Wednesday October 3rd 2018

It rained most of the night. This morning it was foggy and drizzly. As the day went by it got drier and a little warmer. The temperature topped out in the mid sixties.

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On my drive back to the southern New Hampshire area I was happy to see some color in the foliage along the roads. It has been three years since I saw a multicolored fall. In 2016 I was in the Florida Georgia area at this time of year. Most of what I saw in that area was rust colored or just plain brown. Last year I was in Arizona during September and October. The desert just gets browner. At the seven thousand plus feet of altitude around the Grand Canyon there was some color, but nothing like the multicolored displays around here. In the Grand Canyon area if it wasn’t green it was bright yellow.

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The foliage season is getting started a couple of weeks late according to the TV weather talkers. I agree it was late getting started, but I think it is going to catch up with the average year quickly. Some of the forecasters are calling for a better than normal foliage year because of the hot wet summer, but I have heard at least one forecast say that the hot wet summer will result in a duller result. I was happy to see several deep red trees today. When combined with the more common orange and yellow trees it makes a very pretty presentation. The colored foliage is still in isolated low areas. The sweeping hillside displays and the tree lined road displays haven’t been achieved yet.

I’m currently staying in an area of Massachusetts that isn’t know for it’s foliage. As you approach the Cape Cod area the tree varieties change to primarily pine and oak. The Oak trees just turn brown late in the fall. They often don’t drop their leaves until after the first snow fall. I’ll be traveling back into the heart of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire many times over the next few weeks, so I should get plenty of opportunity to see some of the real fall colors. I’d like to get a few pictures of the foliage to share in this blog. I don’t think I’ll be traveling into northern New England for anything, but it is always a possibility.

Close up of the blossom of the day.

Tuesday October 2nd 2018

The rain last night started heavy, but continued at the nuisance level most of the night into the morning. Steady rain of any level becomes white noise on the roof, but off and on rain or mist just builds up in the leaves of the overhead trees and drips onto the roof. The random loud sounds the drips on the roof produce makes it very difficult to ignore. I didn’t sleep well last night.

The black area in the middle of this picture is ground up paving from road surfaces under repair. The campground staff used it to fill a large muddy puddle in front of my campsite. They came back later with two more golf cart size loads to fill in the rest of the wet area. I hope tonight’s rain doesn’t wash away their work.

Most of the afternoon was rain free. It never cleared off or even threatened to allow the sun to lighten things up. Any hope of going for a bicycle ride was long gone. Instead I took care of one of life’s necessities. I went grocery shopping. I still had the bicycle on the back of the SUV which blocks access to the back. I had to load the back seat area with all of my purchases. My purchases continue to be a little more extensive than normal. I’m taking advantage of being back in my old home region to stock up on old favorites that aren’t available in other areas. I stumbled on one regional difference that I hadn’t thought about today. The Walmart I was shopping in had mostly brown eggs for sale instead of their usual white eggs. An egg is an egg, but my childhood was full of brown eggs. White eggs were only for decorating at Easter time.

It is raining steadily again tonight. Hopefully, it will stop completely or continue to rain at full strength all over night. I don’t really want to wake up to the sound of “pings” on the roof. Once the front passes through a couple of nice drier days are in the forecast. Today’s temperature was around seventy. Hopefully that will continue too.

Monday October 1st 2018

When I arrived here yesterday, I was looking forward to riding my bicycle along the Cape Cod Canal service road. The weather forecast for today called for rain moving into the area from the north and west. It wasn’t forecast to get here until evening. When I setup on the campsite I didn’t remove the bicycle and rack from the car. I planned to head south another few miles today for a bicycle ride.

The clouds pushed the sunshine off to the southeast at a rapid pace. Rain follow the clouds into the area.

After breakfast this morning I got the air compressor out to air up the bicycle tires. I also used a can of spray on lubrication to get rid of any rust and grit that had accumulated on the bike since I last rode it. This only took a half an hour or so. As I was putting the air compressor away the sunny skies were giving way to clouds. It was soon raining lightly. I decided to wait it out. I’m still waiting. It has rained off and on most of the afternoon. One forecast says tomorrow morning will be nice, but another calls for the current weather to continue until Wednesday morning. If I don’t get a chance tomorrow, I’ll just wait for a better opportunity. After my two weeks here, I plan to move to a campground right on the side of the canal, so I’ll have plenty of opportunities. The rush to go for a ride is driven by the season. Not only will it get colder as the month goes by, but the facilities along the canal service road usually start to close Columbus Day weekend. It’s hard to believe next weekend is the holiday weekend.

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The campground has been quiet today. As expect there are many trailers that have been left for the week. Late this afternoon a fifth wheel trailer arrived for the site next to me and later in the day a big motorhome arrived for the site across the street. I volunteered to move my car so he could get parked without any serious head bashing. Backing a forty five foot coach into a narrow site takes all the available space. The rain only makes it more interesting. This area of the campground is designed for bigger rigs, but it doesn’t have pull through sites.

The blossom of the day.

Sunday September 30th

Today was moving day. I was up early since my neighbor’s young boys don’t know the meaning of quiet hours. They were up talking to each other and their parents at a volume that a fire and brimstone preacher only dreams about shortly after seven this morning. I had plenty of time to prepare for my planned noon departure. I actually left early around 11:30AM.

My site, number 263, for the next two weeks at the Boston-Cape Cod KOA in Middleboro MA.

When I got hooked up and tested my spliced electrical connection to the towed car, I was missing the left directional signal and the tail lights. I decided that would have to do, since any attempt to fix it better stood a very good chance of losing what I already had. As it turns out I didn’t have any lights on the towed car by the time I finished my journey. While it’s not the safest thing and would warrant a ticket if I got stopped, it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Unlike a trailer that blocks all of the lights on the back of the towed vehicle the motorhome lights are all visible around and above the closely following towed car. I need to order a new cable before I move on in two weeks.

My concerns about Patriots game traffic were not realized. The exit from the interstate for the stadium was empty when I passed by half an hour before the game. The biggest traffic issue was at the Interstate 290 interchange with Interstate 495. The traffic heading west toward Worcester and points beyond had the south bound lanes of I-495 crawling for a couple of miles. I arrived at the Boston-Cape Cod KOA in Middleboro MA just before 1PM.

I’ve stayed at this campground many times over the years. They have been improving the facilities over the last few years. It has around 250 sites with perhaps half filled when I arrived this afternoon. I think many of the trailers will be empty during the week. As the afternoon went on people were buttoning up their outdoor furniture and leaving. Many campgrounds run specials in the fall that allow people to leave their RVs on the site for use on the weekends for a fixed price.

Saturday September 29th 2018

It was a beautiful fall day with high temperatures in the mid to upper sixties. The heavily wooded area here in the campground hides the day’s characteristics well. It stays dark later in the morning and gets dark earlier in the evening. When you leave the park you find a much brighter day.

Today’s surprise from the wet ground.

I spent most of the day working on tasks that I need to accomplish before I move tomorrow. I’ve been here two weeks, but between the rain and trips to southern New Hampshire it seems a lot shorter. On the other hand, the amount of stuff I’ve gotten out of cabinets and not put away looks more like I’ve been here for two months.

I have a noon check out time to meet tomorrow. That’s normally plenty of time, but I have to test my spliced electric connection between the motor home and towed car once I get everything hooked up. I really should have just ordered a new cable as soon as I got here, but I thought it would be easy to splice. What I’ve been able to accomplish is only going to be temporary. I have to order a new cable.

I’ll be leaving as close to the noon check out as possible. My travel route takes me through all of the traffic heading for the Patriots football game. If I leave at noon, most of the people should already be in the stadium for the 1PM game when I get into the Foxborough area. Overall, I’m only traveling about seventy miles. I’ll be there for another two weeks. It means a little more travel to get to some of the areas I want to visit while here, but closer to some of the areas I really enjoy being a tourist.

One of the flower beds that didn’t get impacted by all of the rain over the last couple of weeks.

Friday September 28th 2018

There may have been an occasional light shower during the night, but the real rain began at the breakfast hour. It continued at various intensities until early afternoon. From the TV reports it appears the bulk of the storm passed to the south of this location. Today’s temperature barely made it into the sixties.

This little creature was making enough noise to wake the dead. Something must of had it spooked.

I didn’t do anything exciting today. Mostly I worked on little maintenance tasks like the splice to the electric cord that connects the motorhome and the towed car. It’s one of those do a little bit and put it aside kind of tasks. It will be finished tomorrow so I can use it on Sunday which is moving day.

One expected task was putting air in the car tires. When I went to run an errand the tire pressure warning light came on as I was leaving the campground. I returned to my campsite to use the compressor to top off the tires. It took a little longer than expected because the last rain shower of the day decided to open up right about that time. After the rain stopped it only took a few minutes to top off the tire pressure. It is probably another indicator of cooler temperatures, but I’ll watch to see if I have a leak.

More people left the park this morning than I expected, but the campground is now full for the weekend. A steady flow of arrivals started midway through the afternoon. The arrivals even included one of the European tour groups in the red buses with built in sleepers and outdoor kitchens. I see one of two of these units every year usually with German tourists.

The wet weather has brought a lot of ground fungus.

Thursday September 27th 2018

Last nights line of thunderstorms in the area cooled and dried out the atmosphere. It was a nice cool partly cloudy day. Tomorrow the weather roller coaster is forecast to be back to rain. A flash flood watch has been issued for the area.

A “little” fall color.

One positive result of the cooler rainy weather is the foliage starting to turn. When I’ve been out the last couple of days, I’ve seen trees starting to show some color. It is primarily the trees in the swampy areas that are starting to turn dull red. Some years I’ve seen this level of change in August. The foliage forecasts say the peak will be more than two weeks late this year. It may start to turn faster now that the cooler weather seems to have settled in. I also think bright colors may not happen this year.

The campground really emptied out this morning. When I walked around at mid day there were only three RVs in my section of the campground. Other areas had a few more occupied sites, but overall it looked very empty. In the early afternoon new residents started to arrive. Many of the new arrivals have local plates so they are probably here for the weekend. I only saw a few empty sites on my evening walk around the park. A few of the new arrivals didn’t fully setup so they are likely just overnight guests. That will leave room for tomorrows arrivals.

All of the nice baskets of flower blossoms I was enjoying and taking pictures of last week look pretty sad now. We haven’t had a frost yet, but I think they’ve been flooded out by the rain. Even the pool that was half empty and covered last week is now covered with more water above the cover than under it. The excessive amount of rain this month still doesn’t compare with the rain in the Mid Atlantic states, but it is having an impact in this area too.

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Wednesday September 26th 2018

Yesterday’s heavy rain ended with the day. During the night only an occasional light shower fell. In the morning it was warm and humid with some low level clouds and an occasional sprinkle. The sun started breaking through the clouds off and on starting in the mid morning. The temperature peaked in the eighties. It was a one day return to summer weather. A line of storms is passing through the area tonight ushering in a return to cooler temperatures.

Blue sky through the trees and clouds after yesterday’s storm..

I went back to familiar ground in southern New Hampshire and got a long over due haircut this afternoon. I’ve needed a hair cut for a couple of months now but haven’t found a good place during any of my longer stops. It has been a long time since my hair was as long as it got this time. I try to use one of the national franchise chains. The similarity resulting from the franchise provides a level of comfort and confidence in the end result.

When I got back to the campground this afternoon there were a lot of open sites. Today’s travelers arrived later than during the past few days. They were still arriving as night arrived and many looked like they weren’t staying more than overnight. When they don’t unhook the trailer from the tow vehicle, it is usually a sign of an overnight stay.

This campground has some narrow roads and some tight corners. The staff escorts everyone to their site to make sure they can navigate the campground. This afternoon I watched one arrival with a fifth wheel trailer have difficulty backing into their site. The site has accommodated similar and bigger units during my stay here. For some reason this driver had a great deal of difficulty getting backed in. What was surprising to me is how calm the driver remained. He got out looked around at all the terrain and calmly talked with his copilot then tried again. I suspect one of his issues was the slight up hill slope and loose gravel. He may not of had enough truck for the situation. I didn’t watch the whole time, but it took the entire twenty minutes I was cooking supper for him to get settled. They didn’t unhook so they will probably be leaving in the morning. That’s just one of the little things that entertain me. It isn’t nearly as entertaining when I’m the one having a hard time backing into a site.

As I’ve been writing this blog entry the forecast evening line of storms has arrived. The sound of thunder and the rain on the roof is making it hard to hear the TV. Hopefully it will end before I go to bed.

Tuesday September 25th 2018

It wasn’t a very exciting day, so this blog entry is going to be on my thoughts on the weather’s influence on my behavior. It started to rain this morning about 8AM and has continued at various levels of intensity all day. The noise on the roof is a very good indicator of how hard it is raining. The louder the clatter the heavier the rain. I didn’t leave my RV home all day.

In a house or apartment you are not as aware of the outside weather. You usually don’t hear the rain on the roof and unlike an RV looking out the windows is often blocked by curtains or blinds. It is only after you decide to go out that you consider the weather. In an RV you know about the rain before you make the decision. Knowing that it is going to be wet and difficult driving triggers my procrastination impulse. If there isn’t a real reason for doing something in the rain, I’ll often put it off until another day.

I’ve always been aware of the weather. One of the reasons I began this lifestyle was to get out of the winters in the northeast. If snow was in the forecast I’d try to find a way to hibernate. Now that I don’t have snow to worry about I’m taking a similar approach to heavy rain. I really need a good reason to go out in the rain. I’ve had more full days of rain this year. I was in desert areas most of 2017. This year in the mid west and the east I’ve had a lot more rainy days, but still only a few have been full day rain events like today.

I think that most people living this lifestyle are more aware of the weather. You need to be for safety. RVs don’t handle weather extremes as well as houses and other buildings. The other aspect is you are usually closer to nature. Bright sunny days equate to an active and adventurous day. On cloudy and dull days you have to find other things to motivate you.

I have plenty of indoor entertainment. TV, DVDs and streaming media.

I spent most of the day watching TV. The Home and Garden Network and the Food Network are my fall backs during the day when a good repeat of a series isn’t available. I usually half watch the TV while reading or doing some other task. This evening the new Fall television season kept me entertained. The only difficulty was I had to turn up the volume to hear the shows over the rain on the roof.

Monday September 24th 2018

It wasn’t a very exciting day today. I spent most of my time trying to stay warm. By noon I gave in to the inevitable and turned on some heat. Admitting that cooler weather has arrived means the summer is over. I really don’t know where all the time went. It never got out of the fifties today. Tomorrow is forecast to be warmer, but three inches of rain is also in the forecast.

The campground emptied out even more this morning. Both of my nearby neighbors left before I got up. Why they would hit the road while the morning rush hour traffic was in full swing is beyond my comprehension. Shortly after two this afternoon a stead flow of RVs started arriving to fill many of the empty sites. Most of the arrivals were clearly travelers visiting New England in the fall. Some of the more distant license plates were from New Mexico, Oklahoma and more from California. I saw one plate that I initially thought was New York or possible Oregon, but turned out to be from Alaska. If they traveled from their home, they get the travel distant award, but there is the possibility that the RV stays in the lower forty eight and is used for fall, winter and spring travel. I saw several of those in Nevada last winter.

One sign of Fall is the change from wild flowers to wild fungus.

The cooler weather is causing many subtle changes in the forest that surrounds my campsite. There are more leaves on the ground and the local wildlife seems to have changed behavior. Last week the squirrels and chipmunks were very busy. Sitting outside it was possible to see them running around in all directions. Today it was hard to find any of them on the ground. The chipmunks were in their burrows and the squirrels were in the trees.

Two years ago I was here in the summer. There was a huge rafter of wild turkeys patrolling the perimeter of the campground. I expected to see a few turkeys this year, but so far I haven’t seen any. All I’ve seen in the campground are the squirrels, chipmunks
and an occasional bird. I enjoy seeing bigger birds and animals more than these creatures.