Crunch! As I started spreading sand around the foundation, I had a "you are your own worst enemy" moment. Fun times. Just an hour delay. I was able to get about half of the material spread before unexpected rain clouds started floating by. I don't mind getting wet, but my cameras do, unfortunately. The following day was
the start of several rain days. At the very least, I got a good start spreading and the rain will help pack this down.
So do you remember Sarah's adventure? Well, during that time, we let Tyler Kay pick out another kitten from Jamie's aunt and uncle's stray cats that they rescued. At that time, he was just a bit too small to separate from his mama, so we said we
would be back in a week to get him. By then, Sarah came back and we honored our word with the third cat. I honestly don't care how many animals we get, as we are all animal lovers, so long as the person who gets them is responsible for taking care of them. So far, so good. We now have three outside cats, two outside pups, and two dogs and a cat inside. The inside animals are all elderly and have lived wonderful lives with us, but these will be the last inside animals we share our lives with. The
outside dogs are put in their cage at night and when we leave and the cats get free roam of the shop at all times. When we are awake, the doors are open, and we are all together outside.
A Big Bear! Not the furry kind this time. With my first government taxation theft job, I purchased a 1993 Yamaha Big Bear 350. It was incredible. Shortly after that, I purchased an
acre of land right next to my uncle's two acres and my mom's one acre, across the street from my grandfather's few acres. We had, essentially, a family compound out in the middle of nowhere in rural Mississippi with a road separating us. Four-wheelers were our daily transportation to navigate all of our properties. Prior to my Big Bear, I drove my step-dad's old Honda 185 three-wheeler (bulletproof) everywhere through the woods around us. That three-wheeler was light enough that it could never
truly get stuck. Simply jump off and move it as needed. There was a massive paper company tract of land that I probably shouldn't have been riding on, but we did. And our land backed up to the Holly Springs National Forest. Again, we shouldn't have been riding through National Forest land, but we did, not knowing it was not allowed. All that to say, I knew the land around us like the back of my hand. Riding was my great escape and probably contributed a LOT to my current love for being out in
nature.
After some zero-investment trades that go back a few years, I am currently sitting on a 1998 Yamaha Big Bear 350. Nearly identical to my 1993 model, but in much better condition. The guy I got it from said it was a barn find from an old man who became unable to ride it anymore. Its greatest problem was that it was sitting up for far too long. He replaced
the carburetor with an OEM Honda carb, removed the plastics and cleaned and painted the frame, replaced any worn bushings, changed the fluids, put a new set of tires on, and painted the faded green plastic to a vibrant yellow. I like it! I like it a lot!
