I know, it has been a long time and most of the reason has been extremely laziness on my part. Now that I am retired I seem to have less time to do things than when I was working. Perhaps the old adage that work expends to overflow the available time is mandated here. While the "Honey Do" list gets worked on frequently it never seems to get smaller and the projects seem more complicated.

There has been many things to do around the house, the lawn is slowly reaching a point where it looks like a lawn rather than a patch of desert and my rock garden with the addition of the petrified wood is starting to have some color to it plus things in the house are finally getting better. I have spent several days just looking at the alternatives for the retaining wall in the rear, whether or not to reconstruct it to now current code and what material to use. I know I could spent several thousand dollars on it if I am not careful. That is just a bit rich for my blood but I do not see it being done for much less either.

We have done little traveling as such, we did go to Ocracoke on our annual pilgrimage stopping off two nights to spend with long time friends in Jacksonville North Carolina for a few days. Next week I depart for the all-boys fishing trip for a week back on the Outer Banks; hopefully there will not be storm of any kind to mess things up. So far there hasn’t been any real heavy storms or hurricanes so maybe we will be lucky. I watched some fisherman on the last trip and I didn’t see any rays caught so maybe our luck will change.

I have volunteering at both Prince William National Park and at Sky Meadows State Park which has been fun. At the national park I more or less confined to the Visitor’s Center which I do not enjoy all that much, I would rather be out hiking of course but I feel that I am doing a few things constructive. I know that when I go in this next week there will be a big push to redo all the brochures and this is a pain.

At Sky Meadows I do spend more time out on the trails and I get to play with computers and try to keep them running. I much prefer to be outside meeting people then be inside answering an occasional telephone call or simply smiling when visitors come in through the front door. Prince William has seasonal rangers that spend the summers much further north and close for the winter and then spend their winters here.

This weekend Mimi, Hanna and I were hiking in the last of the autumn colors. It was a tad bit windy and chilly and Red, the dog, wasn’t that happy about it but we managed to get around.

On the return trail from the top of the ridge the girls found many persimmon trees and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. There are persimmon trees all over the park but the fruit doesn't grow very large. The girls however state the fruit is very sweet. Next year I will have to make sure we get a larger share of them.

It was actually snowing a little bit on top of the ridge. The temperature plummeted close to the freezing point at dark and I found out the heater wasn’t repaired last week although I paid for the repairs. I still have the small electric heater so I am not suffering. The restaurant that I relied for Sunday breakfast folded up so there isn’t really anyplace to eat without driving an extra half hour.

I spent an hour up at the RV camp's owner's yakking it up and generally barging in on their family time. They are quite a close family and very enjoyable to be with. The two teenagers seem to have their acts together. While this time there were not another dozen teenagers hanging around it seems to be a popular place for them. There isn't much for kids to do in this area and I think the closest McDonalds is almost twenty miles away. I do think there is even cable TV in the area and because of the hills satellite is somewhat unpredictable.

I played with the computer redoing some more graphics and then watching a DVD until I fell asleep. Naturally I woke up later and had to grope around in the cold until I found the gizmo to turn it off. My footsies got a little bit cold. The temperature didn't drop below 40 degrees but it felt much colder. I didn't leave the electric heater on as I do not trust it that much. Coffee had been pre-laid out so it was only a short jump to the bed and back while I stayed as long as I could under the covers.

The breeze had died down to next to nothing in the morning and the sky was a beautiful deep blue with just a suggestion of clouds. The temperature rose drastically making it a fantastic day. I had two cups of coffee and it was over to the park.

The wind had slammed shut the door to the main restrooms and we couldn't get it open. We managed to pry open a small window, kidnapped a passing boy scout and passed him trough the window. He opened the door from the inside and thus had done his good deed for the day. There was a boy scout hiking overnight jamboree here at the park this weekend and there were scouts and leaders all over the place.

The campers at the normal camp sites were not supposed to have open fires because of the ban but when I went up there in the morning there were several going on. I actually could not fault them bas it must have been chilly.

I was surprised by the number of hikers that showed up, the parking lot was filled by 1000. The weather was ideal and the breeze never amounted to anything all day. I was out on the trail shortly after 0800 and at the AT trail before 0930. I worked some of yesterday's kinks and sore spots out and it felt good. There were more than usual deer to be seen, I guess they know that hunting season is close by. Unfortunately the trees in the area show signs of browsing by deer indicating over population. I hope somebody gets smart and opens the park for culling.

There were many raptors to be seen, many of their favorite foods are disappearing for the winter and they have to hunt harder. There was a wild animal I saw early this morning that I could not identify. It had a solid black body but seemed to have abnormally short legs. By the time I could find a pair of binoculars it had disappeared. My curiosity is raised.

My new camera is fantastic, it is possible to do much more with a SLR than it is with a point and shoot. The ability to reach out a take a good telephoto shop is simply great. While it is possible to put extension lenses on point and shoot cameras most of the time they block the range viewer so one just has to guess what they are taking pictures of. While it is possible to edit a digital image there are limitations of just how much can be done. It is much easier to start with a better image. I would have loved to have had this camera with me in the Southwest.

I met a group of Koreans going out on the trail. Many were first generation with a few who crossed the pond. When I attempted to compare this park with Mount Sorak or Sorak Son I started a few good laughs. Many of the group had never been to Korea. Several sounded interested in volksmarching and of course I delight to dispense that information. We walked the trail for a while but I had to stop to help somebody who was confused by the trail map.

Back at the Visitor's Center it was busy with just about every picnic table taken. While open fires were prohibited charcoal was decided to be closed and people were cooking everything. It smelled good! I grabbed a can of Slimfast and relaxed for a few minutes before heading out for another trail. I was accosted by a Corgy that wanted nothing more than a whole handful of attention. He was a character. He had more wiggles than a strip dancer. He had a great time with everybody. There was also a German Shepherd on the trail that had lost one of her rear paws but it didn't seem to slow her down that much. She was quite the dog.

The temperature rose even more and actually almost became hot. I was walking the same trail as we did yesterday And discovered a five foot black snake sunning itself. I do not think he appreciated me prodding him until he left the path but I was fearful that somebody might damage him if I left him out there. He very slowly moved off the trail and disappeared into the grass.

I walked back up to the AT with a group of local teenagers from one of the nearby churches. The leader was quite interesting. The group walked a little bit too fast for this old man and I stopped for a break. I was feeling my age by that time and several muscles were really complaining about the mistreatment.

I left the park at 1600 and went home where I immediately went into a state of complete relaxation - others would call it sleep. I was totally worn out. I didn't wake up until Mimi returned from taking Hannan back home. I still didn't have any trouble going back to sleep at 2200 and sleeping through the night.

I will try to get back out next weekend as the following week I will be leaving for the Outer Banks and a few days of fishing. I do not want to lose the muscle tone I have been working on the last three weeks. I do not think I will get that much exercise while I am there. Hopefully we will catch some fish this time so I can put up another web page.