Rv Issues, More Critters and Fall Foliage

 

Blairsville, Ga (high 70, low 45) 

We had a cold front a week or so ago which brought overnight temperatures down into the 30’s.  Wouldn’t you know that would be the time our furnace decided to quit?  We don’t have a heat pump on the Cameo, and have been very happy with the furnace which is much quieter than the one in the motorhome.  We never use the furnace in the motorhome because  it’s so noisy. We have been enjoying having a quiet furnace and not having to worry about the heat pump quitting when the temperature got below 40 degrees.

The other morning when I turned on the furnace the fan started right up, but it never got warm.  After a few minutes the fan kicked off.  We re-started it 3 or 4 times with the same results. No heat.  We did a little trouble shooting.  It wasn’t an air pocket and we weren’t out of propane, so we called a new mobile rv service that we hadn’t used before.  Integrity Rv service (for my records). The first thing he did was to turn on the furnace and wouldn’t you know it started right up and warmed up right away?  We turned it off and on a few times and it always worked.  He didn’t find anything he thought was wrong, so we paid for a $100 service call for nothing.  Fortunately, it has been working just fine ever since.  We’re having another cold front and so far so good.

 

In a previous post I mentioned the mama cat and kittens that had been dumped here in the Rv park.  Thankfully, we were able to find good homes for them all.  The mother cat is in a shelter and has recently had another three kittens. 

 

We had been hearing that there was another stray cat hanging around on the other side of the rv park.  The people there had been feeding her all summer and were now worrying about her since everybody was preparing to leave for the winter.  We hadn’t see her, and I figured all these “caring” people that were feeding her would take care of her.   I was wrong!   At that point we realized if we didn’t help this cat, she would be on her own all winter.

We finally realized we needed to intervene or the cat would be on her own all winter.  It turned out a local Veterinarian had lost her cat a few months ago in this area. Apparently it wasn’t the same cat, but she agreed to take this cat if we could catch it and bring it to her.  We figured the cat was pretty wild and would be difficult to catch, but we were wrong. We  quickly located her and in about two minutes she was in my lap,  and shortly after that was in a cage on her way to the veterinarians office and her new home. 

That makes 7 cats and kittens that we got out of our RV park this fall.   We got real lucky that we were able to find homes for all of them.   I hate to think how many cats we would have had here next year after they had a few more litters of kittens.   We feel good that we were able to make a big difference in the lives of these poor little kitties.  I still miss the kittens two kittens we kept for so long, but I’m adjusting and they are happy in their new home.

We still have Baxter but he loves his dad the best.  

 

Mom has been doing ok back in Tampa. We have some new caregivers and our live-in Stacy has been working out real well.  Knock on wood.   We are in no hurry to go back to Tampa and are planning on staying here until the cold drives us away.  The weather has been warmer than usual giving us days in the 70’s and nights in the 50’s.  This is our idea of perfect weather.

We’ve really enjoyed the fall foliage this year.  We have been in a drought all summer so we didn’t know what to expect.  It seemed the reds have been more vibrant than other years and the color has lasted for weeks now.

Here are a few photos from our travels around town.  Our Rv park is situated between several scenic and popular drives, so we don’t have to go far to find beautiful places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suzanne and Heidi who are our part time neighbors in Wesley Chapel and also have a lot here, came for 2 weeks with Heidi’s Mom Madge.  Madge is 80 year old, but didn’t let her age stop her from a hike on the Appalachian trail!

The next picture shows Madge, Suzanne, rescue dog Cindi And Al in the background. 

This next photo is Heidi and Cindi at the top of Brasstown Bald which is the highest mountain in Georgia. 

 

 

Since we are so close to Brasstown Bald, we go there often and on this particular day, it was clear enough that we could see the Atlanta skyline, some 85 miles away.

Can you see it?   The blue haze you see in these mountains is not smog, it is isoprene gas which is caused by decaying vegetation.

On cold days, you have a better change of seeing the Atlanta skyline.   Can you see it now after I zoomed in?

 

We sometimes get up early and drive up to watch the sun rise over the mountains.

 

We’ve been hiking, and were really enjoying it since it had gotten cooler.  Unfortunately, Al hurt his knee the other day so our hiking has been curtailed for now.  We’re hoping a few days of rest will help, but we’re already on day 3 or 4.

Good, But Sad News

 

Blairsville, Ga,  (high 74, low 55)

 

We have been enjoying absolutely fabulous weather here in the north Georgia mountain. We’ve had to run the furnace at night and have gone from shorts and flip flops, to long pants, jackets and real shoes.   We are so very happy to be away from the stifling Florida heat and humidity.   I don’t understand why people who don’t have to, spend their summers in Florida. 

We are settling into our “new” Fifth Wheel and have worked hard to set up another household.  It took many trips to Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon!

 

In a previous post, I mentioned the homeless cats that were here at the RV park.  If you’re interested, you can read about it HERE

We found a shelter that agreed to take the mama cat, but they couldn’t take her two babies.

As it turned out, she was pregnant again (naturally) and has since had three more kittens.

Here is a picture of their Mom with her  new babies.  I hope she and her babies find wonderful homes.  Thank you Nancy at Wholly Cats.   If  I can personally vouch for this wonderful lady.   If anyone feel charitable, she could always use donations.  If you know anyone looking for a kitten, she would make arrangements to get on to you (provided you passed her very stringent test)

 

 

In the meantime, we kept the other two kittens and had them spayed and neutered. We worked on taming them and eventually moved them into our cabin, so they could be out of the cold and safe.  They settled in and learned to use a kitty pan immediately.  Cats are so easy!

I put an add in Craig’s List and thankfully got a call from a lady wanting the long haired kitten.   I was very particular who I gave them to, and most people would not have qualified.  The one and only call I got turned out to be a wonderful lady who will give them an excellent forever home.   I managed to talk her into taking them both!

The problem was, that I had an appointment to have them neutered but it wasn’t until Oct 5th.   Deb wanted to wait until after the surgery to take them.  I reluctantly agreed but knew I was in danger of falling in love, and of course I did.    

How could you not love these adorable and sweet babies?

 

 

I was worried that she would change her mind, but in the end, it all worked out and Deb took the two babies. They will be inside only cats and will be well loved and cared for.

Someone asked me in a comment on the previous post what I would do if I couldn’t find them a home.   There was never any question, they would have come with us.  There was no way we would have left them here to die. 

Of course, when we brought them to meet their new owner, I was extremely sad.  There were tears shed (a lot of them).  That was Tuesday and I’m adjusting but I still miss those guys like crazy.  Deb is sending me pictures and updates.  The kittens are doing fine and are adjusting to their new home. They have a big brother that they have yet to meet, but that is coming soon. 

 

We have been keeping busy here.  There are a lot of fall festivals and things to do.  The leaves are starting to change colors and we’re hoping for a good fall show.  Since there has been a drought all summer, we’re not too optimistic.

Here are some pictures from some of our activities.

There is no shortage of places to hike, including the Appalachian Trail which is just 2-3 miles from here.

campsite along the Appalachian Trail

We’re happy to see that it’s going to be a good year for acorns, so that we don’t see the squirrel carnage of a few years ago when they were crossing the roads frantically searching for very limited food.

 

A trip up to Brasstown Bald (highest peak in Ga).  It was a little chilly up there.

 

 

You can’t see too many waterfalls.

Our birdfeeders have been busy. This was our first ever Rose Grosebeak.

Al put up a bluebird box behind the rv and we had a nest of them when we got here.  They fledged shortly after we arrived. 

 

The trees around the campground are changing colors.

 

We took a drive out to Lake Chatuge Dam.  All the lakes in this region are brought to you by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the water levels are controlled by a series of dams.

I love mountain lakes.

 

We are always amazed at the beauty in this area.  We are thankful to be here and are hopeful we will be able to stay until at least the end of the month.  Mom is doing ok for now.   We’re keeping our fingers crossed.  She has her good and bad days.

 

Stay tuned for some hermits, bear and dragons.

Setting Up New RV, Gas Shortage, Homeless Kittens, & Chicken Poop

 

Blairsville, GA  (high 82, low 60)

 

We’ve been so busy setting up the new to us fifth wheel, that we haven’t had much time for fun.  The Cameo we bought was used, so it needs a lot of routine maintenance. Al has been trying to inspect and re-caulk all the seams and openings around the windows, doors and such.  It’s not made like the motorhome and seems to need a lot more upkeep.

We always seal the roof openings with Eternabond tape instead of Dicor caulk.  That way you do it once and don't’ have to worry about it again.  Al is working on that between other projects.

We’re working on making the Cameo feel like home and there seems to be an endless list of things we need to purchase.  Little things like kitchen items, storage shelves and bins, hooks and all those types of things you find helpful.  We seem to find the need to run to Walmart or Home Depot about every day for one thing or another and Amazon has been our friend.

We have an RV gas oven for the first time in years and we LOVE it.   My convection on the motorhome just didn’t work well for home made pizza and we’ve missed having it.  The gas oven in the Cameo works great….once you get the darn thing to light.  My first pizza attempt was a failure.  It turns out I killed the yeast when the water I added was too hot. I was always envious of the wonderful pizzas David and Sherry made and now we can have them too!  

 

You may have heard about the gas pipeline in Alabama that broke causing a fuel spill and subsequent shortage to 5 south eastern states….Georgia included.   It’s been going on about a week now. We’ve had to watch our fuel usage lately.  The gas stations in town have been mostly out of gas and there have been long lines and very little gas available. It seems to be getting better finally. 

In the meantime, we discovered some homeless kittens and a mama cat across the street.  It seems some dumbass had mice and figured an unspayed female cat was the answer. Of course she had kittens and as it turned out she is pregnant again. 

We tried to ignore the situation because we really don’t need any more cats.  The problem with ignoring it (which is what everybody else did) is that in a year we could have a hundred feral cats around the RV park.  We camped at a state park in Georgia many years ago and there were hundreds of feral cats and kittens.  Mostly kittens.  All the suffering was heartbreaking.

So……   I got online and located a local lady who found homes for kittens.  She agreed to take the mama cat provided we took her to the vet to check out and confirm she was healthy and pregnant.  She was both.  Nancy took her and will find a home for her and her kittens when she has them.

The other two kittens she had were older and Nancy didn’t want to take them.  I couldn’t blame here because she had a LOT of kittens. 

We found a place in nearby Murphy, NC that would neuter them and give them a rabies shot for $30 each, so we have an appointment for the on October 5th.

In the meantime, of course we had to start feeding them and now they don’t leave our site unless the neighbor dog chases them up a tree.

I’m trying to find them homes, but without much success.  In the meantime, we’re enjoying watching them play.  I know, I know…..that’s not a good sign.

This is a male.  He’s the friendliest of the two. He met Baxter thru the screen door this morning and they got along surprisingly.  No hissing or spitting, which was a shock.

 

This is the female. When she met Baxter thru the screen door she hissed and spit….much more typical behavior when cats first meet.  Isn’t she pretty?

When it rained the other day, we closed up the golf cart and made them a bed on the seat.  They are pretty smart and got right in the cart.  Our cats wouldn’t have the sense to get out of the rain.    They have never been rained on.

 

They decided to use my planter to do their business, so I put out a kitty pan for them and darned if one of them didn’t use it overnight.  Cats are so smart about using a kitty pan.  I’d rather scoop the pan than have cat poop in my plants!

So, between worrying about Mom, and getting a new household set up, we have kittens to deal with.      If anybody knows someone who might want a kitten, we will deliver.  Seriously…..we will deliver to a reasonably close area within a days drive.  

 

Since the Fifth Wheel will be permanent here, we had steps built.  One thing I always hated about Fifth Wheels was their flimsy steps.   Problem solved.  I love these steps.  We have to wait for the wood to dry before we can stain them. 

 

We did manage to sneak in one short hike the other day at nearby Vogel State Park.  I think it might be the oldest state park in Georgie.  It’s lovely.

 

The dogwoods are starting to change color.

 

We’ve had a drought all summer so the waterfall wasn’t as nice as usual.

 

We’ve taken golf cart rides every night. We haven’t seen any bears yet, but we keep looking.

Hawk

 

turkey

 

 

 

 

 

And last, but not least.  Chicken poop.   See the truck in the field on the right side of the picture?  That is a truck spreading chicken poop in the field.  Apparently it makes great fertilizer. The smell is terrible!   Its been cool at night and we like to keep the windows open, but depending on which way the wind is blowing, it can get a little stinky.  We’re anxious for some rain!  

Settling in and Making Changes

 

Blairsville, GA (high 82, low 60)

 

We have been pretty busy moving into our new “home” and trying to organize.  We brought a lot of stuff with us from Tampa that will be permanent in the Cameo, like extra dishes, towels, blankets, sheets, etc.  We want to be able to come up here at a moments notice and have pretty much everything we need.  It was a good chance to clean out some of the excess stuff we kept in the motorhome and didn’t really need.

A few months ago I ordered a set of the Magma Nesting cookware.  It’s very nice cookware but since I haven’t been cooking much in Tampa, I decided I would bring it and leave it in Georgia.

We got here and I started unpacking and darned it I didn’t forget them!   So, I have my Instant Pot power pressure cooker, one small fry pan, two cast iron pizza pans and nothing else to use for cooking.    I can’t even boil water to make hummingbird food.   I hate like hell to have to go out and buy other pans just for a few weeks of use, but I can’t even make a pot of soup. I’m hoping to find a garage sale and pick up a bargain or two.

 

One project we started on yesterday was to cover the rear windows.   

In the Cameo, there are windows along the whole back of the trailer.  They let in a lot of sun  and the day/night shades on the windows won’t allow you to see outside very well.  We would love to put in MCD Shades  but they are not in the budget.  I decided to put the same type of fabric that MCD uses over those windows.It blocks the sun and heat and gives you privacy during the daytime

Before we left Florida, we bought some fabric at Beasley Manufacturing in Center Hill, Florida.  It’s the same sort of fabric like we have on the motorhome front windshield and also the same type that MCD Shades uses for the day shade.

This is the same place where we bought the fabric to make a patio rug, and tire covers several years ago.  If you’re interested, you can click on the link here to see how I made them.

The link for the patio mat is here, if you’re interested.

 

Yesterday, with the help of Baxter and Al, we made shades for the rear windows in the cameo.

Things needed:

• fabric, we chose black but there are tons of colors
• suction cups and hooks
• scissors
• tape measure
• fat, furry cat  

 

The fabric is easy to cut and no sewing is required as it  doesn’t ravel

I laid the fabric on the floor to measure and cut, and of course I immediately got an unwanted helper.

 

He particularly liked to help measure.

 

The tip of the white disc in the following picture  goes through a small hole you put in the fabric, and then it attaches on the other side of the fabric where you attach the suction cup to the window.  All you see from the inside is the small disc.  We could paint them black, but they are out of the way where they aren’t seen, so we didn’t bother.

 

 

The following picture shows the middle window with the screen and the side windows without.  The pictures don’t really show how much sun it blocks, but trust me, it makes a huge difference.

 

 

Later in the day we went to town for groceries and decided to take the scenic route.   Isn’t it beautiful here?

 

The red barn made for a great photo opp.

I thought this house was in lovely setting with amazing views.

This place had beautiful and fragrant Christmas trees all along the slopes leading to the house.

As it turned out, we got to take this scenic drive again because Al forgot his wallet at home and we had no money to buy groceries. 

There is a new pharmacy opening soon.  Interesting name, huh?

 

It was closed but we now know the rules for entering the store. 

 

 

Today is Labor Day and there are some festivities in town we may go to.  This is the start of the big fall festival season here in the mountains.