A Day At The Jacksonville, FL Zoo

Nana and Cheez went to the Jacksonville Zoo with some of our kids and grandkids. It was very warm, but we all survived. Here are some of the critters observed at the zoo. We all got the admission/train ride admission, a red wrist band.














Inside the zoo is a small water park. It is well run with plenty of friendly staff. The perfect place to cool off the kids and give the grandparents a break. Adults were allowed in with their kids if they so desired. There were probably 25 - 30 kids in the water area, I believe it is limited to about 80 at one time.




























The zoo has a train that circles around the outer perimeter. It basically has two stops, front of park and back of park. It was a nice little ride. I believe it costs $4.00 extra but it gets you off your feet for a few minutes and the rides are unlimited.






I thought this flower was strikingly awesome. The little sign next to it said "Orange Bottlebrush Ginger." (Hedychium coccineum, also known as orange gingerlily, scarlet gingerlily, and orange bottlebrush ginger), is a species of flowering ginger. A native of Asia, it grows on the edge of forests and in mountain grasslands. Hedychium coccineumcan prefers partial sunshine, but can tolerate full sun. The flowers can range in colour from red to orange to almost yellow.)

Some G-Force Guy Time

My grandson is visiting here from the FT Bragg, NC area and said he wanted to see the movie G-Force and have a little guy time. So we went to McDonald's for lunch, saw the movie and ate some popcorn. He said he had a great time and he really like the movie.

He recommends G-Force and so do I.

Driveway And Parking Modifications A Job In Progress

My house was built with a tight curve in the driveway leading to the proposed RV parking. In this driveway, backing in a dually and staying on the concrete is exciting even without a trailer. So I decided to extend the driveway to make it easier to get in and out of and increase my available parking. Concrete is expensive, so is crushed concrete and coquina rock. So I decided to go with Cypress mulch. Originally I thought of going all the way to the road, but my landscaper pointed out that water flow in the drainage area would wash away the mulch. So I decided to end the mulched area before the ditch, outline the mulched area with landscape timbers and then taper the ground up to the parking area without restricting the available drainage.

Every time I come up with a project I always overlook Murphy's Laws of Projects. Well Murphy arrived almost immediately as the project began.

This is the area, right behind the utility shed, where I told the Bobcat operator to dump the soil removed i preparing the area to be mulched. The idea was to build up an area where I could later build a gardening bench for Nana.

As the Bobcat operator dropped the first load, all I saw was a huge strip of beautiful sod that would soon be buried. I then directed the Bobcat operator to lay the piles besides each other and Nana and I spent the next couple of hours pulling as much sod as we could out of the piles and laying them behind the house to extend our yard. All this happened with the heat index well over 95 degrees.

This picture shows some of the sod we managed to get down. It was rip it out of the pile and stamp it down a little farther away. Nana was also spreading bags of manure on and watering the area where we laid the sod.

Ultimately, we had to tell the bobcat operator to spread around and flatten the rest of the sod because we were to tired to move any more of it. In a couple of months, the centipede grass involved will come right up through the dirt and fill in a lot of that area.

Eventually, the Bobcat operator ripped out the sod, removed a bunch of dirt, laid groundcloth and filled in the area with Cyprus Mulch.

From this view you can see where I laid the first line of landscape timber. Originally I thought of going all the way to the road, but my landscaper pointed out that water flow in the drainage area would wash away the mulch. So I decided to end the mulched area before the ditch, outline the mulched area with landscape timbers and then taper the ground up to the parking area without restricting the available drainage.

The landscape timbers on the street side are pegged to the ground with one inch diameter oak dowels 18 inches in length.

The top of this picture shows the area being built up to allow driving in and out over the street side timbers. I hope that will keep the timbers from shifting as vehicles enter and leave the driveway.

This is one of the street side dowels along with the five pound precision instrument used for their installation.

Regardless of location, each eight foot landscape timber will be held in place by three dowels, shorter timbers will have at least two dowels. The dowels along the side of the parking area where no vehicle traffic is expected are 3/4 inch poplar dowels instead of one inch oak, they are also 18 inches in length. All dowels were treated with waterproofing to increase their usable lifetime.

Here the dowel has been inserted into the landscape timber.

This area between the back end of the driveway and the utility shed is also being prepared for the Cyprus mulch.

The distance from the driveway end to the utility shed is about 21 feet. This is mainly for looks as it fills in a no grass area however, if I had a long fifth wheel it could overhang over this area and be out of the way.

Once the mulched area is outlined with landscape timbers, I will build a ramp up to the utility shed for the lawn tractor. In this view you can see I have to install the timbers at both ends and then finish spreading the mulch evenly.

A Day With Nana And Cheez

Our grandson's, to a boy - even a 17 month old, like movies. Yesterday they came out to see us. In very short order, Wil asked if they could watch a movie. His older brother, Gus, thought that was a very good move.

While they were in the older brother/younger brother dickering mood over the movie to watch their younger walked past them both, picked up a movie and delivered it to me as his input. Since the two oldest couldn't reach an agreement we watched the one presented by "Bean."

Shrek 2 seems to be holding their attention.

My son-in-law at work in Afghanistan. May the good Lord hold him safe.
Pictures like this continually remind me that "Freedom is not free."

Nana's Babysitting Saturday

The boys started off the day with a movie they selected.

When that was over, we put on this movie.

During the movies, the boys played with the toy soldiers and

the toy dinosaurs we keep in the toy box for these occassions.

Suddenly, in the middle of the second movie the two older boys were struck with starvation. This in spite of consuming yogurts , fruit and other snacks while watching and playing. As it so happens, we have a supply of "Happy Meals" not to far up the road.

Today, by special request we would be traveling by diesel power. Boys, small or large, young or old, like big trucks. Sadly, the littlest brother would not be accompaning us as he was overwhelmed by his need for a nap.

After lunch, Nana set up the slip-n-slide. Bean is ready to go after his nap and lunch. He is a great fan of doing whatever his brothers do.

The boys like the slip-n-slide, but well water is cold and it takes a little getting used to.

Still getting in.

Here is the big brother to show the others how it is done.

Bean was not into running and sliding. He just liked being wet and putting his body into the water. When I picked him up, the term "Frog Body" came to mind. That water is really really cool.

Here is Wil demonstrating his finest high speed slide.

More Wil as he hits the end zone.

This is Gus' best shot. He put a lot into this one and went all the way.

Bean getting a snack. Turns out he thinks he can feed himself. Nana is trying to get some into him between his attempts.

He does a good job, but he doesn't want a lot of help. Consequently, he doesn't eat as much as he would as when he is fed so he gets hungry more often and since he can't really tell you when he is hungry he sometimes acts grumpy. At least that's Nana's theory.

Just a cute shot of a boy mugging for the camera.

Later in the evening, it was tub time. All of the grandchildren have always liked tub time.

He was washing his own face, but camera lag screwed that up. By the time the shot was taken he was watching the water run out of the washcloth.

He knows he is freaking cute.

Bean is washing Wil's head for him. That's what brothers are for.

The living room while Gus watches tv during his brother's bath. The forts have been dismantled and the toy soldiers and dinosaurs have been picked up but as you can see there is still more to do.