The second month at RockinC has come to a close!

We have finished our second month at RockinC and it was a busy but very productive month.

Meet the new RockinC Director and wife.  Pretty nifty sign too!

The sign maker (artiste) is at work.  See the stress on his forehead!

Once they are done they really make the spaces look "campy".

Some of the other things we were involved in, rewiring the camp 5th wheel---

---destroying old files---

---rebuilding a John Deere 3 cylinder tractor (1530 I think)---

---making the final tweaks---

---building racks to keep the canoes and kayaks off the ground.

But we did spend some of our time enjoying ourselves at the local attractions.  This is the entrance to the Tyler Zoo.

We had lunch at a quaint little spot with the giraffes in the background.

The lioness had new cubs---

---and here are all four of them in one spot.

 We visited the buggie exhibit---

 ---and even fed some of them from a stick.

 This little guy was watching the rest of the troupe from a quiet, reserved spot.

 Of course we must have longhorns, we are in Texas.

For a while we were beginning to think we were in Louisiana again.

This guy was very large and pacing like a caged tiger.

This beauty was just waiting for the sun to come out so she could curl up and nap.

The open air exhibits were very well done---

---and the penguin handler was just having a lot of fun! 

 Time to leave the zoo.  These guys are about to take a snooze. 

 Back at camp we wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day and the dogwoods.

The cormorant was taking advantage of the post sticking out of the lake to sun himself after a successful fishing expedition. 

The greater blue heron took a little time to catch some sun himself---

---and the lesser blue just watched both of them.

On our walks around the camp the horses would stop to say hi---

---and not to be outdone we have our own longhorn!

The kids love the lake and had a great time going under the bridge.

Another place we visited was the East Texas Oil Museum at Kilgore College.  They had a lot of information about the very large oil reserve found under the region.  

 My "Vanna" posed among the artifacts and made them look pretty good. 

  

Then we went down the street to the Kilgore Girls Museum.  What a challenge to be in the middle of all that beauty. 

But at the end of the (and the rain) we can still look at the sunset and proclaim "Isn't God a great artist"!

One month has passed at Rockin' C

We have gotten quite a lot done this month and we are really enjoying NE Texas after spending the last four months in the desert.  We have been able to get together with several other Sowers since there are half a dozen projects within a stones throw of Lindale.

We never saw anything like this in the desert---

---and this---

---and this--

---and one more this!

We have a wide variety of beautiful birds that join together below the feeder---

---as well as those on the feeder.  If we would keep the feeder full all of the time they would have to fill it twice a day.

But this guy doesn't come to the feeder but he sings just like every other bird in the area.  (He is a mocking bird.)

 Of course one of the regulars on the pond is dirty duck.  For a long time we thought he was just dirty all the time but when we got a closer look we found that he has brown spots that make him look dirty.

 Then if you are a coffee nut we found this one at a doughnut place in Tyler.

 We did actually do some work while we were here.  This poor fellow would only go about 200 yards before it gave up.  It is wonderful what a little terminal cleaning and added water can do for a battery.

 There always seems to be dirty bathrooms wherever we go and Billie is ready to jump in and make it sparkle.

 The camp signs and signposts were showing a lot of rust and age so we started at the front gate and moved through the camp updating them.

 Here is a new one we created to try to keep the campers from driving into Matt and Jane's front yard. 

Their yard starts just to the right of the "fork".

Another job that seems to pile up is document destruction and again Billie has an answer for that.

 

 There is a 5th wheel trailer here which was donated to the camp by a Sower.  There had been a group of boys living in it and it had been empty for a spell as well so it needed a good cleaning---

---so one by one we tackled the unit---

---including the gross refrigerator--

 ---and the air conditioner vents.

 There was also a problem with the water hydrant.  When it was on the ground around it turned into a swamp indicating a problem with the self draining feature.  Fortunately the pipes here are only buried two feet, not like the 6 feet in South Dakota.

The bus has been sitting since last camp season and needed to have another inspection.  The first problem was that it wouldn't start---

---then there was a couple of strips which were stinking up and the last thing which hasn't been corrected yet, the turn signals aren't working.  That will have to wait until next month.

In order to use the machine shed for anything it needed a good cleaning and organizing. This is one of the problems with open sheds and a lot of trees.

 These are the last two signs we were able to remake before the month came to an end.  Here I am again, painting and free hand no less.

 One evening we visited the Alert project at Big Sandy.  Would you believe it, this couple was at the first project we worked three years ago.  It was great to see them and talk about all of the different projects which have come and gone since then.

 The next Friday we visited the Sower Office with the group from Alert---

 ---then the next day we all met at the Brookshire's museum.  Brookshire's is a family owned grocery chain in NE Texas a the original owners have traveled and left behind a great collection for all to enjoy, and free too.

 Isn't this a lovely group of "seniors".

 We tried to get in an the game but the competition was tough---

 ---and we were being watched all of the time.

 One of the exhibits showed how much Africa is shaped like an elephant ear.  The canvas for the art work is---an elephant's ear.

 The are was wonderful as well.

Before we leave the blog for the month, here are some kids who are very happy that Rockin' C is here-

---as they have the opportunity to see the wonderful place God has created from several perspectives.

That beautiful lake that we look out upon every day---

 ---can also provide a few fresh meals.