The Caravaner. Welcome Lazy Dazers To Tucalota Springs RV Park Hosted by the Backscratchers

Transcription

1 The Caravaner Welcome Lazy Dazers To Tucalota Springs RV Park Hosted by the Backscratchers With beautiful sunshine and a calm breeze The Firesiders hosted the Lake Perris Caravan. We had 59 rigs in camp which included 4 First Timers. We want to welcome the new members and hope to see you all again soon! Members were greeted by Mr. Lazy O Dazer our honorary Leprechaun and good luck charm. All members were given a handmade sparkly green Shamrock made by Frances Surbrook. The morning raffle was full of excitement with 5 prizes given out each day. Some of the prizes were homemade cakes and cookies provided by Doris Wren. We were all hoping to win those! They looked so yummy! Also St Patrick s theme handmade dish towels and zipper bags were given out. The zipper bags were filled with first aid and sewing kits. The Host Tent had a huge jar filled with Jelly Bellys and each member was asked to guess how many beans were in the jar without going over. Carol Kratzer was the big winner guessing within 115 of 1621 beans! Congratulations Carol. A surprise St Patrick s Day theme Scavenger Hunt was announced to look for 25 items with a green theme. Jane Fletcher and Charlene Tutterrow tied with Ann Cook and Louise Parth in 1st place. They all stretched their imagination for the items but it worked! Congratulations to those who participated! At the General Meeting Mr. Lazy O Dazer oversaw that the Pot of Gold winners were rewarded generously! It was a perfect week to meet and mingle and get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. The Firesiders hope you all enjoyed your sweet treats and lucky charm upon arrival and kept busy with all the activities our club provides us. 1

2 Mother Nature aka Lurlie Edgecomb #2285 Lake Perris SRA was greening up in March. The birds were twitterpating, the fattened squirrels and cottontails were nibbling and chasing their heart s desire, a mate. Our ears picked up on the rat-a-tat of woodpeckers in the trees, the soft call of chi-ca-go from quail in the brush, raucous calls of caw, caw from many crows, and the sad coo-coo ing of the mourning doves in many locations. Song sparrows here and there, in camp and on the Walk, sang an energetic series of notes over and over. Usually alone instead of in flocks, they throw their heads back and sing and sing showing off their brown chest spot. An unseen warbler trilled his song in the trees. I say his because it s the male calling for a mate, letting her know he is available and this is his territory with a great site for a nest. As in January, quite a few field reporters told of seeing a roadrunner, and then came a report of a pair! That has not happened before! Not in 20 years of doing the walks. Wow!! Now why can t I catch sight of the elusive snake eater? They also like beetles, small rodents and lizards. The small woodpecker that we saw at first seemed to be a Downy s, but no, was it really a Nuttall s? So, when in doubt, check the books. Birds of California--Field Guide by Stan Tekiela has editor s notes at the bottom of each identification page which I find most helpful, especially in this case. On page 39 is this revelation after the description of Nuttall s woodpeckers, and I quote, Hybridization with Downy Woodpeckers often occurs where their ranges overlap, end quote. Ah, ha! The quiet and usually solitary, big black bird was a raven with a spatula-shaped tail. We heard and saw quite a few crows who are smaller than ravens, are far more gregarious and noisy to boot! They have a tail that is flatedged. Red-tailed hawks soared on rising thermals as the days warmed up. Western swallowtails seemed to be bright yellow flashes. Hummingbirds darted about and squeaked their warnings while zipping off to the next bush in flower. Darkling beetles walked between squirrel holes hoping to not choose one that had an alligator or western fence lizard holed up in it. Beneath our feet on the Walk were many small, bright white, freshwater clam shell halves. We also found some in camp. They won t decay in our lifetimes, but do tell a story. Along with other creatures, herons and egrets remove the live bivalves from the muddy shores of the lake and work at cracking them open for a protein meal. In the picnic area, black phoebes were adding mud to their nests while on the knoll (that had a water slide years ago), there was another kind of nest selection going on. We spotted seven very big stick nests in the eucalyptus trees. There seemed to be 3 pairs of great blue herons with landings and departures every few minutes along with movements from branches to a nest to another branch. Looking through the binoculars, you could see the long, delicate chest feathers of the great blue. They reminded me of the decorations on ladies hats from an earlier era. These herons stand 4 ft. tall with a wingspread of at least that much. Vying for our attention were song sparrows in the large bushes, meadowlarks on the fence and croaking frogs in the underbrush along the lake s edge where fishermen were testing their patience. In and around camp, there are California pepper trees, some pines and several sages. Under our feet were the little purple flowers of filaree, fiddleneck with its small yellow flowers in a curl similar to a violin s neck, and chamomile with its yellow-green button flowers. Down closer to the lake, we couldn t help but see the black phoebes making trip after trip putting some more mud on their nests in the picnic gazebos. Can t tell the male from the female, so that tells me they will both take care of the nest and the young. On the water, western grebes were in pairs and there was but one coot, a rarity. We listened to smaller frogs between the deep voices of the bullfrogs themselves between the fishermen. A dozen white pelicans floated lazily watching the water for signs of fish and frogs. Around the point of land containing the herons and all those nests, we came upon a nice, unpeopled beach, with buoys to keep the boats out. Those buoys provide a convenient rest spot for cormorants drying off their wings. White pelicans scoop from the surface for a meal while cormorants (and brown pelicans) must dive to get that same meal. Since they are present, we can assume the lake has fish though we did not see any of the seven fishermen having success. 2 April 2013 Lazy Daze Caravaner

3 DON T FORGET THE MICKEY AND MINNIE MOUSE WASHER TOSS TOURNAMENT COMING IN MAY For the last three years we have held this tournament at Live Oak or Hurkey Creek, we will continue to play it at Live Oak, so start planning on who your partner will be. Remember that John Mailliard will be monitoring all the mice that will be playing. So get out your ears, pick your own partner and sign up in May. Remember, its women against the men so play well ladies for we didn t win last year. As you can tell there is no competition in this washer toss tournament. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR REPORT Firesider, FRANCES SUR- BROOK #1972 has not been very lucky lately. While having the 24 hour flu she proceeded to take a fall and cracked the fine bone under the bottom eye lid. She now has a multi-colored shiner. This is the third fall in two months for our club. I don t think this is a record we want to add to. Back Scratcher, LUCY JOE #2347 is suffering from pneumonia and under a doctor s care. Mona Shaner MonaL@sbcglobal.net Volunteers needed for Audit Three volunteers needed in May for an audit of the club financial records. The audit will be in the pavilion at Live Oak at 10:00 Thursday, May 16, it s easy, no experience needed. If you would like to help, please contact Charlene Tutterrow, rig #1222 Painted Turtle Even though we celebrated St Patrick s Day at Lake Perris, it always seems like Easter to me. When I put out the blue square basket something always drops in. The last drop was a lovely afghan with no name to be found. I hope who ever made this will let me know who you are. Thanks go to Zoe Caires for anther afghan and two very cute turtle pillows to add to our contribution to the some 1200 kids that go to summer camp at Lake Hughes. Paul Newman of the Hole in the Wall Gang would be proud. I will be at the Live Oak Campout ready to take what ever you have made. I will also have a display at the Craft Show. I will also wear another hat at Live Oak and that will be of a landscaping drawing instructor. Experience is not necessary to partake, only a desire to learn something new or develop the skills learned so far. Believe me, these lessons will change how you look at nature and hopefully get more out the experience. Jane, the collector and want to be artist 3

4 Washer Toss Washer Toss Winners: First Place: Dave Nordstrom and Carol Kratzer Second Place: Herb Johnson III and Linda Palmer 4 April 2013 Lazy Daze Caravaner

5 WE SALUTE YOU Host Tent Volunteers For March Bill Arthur Betty Boschma John & Zoe Caires Jim & Ann Cook Firesiders Joe & Jane Fletcher Al Granger Carol Harter Terry & Lucy Joe Don & Carol Kratzer Jan Ludolph Don & Verona McCutcheon Marilyn Newton Ken & Linda Palmer George & Alice Parrish Ruben & Jenny Pasillas Jim & Marilyn Ramey Roadrunners Bob Schmahl Bob & Frances Smith Larry & Sharon Turner Don & Rosemary Webb Thank you for your service? EMERGENCY? Call on CB Channel 30 CODE RED: FIRE/GAS LEAK CODE BLUE: MEDICAL PLEASE Do Not Use the CB Until The ALL CLEAR Is Sounded 5

6 Live Oak BBQ On Saturday, May 18th, Lazy Dazer s will be having a BBQ! Me & Lou s Barbecue and Catering will put on this event for the Lazy Daze Caravan Club. The cost of this event will be $9.00 per person. For this incredibly low price, you will receive the following: Salad w/home made dressings Slow smoked tri-tip (thinly sliced) Slow smoked citrus marinated chicken Freshly prepared seasonal vegetables (extra vegetables for vegans) Santa Maria style ranch beans Fresh grilled garlic bread Fresh Pico Degallo (salsa) Horseradish Danish blue cheese A-1 BBQ sauce Drink table with: Special mint lemonade Ice tea Coffee Cups Paper plates Utensils Napkins Everything is cooked on site with Me and Lou s trailer BBQ and mobile kitchen. The food is SERVED in a buffet line. The staff will help carry plates for those who need special attention. The staff will also bus the tables. If there are any leftovers, the staff will pack this for us. Are you hungry? If you would like to purchase tickets, they are available at Tucalota Springs. If you will not be at this campout and want to attend the BBQ at Live Oak, you can mail a check (made out to Lazy Daze Caravan Club) along with a self addressed, stamped envelope to: Marlin Zabel 1647 S. Loganrita Arcadia, CA Last day to purchase tickets: May 3 6 April 2013 Lazy Daze Caravaner

7 Facts about the 1500s Contributed by Claude Potts Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake. England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people.. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bonehouse, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer... SAFETY TEAM There is nothing more important to the Lazy Daze Caravan Club than the safety and good health of it s members. With this emphasis, let me remind all caravan members that the club provides a complete First Aid Kit that is constantly being updated, because items expire and must be thrown out. No matter how minor, come use the First Aid Kit. With the First Aid Kit you will also find a blood pressure monitor and the club s AED (heart defibrillator). Remember, the Safety Team members are always available to assist in an emergency. Have you noticed the new beautiful red cross flag that George and Joann Watson donated to the club? The flag is displayed to help you find where the First Aid Kit is, and where the emergency equipment can be found. The host tent will be notified each outing where the Outbacks and the flag can be located. The Safety Team is here to assist you in any way we can. Joanne Wayne, Chairman, Safety Team From the Editor The deadline for articles is the Sunday following each Caravan. Thank you for your continuing support in the production of the Caravaner. David Hurley Rig #229 PO Box 3155 Ontario, CA d.churley@verizon.net 7

8 Caravans Attended Peter & Eileen Peternouschek, Lakeside, CA Carl & Bonnie Jensen 225 Caravans Tom & Debbie Bowling, San Diego, CA Herb & Darlene Johnson II 175 Caravans Anne & Mary Sturgis, Titusville, PA Ted & Molly Raphael, Oceanside, OR 8 April 2013 Lazy Daze Caravaner

9 Terry s Tech Talk Rig #2779 Tech Talk Article 74 LED Clearance Lights 04/2013 Caravaners Herb Johnson Jr. and Bob Schmahl installed LED replacements lights inside the round clearance lights on their rigs and they are pleased with them. There are five clearance lights on the front and five on the back of the rig for a total of ten. The installation is not a simple pull out the old incandescent bulb and stick in the new LED bulb. Lazy Daze uses lots of sealant that needs to be trimmed and sometimes a wire nut gets in the way as well. The new LED replacement must be handled by the base when it is pushed into the socket. It will easily break if you grab it by the board and try to insert it into the rubber socket. The rubber sockets are noted for poor connections as well. Often a non-working light is caused by the socket rather than the light itself. Each LED unit cots about $10 Product Features Energy efficient replacement for T10 or 194 wedge type base bulbs. No mercury. No UV, IR, or other deleterious radiation. Long life up to 30,000 hours. Product Description This bright wedge base bulb is a direct replacement for 194 or T10 bulbs. No wiring needed. It utilizes 10 surface mount LEDs that produces a large amount of light with a wide viewing angle. These bulbs are very energy efficient and have a very long life. Cool white color ( K) or warm white ( K). Product Specification Bulb Type T10 or 194 Wedge Type Bulb w/ Side Plug Input Voltage 8-30 Volts DC Watt 2.1 W LED Quantity 10 SMD5050 LED Available Colors White 6000k Warm White 3500K Lumens (Output) Weight 2 oz. Dimensions 1.25 Diameter, Height Replaces 194, 168, 2821, 2825, 160, 161, 558, 3652 T10 Base 10 SMD 5050 LED Side Pin 10-30V DC Bulb Techsnoz, the Tech Talk website. Check it out at: 9