To The Beach At Last

It's time for our Annual Family Beach Trip.

This year we are at a different place, although still on Topsail Island.  We simply outgrew the old place.

After a stop in Wilmington, The Fuzz, His Sweetie and that Not So Young Anymore Daughter finally made it across the drawbridge and onto the Island at Surf City.

They were still a bit too early to go to the new house, so they picked up some sandwich stuff and stopped at this "park" by the Intracoastal Waterway.

While they were there, The Fuzz got a few shots of the drawbridge opening for a couple of sailboats.

At times this can really tie up traffic.

But by now our travelers were safely across.

Finally, it was time to head out for the Beach house!

Here's a shot looking across the road from the house.

Non-Mystery Pix

The Fuzz had thought to use this one as a Mystery Pix.

But it was just too easy!

Another Mystery Pix!

And this is a problem... Why?

Is craft beer killing Bud Light?

(from "The Week")

"more flavorful alternatives" are  mentioned.

"Craft beer is getting the most attention as the Bud-killer..."

At the risk of sounding like a beer snob, The Fuzz finds it hard to lament Bud Lite.

Full article here.

Mystery Pix Revealed

Well you guys pretty much have it.
I mean, why be picky?
It is indeed ants on a cheeto.
While The Fuzz was munching on some junk food, he apparently dropped one.
And this was the result!
Below is the original.

Be watching for next exciting Mystery Pix

Even More On The Mountain

No Motorcycles that time.

But still The Fuzz could hear the sound of machines in the ascent.

This time it was bikes.

The Fuzz was expecting to see a couple of young guys get off of these things.

But it was a couple of his contemporaries.

And there were more bikes of course.

And More

2 Up

This Guy was not traveling light!

The Fuzz enjoyed the day.

New Mystery Pix

Here's a new one.

More on the Mountain

The Fuzz was not the only one up there.

When he reached the top of The Devil's Staircase he stopped for a bit to rest and let his bike cool off a little.

He could hear someone winding through the gears below on their way up the mountain.

So he got out his camera for an action shot of the bikes.

But it wasn't bikes!

It seems it's not just bikers who enjoy this route.

And here's a classic that Our Fuzz saw a bit later that day.

 

Somehow it's hard for The Fuzz to think of this as an

"Antique"

Playing With Pix

The New Camera is a big improvement.  Especially when it comes to reaching out there.

The Fuzz was rather disappointed with the previous one.  It relied on "Digital Zoom".

This just sucked.

Apparently that works by merely cropping the picture.  Of course there is no more detail than if one had done this later, in Photoshop or something similar.

The Fuzz decided to see what happened if he tried this with one of the new pix.

Pretty good.

But Photoshop is for fun stuff too.

Here's a look into the fish tank at His Brother's place.

Mountain Ride

The Fuzz has been back home for a few days now.

So with the promise of good weather he decided to have a ride up into the mountains.

He headed out on some back roads and eventually caught NC 226 up to Marion.

From there he rode NC 80, The Devil's Whip

(sometimes referred to as The Devil's Staircase*)

up to the Parkway.

He had his new camera with him and decided to see what it could do.

A shot of the mountains.

You can see why it's called the Blue Ridge.

It's hard to tell where the mountains stop and the sky begins.

You may notice what looks like a building in the distance about in the center of the left half of the above pix.

Here's a better look.

And who can resist stopping to admire the little things as well.

*The Fuzz would not want to pull a trailer on this road!

Not Finished Yet

The Fuzz did make it home again.

His Brother, while not in good shape, is more or less stable for now.

While in his brother's neighborhood, The Fuzz did get out for a short break on his bike.

Here's what he found.

Back home, they're growing a lot of corn, wheat and soybeans these days.  But it used to be cotton.

Here there seems to still be a bit of this growing.

The Fuzz wonders how much longer.

Tripping at Kerr Lake

The Fuzz has been at His Brother's lately trying to help out a bit.

Yesterday His Brother's Wife suggested an outing up to Kerr Lake, where they used to do a bit of camping.

This Special Handicap Equipped Van was obtained for the trip.

It was loaded with features to make life easier for someone who has trouble getting around.

There is a ramp of course.

The Fuzz's Brother could drive his wheelchair right up inside.

The passenger seat has been removed to make room for the wheelchair,

and there are tie downs to secure it when driving.

All this can be operated by easily reached buttons.

(except the tie downs of course)

Here's a look inside.

And here they are, on their way to a fun day at the lake.

Mystery Pix Revealed!

Voila!

The Fuzz admits, this was a hard one.

But after all, it was a Mystery Pix.

Anyway-

It is a curious pattern found on the surface of this old bus that resides at the Old Place.

As for exactly what it is,

or how it got there,

The Fuzz doesn't really know.

Fungus?

Snail Trails?

That is the Real Mystery here.

Mystery Pix?

Still no more guesses on the Latest Mystery Pix.
Come on people.
Well, The Fuzz says the Mystery will be revealed at the Stroke of 12.

It Can Be Done

The Fuzz thinks this is interesting.

If they could do it, couldn't the rest of us?

"Germany gets 50 percent of its electricity from solar for the first time"

"...now for the first time ever, that country has succeeded at generating over 50 percent of a day's electricity from solar. On Monday June 9th, which was a national holiday in Germany, solar power production peaked at 23.1 GW, which equaled 50.6 percent of total electricity demand."

"Germany’s successful solar strategy has been to encourage individuals to install them on rooftops rather than building huge solar farms. 90 percent of solar panels in Germany are located on individuals’ roofs."

- - John Aziz

From The Week

Of course it won't be easy, but the potential is here.

Or will we keep wasting of energy fighting over it?

Mystery Pix Revived

The Fuzz realized that it has been a long time since we had any mystery here at Kinda Fuzzy.

So, without further ado, we present a-

Brand New Mystery Pix!

Enjoy

And good luck.

Tiring

This summer The Fuzz has already been putting a few miles on His Trusty (?) Old  Bike.  And miles = Tire wear.

So once again it was time to Re-Tire!

The hard part for Our Over the Hill Fuzz is getting the thing up onto the center stand.  So he took advantage of the crowd gathered for The Not So Young Anymore Daughter's Graduation, and got a couple of the Young Bucks to help out.
The Tire had already been delivered from Good Ol' J C Whitney and was waiting in the shop.
So with nothing else going on that morning, he took the wheel over to a Local Motorcycle Shop and got it mounted.

Then it was back to the woods to put it all back together.  He took advantage of the time to make a few adjustments and check the rear end oil.  (This fine machine has a driveshaft)

Then it was off for a test drive.

Early Morning Fog

The Fuzz and His Sweetie have been tending to a friend's Horses and Kitty whilst she was on a trip.

One morning there was still a bit of haze over the fields.

The Fuzz couldn't resist a couple of pix.

But of course they don't do it justice.

It was a nice morning.

New Era

It's a New Era here in the woods.  The Not So Young Daughter has finally graduated from the High School.

Here's a couple of pix from the Graduation Ceremony.

The pix aren't all that great due to the limitations of The Fuzz's camera and his seat in the nosebleed section.

Maybe you can pick her out in these pix.

The Fuzz can't.

There was quite a crowd at the Graduation.

For a moment it looked like everyone wouldn't make it in.

But things worked out in the end, although it was hard to find everyone in the crowd afterward.

Then it was back to the woods for a Banana Split Party.

There were even T-shirts for all!

The Not So Young Anymore Daughter is the last of the 8 young'uns to make this leap into the real world.

The Fuzz says,

Good job

And may God be with you.

Stoned

Been a while, hasn't it?
But The Fuzz is back.
He has been spending some time with his sick brother lately.  But he has been home as well.  We might as well admit that he has been slack.
Just before one of those trips, he and His Sweetie had a pile of rocks delivered.

They wanted to add a bit more of a walkway from the trailer to the parking area.  Besides being a bit wet at times, there was a constant danger of stepping on little surprises, left by one of the dogs, or perhaps even a kitty.
Well Our Fuzz finally got around to laying the stone out.

They are simply laid on the ground.  He dug out under a few of them for stability, and rough leveling.  Then the sides were lined with some 1x2" boards from the Home Improvement Store.  Several wheelbarrow loads of sand were brought up from the creek and poured over the stone.  The Fuzz used a hose and broom to work this in around the stones.  It is hoped that this will also add a bit of stability.

And here's a look.

If nothing else, it will make it easier to see the poo.

Spokes

Well, once again Our Fuzz has been a bit slack here.
But he thought he'd take advantage of this "empty space" to share this quote.

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub;

It is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges.

We make a vessel from a lump of clay;

It is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful.

We make doors and windows for a room;

But it is these empty spaces that make the room livable.

Thus, while the tangible has advantages,

It is the intangible that makes it useful.

-TAO TEH CHING

A Day Off Hospital Duty

During a break in his Hospital duty, The Fuzz was able to enjoy the hospitality of that Dangerous Daughter, and her Dangerous friend.

Actually they are nice folks, and extremely helpful.

While he was there, That Dangerous Daughter lived dangerously up on this ladder.

She was trying to clan things up a bit with a pressure washer.

The Fuzz tried to be helpful, helping with the ladder.

The Man of the House was busy

Working on his boat.

The Fuzz mostly tried to stay out of the way.

But he did borrow the pressure washer for a bit to clean up his bike.

How can you fault the hospitality of folks who keep Guinness on Tap?
Many thanks for the hospitality.

The good news is that the Fuzz's brother is out of the hospital.  The Bad news is that he's not in the best shape.

He is at home, but needing a lot of care.  The Fuzz has been trying to help out a bit.

Hospital

Well, once again, it has been a while since The Fuzz has posted.

At the moment he is on a "visit" to His Brother who is in the hospital.

He wishes he had better news, but His Brother is not doing all that well at the moment.

But, we are hoping for improvement.

This is quite a place.

This part is quite new.

His room overlooks this garden.

This view is actually from the 8th floor.  Apparently the garden is on the roof of a lower level.

And it lights up at night!

The Fuzz spent the night there trying to keep His Brother company and give his wife a break.

It's a pretty high-tech place with all the bells and whistles.

Of course it would be better not to be here at all, but things are what they are.

Hopefully, things will get better.

One more night shot.