Koala Nation

I do hope Sharkey will forgive me for borrowing her picture, but this must be shared.  Sharkebytes was hiking in Ohio recently when she spotted this koala in a nearby tree.  Amazing as this is, my amusement was heightened by the memory of my own spotting of a koala in a palm tree in Rockport, Texas.

Photo by Joan H. Young, 2015

Posted on My Quality Day

Photo by vanilla, March 16, 2013

Posted on String Too Short to Tie

Wordless Wednesday

The Big Tree

 We drove out to see The Big Tree.  From Rockport we headed north across Capano Bay.  Traffic was not impeded by construction, but a new bridge is being built right up next to the old one.  Pictures would have been nice, but there was no stopping, and in this case no shooting through the window of the moving vehicle.

 The tree is in Goose Island State Park which is perhaps a dozen miles from Rockport.  It is a beautiful drive through Lamar and around the bay.  After some leisurely exploration, we finally arrived at the home of the behemoth.

 That is BBBH on the other side of the tree.  There was a bench near where she is standing.  We sat thereon for some time, looking at this tree and the surroundings, reflecting a bit on the history that has transpired since this creature was a seedling.

The tree is judged to be over 1000 years old.  The acorn would have germinated and the tree might have been a small sapling about the time that Lief Ericson sailed to Vinland.  The  mature tree would have been near seventy years of age when William conquered England.

 Tree would have been observing its 500th birthday about the time that Columbus set foot in the New World.

This venerable example of God's handiwork was well over 800 years of age when Texas declared its independence and became a republic.

End today's history lesson

Winterize by Staying Clear of Winter

Where's vanilla?  Unlike Waldo, he sometimes hides in plain sight.  We left the Island mid-morning and made the first twenty miles homeward!  This is where we settled back in for an indeterminate period of time (though I am guessing not less than three weeks.) 

The deal is I have no intention of returning to Winter Wonderland.  I plan not to winterize the RV before October.  Once a year is quite enough.  In fact, I was talking with Chester Wednesday afternoon.  Chester is from Muncie, Indiana.  He has been here every time we've been here, and many more times as well.  He told me he bought his current RV, which is a gorgeous Class A, seven years ago and it has never been winterized!  How does he manage this? He leaves Indiana in October at latest, and preferably in September and will not arrive back in Muncie until May.  Now there's a plan.

This is an auspicious day for our friend Richard Prout.  It is his birthday.  The number is a multiple of ten.  He is older than I.  Happy birthday, Dick!

Dick and his wife, Heide, make it possible for us to stay away from winter, for they do stick with it. They take care of our mail and our plants, and look out for the property.   And while we appreciate all they do for us, we care more for the fact that they are good, kind, and loving friends.