The Little Tease

It may seem that life could get kinda boring out here in the woods.  But the truth is, there is always something going on.

Here's one of the many kitties that are often seen around here.  So what to do when one is tired of chasing birds?

Squirrels, of course !

This requires a lot of patience.

This went on for quite a while.  The Fuzz had plenty of time to get his camera out.  He thinks Kitty must have more patience than he does !

Finally, the little scamp has decided to come down.

What is he, crazy ?

What ?

Why that little *@#% !

It was all a trick !

Again ?

Oh no

Oh no

More ice and snow

Yet it is winter's time to go

The sun shined bright a day ago

But clouds are back the temp is low

It's true it's so

This tale of woe

Again it's time for ice and snow

Signs of Spring 3-20-14

Yes, despite the snow and ice storms,

Spring is

Actually Here !

And so The Fuzz presents actual, photographical Proof !

These are a few shots The Fuzz caught at the

Old Place last week.

Day in the Real BIg City

With the furry little kitty safely delivered at the Kitty Klinic, and coffee and donuts in the tummies, The Fuzz and His Sweetie continued on into the Real Big City.

(Kinda looks like it's collapsing on itself)

The first stop was, of course, the Goodwill Outlet Store.  They found a few cool things there, and the price is always right.

Then it was over to Luna's Living Kitchen (recommended by a schoolteacher) for an unusual lunch.

"Gaia's Treasure" for His Sweetie

And for The Fuzz, "Lunasagna".

The weather was pretty nice.  So after lunch, they had a glass of wine and watched the Blue Line light rail pass by a few times.

With a bit of time to kill, they moseyed around a bit and stumbled into the Savory Spice Shop.  It was a trap.  They didn't leave empty handed.

Although it was still a bit early, they decided to clear out before they got sucked into any place else.  Then it was back to the Sorta Big City to rescue the kitty, and head back to the woods.  And so arrived home safe and sound.

Day in the Sorta Big City

It is no secret that there are a lot of cats out here in the woods.  One might even say too many cats!  In an effort to get things under a bit of control, The Fuzz's Sweetie made arrangements for one more of the potential mama kitties to visit a clinic.  This clinic was in a neighboring Sorta Big City.
After making the early morning drop off, The Fuzz and His Sweetie headed for a coffee house they had visited on a previous expedition- only to find new hours posted.

But Our Fuzz had a Plan B.  He had gone on line previously, searching for coffee shops in the area.  And there were supposed to be 2 more, located just around the corner!  But when the corner was turned there were no coffee shops there.  But there was this interesting building.  
So while The Fuzz was off questioning a police officer about coffee shops (figuring he would know) His Sweetie took the opportunity to make a few sketches of the cool architecture.
They ended up at a Dunkin' Donuts !
But since they would have to wait all day to take their little kitty home, The Fuzz and His Sweetie moved on to their next adventure, the real Big City.

Firewood, Still

It ain't that The Fuzz has been so busy or anything.  Let's just admit it, he has been slack.  There have been some things going on, like Birthday Parties, wood cutting and crummy weather, etc.  But just so everyone knows, he is still living.
Over the weekend He and His Sweetie cut up a tree over at the neighbor's place.  The old wood pile has been a little low lately. But it is looking a bit better now.
The most urgent need was over at the Old Place.  It has been mentioned that they do spend one day/night a week over there- to maintain what is left of their sanity.  And at this time of year that means a fire.  And "a fire" means Firewood!
Well, the stash was getting kinda low over there.  It takes a lot to heat up the old drafty house.  So The Fuzz and His Sweetie loaded up the trailer and made a delivery.

Now things are looking a bit better.

And it shouldn't be long till this is no longer necessary.  Spring is on the way!

A Place to Sit

So, what's the story here?

At the Old Place, the living room seating was a built-in "couch" of sorts that ran along two walls.  It served a large family well, in fact it is still used when someone is at the Old Place.  But, when The Fuzz and His Sweetie made their move to the woods, it had to be left behind.
There was a "sofa" of sorts in one of the back rooms.  It had the added benefit of folding down to make a bed.  But it was really a cheap piece of junk, and quite uncomfortable when it came down to it.  So The Fuzz and His Sweetie decided to find a replacement.
Whilst in town the other day, they popped into a couple of Thrift Stores without any success.  Then His Sweetie suggested they try a localmultimerchandizer*.  The Fuzz had been to the Norris Merchandise in the past for work clothes, and he and His Sweetie once found a good deal on a coffee table there.
Well, it turned out that they had lots of new couches there, nice couches.
They found this one.  There was plenty of room for everyone!  

But Our Home in the Woods is actually only a trailer.  Would it fit?  Careful measurements were taken, to be compared to the actual space available.  It turns out that no, it wouldn't.
But by then it was only a matter of curiosity.  For Our Fuzz and His Sweetie had found this one!

And they deliver!

It was a tight squeeze getting it in.  The Fuzz had to take the sliding glass door out.  But the Two Stout Fellows from the store managed it.
So here we are, genuine leather and all.  And it sits so nice.


*There must still be a few drops of that old Germanic blood left in Our Fuzz!

Frigid River

Not long ago, The Fuzz and His Sweetie were tired of being inside.  It was a sunny say, but still rather cold.  So they bundled up and headed for the river.

Here's a rare pix of The Fuzz and His Sweetie.

There was still a bit of snow in the woods-

And along the river.

There was plenty of water, but too cold for swimming.

It looks like they'll have to wait a bit for that.

But it was good to get out for a while.

It's Springing

Y'all yankees might laugh about The Fuzz's little problem with his porch roof.  But things are getting better around here.

It was still cold when The Fuzz and His Sweetie took a stroll down by the river.

But they saw this Red Maple budding out.

Spring is on the way.

And now in thee last couple of days-

We have these!

The Fuzz has been working in the yard in his T-shirt.

Admittedly, he was splitting firewood.

But soon there will be no need for that chore.

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.

Brand New Bird Feeder

It is no secret that The Nature Loving Fuzz enjoys feeding the birdies.  But while attempting to fill his trusty bird feeder, it slipped from his hands and broke in two!

Well it was already pretty rough.  The Fuzz had found it years ago on the job*.  It was broken then, and he'd had to repair it before it could be used then.

So while in town, He and His Sweetie picked up this brand new one.

It even has a lifetime guarantee!

*For any who unaware of the fact, The Fuzz is a veteran of 33 years in the Sanitation Dept.

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.