Thursday night at the Bolt Hole

I'm sitting in the kitchen of the Bolt Hole this evening following the Rutgers game against Norfolk State on the computer. (RU just scored a rushing TD and a 2-point conversion to go ahead 14-0 midway through the third quarter. Not great but not bad either.)

Terry came over to the campground this morning to help me prepare the trailer to depart for Alpin Haus in Amsterdam. It took us about 15 minutes to get things squared away and hitched up. She took the last of the things that just had to go to the Aerie (including the dirty laundry and bed linens) and I took the few things that I knew could not stay in the trailer while it sat int he yard awaiting the replacement of the slide out motor. We then emptied the tanks as best we could at the dump station at the campground and I headed north while she went back to tending the cats and watching Don and Adam apply stone to the exterior walls.

The ride north was totally uneventful. I had t stop once to refuel in Seneca Falls and then once more to eat my lunch--a left over Subway sandwich from our workday meal on Wednesday.

When I got to Alpin Haus I was surprised to be told that they may actually get to the work early. Joey, the gal at the service desk, said she had information that the parts were on their way and, in fact, should have been in house already. Hopefully, she said they will be there in a day or two. Originally she had told me that they would schedule the work for September 10th, but now she said they would get to it as soon as the parts arrive. I left her the keys and a note about the braces I had put in to keep the slide out from...well..sliding out, gave her my telephone number and bid adieu as I headed for the Bolt Hole.

Mark is here and showed me the devastation a power failure had produced vis-a-vis the refrigerator. Not only did we lose nearly all the food contained therein, but the mice had a field day with what spilled out the door. They carried on with the toilet paper, towels and various other things they normally leave alone. (How's that saying go again? Oh yeah: "While the cat's away....") He also showed me what may have caused the problem: moisture condensing on the electrical box in the basement. Then he pointed out the corrections he made down there to dry the place out.

He also showed me the new high-speed wireless internet connection he had installed in my kitchen while I was away. (I had to give a verbal okay to the folks at the phone company that he had permission to act on my behalf. I think I was in Alaska at the time.) Thing works like a charm although the modem does create a little buzzing sound in the background when I'm on the phone. Much faster than dial up.

Then we took a walk about the yard. The number of apples in the trees is astounding. Trees that are whip-like in nature being only a couple of inches in diameter at breast height and running 20 to 25 feet tall are bend nearly double with the weight of apples. The apples themselves are pretty poor quality being only a few inches in diameter and tart as vinegar, but they are abundant. Mark thinks the type of apple was chosen because it is so prolific--when the spring frost allows--and because they were grown for the applejack they could produce. They are certainly not eating apples by any means. If they were, the bears would have torn many more limbs down to get to them. The few deer that are around have nibbled at the tips of the branches and have also nibbled the drops, but there are still some apples within reach that they haven't touched. Even so, I'd have to say the apple orchard reclamation project Mark began about four years ago seems to have begun to pay off.

Then it was time to go grocery shopping to replace some essentials, like coffee and toilet paper!

Now, I'm "watching" the Scarlet Knights game on the internet via CBSSports.com.

If Earl remains to the east, I may have to go out and start cutting firewood tomorrow. At least, the circulation about the storm will draw cooler air south from Canada. Today it was near 90 degrees--again.