Hello Haydenville

Thank you to Helen for letting me park my camper in her driveway, good to spend time with Rachel.  And have a chance to cook dinner for them.

It only took Rachel and me about 30 mins. to back the camper up into the driveway.  Rachel has driven trailers before although quite some time ago, and she does still remember how to do it.  We tried it from both directions, and managed to block the street for quite awhile.  I had wanted to do alot of backing up practice before setting out, but looks like I'm just learning as I go by trial and error.  After many tries, we didn't get the camper exactly where we wanted it, but it was close enough.

Breakfast on Helen's porch -- what a lovely yard!

Now I'm staying with Jim, also in Haydenville.  Thank you, Jim!  Your home is so peaceful and you sure like to feed people!  At least I got to make you dinner one night.

Wild turkeys passing by my camper window, parked in Jim's driveway..

So maybe I was in the right place at the right time yesterday.  Jim was using a chainsaw to cut down some old and diseased fruit trees, a task he did not relish, but which had to be done.  I was in my camper reading.  Through the open window, I heard, "Help!"  Yikes!  I flew out of the camper and ran for the sound, thinking about all the terrible injuries a chainsaw can inflict.  When I got to Jim, he was on the ground, no blood, chainsaw turned off a few feet away, and no big tree was on top of him.  All very good to see.  He had finished using the chainsaw and was beginning to gather up the pieces of tree to carry them away, when he tripped on a rock, fell backward, and mashed his hand against a standpipe.  Ever see a little finger that is sticking out sideways?  Definitely the wrong shape.  Glad I was there to take Jim to the ER, where they determined it was severely dislocated but not broken.  The ER doc had to use alot of force to pull the finger back into position and it must have really hurt, but Jim just breathed through it.  Arnica 200C and some herbal pain remedy are helping.  Of course the painful and swollen little and ring fingers are on his left hand and he's left handed.  We are both just grateful that it was no more serious and will heal.

Today I went to the DAR instead of church, or maybe just a different kind of church.  It was warm enough to go kayaking.  What with everything else that's been going on, this was the first time this year I could get out my inflatable kayak.  So lovely!  Looking forward to more kayaking as I go south later in the fall.  

Already fall colors at the DAR.