Ohio - Day 21 - southcentral Ohio

Rocky Fork State Park, near Hillsboro
Tuesday, 21 May 2019

On our early walk today, Dexter alerted me to a possible wildlife presence and, sure enough, when I started looking for it, I found the wake of an otter swimming in the lake.  And then suddenly the otter dived - probably for a fish - and his tail smacked the water surface and the sound echoed which, of course, terrified Gracie.  But it was a nice thing to see.

I noticed in a CNN report online that Logan County, OK, had severe weather resulting in "power polls down."  So of course I wondered if their politicians were having trouble with not having those polls available.

As I was leaving Scioto Trail State Park this morning, I noticed a sign that said, among other things, that this area was once a primeval forest, the largest deciduous forest in the world.  Sadly, it's not quite like that any more.

By the lake as we were driving out I saw 3 pairs of Canada Geese, each with several goslings - so sweet.  This isn't my photo, but this is what I saw, times 3.  There's always at least one lookout when they're feeding.

today's route

I drove on county and state roads the whole morning.  I passed what looked like a small lake with houses built all around it and noticed the lake was so full some of the houses were nearly flooded.  Most of them looked like they'd been there for a while so I guess they were used to it, but I think I'd build farther back or higher off the ground if it were mine.

One of the lotteries here is called OH! Lottery.  Very clever.

I stumbled on the Farm Report by the Extension Officer on the radio and found it very interesting.  I came in while he was reporting what sounded like the number of acres in terms of each crop planted so far this year, compared with previous years' averages.  And he did that for Michigan, too, and Iowa, Indiana, Illinois - lots of other farm states.  It sounded like planting was slower than usual this year, apparently because there'd been so much rain.

He said, "Some crops are in the ground, some are still in the bag.  Sometimes I wonder which is better."

He said because of the mild winter last year they're expecting a bad fly season so encouraged farmers to get busy inoculating their cattle herds.  He said it's important not to keep using the same method or the same ingredients year after year because the flies develop a tolerance.  He noted that some flies (he rattled off a bunch of species) lay eggs in fresh cow manure but if farmers feed cows specific minerals the eggs aren't viable and they can break the cycle.  He said farmers should consult their vets.  All this is a concern because flies carry diseases so it's important to stay on top of their herds.

All that made me wonder about the pills I've been giving Gracie for her arthritis.  She's been getting Cosequin every day for several years and it's made a dramatic difference in her life.  Before, she'd been limping a bit and had trouble getting up and down the 3 steps that led into Momma's house.  A few weeks after she started taking the pills,  those symptoms were gone completely.

I give it to her in her food, but I've noticed that now and then she'll eat all her food except the pill, which makes me think she's tired of taking them.  Her shots are due in a month or two and I think I'll ask the vet if there's an alternative we can switch to for a while.

I got to Rocky Fork State Park soon after noon and explained my problem to the woman at the registration desk.  She said this campground has 4 spaces set aside for walk-ins and 2 of them are already taken from now to Memorial Day.  So of course I grabbed one of the others and paid for a week's stay.  The majority of the campsites are empty right now, but the ones surrounding me are already occupied - with people with dogs, wouldn't you know.  It's not an ideal spot - not a vestige of shade, for instance, with a week of warm days predicted - but it's close to the entrance so it looks like we can get to a place with room enough for us to walk without parading past a bunch of dogs, so I can't complain.