Back Home On The Prairie

More from the Wickham Park & Campground lightfest in Melbourne Florida. There is a dark tree between me and the display, so some of the reindeer are hiding behind the tree...

I have no idea what the loch ness monster has to do with Christmas lights, but with his flashing moving tail and red hat, he was pretty cute. 


Harley dog and I made it back to the palmetto prairie near Kenansville, Florida. Our friend came with us for a few days.  I guess Harley sort of loves me again, though he showers most all of his attention on our visitor. Well, only about 99%. I guess since he is a southerner too, he wants to make them feel very welcomed. It leaves me a tad sad, but I will get over it. My friend sleeps in the guest loft and guess where Harley sleeps too. Right up there!


His favorite little bed is now up there too.  That queen sized bunk is the only place Harley can not leap to on his own. So he stands on the top of the dining settee back bolster, crying until somebody puts him up there.  Then he prances around all happy like, does 3-4-5 turns in his tiny fleece lined pet bed, before settling down happily.  Wednesday I got up at 3:30am to prepare for running the hunters check station at 5am. Harley pretended to ignore me, making zero effort to get ready to go to work, so I let the little fellow off the hook, since he is recuperating from neutering. Later I ran back to the wheel estate to grab some coffee, this time Harley was ready to go to work. Thursday I worked 8 hours, what they call a half shift. Somehow, 8 hours of work doesn't seem like a HALF shift to me. 


Thursday, I was again up at the wee hours to report to work at 5am for a 16 hour shift. It was cold and I admit, I was grumpy. I piled on 3 shirts, and 3 pairs of pants plus socks and boots. I looked like an overstuffed Pillsbury doughboy.  Harley wanted to stay home with our company until day break, so I braved my early morning work alone again.


I fired up the oil filled radiator heater in the little drafty check station shack. It did little to abate the 42F chill.  Between working the check station, I took a lot of speed walks to and from the motorhome, fetching food, coffee and doggy. I tried to do a few short annoying projects, but every time I started one, more hunters were either checking in or out of the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area so I had to speed walk back to the station. I can't run due to previous injuries, but some days I can walk pretty fast.  I bet I walked 2-3 miles trying to stay warm.  Later in the day, it warmed up considerably, I was able to peel off some of the clothing layers and look almost human again. 


I am oh so lucky, because recently on a bottom shelf in a messy pile at Big Lots, I found two mens size triple X screaming red sweatshirts for $3 each. I live on a teeny tiny budget, so I have to hunt down super bargains to get by. Red happens to be one of my favorite clothing colors (purple is my other favorite color).   I eventually bought them both, even though they were identical and  way too big for me. I wandered around the store, until I found a full length mirror for sale, then I tried on the sweatshirt over my dress, to see how it looked and fit. The sleeves had tight wrists, so the too-long sleeves would not slide down and  get in the way. The neck was snug, so no cold air could sneak in. Because they are triple X, the length is about 34 inches, enough to cover me down to my mid-thighs. Since they are so roomy inside, I am able to optionally add several shirts underneath and stay very warm.  I have long black leggings I bought heavily discounted last spring.  So when I put on the black leggings, black boots and screaming red oversized sweat shirt, I  look like a giant apple walking on two black tooth picks.  The bright red keeps the hunters from running me over, when I am standing in the street handing out their entry  cards at dark-thirty. 


I guess my Caribbean blood is never going to warm up. Harley is the same way. When the temperatures plummet below 70F, we both grab sweaters and more clothes to wear.