Goin' to the Zoo!

This past weekend while most of the family was out in the mud, The Fuzz and His Sweetie gathered up who was left and headed of for a much anticipated trip to the Zoo!  They lucked up and for some reason school got turned out early, so they were able to get a good start.
The plan called for camping at Morrow Mountain State Park, within driving range of the zoo.  Unfortunately, The Fuzz foolishly decided to follow the Google directions to the park. (Even though he already had a good idea how to get there)  This resulted in an unpleasant and stressful drive though the heart of the Big City!  Perhaps this time he has finally learned his lesson.
Eventually they made it out of the city, and into the woods.
At the recent Family Camp Meeting, both The Fuzz and His Sweetie were impressed with one of the large tents.  Impressed enough to spring for one like it!

They figured that back packing ain't quite as easy as it used to be, so maybe it was time to revert to the old drive-up-to-the-campsite style.

The observation of wildlife began surprising soon.

These guys are so used to people that they come right up to the camp looking for handouts!

At one point The Fuzz saw a group of 8 them hanging out munching the grass.

One even walked though the camp.

Then it was time to hit the sack in our luxurious mansion, and get ready for an early start in the morning.

Kitty Nursery

While working on those signs out at the Work Shed, The Fuzz had to share the space with the Kitty Nursery.

There are still a lot of Kitties around here.  The Fuzz does not really mind sharing his space.  But it can get a little messy.

Signage

Just because The Fuzz is back in the Woods, don't think he hasn't been busy.
With His Sweetie involved with some Vegan Food People these days, there was a request for some signage to be used on a roadside stand.  As The Fuzz says, "I can do that, let me get my tools!"
They picked up a few small boards at that infamous Home Improvement Store, and then grabbed some old paneling that Our Fuzz had been saving for years- and of course, never used.
These signs were to be of the folding portable type.  Of course Our Ingenious Fuzz had a plan.  That plan evolved over the course of the project.

Here's a look at the set- as yet unpainted.  The Numbers indicate the order of construction, and evolution.

The first one was knocked out pretty quickly.  But The Fuzz saw an opportunity for improvement.  This design was quick and easy, but a potential weak point was discovered.  Relying on this thin (and quite old) panel to hold everything together did not seem like a good idea to Our Careful Fuzz.  So he went with a major redesign on #2.

Here the joint was lapped to provide a bit more strength.  While he was in such a creative mood, The Fuzz thought it might be cool to add a handle.

This proved to be a lot of extra work.  And he does not recommend it.  It is completely unnecessary, and adds a lot of complication to the assembly of the thing.

There was also a problem due to the cheap-ass wood warping up.  The Fuzz tried glue, but ultimately was forced to add some screws to hold things in shape.
He dropped the handle on the last two.  His favorite was #4.  There were some bad spots in these last pieces of panel, so it is just a little bit smaller.  As a result, it just looks cool.

Out of Town?

The Fuzz admits that he hasn't been on the ball with this blog lately.  But he had been "out of town" as it were.  Actually he was in town, since one could not really consider our Home in the Woods as "in town" to be "out of".  The Fuzz spent most of last week in another town, helping out "A------- Property Management" with a little project.

Here's a rare pix of Our Fuzz himself, puzzling over an electrical difficulty.  Amazingly enough they got it straightened out!

Here's a look at a few more of the projects involved in getting this place ready for habitation.

Hookups for the laundry room

Drier vent

This door is actually upside down.

This is the Property Management's way of recycling parts of buildings. 

The Fuzz was just doing what he was told on this one.

More recycling

Some of the old cabinets were modified for reuse as well.

Actually things are looking pretty good now.

The Fuzz had planned to get some great pix of this work in progress.  But alas, he forgot to take his camera out on the job.

Fortunately he was able to rip off a few pix for Kinda Fuzzy.

Thanx.  You know who you are.

Purity Concerns

Purity Concerns

(From Speigel)

"Forget environmental concerns: When it comes to fracking, Germans are worried about how it might affect beer quality. In a letter to several ministries in Berlin, brewers expressed concern that the exploitation of shale gas could contaminate water supplies and thus violate the beer purity law of 1516."

"The process threatens to contaminate drinking water, according to a letter written by the German Brewers Federation to the federal government…"

This looks serious!

Let's get our priorities right!

Father's Day in Germany

The Fuzz ran into this on Spiegel.

Father's Day in Germany

"Father's Day in Germany, coinciding as it does with a national holiday, has long been a day for men to get together and get drunk. Excursions into the countryside are common, with beer being the beverage of choice, though some carry walking sticks with baskets full of schnapps attached at the top." 

There's even Pix!

Mysterious Vine

Recognize this luxuriant vine clubbing the lucky tree?

Yup.  You guessed it.

This is a story of some young'uns some years ago.  At that time, before the Encroach of Civilization, The Old Place was a bit less urbanized than now.  Behind the wooded patch of backyard lay a horse pasture.  It was great fun to feed the horseys carrots and such.  One day it was discovered that the horseys found this particular type of vine rather tasty.  It was gathered in great handfuls, and devoured with much enthusiasm by these beasts.  It was only later that the identity of the vegetation was discovered by the unlucky children, furnishing a never to be forgotten lesson.

The Other Garden

The Fuzz took advantage of a break in the rainy weather to handle a bit of yard work at the Old Place.  It had been a while since the yard had been mowed, and he was expecting a rough time.  But apparently the cooler temperatures, and lack of sun slowed things down a bit.  They claim that the crops are about 2 weeks behind here because of this.  But we are thankful for the rain.

Here's a look at the  House Garden.

We do still plant there.  The ground is so much better than out in the woods, having been built up over 30 years.

There's taters in the foreground, then some beets and a couple rows of leeks.  Behind that is a patch of kale.

Here's a brand new baby okra sprout.

And a tiny peach.  They're so tasty, but unfortunately the bugs get most of them.

The Chase

We do have a lot of squirrels around here.



And they do give all the cats something to do.



The kitty was just a little too slow this time.



Well, some times you're winners, sometimes you're...

Wet

We have been getting a lot of rain lately.  But it seems to have let up this afternoon, at least for now.

Here's a look at the coulee next* to the trailer.  Most of the time there is little water in here.  But the ground is pretty saturated right now and it's flowing pretty well.
The weather has been just a bit cool also.  Today The Fuzz went over across the creek in search of some dead wood to cut up.  The pickings were a bit slim.


*About 50ft.  We are in the woods here!

Wet Days

Well, we haven't seen much of the sun lately around here.  Oh, there may be a brief glimpse now and then.  But mostly wet and gloomy.  And more of the same for the next few days.

But The Fuzz did take advantage of a break in the rain for a walk in the woods not far from the trailer.  It was a nice break from being inside.

As can be seen, there's plenty of water in the creek.

Here's a look at the old "Footbridge".  The Fuzz put it down here years ago when this was our little campsite.  It's still here, and still solid enough.  It's an old timber from railroad bridge torn down and replaced years ago in town.  

Well, I guess it's still a "bridge" at least.

A Gardening Update

Been getting in the garden a little bit.  Actually things are looking pretty good so far.  We are getting plenty of rain.

This pix is taken on another rainy day.

The Fuzz's Sweetie has an unconventional approach to gardening, a patch of this, a patch of that- scattered around the area.  But it seems to be working pretty well.  We are getting plenty of green things for our salads these days.

The Fuzz finally got some green beans in yesterday, and put up some poles for them to climb on.

Family Camp

The Young'uns were planning a camp-gathering at Lake Jordan but The Fuzz and His Sweetie had a lot of stuff going on and had planned to skip it.  But there were some changes made, and the planners and the Young Daughter managed to get The Fuzz's Sweetie on board.  So he caved as well.
With little lead time, and still some very necessary garden work to take care of, Our Fuzz and Sweetie had a busy morning.

But after some scrambling and quick packing, they managed to get on the road only a little behind schedule.

Here's a view of the main camp.  There were a few other tents pitched nearby.

There was a threat of rain, so a tarp was put up, just in case.  While there was no major rain, it did protect from a few sprinkles- besides providing some piece of mind.

Of course there was a campfire, and even marshmallows for "sa'mores".

The Fuzz got himself out of the sack early the last morning and enjoyed a bit of quiet and a cup of coffee.  Here's a look out at the lake in the light  rain.

The trip was enjoyed so much we are hoping to do it again.  The Fuzz and His Sweetie are even getting a larger tent to make things more enjoyable.  Now they only have a few small, backpacking-type tents.  And they can get a bit crowded* at times.  Especially in the rain.

We're all looking forward to the next time!

*Due to a slight foul up on The Fuzz's part, we had to squeeze 3 into a 2 person tent!  It was hard on The Claustrophobic Fuzz.

Rainy Morning

Air Travel Made Stressful

Well, the Fuzz's Sweetie is out of town for a while.  And the poor guy is trying to cope with it.  When you've been with somebody for 40 years it's a bit strange not having them around.
On the way to the airport, they suddenly came upon a spot where the traffic was at a standstill.  This was particularly stressful for The Fuzz.  For it was in almost the same spot, years ago, that the same thing had happened, causing him to miss his plane.  But fortunately this time they were right at an exit, and were able to get off the freeway and on to a real road.

It was not far to the airport.  (In the afore mentioned episode The Fuzz actually walked/ran there in an unsuccessful effort to make his plane!)  But it did cut down on the recommended arrival time*.  So The Fuzz dropped His Sweetie off at the terminal, and went to find a place to park.

This construction site is where the hourly parking deck used to be.  As Our Trusting Fuzz followed the signs, he about ran into a barrier blocking the way to the parking deck that was no longer there.  At this point he realized that he would have to park in the Daily parking deck, and ride the shuttle back to the terminal in the now faint hope of that last bit of sugar.
Sad to say he didn't make it.
But happy to say, His Sweetie did make it though the security gauntlet, and had a safe arrival at her snow covered destination.

Here's a look at "Queen Charlotte" who used to be right in front of the terminal.  Now she's out here stuck between the East Parking Deck and the (I suppose) West Parking Deck.  Of course you can still take the shuttle out there to see her.


* Now 90 insane minutes!

A Bit of Color 2

Wow

Yikes!

The Fuzz's Sweetie is out of town visiting family.

So what's with this kind of weather?

The Fuzz says he thinks he'll just stay here where it's nice.

A Bit of Color 1

Kinda Spacy

Busy Times

The Fuzz got a motorcycle trip in this past weekend.  The main thing was a visit to his Brother's Birthday Bash.

The Fuzz managed to turn it into a 4 day excursion, visiting family along the way.
The weather was mostly good, although there was a bit of mist and the threat of some rain on the last leg home.  After 4 days on the bike he was a bit sunburned (especially on the nose).  And 4 days of holding the throttle took a toll on his arm.  But we are happy to report that he is recovering.

Now His Sweetie is off visiting family in Nebraska!  As it has been said, "Life is just one damn thing after another"*.  She went from nice Carolina Springtime to Snow!
Well, this time The Fuzz gets to stay home with the Young Daughter.  Maybe they can stay out of trouble on their own.



*Attributed to Mark Twain.

Dogwood Update

Dogwood Post Update

They're out pretty good now!

Red Meat

While on his own the other day, The Fuzz had to feed himself.  But this was an opportunity to try out a new recipe.

He picked up a piece of that deadly red meat at the store.  Normally he would have slapped it under the broiler with a little seasoning and let it rip.  But The Fuzz does have a soft spot for iron frying pans.

The first step was to slowly cook up a piece of bacon- for seasoning, and of course the grease.  Then he added some jalapenos, leeks and mushrooms.  Once these had sautéed a bit, that dangerous slab was laid in there.

&

After a few minutes flipped.

And finally served up with a fresh salad, and a glass of red wine.

Springtime Chores

One of our Springtime chores is getting the garden into the new seasonal mode.

We've had to start pretty much from scratch out here in the woods.  Back at the Old Place we had been working the garden for 30 years and it is built up pretty well.  The Fuzz's Sweetie has been working on this, but now with The Fuzz under foot, she has put him to work.

The plan calls for working the garden up into these beds and adding better soil, sand, peat moss etc.  The beds had been lined with logs and such.  But these rot quickly.  So we have been replacing them with blocks.

Pretty spiffy.

Dogwood Post

The Fuzz has been keeping an eye on the approach of Spring this year.  And one of the signs here in the Carolina Piedmont is the Dogwood trees.

Well they're not quite ready yet, but we've got a pretty good start.

It has been a bit cool lately, and it seems to have slowed things down a mite.  But things are beginning to happen now, and quickly!

Bike Stuff, Cheap Fix!

Just because The Fuzz hasn't been posting much does not mean he has been asleep the whole time.

In anticipation of some possible road trips, he has been addressing some  motorcycle issues.  One was the speedometer that was hanging on by a thread ever since that man pulled out in front of him that fateful summer.  It turned out that taking it apart and bending a few things around got that straightened out- more or less.

But that still left this seat, which had gotten progressively worse.
Back when The Fuzz was still a productive member of society, he would have to park the bike out in the weather while at the job.  Now it was finally time to do something about it.  And since this bike has been officially totaled, there was little incentive to sink much into it.  Of course a nice leather seat would be nice, but let's be realistic about things.

So Our Resourceful Fuzz made a quick trip to that Home Improvement Store for some black Gorilla Tape*.

And here we have it! 

*There is a precedent for this sort of thing.

(While you're there, check out this Booze Bike!)

Day Trip

Being as there was no school this week, due to the Spring Break (with used to be called Easter Vacation) The Fuzz and His Sweetie decided to take the Young Daughter and her boyfriend up to the Relatively Large City for a bit of fun.
On the way they saw these guys, and stopped for a quick pix or two.

Once in the city, the first stop was the Asian Buffet for a not so quick bite.  Then they hit the Thrift Store for some cheap additions to the wardrobe.  The Fuzz found an old toaster-oven* to use over at the Old Place since there is no cookstove there.

The plan called for a session at the $3 movie.  But alas, we were informed that the show had been cancelled due to "technical difficulties".  It seems that the projector had blown up showering glass over the audience and all.  

So... No movie this time.
It was time to head back to the woods and be satisfied with a DVD from Netflix.


*These things are great although they have been largely superseded by those new-finagled microwaves.  Back in The Days, we used these things for everything from broiling a steak to making biscuits!