A Medical Situation

Well, stuff happens as they say.  And sometimes it happens to The Fuzz.

It's no secret  that he has been cutting firewood for years, and that some of those chunks can get a bit heavy.

It is also a fact that Our Fuzz is a bit foolish at times, and has a tendency to not ask for help* when it would have been a good idea.

It turned out that what he tried to convince himself was only strain, wasn't going away.

And then the day came when he pushed on that little bulge and felt (and heard) something gurgle.

While discomforting, The Fuzz figured this was something he could live with as long as he was careful.

Eventually it was mentioned to His Sweetie, and passed on to other family.

That was when things hit the fan.

The family is large by contemporary standards and some members are or have been involved in the medical field.

The Fuzz started receiving phone calls...
long phone calls.

At this point His Sweetie became involved.

The Fuzz's view that people must have lived with these sort of things for thousands of years didn't seem to hold much weight.

In short...

He made an appointment with the surgeon.

And surgery was scheduled.

Well, it's been a couple of days now, and The Fuzz is glad to report that he is still living and beginning to move around a bit.

He regrets that there are no pictures, but perhaps that is for the best.

They wouldn't let him bring his camera, and besides he doesn't remember anything after being wheeled into the hallways himself.

So we'll just post a few more from the camping trip!

*It may be debated whether this is a macho thing or simply stupidity.

Shakedown Cruise I

In a previous post, The Fuzz mentioned a new "Tin Boat".

Well, first there was a bit of official paperwork to take care of.  But getting it home out here in the woods was only the start.  Some more equipment had to be scrounged up.  While perhaps a paddle might satisfy any "requirements" The Fuzz would not be satisfied without a real set of oars.  And these had to be ordered.  And of course life jackets - or rather "PFDs"*

Finally the stuff was gathered and it was time for a shakedown cruise.
And it turned out that there was a lot to shakedown!

Lake Rhodhiss was selected for this...

And the ramp at Castle Bridge.

 The Fuzz and Family had been here some years before on a few canoe outings, and it was not too far to drive.

The Boat made it into the water OK and neither car nor trailer was lost in the lake.

But when The Fuzz tried to crank up the motor...

all he did was exercise his arm.

His Sweetie said they could just go back home if he wanted-

In truth, he was just a mite disappointed.

But he did have those oars.

And he did not want to waste a trip and a chance to get out on the lake.

So they rowed a short way up the lake, tied up to a tree branch and did spend some time fishing and painting.

Back home again, The Fuzz was determined to find out what went wrong.  He had seen the motor running fine before he bought the thing!  Was he doing something wrong?

After going over it a few times in his head, he decided to have a look at the darn thing.  When he tore into it, he discovered that the choke had been somehow disconnected.

That was not hard to fix, and now he could crank it fine.

And so another excursion was planned.

 * "Personal Flotation Device"

Pumps Pipes and All That Kind of Stuff

It has been mentioned that there was a plumbing situation over at the Old Place.  And it had been that way for a long time.

It was not completely a P-Factor thing, but it must be admitted that the P-Factor did figure into it.

Just a brief refresher here.

Way back in February, it was discovered that the well pump had failed.  But of course with the Topsail Trip coming up there was no point in worrying about it then.  After all, the place is only used occasionally, and has a good back-up system-

A bucket and rope!

But the problem needed to be addressed.

So the Fuzz began planning.  It really shouldn't be difficult.  He would just order a new pump and fix a couple of other small issues while he was at it.

A new pump was ordered.  But whilst researching this online, he came across something interesting.

"There are certain types of bacteria called “anaerobic bacteria” that can grow where air does not touch the water. If your well has this kind of bacteria in it, the bacteria can start to grow once it gets inside the bladder since that water is not touching air. This bacteria is usually harmless..."

"... There are only two real solutions here: 1) Install a “contact tank” with a chlorine dosing system. This type of system injects a small amount of chlorine into the water as it comes into the house. The chlorine kills off the bacteria so it can’t grow in your tank.  2) Switch back to the older technology of an air-over-water standard tank. In that kind of tank the air touches the water and this anaerobic bacteria cannot grow."

Well, there had been "stinky" water over there for some years.  In fact, The Fuzz and His Sweetie had been bringing good well water from the woods for drinking.

Solution 1 was definitely out.

Solution 2 looked good.  That had been the original type tank, and there was no stinky water then.

And it had been replaced with the new type!

But it seems that the Home Improvement Store no longer sells the old school tanks - even though they carry pumps from the same manufacturer.

(like the one purchased by The Fuzz!)

However The Fuzz was able to order the tank from someone out here in the country.

Of course this meant a bit more delay.

Which turned into even more when the company sent the wrong stuff!

But it finally came, and all the stuff made it over to the house.

The old pump and tank were cut loose.

And the new ones were moved in...

And put together.

All the pipes and wiring were hooked back up.

Then it was time to fire the thing up.

Alas.

The Fuzz wasted a lot of time trying to get that thing primed and pumping.  Finally, he gave up.

To be continued...

Reality Check

So...

What exactly do we have here?

While The Fuzz and His Sweetie are enjoying their stay here at the beach, life is not without it's complications- even here.

For example, on their way back from a trip to the grocery store they stopped to check out a new donut shop.

When they left, it was discovered that their "Fanbelt" was history!

Rather than getting towed to a shop-

(The Fuzz has few tools with him)

-They had the car towed back to the hotel.

Because their Certified Mechanic Daughter actually lives nearby!

 She had to wait until she was off of work of course, but picked up a new belt on the way out to this remote island.

Here's another less doctored pix of the belt.

 

It was pretty much busted.

Kinda worn out to be sure.

The Fuzz should have caught this before it happened.  But that's the way it goes.

Well The Fuzz is happy to report that the new belt went on with little trouble.

And then they all rode into town for a Delicious Gourmet Dinner!

Ice Is Not Nice

The Fuzz has been spending a few days over at the Old Place.
He had finally gotten around to one of those projects that had been on hold for a while.
There'll be more on this in the future.
But for now, here's a teaser.   ☛

He had been living "Old School" for this time.  It may be recalled that using the "facilities" back there, involves a walk "down the hill".  This can be an adventure in itself this time of year- like on a 9℉ morning!

So after a few days of this, Our Spoiled Fuzz was glad to get back to The Woods, and all those luxuries.

Of course these particular facilities at the trailer are located as far as possible from the wood heater.

While The Fuzz was toughing it out at the Old Place, His Sweetie was holding it down back in The Woods.  She has a definite preference for the other bathroom, the one closer to the heater.  So the back potty hadn't had much use.
This means that it hadn't been flushed, which also means that the water had not been run for a while.

When The Fuzz got home he eventually felt the call of nature.  He did notice a skim of ice there in the bowl, but thought little of it, since there is no effort made to heat that room.  But when he flushed, he discovered that the tank would not refill.
Well, after a good bit of work with a hair drier, and His Sweetie pouring warm water into the tank, the pipe finally thawed out.
But it was obvious that the problem was under the floor.
The only thing for it was to crawl up under the trailer and investigate the situation.

And here's what he found.

For some reason, the insulation had been pulled back, exposing the pipe.  Perhaps it had been a previous repair?
But, with the weather into single digits, this would have to be addressed.
Since they were going into town that afternoon, they made a stop at the Home Improvement Store on the way home.

There, The Fuzz grabbed a small packet of insulation to make the repairs.
The actual repair was "a piece of cake", as they say.  He just crawled in there and stuffed a bit of the insulation up around the exposed plumbing...

... and ...

... sealed it all back up with his trusty Gorilla Tape!

So now, as long as the thing does get the occasional flush, there should be no more problems.

Body Work

A while back, whilst a family member (who will remain nameless) was attempting to master the Art of the Straight-Drive, this poor vehicle had an encounter with a tree.  Of course, this was blamed on the tree - but we won't go into that here.

Although the car still drove fine, it became impossible to open the hood.  The fender had been jammed against the hood, and probably other stuff as well.  The Fuzz tried prying it open a few times without success.  So with the crummy weather and all, he just decided to give it a rest.
Well, not having any good excuse to put it off any longer, he decided to give it another try.

This time he tried a different approach.  He got out his shiny new come-along, and a couple of crowbars.  The crowbars would have been the simple solution, but they proved ineffective.  Next he found a place where he hoped the damage would be minimal, and attached the cable to the fender.  The other end of this handy piece of equipment was chained to a nearby tree.  (We have a lot of them here in the woods.)  And after a series of pulls, and repositioning, Voila, an open hood.

The hood latch is even working smoothly.  Of course now The Fuzz will have to find a way to fix the turn signal light well enough to satisfy the inspection process.

A Winter Situation

Why are all these 2x4's propped up around The Fuzz's trailer?

Well, it so happened that during the recent Snow Event, as the snow and sleet accumulated, The Fuzz's flimsy porch roof couldn't take it.  It had been thrown up in a hurry to keep the rain off while he or His Sweetie groped for the door key.  And it had served it's purpose well- until now.

The Fuzz tried to open the door and discovered that something was blocking it.  Fortunately there is another door.

The Fuzz discovered that the porch roof, (which had only been secured to the trailer by a few inadequate nails) had pulled loose, and dropped low enough to block the door.  Of course this situation could not remain.

He tried, with some success, to drag some of the snow off.  Then with a mighty effort, he was able to raise it enough to clear the door.  The next step was to block it up temporarily. with some 4x4's he had laying around.

But with the layer of ice and snow on the top, he was unable to raise it all the way back into position.  It was time to wait for this stuff to melt away.  And since this is North Carolina, That would happen soon.  Not wanting this situation to repeat itself, he elected to pick up some lag bolts from the Home Improvement store.

So while enjoying some nice Spring-like weather, The Fuzz finished this job.

This time he hopes for good!

Treacherous Stairs

We have had a touch of winter around here.  But since the roads were passable, The Fuzz went over to The Old Place for the night.

Of course it is necessary to use these steps on occasion for those times when nature calls, and stuff like that.

But with the freezing weather and all, there was Danger.

Ice!

It may be remembered that these very steps were a source of trouble for Our Fuzz this summer.

So he was very careful not to repeat that experience.

And in memory of that occasion, The Fuzz presents a tribute to

The Treacherous Stairs.

Oh Well...

It has been mentioned that The Fuzz and His Sweetie have a system worked out to help preserve their sanity, (if you can call it that) in which they take turns spending one night a week at the Old Place.  This is good for them, and helps to keep up with the house and grounds.
Well, while The Fuzz's Sweetie was there a couple of weeks ago, it was discovered that the water pump was no longer functioning.  On investigation, they discovered that the pressure tank had given out, apparently rusting through.

Well one of the advantages of the Old Place is an Old School Well.  It is possible to swing open the cover and draw water up with a bucket.  In fact this has been done many times, for example, during power outages.  So a bucket and rope are kept handy at the well, just for this purpose.
Well, with the cold weather and all, they decided to just hold off on replacing the tank, and use the bucket for the time being.  After all, pipes without water can't freeze.  One person spending the night does not require all that much water anyway.
Well, the next week was Our Fuzz's turn.  So after lighting the fire to warm up the house, he decided to pull up some water for his stay.  The first bucket went fine.  But as he raised the next, the rope broke, and the bucket sank to the bottom.
This was not good.  But The Resourceful Fuzz remembered that he had a grappling hook stashed somewhere.  
Now, he had tied a plastic bucket onto the rope and managed to use it to fill the water tubs in the house.  So now he tied the grapple onto the rope.  He snagged the bucket at the bottom on his second try.  Flushed with success, he pulled it to the surface- only to have the treacherous rope break* again!  So now the bucket was gone, and so was his grapple.
Today he went over to give it another try.

He made a new hook, and brought a brand new rope and bucket**.  It took a while, but he did finally manage to snag the bucket.  And was pleasantly surprised to find his first grapple still hooked to it when he pulled it up!
The down side was that the new bucket*** was a bit larger than the old one, and once it was full of water it was a bit much for The Fuzz's Sweetie to handle.  But on his way home, The Fuzz stopped at the Old School Hardware Store, and found a perfect replacement.

*His Sweetie wondered why he even attempted to use this obviously defective rope for this attempt.  (She had a point)

**The old bucket was leaking anyway,so they decided to replace it.

***The only one they had at the Big Home Improvement Store

Near Disaster Update

You may recall a Near Disaster mentioned in some previous posts.  Well, The Fuzz's little injury did slow progress a bit.  With the driveway clear, it was time to do a bit of work on the site itself.  This involved leveling things somehow, and removing a few stumps.

So The Fuzz got out his brand new heavy-duty Come-a-long.
One end was chained to a solid stump.  This one does not have to be removed to get the new carport set up.  And the other end was chained to the stump to be removed.  This one was smaller, and a bit rotten as well.

The Fuzz's plan called for simply pulling it from the ground, like an old rotten tooth.  And with the tremendous power available with this excellent piece of equipment, it worked!
He pulled a couple more stumps with this set-up, and a bit of work with a mattock.

Here's a look at the site.

And the log from the tree that had caused all this trouble was finally cut into firewood as well.

Here's a look at The Poor Fuzz's Paw.  It has healed well.  It is still a bit stiff, and there are some numb areas.  He might not be able to play the violin though.  But since he couldn't do that before this unfortunate affair, it is no big loss.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.