Rain, Rain, Go Away

Hokey Smo, I am durn tired of the rain already.  We were TRYING to camp down at Pensacola this week and Sunday night alone-over 8 inches in one go.  And Monday, it rained until just before dark. We headed home Tuesday.  :(

Last week, Jake and Chan went to interview for summer positions with the NPS in Chattanooga.  I think the interviews went well, but I don't think they will get selected because they are supposed to decide within a few more days and have not contacted any of their references yet-to me that means they either are shoo-in without needing more info or they just did the interview as a courtesy or to get their numbers up.  I imagine if they can say 'we had 200 applicants for 60 positions' they can get more funding for next year to add a few more slots, that's how these things go sometimes.  So, we are making alternate plans as backup.

I have not taken many shots lately, here are a few and blogger is putting them in random order once again.

Bluebells in Katy's backyard

The dogwoods are in full bloom at Maple Hill Cemetery

Ben,  Peeps, welding goggles and a Fresnel lens
The tiny one on the ground next to him (that I carry in my wallet!) did more melting damage.

Chandler jogging in an old munitions bunker we found just outside of Chattanooga
Look at all the orbs!  It's GOT to be haunted.  ;)

A park drive.  We were going to have a walk and poor Jake's head exploded with allergies.  His eyes were so runny he could not hold them open, so I dosed him with meds and he had a nap while he recovered and Chan and I enjoyed a little drive in the country instead.

That peninsula is a campground!  All the sites are waterfront!

Another shot from the cemetery.

A lovely picnic spot we discovered last week.

The treehouse at Katy's.  That very top platform is the zipline launch!  AWESOME.

We had plans for hiking today and it's raining.  Hoping it will hold off tomorrow!

Recrudescence

Oh yeah, it's on now.  Ankle is at 90%, I am hitting the full round of exercises twice a day and walking every day it's not raining.

I put on about 10 pounds of sheer fat while stalled out and I am ready to start getting that off AND start building up some stamina as my lower body muscles are puny and soft.  Until a week ago I could not take stairs on just my weak ankle, I had to do that 'step stop, get the left foot on there too, step stop' so I have a ways to go.  But I am going!

I have set myself a goal of 15 miles a week at the track, hoping to blow that away!

Spring Trimming and Mowing!

A hawk, we are pretty sure red tailed, we saw on the way home from the grocery store.

Thursday I got a hair cut.  I was done rocking the Snape look.

I was inspired and trimmed up Chan as well!

She could hardly be any cuter.

Morels and More

From the kitchen window.

We mowed Saturday and unearthed a couple patches of morels!  These are the ones that got mowed, we kept finding them in the yard.  So now there are patches of not-mowed grass where they are located, it was pretty exciting.

Here is what I have learned about this woody, earthy and edible fungi:
They are the only mushroom that needs to be washed before use.  Soak in cold water and then swish around to remove dirt from the nooks and crannies.
They are hollow, so slice them up to cook.  Because pillbugs is why.

They need to be cooked for 15 to 20 minutes to remove any toxins that can give a tummy ache.

The easiest way is to slice up and saute in butter.

They were really good!

DID NOT DIE

Matt and I walked to the cliff today to scout out a campsite.
Kuma found this bone and trotted around and around with it.

Something else found it first!

Oxalis

We found a good spot near the cliffs and I built a fire ring and we hung our hammocks.
I found 2 scorpions!  I will use Matt's pic because it's way better than mine.

Also, this guy.

Did not find under rock.
Today.

That's snug.  Oh, yes, those strap wraps we are hanging from?  No, they are not the $20 a set straps.

They are from a 1 inch webbing I bought in a 45 foot section and cut into 10 4.5 foot lengths and used dental floss to sew loops on each end.
Net cost for 5 full sets?  $7

Not very pretty (but we sure know how to run things)
Okay, the song is stuck in my head.

Trillium

We walked down the hill to the creek and along it to get back.
I found a new way to tape my ankle-it's a miracle, seriously.  When I saw the youtube video, I started crying I was so just overwhelmed-angry and happy and angry again.  As soon as I saw it, I KNEW it would work.  Why didn't I find it sooner?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWqVASo1blA

Could not resist this shot of THREE TRILLIUM.  Tri tri!  

Flox, this grows in tiny batches all over the floor of the valley and screams LOOKA ME!

Hepatica

GIANT chickweed

Violet (edible)

Fiddlehead fern, also edible

Ant-free chickweed

Poison oak
Matt and I are trying the trick to build immunity to poison oak, ivy and sumac.
I won't go over it here because I don't want anyone to blame me.  LOL!
I will update how he's doing-I don't actually get rashes unless I have been rolling in it.  But it's that Adam and Eve mentality we seem to have- "here, try this."  "Okay"

More phlox

I love how it looks as it unfurls

Toothwart (edible)

Tiny little fairy house!

Crabapple (not edible, hahaha)

I had some idea of doing a group camping trip here to try out everyone's gear for backpacking, but I swear-we don't have a flat bit NEAR anything cool.  hahaha.  

Ninja Course

Monday we went on a wild edibles and medicinals walk with Darryl Patton.
He covered most of the plants I already knew, but there were 2 that were of interest and I have both here.  I will write about that later.

Shakalaka finally opened their new ninja course, so we had to go give it a test run on Tuesday.

It's a good use of space-lots of people can use it, even though it's fairly small.
It also uses mainly upper body and arm strength, so it's a different set of muscles than just the jumping.

The kids were so sore this morning, carrying towels to the bathroom was a team effort and required lots of groaning.

They also added silk strips to swing on over the trapeze pit

After, we headed to have a picnic at the Dead Children's Playground

I intended to get more photos there, but people showed up with dogs and let them run freely and poop where they felt like it.  This seems to be common, as at least 3 other cars pulled up with dogs but left after seeing there were already 2 on the loose.

That's really sad-especially as you PASS a fenced dog park to get there and the playground is so small and full of wildflowers-but it was actually hard to get a shot because dog turds were in nearly every angle.  It makes me mad, the kids used to play there when they were little and now it's getting trashed.  I imagine instead of issuing tickets or trying to stop this kind of thing, they will just raze the park and use the space as storage.

Spring Beauty

Grape Hyacinth

Today we laid low and got the house all in order for the weekend-we have to mow!