Coupon Saturday #50

I know you have been dying to see some more couponing in action, but it has pretty much been just more of the same; 

Buying a bunch of stuff I don't need (shampoo, Rolaids, Dulcolax, candles, Welch's) in order to get what I want cheaper.  $2.08 plus tax.  That is until....

Ibotta finally came up with a great deal.   They teamed up with Walmart and all of this was FREE!  With Ibotta you have to buy the item first then you get a rebate for the value of the coupon back into your account.  Sometimes there are bonus and cents off any item things too.  Plus, I had a friend that joined and did the deal and I got and extra $10 for that, so SCORE!

Shortly after, another bonus showed up for $5 off 8 deals and there were a couple of free coupons still, which made all of this free too.  It's been a good month on Ibotta.   I think the turkey dinner deal is still going,  Anyone want to join? HERE Just use my code;   jirbpcj 

 

This Week's Catch Up

It was back to farming full force when we got back from vacation.  Saturday V and M came to help work the fall calving cows.  

Well, M helped, V walked around and looked for a place to build a house I think.  

It took some quick footwork to get all those little calves corralled.  

The cows got off easy, one shot and pour on dewormer.  The heifer calves got one shot and an ear tag.  The bulls however, had to become steers.  

I think a few of them suspected something and were a little rambunctious. 

But there was nothing M couldn't handle.  

Mountain oysters anyone? 

The weather has been unseasonably warm which has allowed me to get some good riding time in on Otoelene. 

I was headed down the driveway when I saw a bird soaring over the pine trees.  I usually assume all big soaring birds are vultures, but I looked closer 

and saw it was a bald eagle.  It was very close and circled for a long time.  It was nice to have a horse that doesn't mind standing still for me to take pictures.  

Then there are always cows somewhere to check. 

And you never know when a buck will pop up. 

I think we missed the peak fall colors while on our trip, but there are a few yellows and reds left amongst the browns. 

The leaves stayed on the burning bushes longer than usual this year.  They made for a showy entrance to the yard for a couple of weeks.  It's hard to beat a fall ride on a good horse. 

The Ride Home

We had to be down at the ferry by 8 am, so not a lot of time to do anything else.  We didn't even get breakfast because that was not until 9:30. 

E helped us get all our things to the boat.  Plus, she was sending a couple of boxes of her stuff she wasn't using and didn't want to haul back next month. 

The water was calm and peaceful.  

The only wavys were the ones created by our boat. 

It was beautiful with lots to see.  The other people on the ferry were just looking at their phones or talking.  

I was taking pictures of wildlife, like this Blue Heron,

and this Great Egret, 

and the dolphins, 

and some other birds, 

and some other birds, 

and this pelican, but you get the idea.                                                                            

I guess if you are making the 45 minute trip over and over you get use to it, but I enjoyed every minute.  

I saw a sign at the park camping area that describe something called Salt Pruning. 

Salt pruning is the process by which saline mists generated by seawater are driven ashore by winds and thus over time alter the shape of trees or shrubs. The process degrades foliage and branches on the windward side of the plant that faces the body of saline water, more than it does the foliage on the landward side.

I had never heard this term before and found it very interesting.  I think this is a pretty good example of Salt Pruning.  (and the boat wreck added some additional interest) 

From there we headed north, had lunch in Columbia with J's brother and sister-in-law, and made it back around 7.  The farm and house were in great shape due to our spectacular farm sitters.  Looking forward to our next great adventure where ever that will be...

up next, Back to our regularly scheduled program. 
 

Tour De Cumberland - Day 2

Our second morning got off to an early start with a kayak trip before breakfast. 

E helped me and J get in our tandem kayak, then got hers out by herself.  What a good tour guide.  

The water on the sound side was very calm, and once again, the bugs weren't too bad. 

We heard more birds than we saw, but this fellow posed nicely for me. 

The current wasn't difficult to paddle against, and we were able to enjoy the sunrise.

Unfortunately, E's kayak had an unexpected leak.  She said she was sitting in 2 inches of water and wanted to get back.  This cut the trip a little shorter than I had hoped but we were still out for about an hour. 

Then it was back to the inn for breakfast on the grounds again.  I never get tired of the Spanish Moss. 

Next up on the bike tour was a 6 mile ride north to Plum Orchard. 

We passed the air field, 

and took a short break on a bridge over a tidal creek.

E was a good sport and let me take another togetherie. 

Plum Orchard is another Carnegie house that has been donated to the National Park Foundation.  Due to the China virus there were no inside tours but we had the outside and the grounds all to ourselves. 

I think we look right at home, 30 rooms, 22,000 square feet.  I think I might need a housekeeper though. 

Here we saw 3 manatees!  This one is taking a breath.

And this one just sat there with its tail visible until it slowly sank out of sight. 

As we were walking around the grounds, E looked down and found a shark tooth.

Then it was a 6 mile peddle back to the inn for lunch.  E was having a job interview in the afternoon and asked if we needed a nap.  I think she was the one wanting the nap, we were fine. 

So J and I headed back to the beach.  I was going to go swimming because the water was pretty warm, but I had forgotten to get a towel from E and I was afraid with it being cloudy that it would be too cold when I got out.  So only in to my waist. 

J headed down the beach but came back saying it was too crowded that way.  I think he saw a couple of people 2 miles away.

So we walked up the beach the other way where there was no one.

I had a couple of good finds, plus a second sand dollar a little later. 

Lots of birds, no people. 

E came out after her interview, (they offered her the job - banding yellow cheeked warblers from February to June in Texas: so our next vacation may have a destination) and we biked to the closest park campground to have a look around.  Somehow I didn't end up with any pictures here but the campsites were private, there was a bathhouse and a nice boardwalk out to the beach, with a shower and foot wash area.  Only problem is you have to bring everything over on the park ferry, if you don't bring it, there is no getting anything on the island.  

It was about dark when we returned.  Time to enjoy dinner of baked chicken, roasted potatoes and vegetable medley in E's room and watch some Netflix before bed. 

Next up, Ferry Ride Home.