29May21 and the Yard

 Well, 1st thing on the menu was our son Tysen reaching his 52ed Birthday. Could really do it right due to him being in New Orleans and the rest of the family here in Jennings.  So sent him a Happy Birthday picture. 

Next things was the normal , everyday pert near removal of bugs off the Wagon. They really show up on that white. 

Then, there is the yard plants and trees.  Still gonna have to do some more trimming on the hard hit Grapefruit tree. But DA Boss did some flower planting to make it look better. ;-) 

Then, there is the STUMP from an oak tree we had cut down in about 10 years ago and I was gonna make something from the stump. Even bought a chain saw that never got used. So, Boss Lade decided to do something with it this year. 

And Figs?  Oh yes! Many.  The tree is looking very good. 

 And yes in the garden plots.  Tomatoes  (3 kinds ) , cucumber and bell peppers. 

And with the family in New Orleans, I'm having a very quiet time at home.  ;-) 

Hello May Trip to Cameron

 What's new lately? Nada. 

Still putting gas and miles on the Traverse and still learning the info system. 

Do think I'll finish cutting the dead branches off the grapefruit tree in the front yard.  The ones with sprouts stay, the rest go. 

Did finally get a run down to Cameron and Holly Beach. Can call them Camper cities now. But some have rebuilt for sure. 

As I was on top of the IC bridge on 27 South

And a grounded shrimp boat still there since the storms. 

The path to the gulf

Coming in for a landing at the Aux Ferry at Cameron headed West. 

And Holly Beach still stands. ;-) But lots of campers thoughout the place. 

Major plant near Hackberry. 

First 10 Days of April 2021

 

Wow! Time flies! Life happens! Sitting in my room at 03:20 on this 11th day of April and pondering on the 1ast 10 days. 

Watching the fruit trees come back to life after the freeze we had a month back has been eye opening. Seems the old Grapefruit tree in the front yard really took it hard and many brand new sprouts happening on it. As it progresses, I'll have to see what else needs to come off of it. 

Then there's the new Satsuma tree. I've done trimmed all the dead branches ( twigs ) off it and left the sprouts. Since the pic taken have trimmed off the far left branch also. 

The Kumquat tree! Still old dried up fruit on it but just gonna let them fall off as it would in the wild. 

The fig tree! Wow! It did get effected by the freeze at all and very full of leaves. Did have two little figs on it a few weeks ago but they fell off. 

Then the garden plots that the wife is taking care of mostly. 

Then the return of Sis In Law Dee to her now home here in town. And the WELCOME HOME DEE events put on by my daughter.  Pic is Brenda, Dee and Holly. 

And the follow up to DI's for a Family Get together.  With Ty , Holly and Dee. 

 

Now, hopefully life returns to normal and Dee get's to settle into her new life here with her sister's and brother's. LOL AND ME! 

Had forgot about this entry till wanting to update on the 1st day of May. Sheesh. 

End of March 2021

 Wow! Another month almost history. 

Keep adding miles to the Traverse to the tune of over 50 miles a day average. But, kicked that up a few days ago with a 170 plus mile journey along the coast checking out what was left after the two hurricanes came to visit and destruct. 

Did finally get hitch carrier in a built but package was in bad shape and all the little screws and nut loose and some missing in the torn box from Harbor Freight. Did have to enlarge the hole for the hitch pin as the one on the carrier was not in line. But, got it so can use when needed and not have to tow my trailer. 

As can see by my gas log for the Traverse, the gas prices slowing rising. 3 of these fill ups were non ethanol which is a bit higher then ethanol gas. 

And did make a couple batches of wine. Grapefruit juice from my tree. And Kumquat from my tree also.  Toned down the grapefruit and it came out at about 5% ABV but the Kumquat was wow at 18% BVA.  So, in good shape for wine at present. 

Then decided on a journey to LA 27 and LA 82 down South  of us. Where the Strom damage was unreal. But neat scenery on the way down with the rice fields starting to show green. 

Love these uncrowded back roads. 

The green rice starting to show. 

Finally learned about this flower in the center. Milk Thistle and this one of a big family of them. 

And some more green poking through the rice fields. 

And the cows staring at me as I go by their pastures. 

Then the sad part of what was once Creole , La. Nothing left there. 

And what was left standing was destroyed big time. 

This brings us to the last day of March and one year older for me. Sheesh. But did have fun at Tee Bob's in Lake Arthur as coming back from my round about trip. 

So, as April is a day away. We'll close off this month. 

Go Away Cold Stuff

 Well, did get out taste of winter for sure. Some of that white ness did get all over everything outside. 

So glad it only lasted a week or so and did stay close to the heater.  Did lose power and one broken faucet. So, did shut the water off at the main and go get connections to fix. And really glad for having gas heaters and stove in the house. 

But, hopefully , that's history for the year. My old body do not like the cold for sure. 

Been really learning the infotainment system and dash DIC on the Traverse. Still , once in awhile the wife will hit a button and we have to pull over on the road and get it figured out. Do have the door unlock/lock system as I want it so that's a good thing. But, still learning the electronic a bit more everytime I go for a ride. 

And 1500 miles already since the 2nd of Feb. And so far on the fill ups  20 to 22 mpg all around driving. 

And , did get the hitch installed and wiring done. Just incase it's needed. Did get a cover for the back to keep stuff off the carpet. Also

Still kinda of strange not seeing Da Truck out there when coming out of the house. As it lost it's place in the garage to the Corvettes 5 years ago. 

Have been a little busy helping Sis In Law get situated in Jennings and that's been fun. So glad she's relocating here to be with her 2 sisters and 2 brothers. 

So, onwards in March 2021 and see what the rest of the month brings. ;-) 

Not Welcome Cold Stuff

 Well, the serious Winter made it's way to us down in SW Louisiana for sure. For sure not a fan of cold weather probably due to my years as a land drilling rig mechanic and the 50-60 hour work periods without sleep in cold rain and in the 30's and 40's .  Peeps that like cold weather  never worked outside much.  

Keeping warm and learning  Da Wagon is the main theme for me lately and it's absorbing into my old brain slowly on how the Infotainment system works and the DIC on the instrument panel.  

Did give it a good cleaning last week for sure. 

Even found  out I could haul 8 foot long 2X4 's  and that's it for the length. ;-)  

Did find the battery under the right side passenger's footwell. Did watch video's on changing the oil and filter. Did put a trap in the rear up to the back of the 2nd row of seat's till I get a floor mat later. 

Did find and photograph the information sticker hidden by the left side passenger's door. 

So I then found the complete file on what all those codes mean. And the important bottom one  BC/CC U 8624 which is the paint code.  Promise you, this bunch of codes exceeds my 03 Truck and Vette together on amount of codes. But, then it's 13 years newer. 

Did get a trailer hitch set up for it in but that's not gonna happen till it warms up. So, it and the parts sit in the garage and my room till that happens. 

And yesterday afternoon's broke faucet ordeal sealed my thoughts on that. Lucky it was at the Washing machine and not under the house. So, shut down the water at the city meter and took it apart and it required a trip to Stine's for 1/2 inch T and a couple nipples just in case. Only had to use one T and a new faucet to repair and get back in shape. 

Than done , wife says problem in the house.  Yikes,  filter above stove falls on open flame and catches fire. Which she quickly put out. So, looked at that filter system I've never liked that well due to not fitting tight but had never really studied it. Hmmmmmmm.  Being as she could not get parts for it locally to replace worn stuff., to the Inet I go with measurements and names on the hood. Bingo, Ordered new stuff with filters.  Bad was her being stressed out got her a bit sick so off to bed I put her. Much better later.  Told her,  " Don't stress, call me and let me stress out".  The look i got and the words " You don't know what stress is "  Hmmmmmm. 

So, that about catches us up but rest assure by this pic I saw and coped from a Vette Forum. 

Out with the old

 A new chapter in my life started this month of Feb 2021.  

The Vette was finished and back on the road and feeling so good to drive it again after 40 days of downtime.  

Maybe around 100 miles of riding about and the ABS/Traction control light appeared. What a disappointment !!!  The DIC cleared about 20 miles further driving so figured it was one of the wheel sensors. But took it on a little gravel road after turning the engine off and restarting to let the dash light's clear.  Which they did. Spun the back wheels to let the Active Handling engage a few time and locked ip the brakes to let the ABS engage a few times. 

Stopped to visit my niece and her hubby in their newly purchased home near Welch.  Then noticed on the front of the car that I had forgot to bend the right side fog light back in place from the wreck damage. La yuk.  2nd downer of the afternoon. Oh well, next time I need to get it up in the air I'll fix that was the thought. 

While Sis In Law was here with us, the pic shows the parking style to be able to get to either of my vehicles.  My 03 Vette with 159 K miles plus and my 03 Truck with 110 plus miles. 

So lets think about issues with the truck in the last year. Transmission tailshaft seal starting to leak again. Ever since putting the new throttle body on, does not return to idle rpm when in gear. Lowest it returns to is 1000 /1200 rpm. 

A week ago, I went with Dee ( sis in law ) to Texas to get money for her home she's buying in Jennings and drove her Ford Explorer which was a 2015 model I think. What a different ride and wow on even thinking of having to learn the instruments .  The Idea came to me. It's time to stop worrying spending money and fighting issues with my vehicles.  Let's check and see what's available in town in the Explorer type vehicle. 

Called a salesman / good friend and asked him about it and what they might have in something in the 4 to 5 year old trade in field. And I trade both my vehicles in and keep the price owed around 5 thousand. 

Looked at a few smaller but wanted something to tow my little trailer and had good storage in the rear. And bingo , a 2016 Chevy Traverse with around 68K miles and looking great. And in White.  

So, $9500 bucks later . The car and truck are a fond history and this is my present ride. 

So , onward with a new chapter in my life of just one vehicle to maintain and learn.  My 2016 Chevy Traverse. And already loving the much quieter and smoother ride. 

Next for it is a trailer hitch set up to tow my little trailer if the need arises.