Thursday, March 31, 2011

A New Awning & A Garden
















It has been raining for two days straight here at Kelly's RV Park in White Springs, FL. Hard rains. Heavy downpours of the intensity that makes one start to consider building an ark. In the span of just three hours yesterday afternoon we were deluged with almost 2.5 inches from a storm that moved into the area after building moisture across the Gulf. Although we badly needed the moisture, rains of that intensity caused concern for two new projects that have occurred since our last post. One is a new awning that we placed on our trusty RV Howie (House On Wheels Is Excellent) and the other is a community garden we have been heavily working on for the past several month.

As I reported in a post from last July, our old awning suffered major damage due to another major rain event and was beyond the point of repair. We were able to roll it up enough to cover the tear in the seam, but after one more winter of wear and tear the time had come for declaring the point of no return. There were major leaks developing across the canvas and, with the coming summer heat, we need an awning that can be fully extended across the patio. After all, it was 25 years old and had lived a good life. Thankfully, with the help of many good and experienced friends here at the park, and the chance to obtain a new canvas cheap at Bob's RV Salvage in High Springs, FL, we are now enjoying the comforts of a very secure, camel colored awning that can be fully extended!

As the above picture shows, it is no easy task to replace an awning. It is a job that requires the help of at least four people and the expertise to mount and adjust the support arms properly. This was especially true for our awning because of its size. It measures 21 feet between the support arms and has a 20.2 feet canvas. Luckily, by the time we mounted ours everyone shown in the picture had gained plenty of experience in the process. This was the sixth awning we all helped to replaced on numerous RVs here at the park over the past five months. Along the way, there were enough parts left over to also fully replace our support arms and add a much needed center support post. We have to give a big shout-out to all the guys in the picture for their invaluable help. They are true craftsmen who unselfishly completed a task that would have cost a fortune if done at an RV repair shop. It is a true blessing to be surrounded by so many giving and talented people. It is a tribute to their work that the canvas withstood the downpours yesterday with absolutely no problems.

The downpours also, thankfully, had little negative effects on the community garden. The second picture shows the garden during the first week of planting in the last week of February. This is a project that has been in development for months with the clearing of land, the application of several loads of good top-soil, the erection of a 5 foot fence around the entire perimeter and the planting of a large variety of vegetables. It is large enough to accommodate thirty rows spaced 3 feet apart measuring 36 feet in length, plus four additional rows measuring 40 feet in length.

Currently, we have cucumbers, sugar beets, 18 different varieties of tomatoes, 6 varieties of peppers, pole beans, onions, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, califlower, lettuce, radish, sugar snap and shell peas, spinach, carrots, bush beans, 5 varieties of squash, eggplant, collard greens and four different varieties of potatoes planted and growing well. Some of the potatoes have already required mounding, there are cherry tomatoes developing and the cucumbers, squash and shell peas are beginning to blossom. Needless to say, over the next few months we will all be enjoying a bounty of good eats. All we need now is a few days of warm sun to dry everything out again.

Until next time, Happy Trails everyone.

Copyright Lane A Geyer 2009-2011
Photos by Deb
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