Turtles and Whittling

We actually got a lot done today in between and during the rain!  We went over and said good-bye to a young guest that we have gotten to know as she and her dad and her grandma were heading home today.  After that, K went with us to check out the local garage sales as D started working on putting railings on their steps down to the dock.  They have 2 older gentlemen who were struggling to get to the dock and D had been planning to add the railing anyway so this seemed like a good time to do it. 

On the way to the garage sales, we saw this snapping turtle on the side of the road digging a hole to lay eggs.  Here is some interesting infomation that I found on snapping turtles.  Female snapping turtles often have traditional nesting areas and they are known to journey 10 miles (16 km) in order to reach the nesting site. Twenty to 30 eggs are laid in a hole in moist soil about 4 to 7 inches (10 -18 cm) deep that is dug with their hind legs. The eggs are round, shelled, and about an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, about the size of a small golf ball. Once the eggs are laid, the female turtle has completed her maternal tasks and returns to her pond or stream.  The turtle eggs often hatch in the fall after an incubation of 2 to 3 months.  I am pretty sure that I won't be able to find this spot in 2 to 3 months to watch these turtles hatch!!

We hit 3 different garage sales in the area and got some games and curtains for the resort and some Tupperware (or Tubbyware as it is called in our house) and jeans for Bill.  K still had raffle tickets for a nearby festival so we grabbed those and ran over there.  The festival had a flea market, raflle tickets, live music, food and bingo.  We decided to grab lunch there and play some bingo (at a quarter per card!).  We played 2 cards each and K was giving the number caller (who is a friend) a hard time that she wasn't calling her numbers and then she ended up winning!  The winning was only $4.25 but she had never won bingo before so it was still exciting!  We grabbed dinner for the guys and took it back to the resort.

I spent the afternoon cleaning 2 cabins while Bill helped with the railing.  He also started to whittle 2 walking sticks for the older gentlemen as they had not brought their canes and K had some wood.  It looked like fun so I helped him out after I finished cleaning cabins.  Bill removed most of the bark, then I removed down to the white wood, then Bill used a rasp to get rid of the rough spots and smooth it down and then I sanded it.  We left the top section kind of rough so that it was easier for holding.  The 2 gentlemen seemed very appreciative of the walking sticks.

We are back home now to grab clean clothes and head back for a shower.  Since the weather is getting warmer, we are actually starting to shower more than once a week!! :-)