Global Wine Shortage!

From the BBC

"World faces global wine shortage"

The Fuzz says this could be serious.

"Global wine production peaked in 2004, and is continuing to fall, the report says."

"The world is facing a wine shortage, with global consumer demand already significantly outstripping supply, a report has warned."

"They say this could be partly explained by "plummeting production" in Europe due to "ongoing vine pull and poor weather".

Rats.

The Fuzz's Excellent Motorcycle Adventure 4

Charlottesville Virginia.
This was to original destination of The Fuzz.  The plan was to have a visit with His Little Sister.
Sister and Husband are quite happy here in this town these days.  It is of course the Home of a Famous University.The place is crawling with college kids.  They love that too.
The Fuzz took a few moments in the morning to check and fill the fluid in his clutch again.  But it was fine - at least as far as being full.  Always expecting the worse, he was beginning to believe the master cylinder was gone.  But hey, it did get him here, didn't it?  So it should get him home, or maybe somewhere else
The Fuzz's Sister took the opportunity to take him up to Monticello, the home of the Illustrious Thomas Jefferson.

It is a pretty popular place, as can be seen by the line to get in.  Actually this is a queue, as there were several British Folks waiting with us.
They don't let you take pictures inside for some reason, so you won't see any here.  But you can use your camera outside.

Here's the stump of a Poplar Tree that the Great Man was responsible for planting.

You can also take pix of the downstairs tunnel, where all the slaves worked.

The kitchen.

The man was fond of French Wine.

A close-up

But they said he never could get his own winemaking to work out. Life's like that sometimes.

The Fuzz's Excellent Motorcycle Adventure 3

When we left Our Fuzz, he was in Boone, NC, at the Bojangles, trying to decide whether to push on, or wimp out.  Ant if you do remember, The Intrepid Fuzz had decided to take the adventure that came to him.

By now the bike had cooled off a bit, so there was no trouble getting out of town.

He had elected to take US 221 to Roanoke on this leg of the trip.  This is a nice 2 lane road most of the way.  And it winds though the mountains.  It was a lovely ride.
He was taking care not to push the bike, so there were no issues with that pesky clutch.  There was a slight problem with his Skid Lid though.  Some stitches had come out of a place on the chin strap, allowing it to blow back a bit on his head.  No disaster, but just a bit uncomfortable at speed.  But that Resourceful Fuzz stopped at a country store, and borrowed a stapler for a temporary fix.

Overall, it was a nice ride up to Roanoke.  221 took him though the center of town, so he got a pretty good look at the place.  On the way out of town, he stopped for a quick bite, and to add a couple of pages to his Trip Journal.

It was beginning to look as if time might be a factor.  The intention was to reach Charlottesville before dark.  And these days of Fall are getting shorter.  So The Fuzz opted for the main-road-4-lane down to Lynchburg, where he could pick up US 29 to his destination.  Of course this meant some of that 65+ MPH riding, and potential clutch trouble.
The Fuzz made it around Lynchburg okay, and hit 29, heading north.  But it was looking like a fuel stop would be a good idea.  So he took the "Business 29" exit into Amhurst.
It's a nice little town.  But when he stopped to top off the tank, the clutch problem resurfaced.  It was expected in a way, after all that hard riding.
The Fuzz gave the bike a few minutes to cool down just a bit, and managed to get back on the road.
The last leg of this day's ride was fairly laid back, and Our Fuzz made it into Charlottesville at last, to a warm welcome, and a cold beer.

What's new

It's been a busy week.

Introducing, Isabel Wiest!

And Saraphina Marshall!

The Fuzz's Excellent Motorcycle Adventure 2

Well, The Fuzz was finally on the road.  It was beginning to get light by now, but there were a few patches of fog as he rode though the country.
He had already decided against the Parkway.  It would just take too long.  The goal for this first day was Charlottesville Virginia.

He took mostly back roads passing through the South Mountains on his way to Lenoir.  This was the route we used to take years ago on the way to Boone.
And Our Fuzz was intending to pass through Boone, where he hoped to pick up US 221.
The ride was going well, although it was a bit cool.
He planned on topping off the gas tank at Lenoir.
On the way he stopped briefly at the Castle Bridge which crosses the Catawba River and Lake Rhodhiss.  The Fuzz and His Sweetie used to take the canoe up here sometimes for a swim and picnic.

 There was a bit of fog on the lake that morning, so he stopped for a couple pix.  Then, it was back on the road.
By the time he made it to Lenoir, he was freezing his tush off.

So he stopped for a cup of coffee, and pulled some warmer clothes out of his pack.
Back on the road, he sucked it up and took the 4 lane 321 up the mountain toward Boone, NC.
This is a pretty good climb, and our Fuzz was running with the traffic, so the bike was a little hot by the time he made it to Blowing Rock.

That was where he ran into the construction.  It was also where he became aware of the problem with his clutch.
The thing just wouldn't release.  This was a bit of a problem here in this stop and go traffic.
After a bit of starting in gear, and stalling the engine, the thing stated to work - barely.  So he made it into Boone, and stopped to check the fluid.  

He did add a bit, but it didn't seem low enough to cause a problem.  It was time to make a decision.

The Fuzz pulled into the Bojangles, got himself a

biscuit and some coffee, and sat down to think things over.  Should he abort?
Well, the clutch was working again, if poorly.  And he wasn't sure he could trust it.  But he had come this far.  And after all, this was an Adventure!  In the end he decided to press on, for better or for worse.

The Fuzz's Excellent Motorcycle Adventure 1

It's about time for a post regarding The Fuzz's Excellent Motorcycle Adventure!

For some time, The Fuzz had been thinking of a motorcycle trip.  But there had been some problems with his bike.  On an earlier trip, the temperature gauge had quit.  By now he had determined that the motor was fine, he just didn't have a gauge to watch.  Then more recently, the tach quit.  Since both of these were in the same instrument, he figured that it was at fault, and the bike was basically sound.  But winter was approaching and soon it would be out of the question.  It was now, or never.
So he decided to try for a ride up through the mountains, to Virginia, to visit his sister.  He was just a little unsure about the bike, with the way things were quitting on him.  But hey, an adventure is supposed to be an adventure, isn't it?
So plans were made.  
The Fuzz got his stuff packed, there wasn't much.  One travels light by Motorcycle. He was up and ready to leave only a few minutes behind the target of 06:00.  With the bike packed, he fired it up and hit the breaks, only to find that there were no break lights... or tail lights!
This was not good, and of course it would have to be addressed.
So he unloaded the bike and discovered that both bulbs were burned out.  And in testing the circuit, he also blew out the fuse.  He had a spare fuse, but no bulbs.  So it was off in the car to find new bulbs.

He found some in a country store and made the repairs.

It was 2 hours late, but The Fuzz was finally on the road.

Near Disaster Cont.

Here's the latest on The Fuzz's Near Disaster.

The hand is still not quite back to 100% of course.  But it is healing nicely.  It was initially dressed with Honey.  The bandage is soaked off and changed every day.  The wound is treated daily with His Sweetie's Special Blend of Healing Oil, which works wonders.  We anticipate a full recovery, although there will likely be an ugly scar.  But, so what.
Another result of this Near Disaster has been the replacement of the crummy come-a-long, with a first rate model from the Tractor Supply.

Here's a look at the old, and the new.

The Fuzz's spiffy new come-a-long is loaded with features.

This is a heavier duty job all around.  The Hooks and cable are stronger.  And the sprocket should be as well.  It has a more positive locking mechanism, working on both sides of the spool. And the block will double the capacity, in this instance , up to 2 tons!
The fuzz scrapped the old one, saving the useful stuff, and throwing the rest where it belongs - the scrap bin.

Daniel Stowe: The Orchid House

The Orchid House

The Fuzz's Sweetie had been here before, but Our Fuzz hadn't yet.  So they opted for a quick stop before leaving.

Actually, they spent some time there.

It was impressive.

One of the workers there saw The Fuzz making some pix, and pointed out this one.

It might not look like much at first, but he told The Fuzz to get a closeup, and then blow it up.

Here's that closer look.

It's Hundreds of tiny Orchids!

Wow.

And here's just a couple more.

If you are ever in the Charlotte-Gastonia area, you should check it out.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

The Fuzz and His Sweetie had been planning a trip down to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens for a while now.  With The Fuzz not in much shape for much of anything else, and the promise of good weather, this was a good opportunity.

If you are ever in the area and are into this stuff, The Fuzz highly recommends it.

One thing that The Fuzz really likes about this place is the fountains.

And there are a bunch of 'em.
The Fuzz and His Sweetie strolled around the grounds enjoying the various plants.
There are a succession of gardens, with brick pathways connecting them.
In the back there is a nature trail of sorts, showing a North Carolinian Piedmont Meadow environment.  This also has a woodland loop overlooking a bit of Lake Wylie.
And of course there are more fountains.

And lots of photo opportunities!

Some folks like to take advantage of all this beauty for a bit of sketching.
The Fuzz and His Sweetie were thinking about leaving, and getting a bite to eat. when they came upon the Orchid House.

This was too good to pass up.

Driveway Clear!

We would like to report that the driveway is now clear, and The Fuzz's little paw is healing nicely.
Of course it will still be a while before he is 100% back in business.

In the meantime, he was determined to get those logs out of the way.  He found that he could manage to hold on to the saw.  He had to hold it with his foot in order to crank the thing.  It was a bit painful, but once it was running, with His Sweetie's help, they were able to saw up enough of the trees to at least clear a path for the car.  The rest will just have to wait a bit longer.

Near Disaster

The Fuzz admits that it has been a while since he posted here at Kinda Fuzzy.  But he has not been just sitting on his hands all this time.
There was The Great Motorcycle Adventure of course.  Hopefully there will be more on that later.  This post concerns trees, and near disaster.
Not long before the previously mentioned Motorcycle Adventure, The Fuzz and His Sweetie ordered one of those metal carports.  

Parking a white car under the trees (and birdies) gets a bit messy.  And of course there is the potential for falling limbs.  But a place would have to be prepared for it.
So a spot was selected near the Shed, where the car is usually parked.

But since we are in the woods here, it would be necessary to remove a few small trees, and one larger one (X).  Not wanting to drop this thing on the shed, and hoping to avoid getting it hung up in the woods, Our Fuzz resorted to a previously successful method, employing rope and his ragged old "come along".

Things started out well enough.  With His Sweetie's assistance, the tree was cut and started to fall in the chosen direction.
But there was a problem.  The tree hung up in another large tree across the driveway.
The Fuzz thought that a bit more tension on the rope should pull this stubborn thing free and onto the ground in the desired place.
Now came the 2nd hitch.
The Fuzz tightened this rig up about as much as he dared, with no success.  So he decided to move the rope and all, to another tree, so to get a better angle for dislodging this stubborn thing.

But as he was slowly easing the tension off, the gears in this ragged piece of equipment slipped, tearing open Our Poor Fuzz's hand!
At this point, The (now) Safety Minded Fuzz would like to point out that gloves would be a good idea for anyone involved in a similar project.

With this tree still hung up like this, The Fuzz felt that leaving it in this condition could be dangerous.  So His Sweetie wrapped up his mangled paw, and he went back to work.
By moving this rig to various anchor points, and finally even using that poor little Accord, they managed to finally get the tree unhung from where it was - And into another tree!

In the end The Fuzz was forced to cut this 2nd tree as well.
This resulted in both trees now blocking the driveway.
Well, at least they were on the ground.
Now it was time to have a look at the hand.
The squeamish may want to skip this part.