5/13-17/24 I went up to Camp Serendipity for five days: Monday through Friday.

I arrived at noon and carried my gear up in one trip. I hoisted the flag and then had my lunch and a nap.

When I got up, I walked to the grave and met Frank Scroggins who owns the Worley place. It was only the second time I had seen him, so we had a nice introductory conversation. Back at the cabin, I practiced the piano and then did my exercises.

On Tuesday morning I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and then walked to the grave. On the way back I talked to Barb who happened to be driving by. Then I listened to the radio for a while before having my lunch and a nap. When I got up, I got the string trimmer out and whacked all the weeds in the front of the cabin. I drained both batteries and used almost all of the string. I'll have to get some more.

On Wednesday morning just as I was preparing my breakfast, I looked out the kitchen window and saw a bear. I ran and got my phone and after fumbling around trying to figure out how to make it work, I got a nice video. I stood on the back porch and got a picture of a small bear standing still watching the cabin. Then he turned and walked off behind the Privy. Now I'm going to have to learn how to get that video off my phone and on YouTube.

After practicing the piano I walked to the grave. On the road near the grave was a big pile of bear scat. The diameter of the turds was well over 2 inches. I decided from now on I would carry bear spray with me.

Back at the cabin I did some reading and then had my lunch and a nap.

Then I filled the water jugs and staged them in the entry room. I spent the rest of the afternoon playing the piano and reading.

On Thursday I practiced the piano, listened to the radio, and walked to the grave. This time I was armed with bear spray. When I got back, I did some reading and then had my lunch and a nap. When I got up, I loaded the jugs into the truck. This was to be a sort of experiment to see if it freezes overnight. I think it might be safe to mix mortar next week. I spent the rest of the afternoon in rather intense piano practice.

On Friday morning at 2:00 AM, I got up to use the bathroom and discovered a tick on my left knee. I was able to pull it off and put it in the sink where I got a good look at it. It was tiny, about an 8th of an inch across, but it was walking around using all eight legs. I should have collected it in a bottle but instead I was of a mind to destroy it if I could. So, I cut it into a half a dozen little pieces and flushed them down the drain. It didn't look to me like the head was attached to the body. It was a pretty small animal, and I didn't spend a lot of time examining it. I got up at 4:00 with a plan to drive to the urgent care facility as soon as I could.

I had an early breakfast, practiced the piano, went for a short walk and got rained out and then took a short nap. I had my lunch, packed up and left for home at 11:30. I had the tick site examined at the urgent care facility and the doctor couldn't find a head in the skin. I probably got the whole thing out. These ticks are getting tiresome.