
So Saturday morning I stepped inside the Flippin Walmart and bought light bulbs. I browsed a bit, too, buying oatmeal-raisin cookies and a loaf of day-old 12-grain bread at half price in the bakery department.
I went with inexpensive daylight LEDs. Much as I love incandescents, those four years in an RV showed me the net cost-effectiveness of LEDs.
(The image above, by the way, is the one light fixture I made work on Friday. There are three more that don’t.)
The rest of the day I lollygagged away. Laundry and vacuuming happened, and so did naps. (Note the plural.)
After the sun — attenuated somewhat by smoke from Canadian wildfires — had moved entirely to the west side of the cabin, I visited the back yard and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs. It was easily 15 degrees cooler back there.
One of the people with whom I exchange messages regularly is a dear friend in another part of the country. The subject often is the wildlife we’ve seen and heard — sometimes pictures, sometimes just an account.
The other day, she told me of seeing the season’s first fawns, twins following a doe through tall grass.
I remarked that my whitetail sightings on and around The Mountain are way down compared to the last two years. I’ve seen only one fawn this season, and very few adults.
I don’t believe a surplus population was harvested (hunted) away. We had a fairly mild winter, plenty of forage. Coyotes?
I’m at a loss to explain it.
It’s the cycle of things, I suppose. And I know only what I experience. We’ll see what next season brings.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable