Whether or Not Weather

It will rain (or not) whether or not you want it to, so be ready to weather the weather.  Robert Mac is a funny comedian and I enjoyed this section of his (comic act) about the weather.






This week with two outdoor party venues planned, and the after affects of Hurricane Barry headed our way, I wondered whether or not the parties would go on.



Saturday 7/13 - A morning e-mail informed me that Uncle John, my Dad's brother, had passed away the night before.  He had been under hospice care for the last 3-4 months.  He was a very kind, quiet soul and I know will be greatly missed by Aunt Miriam, his children, and grandkids.  I am thankful for all the years I knew him, and although we only got to visit once or twice a year, I have tons of fond memories.

I had a morning shift at the pool, so went in at 8:30.  I thought I might be busy early because rain was in the forecast for later in the day.

I had about 18 people when the rain hit.  Several left, but a few stuck it out, sitting under the cabana.  This view of the pool from my office makes it look disserted.




The rain didn't last too long and then the sun came out.  But it was still thundering off in the distance all around us.  I had four customers left, but couldn't let them in the pool because of the thunder.

My last hour of work drug.  Once Mike came to relieve me, it started raining again on the way home.  But you can see from this photo, the showers (and rainfall) were scattered.

I had thought about going to the gym to workout, but only had an hour, so sat down here at my computer to start this blog.  Another storm came through while I was working, and I soon got so sleepy, I took a nap with the sound of the falling rain in the background.  Meanwhile, Maggie hid in our master closet.







Once it had stopped, I went to put corn out, and took photos of the flooded creek.




I wish the water was always at this level, but I don't like the muddy appearance of it.

I watched the weather channel to check out Hurricane Barry.  I have no business complaining about our weather here.  Then I decided to watch a movie until bedtime.

Sunday 7/14 - I had the pleasure of watching a mamma deer and her two fawns come to eat down back.











The kids went into the creek, but did not stay long enough to get a game of chase going or to run up and down the sandy creek bed.














I was delighted that the predicted rain had been removed from the forecast, so after Church, I got to work in the yard.  My first task was to trim these two Holly trees.

This is a nine foot ladder to give you an idea of the size of the trees.  The tree on the right grows into the power lines and the one on the left crowds the sidewalk.  Maggie hung out with me while I worked.

I wanted this to look like one tree, so topped them both at least four feet, and then took a neighboring side branch from each and tied them up in the middle, so that apical dominance would cause them to become the new active growth for height.  We'll see how it works.


It took me longer than expected to get all this Holly trimming done, but I still had time to tackle these scraggily shrub in this bed.  And since I had the electric hedge trimmer out, I really cut these back, in hopes they will fill in better.






The juniper in this bed, that I had transplanted from the woods, is doing quite well.

After a snack and water break, I walked Maggie and then went to the barn for a late afternoon ride.




Jan, Kayla, and Emily were out in the pony pen horsing around.  Emily joined me on a trail ride, while the other two headed home for dinner.














It was 7:30 by the time I got home.  I had to treat some poison ivy spots after my shower.  I must have gotten into it when I was dumping bush trimmings deep into the woods on the other side of Allen's.

Monday 7/15 - Again the weather forecast had changed, originally from rain, to now just a partly cloudy day.

I had a good protein lunch when I came home from the gym and then I went to the barn.  Getting a selfie of my horse and I, while she is walking down the path, is not an easy task.






Amiga has a saddle sore, under the girth, that I have been treating.  It is improving, but after a ride, gets opened up again.  So I chose to go bareback.  We had a nice leisurely trail ride, and then I worked on leg cues out in the round pen.  She does well with just about everything, except the stop.







With less than an hour to get cleaned up and to Mirror Lake Blast, I hustled once I got home.  There had been no rain in the forecast, but it was changed again to a 40% chance at 6:00, just after the music started.  Thankfully, this dark cloud that pasted over, never released its contents on us.



The air had cooled somewhat and there was even a little breeze.  Jeff Allen and band were awesome and so many people enjoyed dancing.  I love this (video) posted on the Fairfield Glade Facebook page.  Notice how we are all synergized doing the Boot Scoot and Boogey.







We were so thankful, that in spite of the weather forecast, the show (and party) did go on, and so many people had a blast, singing and dancing to great tunes from our era.

Tuesday 7/16 - It was forecasted to be another pretty day, and turned out to be a correct prediction.  I worked in the yard for a few hours, weeding and trimming beds around the house.  Then I went to Zumba class.  I took a photo of us waiting to get started.

I put in a full shift at the pool, and Joe dropped in for a swim, having got home from his camping trip.





I decided to sit in the hot tub when I dropped my money and accounting bag off at the conference center.  My right gluteal, hamstring, and calf were hurting so much.  I did some stretches while soaking and it felt a little better.

However, when walking Maggie at 9pm, she charged a skunk and I tweaked the sore leg in an effort to brace myself and hold the dog back.  It was a full moon night, and would have been beautiful for our party, but it was scheduled for Wednesday, which had a horrible forecast.

Wednesday 7/17 - I had gone out to the barn to check on Amiga, who had acted sore on her front left leg after our ride the day before.  I think she strained it when cantering in the round pen.  She had decided to turn into the center and then I turned her back out, so she did an S pattern through the middle of the round pen, but at a canter.  She seemed fine except when turning her sharp in either direction.  I gave her a Prevocox and let her graze out behind the barn with Scout (while sitting on her bareback).

True to prediction, the rain came and Amiga and I got fairly wet.  It looked like the rain would continue for the remainder of the day.  The pool was closed due to the weather so I put the sign out when driving back home from the barn.



I was feeling quite discouraged by the weather, and disappointed that the party would surely be cancelled.  I headed to the boot shop for a repair job, Tractor Supply, Lowe's, and Wal-Mart.

As time passed, so did the rain and the forecast actually looked much more promising.  I got a text from Abby that we were to open the pool at 2:00.  It was my day off, but I was planning to help with the Full Moon Party, so I hustled to get home and get my five bean casserole fixed.

There was confusion as to whether or not the party was still going to take place.  Long story short, we had it.  However, it was a poor turn out (only 35 people, counting 18 resort guests who didn't even know about the party).  Most people who would have come changed their plans because they had given up on the possibility of the party with the morning forecast being so ominous and rain occurring till 2pm.





We never got a drop of rain and it turned out to be a beautiful night.  We were a small, but mighty fun group, and Donna and DJ kept the party rockin'.  Joey won the cannon ball contest and Donna did best at hula-hooping.  The party broke up early, ending at 8:30, so we never saw the full moon or fully enjoyed the pretty pool lights.  I had most everything cleaned up by 9pm.

This fickle weather, that is so unpredictable, and the forecast (which is usually wrong), keeps me wondering whether or not we are going to have the weather expected.
I didn't hit the hay until 10:30, but long before Poker Joe got home.

Thursday 7/18 - I have found I can't sit here at my computer for very long without getting butt and hamstring pain.  Late last week, I came to realize that my pulled hamstring (there was nothing specific I did to hurt it) is actually, probably sciatica, a pinched sciatic nerve.  It started with butt pain, which I have actually been having for a long time (I get quite uncomfortable after sitting for more than 30 minutes).  The hamstring pain started five weeks ago, and lately I have been getting a cramping feeling in my calf and sometimes knee pain.  I have been trying stretching exercises but may need to seek additional help from pain/anti-inflammatory pills, or even a Dr. visit.

I was slow moving to get up and at em.  I still had a lot of un-packed store items, a sink of dirty dishes, and pool party stuff to stow away.  But, this was motivation to get going once I did roll out of bed at 6:45, later than usual.

I only took three photos all day, and they were all of Monita while I sat here at my computer. 

I did a Zumba class and some weights and then worked my 2:30 - 8:00 shift at the pool.  Getting home so late interrupts my evening routine and I haven't been getting in my after-dinner walks.  Instead, I tend to snack on crap before going to bed.  😒

Friday 7/19 - Doggone it, I was out of bed at 4am, having woke 40 minutes earlier and unable to get back to sleep.  I couldn't understand because I had taken a pain relief sleep aid.  However, I had several things on my mind and was mentally planning my day.  Now I would need to add a nap to my to do list.

Monita was ready to start the day.

I took Maggie on a long (40 minute) walk while the sky went from dark to light.  I also caught a short nap on the couch before Joe got up.
I was debating going to the barn early, but decided more rest might do Amiga good.  So I spent two hours at the gym, made a quick trip to Food City, folded laundry, and then went to Druid Pool to lie in the sun, read, and nap.  A rain shower popped up out of nowhere, chasing me home sooner than I wanted.



I met two couples at the Library Building to decorate for the night's patriotic dance.  I had two hours to shower and rest before getting back to the dance hall to let the band in.  Memory Road got set up and soon people started arriving.  Joanne, Barb and I helped get them checked in.





There were a few more slow dances than I would have preferred, although it did give me a chance to rest.






We did get more rain, but it didn't affect our dance, since we were indoors.  I got home at 10:30, after helping get all the decorations down and everything stored away.
Poker Joe got home just as I was settling in to sleep.