Back to Normal Life

Well The Fuzz hasn't been too active here since returning from his Motorcycle Trip.

But life does go on.

There was plenty to do around the Home Place.

And then there was a Family Camping Trip to Jordan Lake.

From time to time those who can make it, like to meet up for a day or two of camping and some time together.

For many years The Fuzz worked collecting trash and of course "trash" often included some pretty good stuff.

One of the finds was this 15" cast iron skillet.

For many years it was just stashed away-

One of those things that's just too good to get rid of-

But there is really no use for it at the time.

It's not the sort of thing one would backpack with, and it's a bit too big to use on the kitchen stove!

But a Family Campout is another matter.

So The Fuzz got it out and gave it to the folks who usually are organizing these affairs.

And what better way to cure an iron skillet than a couple of pounds of bacon!

The Lake was beautiful this time of year.

The leaves were starting to turn.

And it wasn't too cold for Our Fuzz to get out in his Kayak!

The weather was perfect-

The rain didn't move in till everyone was packed up and on the way home.

For now it's time to get settled in for the winter ahead and the coming Holidays.

Winter On the Way

Well, it is officially Fall (or Autumn) now.

And it is getting a bit cooler-

especially in the mornings.

So it was time to get out the old chainsaw again.

The Fuzz is bad about putting these things off.

But there are a few dead or dying trees here around our Home in the Woods; and that is what The Fuzz was after.

So The Fuzz managed to get in just a bit of wood cutting

(and splitting)

before the much needed rain set in.

It ain't all that much-

but it is a start.

It did take a bit of persuasion to get the splitter going.

But eventually, he did get this little bit of wood worked up-

and just in time before the rain settled in.

And of course, there's nothing like a nice wood stove on a cold morning.

A Bit Better

Well, The Fuzz is doing a bit better these days.  He has been to the chiropractor a couple of times.  This morning he actually managed to split a couple pieces of wood.  But don't worry, he's being careful not to overdo things.

Here's a pix of the yard.  Most of  the leaves have fallen already.  They seemed unusually colorful this year.

Equipment Failure

With the cooler (and damper) weather, it was time to fire up the old Woodstove.

Of course one of the necessities for a nice warm fire is Firewood.  While there was a bit on hand, left from last winter, Our Fuzz figured it was time to fire up the old Chainsaw.

Things were going well for a bit.  But The Fuzz was noticing a bit of "jerkiness" with the chain. And then, the chain jumped the sprocket entirely.  Now The Fuzz has had to deal with this sort of thing on occasion (possibly due to the fact that he buys cheap equipment when possible) and it's usually a simple matter of opening it up, putting things back together- and, tightening the chain.

But when he opened things up he found this situation.

You will note, at the arrows, what appears to be some damage to the drive sprocket.  This sprocket had not been in the best condition as it was.  But this time, The Fuzz was dealing with serious Equipment Failure.


This was not a situation that could be dealt with with Duct Tape, or even J&B Weld!

New parts are on the way.  And things are OK for now, at least.

A Night Out

The Fuzz mentioned previously, that he and His Sweetie were planning a Camping Trip back to Crowder's Mt State Park.  That not so Young* any more Daughter had school responsibilities and stayed home.  But that was part of the plan.  It was a bit like back in The Days.  The Fuzz and His Sweetie met in the woods many years ago, and still like to go back from time to time.

Fall is now officially here, and the leaves are trying to catch up with the season.
They made it up to the campsite with no real problems, although it was a reminder that time has a way of catching up with you.  But they are still good for it.  They just take things a bit slower these days.
Camp was set up, and some brats cooked up on the fire.  Then they took a little stroll, and kicked back by the fire.

You might have noticed the lantern hanging on the tree.
Neither The Fuzz or His Sweetie are very fond of huge bright lanterns when camping.  And this little jewel is easy to carry.  Someone (The Fuzz forgets who) turned them on to it years ago. 

So we present to you The "World Famous Candle Lantern"!  


This appears to be a copy of a design going back to around 1900.  Those were made of brass, with mica windows.  They were used by soldiers in the First World War.
  

Ours  is aluminum, and does have mica windows.  It appears to be very fragile, but The Fuzz has been carrying this one around for years, and it still works fine.  

Best of all, it weighs practically nothing!  

  

*Birthday Party Weekend

Off to the Laundromat

With cooler weather coming, it was time to get out the blankets.  That meant it was also time to get them washed up.

So it was off to the Laundromat for The Fuzz.

He got there good and early, and had the place practically to himself.

It took a couple washers to handle things.  The Fuzz got a chance to watch 'em go round and round, like the wheels on the buss!

If you look closely, you may even be able to see The Fuzz.

Then of course it was time for the dryers and even more quarters.

But The Fuzz did get to play around with this pix.

A BIg Event

With The Fuzz's normal schedule, he does not work on Fridays. But it is necessary that there be at least a skeleton crew on the job. So this duty is rotated. This past Friday, The Fuzz's number came up.
One of his duties was to assist in preparation for the Big Event. He and a coworker, hauled these barricades uptown. In the dead of night, (while Our Fuzz was safely tucked into bed) they would be used to block off the streets for the Big Event.
On the morning of the Big Event, The Fuzz and His Sweetie were in town, and made a brief stop at the Big Event*. The morning started out a bit on the cool side, but by the time they got there, there was a pretty good crowd. They didn't hang around for long though. After conducting a bit of business with a couple of the vendors, they moved on to other things.







*About Livermush

Just Some Thoughts

The days are cooling off now.
The leaves are starting to fall.
The Fuzz has been keeping a fire going most days now.
On Friday Morning, there was even a bit of ice on the windshield of one of the trucks at work.
He has still been riding the motorcycle to work most mornings. But that sometimes requires a bit of extra leather. (Or rain gear!)
But the change is good. It is nice to live here where we actually have seasons. Although The Fuzz enjoys springtime, there is at least as much to be said for this break from the heat of summer. There's just something about the cool air and the low angle of the sun this time of year. It is quite enjoyable.

The Last One

Well, maybe not the absolutely last one,
But it's getting close.
Hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here.
I wonder how long 'till snow.

An Autumn Day

We went over to that Mechanically Minded Daughter's place to watch her mechaniking again. Whilst we were there, The Fuzz's Sweetie decided to get a few of the leaves up. It was a good day for it, weather wise.
It turned out that due to an apparent unavailability of parts, this mechaniking ended up involving a bit of "Rigging". It is hoped that this is only a temporary situation.
After the work, we all slipped inside for a flick, that perennial favorite, "Sense and Sensibility".

Morning Pix

A shot of the sunrise though the trees

Most of the leaves have fallen now, and the days are cooler. Today it's rainy again. On these cold, damp nights the fire feels good. Tomorrow is a day off work for The Fuzz in honor of Veteran's Day.

Flag pix courtesy of "Karen's Whismy"

Fall & Other Stuff

Well the leaves are turning here in the woods. This is right outside the living room door. It was made a few days ago, and more have turned since then. But it's raining again, and not so good for pix.
It still hasn't gotten real cold yet, but so far that little wood stove has kept us warm. The roof seems to be holding up well too.
Apples are in season and we're on our 2nd bushel now. In fact, The Fuzz's Sweetie is cooking up some for supper with some taters and meatloaf. Yummy!
We finally got that beat up old cookstove out of the living room and out of here. So, things do seem to be coming together.

Finally Falling

It's that time of year again.

Those Leaves are falling again. The mornings are cool. The Fuzz's Sweetie made Apple Pie.

But these leaves don't seem very colorful. I believe I heard once, that Dry Weather makes the most colorful leaves. We have had a bit of rain lately, which is a good thing, really. We even have water in our well, which is a big improvement over last year.

The Fuzz is hoping to ride the motorcycle up into the mountains this weekend. That is, if they have gas up there. But it looks like they might by now. Maybe we can get him to bring back some pix.

Falling Leaves

For some reason, I always associate falling leaves with cool weather. It may be my yankee background. Yet here they are. I don't know if it's the dry weather of what, but they seem to start falling this time of year. Not all of them yet, but enough to sweep up. The colors will come later. We do have colors here, although not like up north. People here go to the mountains to see the colors.
The Fuzz was cooking some chickens out on the grill the other day. He had to sweep the pile of leaves out of the way so as not to set the yard on fire. One time, some years ago, the yard did catch fire. It was not a good thing. It burnt up the clothes on the clothesline, a shed and a couple of motorcycles. The Fuzz got a ticket for unsafe burning, or something like that. But the house did not burn, and the trees that were killed made a good bit of firewood. So I guess that affair did have a good side.