Young at Heart Picnic

It was the perfect day for a picnic. The skies were clear, the sun was shining, and it was just breezy enough to keep the bugs at bay! The only thing it needed was a light-hearted group of picnickers, and a picnic spread fit for a king! Don't you know we got both up here when Flint River's senior adults, fondly referred to as the Young at Heart group, headed up for for a relaxing, fun afternoon.

Brother Pat got things started off right with some toe-tapping music. And this was not a shy group; they all lifted their voices in song!

Brother Carl Tate even stood up and did a special! He and his wife, Ms. Evelyn, are wonderful people and have a long history with the fellowship of Flint River Baptist Church.

In fact, Ms. Evelyn shared that she'd been commissioned as the clerk for the Madison County Baptist Association, right on this very pavilion, many years ago!

The woman to the far left of Brother Carl? That's Fran Norton. She and her husband, John, were the original hosts of the camp, when it was first purchased! What wonderful, marvelous stories they shared with us.

Along with song and dear friends, there were two tables full of great cooking, too!

These ladies outdid themselves putting on a spread. We were so thankful to be invited to spend time with them that afternoon, and blessed for accepting the offer!

Spring Break Activity

This has been one of the wettest springs I can remember in quite some time.  Someone said the other day that corn planting may be at an all time low as farmers have not had enough dry weather to get in the fields.  We certainly have had our share of the rain up here at the camp.  Two or three times now I have had folks lined up for work on a project only to have to cancel.  Now last week we did manage to squeeze in a few visitors as Chris Wilson brought his kids up during spring break and Sam Kelly's son came along as well.  Sam and his friend James, who seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, came up and worked most of the day on the new bathroom in the main campground.  Chris cooked lunch for everyone on the grill and the kids seemed to have a good time.  The girls spent much of their outing down at Crawdad Creek.  

Here I got a picture of Reid, (Chris's oldest boy) in a rather odd position for taking a nap.

Taking Care of Business

Yesterday before the rain came I spent about three hours on the mower.  There is this one section of grass right where the pavement starts that seems to grow faster than the rest for some reason.  With all the extra rain this year it almost got too far ahead of me.....but it didn't!  The storms did come through but we did not seem to get all that much rain and missed the severe weather.  There was something that happened last night off of Ollie Howard Road around 8:00 or 9:00 that caused the power to go out for 3 or 4 hours.  The Utilities said the crew was having to cut up a huge tree that had fell across a power line.  One of our neighbors said she had heard something about a fire in that area.  Not exactly sure what happened but we did not get very much sleep.  Funny thing I just purchased a generator for situations like this but have not had time to get it ready and try it out. 

Storm Patrol

As is my habit I always go through all the trails and roads as soon as I can after a storm....this morning was no exception.  Not too many big limbs down this time so I decided to take some pictures while tooling around. 

I know they have been here all along but the dogwoods are really noticeable up here this year.  As a matter of fact I did not realize just how many there were growing wild throughout the camp.

On the lower field these tiny little orchid colored flowers are all over the place and remind me of stars from a distance.

Noticed these yellow ones for the first time today...not sure what they are.

This is the entrance to "The Hidden Pathway".  It winds around and eventually ends up in Beech Bottom Trail which in turn leads to the Secret Creek.

Pictured here is The Secret Creek.  I could tell we did not get very much rain as the creek is pretty much at the same level as yesterday.

The Wood Azaleas are very distinct and scattered all over the woods up here.

Now as you can see in this picture the Hidden Pathway can be treacherous and has caused Easy and I some trouble in days gone by.  I cut a new trail around this part but it is pretty wet right now as well.

The Dragon Flies were all over the place today.  Not sure if they eat mosquitoes or not but if they do they are my new favorite insect!

I ran across this picture from when the workday crew was up here a little while back.  Here we see some kind of salamander.  I think this was the third or fourth different kind Eddie's son caught that day.

I look forward to another great year up here at the camp.  There is a report to be given at the Executive Board meeting on Monday and a Golf Tournament to benefit the camp May 20th.  Last year was a good start but this just might turn out to be the best year yet!

SS Class Fellowship - Repeat Visit

Today Camp MACOBA had the pleasure of being the host site for a returning group -- Ms. Sara's SS class of New Market Baptist Church. Their last visit had been late in the fall of 2010, and Todd and I were able to join in their fellowship fun. (See HERE for that entry.)

This year, unfortunately, Todd was on shift for the occasion, so I had the group to myself!

They had a pretty decent turnout of about 14, which makes for a good variety of covered dishes and quick conversation! They also had a lovely afternoon -- warm and sunny -- and an evening that cooled off nicely (but didn't get COLD). They didn't need a fire in the fire place this time around!

Ms. Sara is no ordinary SS teacher -- she gives her students homework. HARD homework, and expects them to deliver, too! Her homework assignment was for each of the students to pick a book from the minor prophets, read it five times, and then answer some questions she'd given them.

Two of her students had agreed to give their answers at the picnic! Both of them did a great job; in fact, some of her students felt like the first two had set the bar so high, there was no point in continuing!

Of course, one of the two volunteers was Bill, Ms. Sara's husband. I wonder if that makes him the teacher's pet?!

They talked, laughed, walked, ate, studied God's Word, and just had an all-around good time.

It's always a pleasure to have this group up here -- we look forward to seeing them again soon. Ms. Sara even mentioned that she & Bill might be up here soon to do a little tent camping!

The Work Went On

Everyone’s lives are so busy these days you can be sure when you plan something there are many other things planned on that day as well. The first workday was planned about a month ago and it looked like we had around 40 or so folks coming out and then the weather decided not to cooperate so it had to be canceled. I will say the weatherman hit it right on the money as the day was a total washout. Between us going to Tampa for a week to be commissioned by the NAMB and work schedules, the next available time was this past Saturday. We were so thankful for those who were able to make it and did manage to get a few things on the list accomplished. One big thing is the progress we managed to make on the fishing pier. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the crew working on that project we kept shifting crew members from the brush patrol around to the pier project. As a matter of fact at one point we all were down there. We kept them stocked up with the necessary materials they needed so they never had to stop work. Andy Dobbs brought his RV up on Friday and decided to spend a peaceful night at the camp before the work began on Saturday. I actually met Andy last year through association with the camp. Now I will say he is a busy man and a world traveler !…..well maybe just a US traveler. He told me about a trip they made to see the shuttle lift off and had the best seats in the house! He is one of those good guys you run into occasionally during life’s journey and are glad you met.

I was up early on Saturday making coffee for the crew and opening the gate. I started a small fire in the fireplace at the pavilion and was enjoying my coffee watching and listening as the camp began to wake up. Andy and his boy were the first to arrive. I had never met Jonathan before but was really impressed with him by days’ end. He is 24 attending UAH and gives me plenty of hope for the generation coming up. The first part of the day he was on a brush crew where he did plenty of work without complaining and then ended up down on the pier. Now he was not just a gopher but they handed him a power tool and put him to work. He did a mighty fine job too.

Jonathan Dobbs has been drafted!

Joining us on the brush crew and general clean-up were Pastor Charles Miller, Pastor Wayne Kimbrough, his son Eddie and two of Eddie’s sons Joshua and Jacob. Now I was glad to see them and they are pretty regulars at the camp. Brother Charles is a busy man but he did make time to come out and help us for awhile in the morning.I wish he could have stayed for lunch. Now this was a working crew and quite a bit was accomplished when we got started. Brother Wayne worked as hard as anyone but then again he has been serving people all his life….the next generation could learn quite a bit from him. I learned a little bit about Eddie’s middle son Jacob on this trip as it seems he is a regular Jack Hannah. He must have found two or three types of lizards, salamanders and who knows what else. He also pitched in to help with the pier.

Eddie Kimbrough Is Right In The Thick Of Things

Jack Hannah.... I Mean Jacob Kimbrough Is No Stranger To Work

I had asked my son-in-law Jason to come up and take a few pictures and some video of the workday and he ended up actually working as much as anyone! I did not intend for this but he is the kind of man who will do whatever needs to be done and without batting an eye…so glad to have him in the family. After taking some video he actually laid the camera down and helped the put the dock together. I swapped him out with Eddie’s oldest boy Joshua at around 10:30 so Jason could get lunch started. Now Joshua did not seem to mind at all and the next time I saw him he had a screw gun in his hand and was hard at it.

Joshua Kimbrough Is A Natural Carpenter

Everyone came up around 11:30 to eat and take a little break. Oh I forgot to mention that the pier crew, Joe, John and Greg actually arrived and went to work before anyone else. As a matter of fact I didn’t even know they were down there working until they cranked up the generator. Joe could not stay for lunch but has already been up here three or four times working on the pier. He has been such a big help. I can’t say enough about Greg and John…especially on this project, they both really know what they are doing when it comes to building!

Joe And Greg Working Side By Side

John Cuts A Slot Around The Post

Right before lunch we set the big brush pile on fire which was sitting in the double fire ring. In almost no time at all the evidence of the mornings work was gone! Most of the focus in the afternoon was shifted to the pier project as we continued to replace folks who had to leave. By around 2:30 everyone who was left was working on the pier. At around 4:30 we called it a day as we had gone as far as we could. It was necessary to stop where we did so we can pour concrete around all the supporting posts, which will happen sometime during the coming week. Once that happens we will put down the rest of the deck boards, install the handrail and it will be finished. After everyone left and I made a round through the camp making sure all fires were safe, trash was up and the usual things. About an hour before dark Denise and I made a trip down to look at the dock as she had not seen it yet. Well three deck boards were up so we walked out and sat down on the edge by the water and just enjoyed the sun going down and the day coming to an end.

Workday 2011

The first time we scheduled the workday this year many folks had planned on being there but the weatherman said the day was going to be a total washout so we canceled it. He was right. This Saturday is supposed to be sunny and in the 70's so I hope plenty of folks will be able to come out. There is another big event scheduled that involves many of the churches that I was not aware of when this new date was scheduled. We will just have to make do with those who are able to come. Lunch is still going to be provided at 11:30 and we have around 17 different projects on the agenda. Everything from grass cutting and tree trimming to clearing out an old fence row and help with the new fishing dock. There will be plenty for everyone but we can not provide tools so folks will have to bring their own. This present Camp MACOBA Committee has really been a pro-active one as several things have been accomplished and are presently in the works; what a great bunch of men with such a heart for the camp!

The new electronic gate has been installed and looks good. Still a few minor adjustments and additions to take care of but it is fully functional. We would like to thank First Baptist Huntsville for providing the funding and New Market Iron Works for the great looking and very secure gate.

The Fishing Dock on Serenity Pond

The dock will be 40 feet long down the bank and 10 feet wide with secure hand rails on three sides. The edge of the dock will be about even with the water's edge. Flint River and Bethlehem provided most of the materials for this project and we are so thankful! Lowe's on North Parkway gave us a great rate for the materials thanks to Jessie Whitaker. Most of the labor up to this point has been courtesy of Fire Station # 6 (3rd shift crew) John McNeal, Greg Freese and Joe Aritas...part of my second family. I look forward to Saturday -- a day filled with fun, fellowship, food and accomplishment!

Signs of Spring?

At about 12:30 this afternoon, the blue skies came and it warmed all the way up to 35 degrees, which melted most of the snow we got last night. As I finished my walk and fed the birds, something green caught my eye. I am not sure what the groundhog said it was going to do -- but this is definitely a sign!

Snowy Days

I have lived in Madison County most all of my life and don’t remember getting this many days of snow.

Up here on Limestone Ridge it has been quite beautiful this year!

Now I will say that the ground has been wet since about November so some projects have been slow going.

The day we got the deep snow…almost a foot here at the camp..I was not able to make it to our RV in my truck. Oh I tried several times to make it up either hill but there was no success. About the 5^th try I got a running start and tried to go around the backside hill but ended up sliding off and all the way down to the woods.

I called a friend of mine with a four wheel drive pick-up to come pull me out and he got stuck in the attempt. Finally with a chain and the tractor we managed to get both of us out and then scraped snow off the roads.

One thing about the snow is it allows you to see further into the woods and things that might have been camoflauged before.

The group of does that frequent the spot right outside of our window were looking for something to eat since the snow had everything covered.

After a while, two of them got tired of digging and took a little break.

The birds were out in force on our feeders and the white landscape really made the cardinals stand out!

You can get an idea of just how deep the snow was as it came up to the bottom rung of the gate. Most of the snow we have gotten in recent history, at least before this year, has been in March--so we may get even more still!

We Have Progress

Just like so many other things, making all the preparations and making sure the proper paperwork is done takes longer than the actual work. The roofers from SWAT came out and went to work early. If there had not been a delay in getting the new shingles here, they would have completed this project in one day I believe.

By the end of the second day, the roof was finished, including the BBQ Pit and all new fascia boards were installed on the pavilion. The next day we had a really good rain so I was quickly able to inspect their handiwork. The roof not only looks good but the leaks we had are gone as well.

All this and it did not cost the MBA anything. The best way!

We wish you a . . .

And the Flood Came

It rained and rained and when it got through raining, it rained some more. The news said in some places we got 4 inches in 24 hours and I believe that must have been the case here at the camp.

This is not the creek -- it's the road:

Serenity Pond:

The Secret Creek (not such a secret, here):

The next day I went looking around and had to do it by foot, as Easy would surely have gotten stuck. On my morning walk I went down Beech Bottom Trail--which leads to the Secret Creek--to see just how bad it got. The creek was so far up in the woods you could not tell where it was supposed to be. Best estimate was I could only get within 300 yards to the original creek bank. I went around clearing the roads of limbs that had blown down and occasionally ran across a crawdad or two in the process.

Several days later, when things had almost returned to normal and the Secret Creek was a little more secretly again, I went on trail patrol this time with Easy. It is amazing how powerful moving water is. There were huge logs across the trail in a few places. Some I had to cut away and a few I was able to move just enough to get off the trail. I set out to find a new way down to the creek as there were a couple of places on Beech Bottom Trail that were low and too wet to cross over with Easy.

I discovered an old trail that had been forgotten and actually had large trees across it from a long time ago. I spent half a day clearing it out and making a few detours here and there and finally managed to make it once again connect to the Beech Creek Trail. This "Hidden Pathway," as I am going to call it, was a great new route and has already been marked with trail markers that I had ordered and which came in a few weeks ago.


The camp is officially closed and I kind of look forward to things settling down a bit and watching the critters during the winter months. Oh, I still have a project or two in the works, and will continue to make improvements during this slow time of the year.