CPP - June 8-15, 2023

June 2023

Hudson Islanders Rally at

croton point park

One of the many highlights of my summer RV season is to attend the annual get-together of my RV group, the Hudson Islanders. This year marks my eighth year and as usual it can be summed up with words like IT'S ALL ABOUT:

FRIENDS/CAMARADERIE

This year our rally was attended by:

Larry

 Nina & John

Martine & John

Doreen & Tony

Sue

Roberta

Kelly & Peter

Roberta & Erve

Bearnice & Bob

Kathy & Ray

Melanie & Dan

Charlie

Vicki & George

A very nice crowd indeed but look at the folks we missed who are normally in attendance. Hopefully they will make the next rally here in Croton in September:

Fran & Walt

Noreen & Jack

Carole & John

Johnny S.

Ray D.

Dawn & John

Pat & Jim

We welcomed new members, Kelly and Peter

Guests, Steve and Maria

This is under investigation.

FOOD & DRINKS

As is our tradition, there was a Meet & Greet Friday night followed by a Pot Luck Supper on Saturday. Of course, that does not preclude a drink at anytime-o'clock.

Following are just a few samples from Meet & Greet; I missed the selections for the Pot Luck supper. Sorry.

At John and Martine's site, some of us enjoyed homemade crepes courtesy of our French mademoiselle, Martine.

And, as always, delicious and juicy watermelon

CAMPFIRES, STORIES, LAUGHS & ENTERTAINMENT

We missed our "Firemeister," Jack, so we had one in his honor.   

 

It is at the "gathering place," the warmth of the mesmerizing campfires, where the true enjoyment of "camping" and the "outdoors" come together for me. Many nights found me and others chatting and retiring to our RVs after 11 pm. One late night the few of us left had a Snickers eating contest; who could keep a bite-size Snicker in their mouth the longest. Below, the judge checks the mouth of the last two to determine who had the greater number of peanuts left and declared the winner.

Ray declared the winner. The Prize? The last Snickers.

We enjoyed the musical talents of Steve

 

Meanwhile....

Mystical powers of levitation caused one of my chairs to wind up on the roof.

An analysis of the situation concluded only a devious alien
in WHITE could have performed such a feat.

With nice weather and friends all around, there was plenty of time for...

CHECKING CELL PHONES...

PLAYING GAMES...

TENDING MEDICAL NEEDS...

OR, JUST DOING NOTHING.

WEATHER

Lest we forget the impact the Canadian wildfires had on the US in early June.  

I hope you enjoyed the highlights of our get-together at Croton Point Park. Our next get together will be from July 21st to the 28th in Harpursville, NY at the Belden Hill Campground. For those going, check out the Photo Gallery on the website. I camped there last year and for those interested, I posted this blog: https://winnieandme2022.blogspot.com/2022/09/belden-hill-campground.html

See you there.

• “It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

2023 Summer Adventure

 

It's good to be back. Winnie will reside once again in Croton Point's RV park while I "commute" to and from my apartment in Peekskill. Now back into reality, my apartment plants have been lovingly taken care of as well as my piled-high mail (Thank you, Stella). There are medical appointments scheduled and I look forward to the many dining excursions with family and friends. An interesting factoid: when I left for my travels on 1/8/2022, I weighed myself. Then, upon my return 5/12/2023, I weighed myself again and found my weight to be exactly the same as when I left. That should lay to rest all the comments and concerns about those wonderful dining experiences I enjoyed and shared during my travels. 

Just sayin'

And now my attention turns to another beautiful time of the year, summer. My itinerary is set and with continued good luck, it will include 110 days full of wonderful experiences.

While working on my cryptograms, I had

a visitor...could it be a "bookworm?"

Looked it up and closest I could find was

the Copper Underwing Caterpillar...

I've been blessed with terrific weather; sunny days with temps in the mid-70's, even had heat overnight as temps dipped into the 50's. One night in early May, the NWS issued a "Freeze Warning."

I'm making this blog short. If you've ever visited and spent time sitting with me at any of my campsites,  you'll agree, it's all about "Nature." Vicki and George are the only fellow RVers I know that are here. My other enjoyment is marveling at the wonders of nature. The silence while practicing the art of observing, that's what it's all about. I'll just highlight what I experienced so far...and some dining memories, of course.

...which will become a moth.

 

While seated at the picnic table one day, there was another attention-getting, loud buzzing of a nearby bee; a carpenter bee to be exact. These are the critters that bore into wood to form their nests and to lay over during the winter. The biology teacher in me beckoned for more observations. I marveled at the accomplishment; boring a hole in the table leg for a nest. It's the female that does the work of boring and preparing the nest. They can sting but it's not that painful. Being anti-social and reclusive, they're not a threat. The males don't have a stinger and are harmless in that regard. Patience not being my strong suit, I knew this was a time to study the birds and the bees, with an emphasis on the bees. I took slow motion videos over a long period of time to observe their behavior. I then edited and spliced together the sequence for a 2:15 minute story in the life of this colony of carpenter bees.

The story goes: Once upon a time, long before I arrived, a colony of carpenter bees bored a hole deep into the leg of a picnic table. I watched their comings and goings. Flying off to gather pollen, the male returned laden with pollen sacs or baskets clearly visible. I decided to be mean and insert a twig into the hole and block its entry. The next trip in, it would hover, examine and determine its next move. Without approaching, landing or touching the twig, they'd fly away. Meanwhile, from within, the queen would begin pushing the twig out of opening. I would re-insert the twig not once but three times. Each time the queen would push it out. Finally, I left the entrance way clear. The returning male remained suspicious and it would not enter the nest. After a few minutes, the big fella returned and entered with a massive amount of pollen. And they lived happily ever after.

Entering with a lots of pollen

Leaving the nest "clean." Yeah, I put the stick in thinking the queen would once again push it out.

Days later, she's still busy boring.

For homeowners, things you should know about carpenter bees can be found HERE.  

My stay at CPP has allowed me to remain very busy. Having my Caddy of course is a big plus. I've taken care of five doctor appointments, dined at my favorites, Cosimo's Trattoria and watched daughter play bocce in Poughkeepsie, visited Sakura for sushi and caught the sun setting behind the Palisades across from Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

Another blessing was enjoying yet another birthday. I am so gratified for the number of well-wishers on FB and emails received. A pizza party held at my apartment complex by neighbors topped off the day. I was reminded of a past birthday by family: All I could see is that "I've still got it" (that should be in past tense, I know).

We won't discuss how long ago they were taken. Hint: the little guy in front is now 21 and the little gal giving support is over 25. (The things we do for our grandchildren.)

My cousin, up from Florida, always makes it a point to dine at Sakura. She and Carlo treated me for my birthday...and the gang at Sakura helped with the celebration. Thank You.

An "Alex Special"

Couple of shaggies out for a ride.

Well, so much for a totally relaxing time at CPP. Next up will be greeting up to 15 (RVs) of my fellow Hudson Islanders who are due for the first of our annual rallies right here at CPP, June 7 through the 14th.  That's over 25 people. The second will be in September. Till next time take care and stay safe.