River Day 12/17/2012

As you can see from the photos, the weather this week was nearly identical to the week before: rain, fog, temps in mid 50s.  So far it just hasn't felt much like December, never mind Christmas.

Jay wasn't able to make it down this week (Happy Birthday!) and instead picked up William at the airport in Charleston.  Ted, Kevin, Tim and I (Mark) all made it down for what is probably the last "regular" River Day celebration of the year.  It's hard to believe that 2012 is nearly gone.

Jay and Ted had delivered even more wood for the fire on Sunday this week, so there's a nice stack of stuff to burn that should last well into the cold months ahead, assuming the river doesn't take it.  It goes without saying that we had a great fire again this week, enough so that we were able to continue the discarded laptop recycling program.  Due to EPA regs, we probably shouldn't make that a habit.  From an artistic viewpoint though, the light show from those things is magnificent.

We did see a couple of the locals this week.  Leo spoke to us this week when the bus dropped him off; 1st time that's happened for a while (the speaking part, not the getting off the bus part).  And of course we had the weekly visit with Freddy.  It's always entertaining to listen to some of his stories.  Freddy had left us a little gift for the fire when we got down this week.  Amazing how much noise one aerosol can can make.  It was loud enough that he heard if from his house and used that as his cue to visit.  We'll let the smoke clear a little before we try that again.



Not a late night at the river, but a good one as always.

River Day 12/10/2012

River Day started out rainy this week, and when the rain slacked off, the fog moved in.  Temps were a little cooler than they were last week, but it was still unseasonably warm - mid to upper 50's.  Everyone was around this week to celebrate the holiday: Ted, Jay, Tim, Kevin and I (Mark).

It was a quiet evening and most of the activity was around the fire.  With the exception of Freddy, we didn't see any of the locals.  We've noticed for the last year or two that none of the residents had been putting up any Christmas lights like they used to.  Then we noticed that Leo had indeed decorated this year - not his house, but the utility pole with the electric service drop.  At least that way, extension cords aren't an issue.  Sorry for the poor quality of the photo (best I could do with a point-and-shoot), but I think it captures the spirit.

With the damp weather, the fire was certainly appreciated.  If I was to bet, I'd have to say we had the best one on the river.

River Day 12/03/2012

The first Monday of December felt more like late spring this week as the temps were in the upper 60's.  No jacket, short sleeve kinda weather.  Tim wasn't able to be with us this week, but Ted, Jay, Kevin, and I (Mark) all made it down to enjoy River Day.

Jay brought down even more wood for the pile in anticipation of the colder weather to come.  We're starting to get a pretty goodstack of wood going.  If the river cooperates and doesn't rise up and take it away, we'll be in good shape, for part of the winter anyway. 

I tried to do a little fishing this week, but it was a half-hearted attempt.  I really didn't expect much, so I didn't try for very long.  I'm pretty sure that I spent more time walking out to the rocks and back than I actually did fishing, but at least I gave it a shot.  There probably won't be too many more opportunities in 2012.

Not too much local activity this week, as usual.  Freddy visited and chatted for a while; I think he's on his way to becoming a regular.  The Raleigh Express made drop-off while we were there, or maybe more like a taxpayer funded beer run.  It may have even made two deliveries, unless it was a return trip.

All-in-all, a great way to spend a Monday evening as the year winds down.