Sick days suck!!

I probably should not write at a time when I am sick but here goes...... I want to tell a little about my fishing trip where I also got to ride the horse.

It is really weird being able to go out on my own. I haven't taken any far away trips and have yet to leave this State. Well except for this and one other trip. I always get this feeling of trepidation and don't like to travel long distances by myself, until I am on my way that is. Then it is an adventure and I find that I like going down the road with my music playing on the stereo.

So I am sitting around the house with my girlfriend when I get a call from an old boss of mine who lives on the Roanoke River in Halifax county N.C.. Now if you don't know where that is you can at least imagine that it is in the boonies, or boondocks as some say. So far back in the sticks they have to pump the sunshine in and where moonshine is something in a jar not the sky. It is quite a beautiful landscape. Mostly all old farm houses and what is now mostly soybean and corn used to be corn and cotton, a lot of cotton.

My friend wants me to come go rock fishing on the river and all I have to do is show up. He is providing food and lodging at no cost to me and we will spend the weekend with the boat in the water. I get there and it is a great place that overlooks the rivers. ( I have published the photos of my trip on my facebook page called Turning Leaf Photography.) I will also post a couple on here. Let me say right now that my girlfriend was most welcome to come and was in fact invited also. I even felt bad that she couldn't but believe me, it did not stop me from guiltily having a lot of fun.

I have to say it felt really good to just get away and leave everything behind. It was every bit as good as a two week vacation somewhere distant. My friend came to the wind-streamer I was sleeping in around 5:30 am to tell me it would be a good time to start fishing. The funny thing is I was already dressed and gathering my fishing gear. I fished all day Saturday and well into the night. We started catching shad two at a time around 10 am and not much else the rest of the day. I just had fun trying to catch that next fish. We ended the evening with grilled steak and,baked potatoes, and oven warmed rolls. It was darn right good! I headed off to bed feeling somewhat satisfied yet for me it was about to get even better. My friend David came in to let me know that a friend had an Appaloosa horse that needed desperate riding. I was being given special permission to ride for someone who normally doesn't allow others to ride her horses.

I must say she was real skeptical about my riding abilities and warned me that the horse loved to jump sideways and could be real stubborn. She was right on all accounts but true to my word I got on her and rode her like she was any other horse. I rode for about and hour and had to cut it shorter than I wanted to by the phone call telling me I needed to come on and get some of the best pot roast I have ever eaten. I did and it was!!! An hour later and I was on the 2 1/2 hour trip back home where my wonderful girlfriend was waiting.

I had lots of fun and really appreciated my friend's invitation. I hope one day to be able to travel a greater distance and maybe even on a motorcycle.

A walk in the not so wild!

I recently visited the Asheboro Zoo. I would like to say I had a great time but the fact is, I did not. There were several contributing factors in my unhappiness. The part I disliked most was that I was so unhappy in the company of two wonderful people that deserved better. I just don't know how to pretend happiness when something is this unpleasant. So what was so unpleasant?????

Could it have been the absence of some of the promised animals? Could it have been the fact that none of the animals seemed, looked, or acted happy? They kind of just gave blank stares at those who came to look upon them. Was it the mighty elephant who just stood there shaking it's head back and forth in an agitated state? Was it the hundreds upon hundreds of running amok kids hyped up on cotton candy and the promise of seeing this animal or that one? Could it possibly be the 5 mile walk that was supposed to be down hill, but seemed more like ten miles up hill? Could it be the batteries in the camera going dead less than a mile in?

All those things were unpleasant and some but over all I was not so unhappy. I had great company after all. And I really think the state of the animals got to me more than anything else. My girlfriend pointed out to me that we have been spoiled by the Tiger preserve we volunteer at. The animals on this preserve are better cared for and not ogled by so many people at one time. It makes me wonder how much of the money that is made by the zoo actually goes into the individual care of the animals. That does not mean the medical care or employee care but money spent on the animals' happiness? Things that entertain them the way we have toys to entertain us.

Well anyway, it just was not something I liked. I was glad I got to experience it and find out that I don't like it. Now if I could just learn to express my dissatisfaction without making people think my whole life is unhappy. Ahhh!! Always one more thing to work on..... If you like and want to experience it for yourself, just drive on down to the zoo. I myself don't feel a need to ever go a second time. I did get some fabulous pictures though. You can see them on fb by going to Turning Leaf Photography.....you can find it in the info tab under my profile page. Here is a sneak peek...

Taking the good with the bad!

I was tooling along thinking I was being a good boyfriend when all of a sudden....BAM!!! My girlfriend was as mad as all hell. What in the world did I do? She took a week off from her work and it just was not the staycation either of us had wanted. She was having a bad time of it every which way she turned. I thought I was being supportive but by the end of the week I just wanted a break from it all. My truck broke and I had to get it repaired to the tune of $1600 that I just didn't have. We have faced one financial blow after another but this was just out of my reach. Thanks to some extremely good people I was able to come up with the money to be paid back over a period of time.

The fight was so bad I just got in my truck, drove to an undisclosed secret spot, parked and thought things through the best I could. After sitting alone in the dark listening to the night life around me for awhile I went back home to talk with her. Lucky for me there is only one thing that drives her insane....care to guess? She is a woman after all...oops, probably shouldn't say that but I think it will be okay once I tell you the one thing. All she wants and all women want it, is for us guys to listen. They need to know they are really being heard. I really wish that it was enough for me to listen from now on but I am a guy after all. Hell, I got it so bad that this is not the first argument we have had all because I did not listen. I would like to say I have got it now but I know I don't.

So the good thing is that she loves me and is very forgiving in the end. We both look at the importance of the bigger picture and that is what is important in the end. We find that love is not a feeling but rather a commitment. A commitment to do what we can to support each other, forgive our (my) dumb ass mistakes, honor and respect one another, to not worry about the argument. To have it and move on to hopefully not have the same one twice...okay three times.

We both feel that love is not a reason to get married. In fact it is a celebration of a commitment that does not need a ring, a license, or a wedding. In the end I am happy to be with her and nothing is more important than that.

I had hoped to share some about my recent fishing trip but that will have to wait til next time..... all have a great time and recognize what is most important in your lives. Meanwhile, I will be taking the good with the not so good.

Rolling Along

I went to Alan's today and worked in his yard a little. We are starting my new blog and filming a bit for the documentary. It was kind of nice to see the area I was working in change from a canopy of dead leaves to a floor of living vegetation and crawly things. The sun was beaming, I was sweating profusely, and I was seeing in my mind the infinite possibilities the small round area being worked has. So many ideas that could enhance such a small area in ways that would effect everyone who drives in not to mention the homes it would provide to so many small creatures.

Join me again and I will give you not just more but even better insight into my journey along this way. I will also be sharing my recent adventure that had me fishing and horseback riding.....