FOLLOWERS - BLOG BUDDIES!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

# 172 - Road Trip to the Forest and a Custom Potty

A road trip into the country can be beautiful, even in the dreary winter months.




I love the Piney Woods.


Stopping to get gas. Lyla is bored.




And this is Lyla's expression of exasperation. If someone thinks that dogs don't have expressions to relay their mood, they are wrong.



We stop for gas and Howdy has to be facing Deputy Dave at all times. He keeps his eyes on him.


It's been six months since our last visit to our land. Usually, there is not cell phone reception on our land with the exception of only one cell phone provider (AT&T), but on the trip there, we're finding a lot of new towers have popped up.



More towers.



I guess all of these towers are a sign of the boom of growth that will be following soon.


We're getting closer to our land. I love all of the trees --- lots of conifers mixed with hardwoods. At this time, the area looks barren compared to how lush it will appear in the Spring.



Howdy and Lyla have plenty of room on their side of the truck and they take turns --- one will lie on the seat and the other on the floor. Howdy likes to stay close to the air-conditioning vent; he is always super hot due to his double coat of hair.




As always, our shoulders start to relax and we get all mushy muscled.



We've entered the Big Thicket zone and it's becoming darker along the roads. The density of the trees in this area can be intense. This is not a place where you'd want to make a wrong turn while walking through the forest. The lack of cell phone reception, the wild animals and the miles of forest could spell devastation.



We're about to make our turn. What will we find on our land? In East Texas, it's a toss up.



Ahhhh...we're here...at the part of our land that has been "cleared." Yes, we had this section of our acreage visited by a bulldozer years ago and it's been H-E-Double-Hocky-Sticks to keep up with trying to tame this thick brush. Slowly, the forest has taken the land back over...all except for this tiny section. Ya!!!


Now, we're all set up with our shelter. Man and Woman alike need shelter. We love our tent.


Lastly, the most important item on the camping list is the compressor-style-potty. Don't be jealous. I know you all want one...sorry...it's one of a kind.


8 comments:

LindaG said...

Lyla looked like she was saying "hurry up so I can run!". ;-)

Poor dogs look like they are just stuffed in around everything. :-P

You tow a trailer, right? Maybe you could get a big black bin like we use (we have 5, lol) to help give them a little more room? Though perhaps less room is better...

I understand your pain, re keeping land clear. We commiserate.

That's a great looking potty!

And no fire damage - best of all. :)

Lana said...

Linda --- as soon as we start to enter the Big Thicket area, both dogs are up and wagging their tails while making noises of trying to contain their excitement...it is hysterical. They love it there. And the backseat is one of those extended backseats, looks smaller from that angle, but that have that entire side just for them and there's plenty of room for both to lay down or whatever. They both like to take their turn leaning their head on the front console. Howdy quickly learned how to use his paw to roll down the window, so we've had to resort to keeping the window child locks turned on during our trips with them. But, gas station trips are torture. This is when they either get a chance to take a potty break or get a snack. They are such awesome travel companions. The little Yorkie, we can't take her any longer because she's not a traveling dog. Anyway, the potty, the way it just happened to be set up...against the compressor, it struck me as funny. And we didn't have fire damage but several acres right around us did, we were fortunate. I think 9 different fire departments were battling the blazes. They did a great job.

We might be making another trip this weekend. I hope so!!

Lana

Farmers Wifey said...

My friend, thank you so much for this post, I enjoyed it so much! The first thing I thought was "oh no she's driving on the wrong side of the road", this, coming from an Aussie lol

I toured America several years ago, I LOVED the roads and the scenery, it was the best time in my life.

Your photos are gorgeous!

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Loved your potty and your woods. We live in the middle of open plains which have their own beauty but I wish we had woods of our own. Fortunately a neighbor has woods and a pond which we are welcome on.

Charade said...

Okay, you had me going with the custom potty picture. I was just about to ask Big Daddy to come look at it and 'splain to me just where that compressor was sending the, er, contents. Good one.

www.FarmLifeLessons.blogspot.com said...

Farmers Wifey --- I am so thrilled to be blog buddies with an Aussie and am happy that you had a great tour here in America. I lived a few years in Scotland, so I sometimes find myself driving dyslexic. It can really mess us up! I always appreciate your visits and enjoy going over to your hang-out!

Donna --- I always love your pictures. And your animals are so awesome. It is also a lot of fun to watch you make soap. I am actually going to try to make homemade laundry detergent this weekend, Deputy Dave doesn't know yet!! Snort, snort!! It will be a fun project and hopefully save us money in the long run. We have an HE unit and they try to charge more money for that soap, ridiculous. I'd rather make my own.

Charade --- You made my night!!! I had to laugh out loud because when I first saw the picture upon loading them, I had to do a double take because it does look like an all-in-one unit! We had just set things up quickly and the arrangement was happenstance. I decided to post the photo cause it cracks me up so much. Glad I gotcha!

Lana

Stacie, A Firefighter's Wife said...

Do you have a time frame or a goal set to have a move in date? Just curious. How far away is this from the city?

www.FarmLifeLessons.blogspot.com said...

Stacie --- Yes, we expect to put the house up for sale by January 25th. We are exhausted by trying to make things as perfect as possible to sell our house. We have tough competition around us. I don't think it will take long at all to sell it, once we open to for buyers to consider, but closings take a bit longer these days. So, I suspect we will be moved, I hope, by April. That's definitely our time table. We want to be out of the house before the heat sets in. Our acreage has forested areas and we will build our cabin in the shadow of trees, yet at a safe distance. We are looking forward to living with SHADE!

Lana