1.30.12

Our last day on the water…..and it will be a short one. We anchored only an hour or so from Astor, FL, where we will be hauling out.

Larry and A Dollar More cruising off into the sunrise.

It was cool last night. The mist rising off the water makes for a nice picture.

I won’t be taking many more pictures of A Dollar More. She is headed back to OK. 

The Astor boat launch has 2 ramps. We take a little longer to load then most boats, though not as long as you would think, so Larry tied to the dock while Jim and I anchored. Jim put our dingy in the water and motored over to the launch ramp. He and Larry walked up to the Marina where the trucks and trailers were stored.

By the time they got back, I had all the vinyl side curtains down and stored. I will put the screens up when at home. Better air flow and less mold. If I left it open, it would fill with leaves, bird nests and mud dauber nests.

Larry has a long cable for loading A Dollar More. He has done so much single handing that his systems are all in place. Once the trailer is in the water, he walks back with the cable and attaches it to the bow eye, walks back and starts winching. He used this same system to load his Nimble Nomad. Works very well when working alone.

Once she’s on the trailer….all he has to do is haul’er out.  There she goes…..

I’m not partial to seeing Slow Motion on the trailer. Much rather she be in the water….but….when not in use it’s nice to have her in the yard. I usually climb the ladder at least twice a day, to open and close the sleeper and V berth for airing out, spray for ants and spiders if needed and generally enjoy being aboard. I’ve even been known to bird watch from there.

I never get the “hauling out” part in pictures….I usually back the truck in while Jim lines the boat up and drives it on the trailer. We made a rope and bungee cord set up that connects to the guide posts. It keeps the boat centered. Jim usually stands on the ladder at the front of the trailer and cranks it into position as I slowly pull it out. This time his cranking was off a bit and it was about 4” too far to the rear so I backed it back down the ramp into the water, so it could reposition and Jim cranked it up a little more. This time it was perfect.

A Dollar More loaded a little to the rear also, but when Jim built Larry’s trailer he used a lot of rollers..so if you want to move it a few inches….just drive forward and hit the brakes….Jim drove and Larry cranked. Worked like a charm.

Once home and the boat backed into place, I noticed a large flock of Robins taking turns at the bird bath. I leave a hose on a slow drip whenever I’m going to be away for awhile.

Winter is our dry season. I have a bird bath in the back yard and one sitting on the ground under the Tangelo Tree in the front yard. The raccoons, armadillos and other critters can get water too.

When we got back from NY we found a grey cat had taken up residence on our back porch. We weren’t going to feed her but she looked like she was going to have kittens or had just had some….so we started feeding her. A few weeks later she showed up with 3 kittens. We knew we’d be on the boat a month or more, so the neighbors said they’d feed them. Cindy wanted a kitten and I was hoping she’d tame one of these.

Here they are. No longer little kittens.

Cute little fellas. Don’t know if male or female. Need to gentle them and catch them up and get them fixed. Or we will be even more over run with cats. The hammock is a favorite place for dumping unwanted dogs and cats.

Is this a cutie or what? Looks like it has a butterfly stuck under it’s nose.

and this one?

This one is not as prettily marked…but seems to want to be friendly. I was able to pet it while eating. It’s a start.

What really surprised me was the number of birds still coming to the feeders. I’ve seen 2 male Painted Buntings, 6 green (either female or juveniles), Cardinals, Titmice and 2 Catbirds that bath in this same birdbath, and don’t forget the flock of Robins.

The kitten above, is sitting on the squirrel feeder and the squirrel came in later.

The cats hadn’t cleaned up their dry food last night and when I went to get the bowl, a Raccoon was finishing it up for them. I’ll have to get it sooner. I would rather not have the Raccoon coming onto the back porch. Though…it was a cute little fella.

I keep a blog about the critters and insects that frequent our back yard.   www.wildlifearoundus.blogspot.com   I’ve even posted some video of Monarch Butterflies emerging from their Chrysalis and the caterpillars pupating. When home I post there. Check it out.

Larry called yesterday to let us know that he and Diane had made it home safely with A Dollar More.

If you have a blog about your boating travels, please post a link in the comment section. I “boat” when at home by following others aboard their boats. Hira Reed has exciting travels aboard her Albin 25, Shatoosh  http://shatooshandpashmina.blogspot.com/   She’s another single hander. Though she does have a twin sister, and friends who travel with her at times. You will enjoy seeing some of the places she visits.

I just went to a blog from her site, people she met who live aboard http://mvvikingstar.blogspot.com/  I was surprised to see snow! So now I have other travelers to follow.

Fair winds to all you boaters. We’ll “see” you out there.