Muckety Muck

Muckety muck - a variation on muckamuck- a person of great self- importance.  Muck-raking -  trying to discover unpleasant information about people so that you can tell the public.  This cartoon made me think of the possible presidential race of Trump vs Clinton.  I am not political because I don't trust most politicians.  They are full of muck, and once elected, they run a muck, and usually muck things up.  I do not side with one party or the other.  I just want what's best and what's right for our country and all of mankind.  There is no way America will come out smelling like roses if we have to choose between Trump or Clinton.
Come on people, let's find better candidates!

I mucked about in different ways this week, and thus came up with this blog title.  When looking into the meaning of muck and it's different nuances, I came up with several forms of usage for this word, as I have shown in my first paragraph.  My week of muck was not related to all the negative connotations for the word.  I just had good clean fun in the mud, a little mischief, and mucked about- doing whatever came to mind.  Sometimes I completed random, unplanned work or activities; but other times I was lazy, and did things that were not thought out, and had no goals or accomplishments.  

Saturday after I posted last week's blog, I mucked about with laundry, dishes, hard boiling some eggs, and catching up here on e-mail and Facebook.  Then... oops, I forgot about the eggs and steamed them for almost 50 minutes.  Fearing I had mucked them up, I ate one, as usual for a mid-morning snack, and it actually wasn't too bad.  Phew.

I do muck about with photography, but am not a serious photographer, so the results are mediocre.  Flowers tend to catch my eye, so I try to catch their beauty.


Seen above, the rhododendron out front is now in full bloom.  What a beauty.  Seen left, some of the many iris we have, that are now blooming. 
   








I did outside work before going to paid work at the CC.  Not having time to cement, but rather than weeding, trimming, or planting flowers... I chose to work at desilting the pond entrance.  Every pond is in a dying process (succession) the moment it is created.  Leaves, weeds, algae and other organic matter travel to the bottom of the pond, taking the form of MUCK.  Not only does it contain toxic gases and harbor nutrients that cause excessive weed and algae problems, it deteriorates the pond ecosystem and gradually fills in the pond.


While I was, dredging out much of the sludge, I ran a-muck and decided to dig a canal from the creek over to the stagnant end of the pond near the bench, so water flow will keep it fresher.  I think there used to be a channel through here until it filled up with muck.
















The above photos show my work, at various stages, looking towards our back hill.  And, the series of photos below, show my progress while standing on our back hill looking towards the creek.



 
















It was a quiet night at the CC for Wendy and I, so we had to entertain each other.  An hour before closing, we had four guys, who had been golfing (and drinking) all day come in to use the hot tub and pool.  They had the potential of running a-muck, but mostly were just funny.




I was running late when getting ready for work, so did not have time to make my dinner.  I also hadn't made it to the grocery to pick up some needed things, so I had Joe go for me and also asked him to bring me a carry out salad from Food City.  He brought me dinner and also surprised me with flowers and a card for Mother's Day.


Once home, Stevie couldn't keep her grubby little mitts (mouth) off this pretty flowering Italian Heather.






Sunday, Mother's Day, was cool and cloudy, but did warm up nicely.  Courtney arrived before 11 am.  We enjoyed big toss salads for an early lunch and then went to the barn to muck around.

It is hard to get both horse and person looking good at the same time.

 Courtney took Zorro out into the round pen to work with him for awhile, and I tried to help Kayla with her new rescue horse Patience.




We had all afternoon, so were taking our time, just having fun, and enjoying the day.
I took several videos of Courtney riding. 
Video 1,  Video 2,  Video 3.












She and Zorro both did well, especially considering it has been since October when Zorro was last ridden and Courtney has last rode. 




Relaxing on the back porch was our next item of business.  Maggie is a master at this.  Courtney knitted and Joe joined us for  snacks and chatting.  Courtney even had time for a power nap while I watered all the house plants.

 The Mountain Laurel (seen right) is blooming out back, along the edge of the pond.

We got cleaned up and went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  Courtney headed home and Joe and I went shopping on our way home.  We lost an hour of time in a traffic jam, another accident in the construction zone.  Ugh.

Monday morning I mucked about and started this blog.  Realizing rain (April showers bring May muck) was now in the forecast for the following day I headed out to do a little cementing before the rain would muck things up.


I worked an eight hour shift outside, moving and cleaning rock, cementing several into place, and then moving the paivers and more rock around.  Seen left, the plastic over the wall I had just finished.  I moved about half of the rock from the big rock pile and used them to kind of make a retaining wall farther down the hill.  Seen right, a photo I took just after a down pour on Wednesday morning.

    
Maggie does not like golfers in "our" backyard.  When they are back there looking for their mis-guided golf ball, Maggie seems to think they have run-a-muck and need to be barked at, and warned to get a move on.  I have been teaching her the word "friend"... and refer to it when I want her to stop barking at people, dogs, deer, garbage truck, mail car, etc.  I like one warning bark, but then that's enough, they are our friend, it is okay they are near our house, and no more barking is necessary.  We are making progress in this training process.

After an early dinner, I took Maggie on a long (two hour) walk, wanting aerobic exercise.  I really felt it in my legs from doing "squats" all day as I had moved rock and got down on my knees to work with the cement.


Tuesday I only spent a little time here (at my computer) since I needed to clean house to prepare for guests, Dan and Lana Hanson, friends from B/N, who were our neighbors for almost ten years.

Stevie has to investigate everything I do, like the empty laundry basket while the loads were in the wash.





Dan and Lana were running later than planned, which gave me added time to clean.  So, after the usual dusting of all rooms and cleaning the three bathrooms, I mopped all the floors after sweeping them.





It was threatening to rain shortly after the Handons got here (about 3 pm) so we put the pontoon boat ride on hold.  They brought their dog Sully, who Maggie had fun playing with.  This is the best photo I got of them because they were constantly on the move.  We relaxed on the back porch with some cold brews and chatted away, getting caught up with each others lives.  It was so good to see them after so long.



There were a few quick rain showers, but before dinner, it was clear and we had time to go look at the Tree House on our way to town.

I hadn't remembered this set of crosses, so took this photo.  The base was made out of an extension of one of the crosses that looked like root structure that kind of curved around and helped support the whole thing.  It was really neat.

Two other guys showed up while we were there, and for a minute, I thought we were busted.  As we were all leaving, we had them take our photo.

Brian and his two brothers, along with their wives, met us at Vegas.  We enjoyed good food, good drink, and good fellowship.


We had a big storm overnight and I went out to check on the water way wall.  The plastic had been partially washed off so I removed it because another big storm was due to hit.  Look how full the pond entrance was.




Around 9 am Wednesday we got another big storm and gully washer.  Later I heard that we had gotten almost six inches in under 24 hours.  Once it let up to a sprinkle, I went out to get some photos and videos.




Look at this video of the raging water way and flooded creek.

The water was moving so fast, it washed some of the rocks down the hill, but the ones I had cemented in held up great.

I went upstream along the back of Allen's yard and was amazed at the amount of water rushing through the creek bed.  It was going over and around his little bridge.  We were under a flash flood watch, and I could see why.  I took this video of the creek.







The water was running a-muck and was full of silt, sludge, sediment, and mire.  I hated that the water had also gotten high enough to dislodge sticks and leaves and carry them away.



While we waited for the weather to clear, we ate a Farmer's casserole I had made for breakfast.

Then we took a driving tour of Fairfield Glade, hitting the barn, Overlook trail (seen below), and both marinas.




We ended at the Conference Center to go for a swim and mostly just sat in the hot tub.












Finally, the sun came out and we went for a pontoon boat ride on Lake Dartmoor!  It was perfect boating weather. 


Not only did we enjoy looking at all the beautiful houses...



... but we saw lots of wildlife, including this wood duck and her nine ducklings (video).






Later, near the end of our voyage, we saw what we thought was a small duck, struggling in the water.  It turned out to be a dove, drowning, but we rescued her (video).  She was completely water logged when I pulled her out.  She just laid on my towel all the way back to the marina. We put her in a safe spot to dry off and rest.  We all hope she recovered.   




To end our visit, Hansons treated us to a late afternoon / early dinner at the Legends restaurant.  We mucked the Chicken Pasta Buffet... oh so good and filling.

We said our good-byes, Maggie and Sully had one last play session, then Dan, Lana, and Sully hit the road.

I took Maggie for a nice long walk, getting home after dark, and then Joe and I watched Survivor to end the evening.

I tried working on this blog post Thursday morning, but ended up wasting a lot of time mucking around on Facebook.  I had lots of videos to upload and many photos to select from, which also consumed a lot of the time.

The day was partly sunny, but the promise of afternoon rain would soon change the pretty skies.  Seen left, Stevie watching a chipmunk outside the front window.  About 10:30 I decided to go get in a ride and later work on my blog when it was raining.  I put on barn clothes, ate an early lunch, and walked the dog, so I didn't get to the barn until 11:30.

By the time I got on Amiga to ride out, the rain came.  It was a little pop up shower so I rode around inside the barn until it cleared off.  Then I hit the trails.  I had cleaned Amiga's fly masks, and put this one on because the flies were so bad.


The wild blackberry are in full bloom right now.  The power lines were really loud, sizzling kind of (video).  I think they do this when it is really wet or humid outside.

During our 90 minute trail ride, we got rained on three times.  I did canter or gait quickly back to the barn while it was lightly raining, but the thunder and lightening warned that heavier showers were on the way.  Seen right, and below, just before we started our race back to the barn, Amiga and I look over the gelding's pasture and can see rain clouds approaching.

Amiga and I got back to the barn in the nick of time, before the torrential downpour hit.  Her tack was a mess because we had been riding fairly fast through wet sand, so I worked at cleaning it up while it poured.  She got to hang out in her stall and eat grass while I waited out the storm.  Seen right, the gelding's pasture from a stall window.






Below, there was a garden meeting in the gazebo, and they had to gather in the middle because the rain was coming in, in all directions.





The sun came out as I drove home, so I chose to get some work done in back, to clean up the muck, mostly sticks and leaves, that had washed into the pond near the bench.  More rain came, and it looked like it would be steady into the night, so I came in for the day.  I debated going to the gym, but ended up sitting here, in my PJ's after a warm shower, with a cup of hot tea, because it had really cooled off.  Facebook and e-mail time took away from blogging.  I napped and still went to bed early.

It was cold out Friday morning, but at least the sun was finally shining more steadily.  One of our little squirrel friends took advantage of the warm rays, and sun bathed for a bit.


Maggie had the same idea, but Stevie was fiddling around, making rest difficult.  They always eventually work things out and will then rest together.


I wasn't close to finishing this blog, so quit and took Maggie for a long walk before I had to go into work.  I also dropped in to play with Shirley's little Miss Kitty for her while she is away.








It was a very busy night at the CC since Trivia was there from 7-9 and it was the last day to buy Music Festival tickets.  Sabrina worked Concessions in with the Trivia crowd and I manned the front desk on my own. 

Fighting Dragons

Dan Marshall wrote, in Sleeping Dragons, Fighting Dragons: "From the first appearance of the serpent in Genesis to the dragons that thunder through the darkening skies and dying stars of Revelation, monsters (a being that does with impunity and without pangs of conscience, those things that humans should not do) function in western literature as shifting metaphors." 




Don Quixote's dragon was a windmill.  Just as he was ready to charge the foe that Sancho had told him were not giants, but windmills, Don Quixote replied, "It is easy to see that thou art not used to this business of adventures; those are giants; and if thou art afraid, away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat."  As Quixote charged the windmill, Sancho was soon to follow.


Many dragon battles (real and perceived) are being fought on a daily basis.  Currently, tons of folks here in Fairfield Glade are battling Apex Clean Energy in an attempt to prevent them from bringing an industrial wind turbine farm to Millstone Mountain (next "hill" over, less than five miles east of us).  I have rallied with many in getting petitions signed.  I also know several people who are currently battling different dragons, such as cancer or a variety of other monstrous ailments.  And then, there's this whole political race... one giant fire breathing dragon.  "If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools." - Plato  I fear, regardless of our efforts, we will be ruled by fools.  The war on drugs, sex trade, abusive situations, poverty, etc. has been ongoing since the fall of man.  As neighbor Allen mentioned, "Crooks have been improving their trade since Cain killed Abel." 

Not only am I one small part of several other larger armies... each with their own dragon (or monster) to fight, but I also have individual battles with my own self-conscience (my spiritual life, emotional well being, and mental state).  And there is also the physical entities.  There is always battle of the bulge and the fight against aging... so I have a little war with my lazy side to make myself go workout.  There are also the physical aspects of nature; weeds, the raging water down our drainage ditch when we get a gully washer of a rainfall, adverse weather, and the aging of our old house.

Everyone fights dragons, monsters and beasts of different kinds, everyday.  This consumes time, energy, money, our thoughts and often our dreams.  At what point, though, should we put down our lance, give up the good fight, and let go of things we can not change?  "One of the happiest moments ever is when you find the courage to let go of what you can't change." - Author unknown.  I think this is true, but it can also be a cop-out.  We are programmed to deceive ourselves with false comfort or in this case labeling things in life as not changeable to avoid the hassle of actually having to change things and partake in the necessary efforts to reach that change.  I tend to feel this way with the big dragons... so I choose not to enter battle.

I am impressed with Britney's fortitude in fighting the big windmills... those of poverty, human oppression, injustice, imperial ambitions, many different environmental concerns, etc.  She fights for a better life for all creatures here on God's Earth... life centered around kindness, compassion and community.  I think for her, despite what they say, fighting windmills does pay off in the end, especially when she wins.  Of course you can't always win, that's life.  But without charging the dragon - you'll never be able to take it down.  The honor is in the charge, the attempt, and knowing you tried.  She is never hesitant to fight the unbeatable foe... to pick up the lance and charge the ‘windmills.'

It was a leisurely morning Saturday with some concerned e-mails and Facebook posts about the wind farm.  Stevie is the queen, on our queen bed.  I thought Jeremy might be coming, but he texted me right away to say he couldn't make it.  I had a good chat with him Friday (after he failed to show up or tell me he couldn't make it) and forgave him of his lack of communication.  The transmission in his almost new truck went out on I-40 while taking his daughter to pre-school and he was overwhelmed by his dilemma.

I finally took charge in my battle of fitness, and went to the gym to work out.  Stevie continued with lounging around while I was gone.  It was three weeks ago when I last lifted weights, so this time I had to scale back on the number of repetitions with some of the exercises.  I also went slower (and for less time) on the elliptical.  But at least I had gotten myself some exercise.

After a late lunch and a quick walk of the dog in a light sprinkle, I went in to work. 


This time there was a wedding and reception at the CC.  It was simple, but nicely done.

There were vases of live flowers and goldfish on the tables.  Early in the afternoon we had to fish some dead ones out of a few bowls.  However, later, but before the guests were to go from the make-shift chapel, into the reception hall, we noticed many more dead fish.  The maid of Honor was agreeable to have the dying and dead removed.  Only six (out of 25+) fish showed any vigor at all.  By the end of my shift (almost 9:40 pm) the party was coming to an end and I brought the six fish home in a plastic bag, since the wedding folks didn't want them.  As Wendy pointed out, even though we had to work a Saturday night, we are thankful we don't have the life of a goldfish.  :-/

Sunday I felt run down, tired, and was pre-occupied.  I was frustrated because I couldn't find anyone to sub for me on the up coming Saturday, except maybe for Sabrina.  I have let this schedule become a dragon that is beating down my spirit of working and cooperation.  I need to lance it and be done with it once and for all.  But how?  I guess for now, a change in my attitude would help because Kim said my schedule will not change until the end of May.  I sat here at my computer much of the morning, unable to get motivated to do anything other than start this blog post.  A Red Headed Woodpecker ->

It was cloudy all day, enough to make me want to stay put inside, but eventually (1 pm) I got a move on.  Maggie and I headed back out on the road to cover more mileage in Fairfield Glade.  Here is a current photo of the house on the hill.








We hiked on the undeveloped gravel and grass roads between Lake Glastowbury and Lake Malvern, enjoying nature.  Seen right, is another bear "trap," with bait in the bag and surveillance camera on the tree to the left.  The Wildlife Ranger does not want to fight this dragon, but just get it relocated farther away from the Glade. 


It ended up being a longer hike than expected because I missed a turn and had to back track.  At one point, this little Green (or Grass) snake was making its way across the gravel road.


Finally, once back to the car, we scooted over to Wildwood Stables for a party for Sara.  She has worked there since she was eleven, but is graduating in a few weeks and moving to where a nursing job and her boyfriend are located.  Seen right, Maggie has made new friends.  Sara is in the black shirt and Ivy is also graduating from nursing school with her.
 




There was a taco bar and tons of other food we all brought, and enjoyed.







You never know what is or might have been in my sippy cup.  Ha ha ha.  (usually it is full of ice water - really.)





After eating, there were games to play.  I had Maggie tied to the fence, and she got along well with the three barn dogs and anybody who came to see her.


There was going to be a group ride, but it ended up being just Jan and I riding bareback around the barn and yard.  I put Maggie in a crate since I couldn't keep a close eye on her while on Amiga.


Ambrie, Judy and Shirley hangin' out, enjoying perfect weather on a beautiful evening.

Ivy and Ambrie helped Sara park the wagon before we all headed home for the evening.



I got home about 7 pm, fed the critters, took out the trash, cleaned up in the kitchen and put out a sleeping bag and pillow on the back porch where I planned to sleep.  Then, during our 9:00 (before bed) walk, I found a glow stick on the ground.  I carried it for better visibility and brought it home.  Later, while I was still up, Stevie got into the glow stick which I had set on the kitchen counter.  She had bit into it and ate some of the glow juice.  It came to my attention when she was running around the living room, spitting out a greenish froth and foaming at the mouth.  I grabbed her, shut her in the laundry room, cleaned up all her spittle so the dog wouldn't eat it, and then went in to check on her.  She was still gagging and spitting out green bubbles.  She had it down her front and all over her front paws.  I got her all cleaned up.
Next I gave her a bowl of milk.  I hoped it would neutralize the glow juice and make her throw up, because she tends to over indulge.  Long story, and night, short... she finally threw up, several times, everything she had eaten and drank since her 7 pm canned cat food.  I was so relieved, yet kept an eye on her even as she seemed to perk up and not act rabid (or like a fire breathing dragon) any more.  It was after midnight before we settled into "bed" out on the back screened porch.  Despite the beautiful night, frogs and bugs chirping, and gentle breeze blowing the leaves, it was hard to relax.  I was still wound up from the cat episode, and I kept looking at her to see if she was glowing green.  Photo off internet.  Ha ha ha.

Monday morning I was slow to roll out of the sleeping bag.  It had gotten down to 64 degrees so was a little cold out.  But I enjoyed lying on the back porch, looking out at the woods and listening to nature wake up.  It was a peaceful, easy morning and later, I even caught a little nap on the couch.  I finally took care of the new goldfish by cleaning my tank and filter, and then adding them. 

I took these photos of some blooms on the Rhododendron out front to show the series of blooms opening.



























I knew rain was coming so went out to do a little work in the back yard and fill in some bare spots with grass seed.  I could hear thunder in the distance, and eventually the golf course "fog" horn (to clear the course) blew so I knew I didn't have much time left.  The storm dragon was approaching.  It sprinkled on me as I cleaned up and put away my tools, and came inside.

The Forest Pansy Redbud leafing out on a gloomy day.  During the storm, I puttered around indoors, but got cold, so had tea and read under a blanket on the couch.  It wasn't long and I fell asleep for quite a nice nap, second of the day.  Then I went to the gym and put in a tough work-out.  Once back home, I fed and walked Maggie; and then picked up a pizza and went to Shirley's house.  She had made a salad and we enjoyed a lovely dinner and catching up on life.

Shirley had this toy Miss Kitty didn't play with, so I brought it home for Stevie, who was quick to check it out and try to figure it out.

Tuesday I subbed for Cindy at work, so was at the CC just after 6:30 am.  It was great working a day shift again, seeing lots of regular customers I never see during the afternoon/evening shift.

Once home, I ate a late lunch and then crashed on the couch for over an hour... not sure why I was so tired.  Joe had gotten home from his Iowa trip and was out golfing.  I wasn't in the mood to be productive with yard or house work but I did take Maggie for over a two hour FG road walk.
We accidentally came upon and frightened this goose off her nest along the Lake Glastowbury Town Homes walkway.  After two quick photos, I hurried away so she could get back to the business of sitting.

We got home after 7pm.  Joe had a frozen dinner cooked and that took care of our evening meal and ended the day.


Wednesday was Ladies club.  I picked up Carole at 9:45.  This month's program was on gardening, presented by a very funny guy.  I did learn that I am overwatering and over fertilizing so will cut back on that.  He also said to use new potting soil each year for your container gardens (oops) because the plants deplete the soil over time.  Well, over fertilizing might help with that problem.  I also won this decorative stone (the center piece on our table) by having the correct chair number.  Whoot whoot.  






I couldn't get motivated once home.  The wine (before noon) at Ladies Club, does it to me every time.  So I took a nap.  Rain was due to come by late afternoon, so I went out to weed whack the tall grass in back.  Once the battery died, I quite that job and used hand trimmers and took most of the growth off the daffodils and trimmed back the holly tree.  I am not sure when or exactly how to trim back these mums (seen right).  Last year I didn't do anything with them and by fall, they were falling over because they were so top heavy. 


I brought a third of the big, yellow peony bush here from our farm in Illinois.  This is the first it has bloomed since the move.  Yay!

Rain chased me in, so I proceeded to make a fire and have a cup of tea.  Joe left for his weekly poker game.  I watched HGTV, made a big toss salad, and was on this computer the rest of the evening.

Thursday started out overcast, with a good chance of rain so I started out slow and unmotivated.  The dragon was winning.  But, because the weed wacker was newly charged, I eventually went out to finish off the tall weeds that partially obstructed our view of the pond.  This photo was taken a day later.



Again, the weed wacker battery died and the rain came, so I retreated to the house.  I was tempted to sit idle...  but decided I wasn't going to let this slow me down, so I went to the gym and worked out for two hours.

The skies had cleared and the forecast looked great for the next several days, but I was exhausted from the exercise and ended up taking a nap.


I got up from my nap in time to go (with Joe) to the Cumberland Mountain Preservation Coalition meeting.  I guess we are now part of this group.  Here is the (website).  There were over 250 individuals at this meeting.  Hopefully, we can raise enough concern to prevent this project from going through.  I know, you might ask, "but isn't wind power good clean energy?"  Well, do the research, and you will see that the negatives far out weigh any positive.

We came home, made a quick change and walked the dog, and then went to Stonehenge for dinner.  Bob and Jean (who had been at the meeting) joined us.  We talked windmills much of the time.  Above, a panoramic view of the back yard from our picture window.  Below, the front yard.

We watched Survivor while sitting by a warm fire because the temperature was still in the low 50's.

Friday the sun was finally out to stay.  My pot of herbs is doing well.  I guess I need to start cooking so I can make use of this good stuff.  Me, cooking or baking over a hot oven or stove, feels like I am doing battle with a dragon.  It is just scary.


I had a nearly two hour first aid re-training session for work in the middle of the morning, so didn't get anything done before hand... and once home, only had time for a little more trimming in back with yet another re-charged battery.  I am a little like my weed wacker... my battery doesn't last long... but can be recharged overnight.  Ha ha ha.

I ended the day and week with a 2-9 work shift.  I worked with Gwen, who I have dearly miss the pleasure and fun of working with.









When fighting dragons, I have come to realize:
1.  It is best to put on the armor of God.
2. Don't enter into battle alone, but have your trusty
    squire (like Sancho) by your side.
3. If you don't fight, or join the cause, then
    don't complain about the outcome.
4. No matter the outcome, there is honor in doing battle.
5. It is okay to throw down your lance and surrender...
    but know when this should be done.