Zinnia Test!

   For the past few weeks, I have been camera-less.  The old thing finally bit the dust and refused to take nary a photograph.  For someone who has been known to take over a hundred photos in a single day, this was devastating, to say the least.  I felt lost.  So much beauty was slipping away without me recording it.  I was saddened beyond belief and was left feeling an certain emptiness.  It has long been a goal of mine to record any and all doings here on the Bayou from the tiniest bloom to the largest alligator and without the use of a camera, I was beginning to feel mightily like a failure, even though to some, it was a silly goal.  

  Since the type camera I had is no longer made (that tells you how old it was), Son has been trying to repair my old trusty one.  He has met some obstacles such as "no replacement parts available" and "part requested is unknown".  But!  All is not lost as this was not the only camera in my possession.  In fact, over the years, I have acquired three of the exact same camera albeit two were used ones when purchased.  This was not the most exciting news since all three had met their demise but, then again, it was thrilling news.  It seems that each had died a different death!  Parts galore!  Now, Son is attempting to "create" a working camera by a compilation of parts from the three.  He is getting close!

  The trial photograph of the makeshift camera was somewhat of a success!  A sole zinnia bloom in the Small Gardens this evening was a good subject as most of my photography takes place outdoors.  While there are still a few "bugs" he wishes to attend, the camera did pretty well.  My zinnia photograph brought a huge smile to my face and gave me hope that soon...soon, I would be back to doing what I love.  Those new-fangled cameras can stay at the store with their hefty price tags!  Oh, I do have one but it does not do what I want it to do so it stays in the box awaiting someone who has the patience to deal with the thousand or so buttons, dials and do-gadgets.  I prefer my simple and straightforward camera.  I am so appreciative that Son has the knowledge and patience to tinker with the broken ones.  He amazes me.  Soon...soon!

Coming Cold

   Earlier I had to just take a break from cleaning out the greenhouse.  Exhaustion demands such, at times.  When the roof and windows blew out due to hurricane winds, it left all sorts of stuff inside that did not need to be there.  It was time to take a break from clearing the yard and clear the building. I started at daybreak and worked on through lunch before emptying it.  With it being, more or less, open to the elements, critters have taken a liking to the space.  That meant that I had to "decritter" it, as well.  It was during that break that I strolled down to the marsh edge.  I needed the peace that only the Bayou waters can bring.  While there, I noticed a flock of geese flying over the Bay.  They were headed west.  While a lot of folks look for the geese to be migrating before winter sets in, these geese were not foretelling the onset of cold weather.  They were merely heading to supper provided by my cousin, Michelle.  These fine feathered friends will not leave the area for parts unknown.  They stay here year round.  Those fat bellies give them no reason to go anywhere!

  The clearing of the greenhouse does foretell of a cold snap.  I had today (and today only) to get the place somewhat repaired for the plants.  The rains have settled over the Bayou and will be here for the next four days.  Then, we are looking at the first frost of the season.  That frost, while not bad on the vegetable garden, will be harsh on the few tropical, potted plants that survived the hurricane.  The Night Blooming Cereus plants will need special care for the next few months.  

  The greenhouse is as best that I can get it due to the amount of work that would involve to totally repair it.  My attempts will have to suffice.  A tarp roof may not be the best option but it will keep the plants from suffering frost burn.  Perhaps, this will buy me a little time before any hard freezes hit us.  Work...always work.  

Not again

  I have this problem with mechanical things.  Well, I actually do not lay claim to the problem, it is applied to me.  I blame the machines.  Things are just not as well made as they used to be.  Hmmph!  It has nothing to do with me, my using the machines nor the way I use them.  It is the poor workmanship in building the machines to start with.  I am not to blame!  Ok, so maybe a little bit.  The problem is that a lot of the yard machines literally fall apart when I am using them.  I have had wheels fall off of lawnmowers, gas tanks dangle from hoses on lawnmowers and even entirely lost a motor...don't ask...that was just crazy.  Weed trimmers and I have the same type relationship.  Bearings drop out of the housing, on/off switches refuse to work and, once, the whole thing caught on fire.  Not fun on any account especially for Son.  He is usually the one that has to repair said machine.

  Yesterday, however, it was not a yard machine that gave me fits.  I was vacuuming up the mountain of dog hair that accumulated overnight.  Mr. PJ sheds more than any dog I have ever seen making the task a daily thing.  While I was pushing the vacuum cleaner around the rug, it suddenly became self-propelled!  Wow!  That made life easier!  I thought that perhaps I had overlooked this feature in my many years of using the machine.  Life was great!  Then, I noticed that, even though the thing was pulling itself around the room, it was not sucking up that dog hair.  In fact, it was not picking up anything....but it was self-propelled!  In the next moment, pieces started flying out from under the vacuum cleaner.  First, a wheel zinged past my leg.  Then, an axle and another wheel bounced to the floor and rolled under the table.  Uh, oh...I got that sinking feeling that was all to familiar between me and the yard machines.  Something was amiss.  Then...whacka-whacka-whacka!  Whoa!  Whacka?  That was a new noise!  By this time, Mr. PJ (who normally runs and hides when I vacuum) came running over to the rug and made a pathetic sound.  A large plastic cover was lobbed over to his direction and a weird smell of rubber burning started emanating from the vacuum cleaner.  I unplugged the smoke hissing, dust spewing varmint and called Son.  (Keep in mind, this all happened within about 20 seconds so I had no control of how much damage was done!)

  Thankfully, Son repaired the machine in a few minutes and informed me that it was not "entirely" my fault.  It seems that a belt had worked its way loose and flipped a roller off which smacked the 
wheel and broke the pin that holds the axle in place.  When the axle broke free, it flipped a locking mechanism that holds the plastic belt cover in place causing it to fly out from under the machine.  The burning smell was the belt as it continued to turn the roller brushes even though it was at an odd angle.  The dust spewing was due to a hose that became dislodged during the ruckus.  No problems...his words.  Ha!

  At least though all of this ordeal, Mr. PJ was doing his proper doggy thing by trying to protect me from his evil nemesis, the vacuum cleaner.  When it started attacking by hurling pieces through the air, he took instant notice and came running!  (Either he was protecting me or, maybe, he thought the parts were reminiscent of his toys.)  Anyway, all's well that ends well and Son had me back up and running in about twenty minutes!
 

The Steady Hand

  We are doing a good bit of work on the Little Bayou House.  Not that I preferred a more modern dwelling but this is to battle the termites that have decided this should be their residence and supper.  The fact is that most homes on the Coast have similar problems.  Termites came calling directly after Hurricane Katrina and found the area to their liking.  With so much lumber from demolished houses littering the land, it was a regular smorgasbord for the critters.  Once they finished devouring the debris piles, they looked for other means of surviving and found the older houses.  The Little Bayou House, like all older homes, was not built with the treated lumber that is used today.  Which is not a bad thing considering all of the illnesses connected to the treated lumber but which does open up these older houses to bug infestations.  While the termites are devastating, I prefer them over the cancer-causing chemicals in today's houses.  The work is hard as we are tearing out old things and replacing them with stronger pieces.  New siding is going up as we speak!  Son does most of the work up on the scaffolding, Mark mans the table saws, circular saws and does all of the "ground work" while I do cleanup.

  While ripping out the old, termite-infested or rotted wood, Son has been using a weird saw that cuts through just about anything that gets in its way.  With this, he can cut right through the large nails that Mark and I pounded into the boards so many years ago,  Some of the rafters needed to be trimmed back a bit so this saw came in quite handy.  He was zipping along rather quickly until he came to one particular board.  I knew the boards were tough as they were actually milled from family property.  (Quality lumber is made under watchful eyes!)  Anyway, the board in question seemed to take twice as long to cut.  This was strange indeed! Finally, he tossed down the cutoff piece and started laughing.  As I tossed the piece into the wheelbarrow, he showed his dad just what was making the piece so difficult.  As he was cutting, he completely sliced a large nail....lengthwise!  In his hand, he held a perfectly sliced half of nail!  Not once did he waver enough to get off track from that slender nail shaft!  That, my friends, is a steady hand...even if it was not intentionally done!

  This whole ordeal brought up a conversation about how building supplies have changed over the years.  Like Son said, even under the extreme stress of the saw blade, that nail did not bend.  Things were made stronger back in the day.  Boards were better quality, nails were stronger and houses were built to last.  I am sure glad that Mark and Son are repairing the Little Bayou House in the same way Mark built it originally...sturdy and strong...made to last.  True workmanship!