Horse Manure Park

If you have a child with a relentless cough, rub Vicks VapoRub on the soles of their feet, then cover them with a pair of socks. It really works .   I don't know why it works, and perhaps the better question is why anyone even think to try it?  But it works. Anyway, more about that later. It would appear it is time for what seems to be my monthly installment here at "The Park."  Don't get me wrong, I write frequently, but that's all done over at my other site, The Lone Pylon . And if you aren't interested in football, that ain't for you. I should at least write something  weekly , like an Andy Rooney piece.  Except I'm not Andy Rooney.   Heck, I'm not even Mickey Rooney.   I'm much taller.  And I'm not dead yet. ~ Since last time I joined you, school has started and the Boy and the Girl have entered yet another new chapter in their lives.   The Girl is now in third grade and the Boy has sta...

Gull Lake Campground, Part 2 or The Weekend When Everything Went Wrong Okay, note to self: three consecutive weekends camping is too much for my children, at least for the two year old.  It did not go well this past weekend. Part of the problem was that both kids, especially Neil, had colds this past week (if you remember my last entry, I complained I wasn't feeling well - I managed to spread the love to the rest of the family).  The good news is we are all getting back to good health now, but this weekend did not go well. It was one of those "looked great on paper" weekends.  The Kampen and Stokes families were both going to be at the campground and we hadn't seen either in a long, long time.  It promised to be a weekend of fun, friends and a lot of catching up. It started out badly when I mowed the farm on Friday and it took far longer than usual (because I let the grass it get longer than I should have - my fault).  By the time I got home on Friday i...

Grandma and Grandpa's Place We spent 4 1/2 days at the Dau's - July 27 through July 31 - and the best way to describe it was hot and damp.  Moist sleeping bags, condensation inside the camper due to excessively high humidity, and a nice summer time cold to boot.  I've been coughing, sneezing, hacking and wheezing as if it were January.  In all honesty, I feel like crap right now. I guess this sounds like I didn't have a good time, but that's not true at all.  There was lots of good food and cold drink.  We went golfing on Thursday and I parred a hole for the first time.  My father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law were all witnesses to this accomplishment, but I had to take a picture of my first shot anyway.  I missed the putt for a birdie, but let's not spoil the moment! My first shot on the 10th hole at Pine Ridge Golf Course near Motley, MN.  I absolutely sucked the rest of the day, but one good shot is worth a thousand bad ones....

 Bob and Kathy's Paradise on the Lake We finished up a fun weekend camping at Bob and Kathy's place - Dale and Mel were also there, so we had a mini-family reunion.  Beautiful weather, despite a big thunderstorm which rolled through early Saturday morning.  We ate like kings, enjoyed a few beverages, took a pontoon ride and Ava even tried to fish a little.  Mel had "Farm Fest" visors made for the girls and baseball caps made for the guys.  Pretty awesome! What goes better with camping than a little karaoke? The biggest news is Ava lost her first tooth Friday evening right after the pontoon ride.  It fell out in her mouth and she spit it into her hand.  When she realized what it was she got scared and dropped it in the grass, but after a search and recovery operation, good ol' Uncle Bob found it and the Tooth Fairy visited the camper Friday night. The initial trauma of losing your first tooth... ...doesn't last very long! Here are a ...

Second stop, Two Rivers Campground, Royalton Another camping weekend is in the books.  We spent a fun couple of days with the Budahns at Two Rivers.  The weather was perfect, maybe even a little too warm and humid (dew points in the 70s), but we didn't get rained out so no complaining here. Our camp sites were right on the banks of the Mississippi River.  Brian and Lindsey's campfire was literally less than 20 feet away from the river bank.  The kids, of course, were attracted to that like flies to feces so we needed to keep a close eye on them, especially the Boy.  But it was all good and we had a great time. On Friday night we didn't do too much.  We let the kids run around the campground until their legs couldn't carry them anymore.  The theory was that they will collapse with exhaustion and sleep like logs.  Great theory.  However, Mr. Neil decided sleep was for losers and stayed up until 1:00 AM.  I think it was just too warm ...

First stop, Gull Lake Recreation Area... Back from camping at noon today.  Had a great time under the stars Friday and Saturday.  The Budahn/Bowman clan were there too and we solved a few of the world's problems around the campfire in the evenings.  There are still many problems in the world, so more campfires are needed. The only casualty this weekend was when Ava (accidentally) slammed Neil's finger in the car door.  He's a tough little bugger, though.  A few tears were shed, but he was none the worse for wear a couple minutes later... and his finger was pinched but good .  He either has a high tolerance for pain or he hasn't learned how to milk it yet.  I'm not sure which. Anyway, we went for Zobarz pizza Friday night (yeah, I know... really roughing it, right?) and the kids made S'mores in the evening.  On Saturday we didn't really have any plans, just sort of improvised.  We played at the playground for a while and then went down...

I'm still alive, blogger friends, just really lagging on updating my blog.  It is summer, so that means things have gotten a little busier. Ava started tee ball tonight.  Actually it was just an informational meeting and she was pretty disappointed she didn't get to play.  However, she got her t-shirt and we bought a glove for her (pink, of course) and a batting helmet (pink, of course) and practiced in the backyard this evening, so she was happy.  Her first game is Wednesday evening.  She's on the "yellow" team called the "Pirates" and she thinks that's cool. Jon and Sara and the kids were here last week and Beth had a garage sale.  Things were pretty slow and it didn't go as well as she had hoped.  Jon took me golfing on Friday and I enjoyed it much more this time around.  I still totally stink, but I didn't lose any balls on the back nine.  I consider that an accomplishment. So now I start another week of work.  Our next weekend...

It is back to reality after spending the weekend in the Bismarck/Mandan neck of the woods.  We had a good time with Jon and Sara and the kids.  Got a babysitter and went out Saturday night and had a really good time.  Then a long trip home on Monday and back to work the same night.  Oh, the cold chill of reality.  Yuck. Something you don't hear anything about on national media coverage is the flooding that is happening in Bismarck.  The Missouri River is wreaking havoc and many homes and businesses are in imminent danger of being destroyed.  They are sandbagging like crazy, but who knows if it will be enough.  A nasty storm blew through last night and I was sure I'd have a couple trees down when I got home this morning, but we lucked out this time.  Today it is chilly, wet and windy.  Summer is free to show its face any day now.  I'd like to get the camper open next week if the weather isn't going to be crappy.  It's time...

Here are a couple of camping pictures... I posted this one on Facebook, but for those of you who haven't seen it, here are my girls having breakfast Saturday morning (omelets in a bag - yum!) Me and my boy at the playground.  He is actually smiling, but we couldn't get that stupid pacifier out of his mouth! Ava's first time fishing!  Yep, she's having a great time! This isn't a camping picture - actually, I took this tonight after dinner.  Neil has discovered the time-honored tradition of banging pots and pans.  It's a rite of passage.  I'm sure they could hear him in Otter Tail County!

After nearly a week of rain, the skies cleared and we had a perfect weekend for camping with the Kampens.  It got even better when the Budahns unexpectedly arrived!  So all around it was a pretty darn relaxing weekend - maybe not enough sleep - but that comes with sharing a camper with a four year old and a 10 month old.  Plus that, Neil is sprouting his first tooth so he was a little on the crabby side, but he was a trooper for the most part. And best part: no mosquitoes (or very few, I should say).  I bet if we go camping in another week or two it will be a different story. Ava got to go fishing (her first time).  Korey bought her a princess fishing pole and she's still talking about it.  I will post pictures soon (the pics are on Beth's phone, so I have to wait until she gets home tonight).  Yes, Ava has decided she loves camping and she loves fishing.  It is going to be a fun summer.  I told her to ask her Uncle Dale if he could take ...

What a relaxing, beautiful morning.  Dropped Ava off at school, Neil laid down for a nap... so Beth and I sat outside and enjoyed some fresh Starbucks and listened to the horny birds fight with each other.  Yes, it is that time of year alright. I noticed that I recently surpassed 10,000 visitors to my blog since October 2008.  Wow, that's pretty awesome! I am thinking we are going to give the camper a good scrubbing today and pop it open for some spring cleaning.  I have got the itch to go camping sooner rather than later.  We only used the camper twice last summer.  No excuses this year! I am feeling pretty good today; still a little sore, but not bad at all.  Thought about posting pictures of my stitches, but I guess that would violate some kind of decency code.   Time to go enjoy some more sunshine.  I'd like to start some yard work, but I'm not supposed to get too carried away quite yet.  Hard not to do when we've got weath...

Had my consult with the surgeon yesterday.  All that's left is the slicing and dicing. Whoopee! Our yard is clean and bare.  No snow whatsoever.  This is pretty early to be relieved of all our snow.  I keep thinking we'll get that one last snow storm (as we do every year), but nothing is forecast and April is right around the corner.  Yes, it can still snow in April, but it would be very short lived. As a result, we've been grilling like we haven't grilled in five months... which is because we haven't grilled in five months.  Steaks, burgers, grilled veggies, paninis.  I am fighting the urge to open up the camper.  It is still pretty early to do that.  I don't want to let my enthusiasm get the best of me, open the camper and then get six inches of snow.  That would kind of stink. However, nothing says I can't whip up a nice campfire one of these nights.  Oh the temptation... Well, we are off to get our taxes done.  We...

A fun weekend; the Budahn's camped in the Brainerd area this weekend, so we spent Friday night watching the Vikings win their preseason game -- then on Saturday we joined them for mini-golf at Pirate's Cove . Even though the place has been there for years, Beth and I have never given it a try (no, we don't get out much). It's actually a really, really cool mini-golf course and I want to go back! Anyway, Saturday night we went out to Budahn's campsite and had a delicious chicken dinner and then Brian and I solved (most) of the world's fantasy football problems around the campfire with the sweet nectar of life . Poor Ava had a rough weekend, but she was a trooper. It's a good thing she's got her dad's hard head. First she got her noggin bumped by a car door (no harm done), then she ran smack into a tree at the campground, which left a nasty bruise on her right cheek. It's a little freaky because it almost looks like someone hit her -- but t...

We are home, looking forward to sleeping in our own bed tonight. We spent a long weekend (Friday - Monday) at the Dau farm near New York Mills, our annual summer gathering with Beth's family. Lots of good food, plenty of cold beer, a few genuine Cuban cigars and some nice conversation made for a relaxing weekend. The cousins played like crazy. If one word can describe the weekend, however, it would be "windy." We also got over an inch of rain Friday night and I can happily report our camper, on its first outing this summer, passed the "waterproof" test. It was good to get away from the house this weekend. We brought Grace camping with us and she is about the most laid back, low maintenance dog you will ever meet, but you could tell she was missing her life-long best friend, too. I admit we are all still adjusting to life without our Martha. It just seems so strange to open the door and her happy, smiling face isn't there to greet us. After eight yea...

I mentioned that our camper has a hole in it on my last blog. Yes, a branch seems to have hit the top of our camper and did a swell job of impaling the top. I had the camper set up to winterize it, then it rained for a week (last week we got over three inches of rain). The branch must have hit it last week or the week before, because it was fine when I set it up. I finally got out to the camper last Tuesday and discovered a spot in the ceiling where water had leaked in. I couldn't find a source for the leak, so I took the top down and BINGO, I found the culprit. A small piece of wood was imbedded in the top of the camper, obviously the remnants of a branch, about the size of a quarter. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but we reported it to the insurance company immediately and tarped the camper to prevent anymore damage in case it decides to rain again. State Farm is sending out an adjuster on Monday or Tuesday, then I have to get an estimate at a repair place. ...