She kicked me out of the house!

Hi all! Stu here, giving Donna a short respite from all her blog posts.

What have I been doing? A bunch of little stuff, trying to cope with our current Covid-19 environment. Lately the grass has been growing so fast that I have to cut more often than weekly. I do like my “Zero-turn” though, gets it done quickly. I can usually do the entire property (2+ acres) in about 2-3 hours. The trim might take another hour or so.

Meanwhile this summer I’ve been busy keeping up with some mechanical repairs. Our Freightliner wasn’t starting with the key. The electronics for the transmission (neutral safety switch) was in error. Rather then an expensive trip to a dealer familiar with Allison Automatics, I wired a by-pass and now start it with a dash mounted button. Many of the fire apparatus I drove over the years were set up this way so it brought back some memories.

Other mechanical issue involved another electronic component. Our F250 pickup (PowerStroke Diesel) ECU (computer) took a dump. Running very erratic, stalling, no throttle response etc. We made a call to a local shop known for being able to fix these things as it is well beyond my knowledge and equipment, J & R Automotive. They arranged a tow and called with a diagnosis within a day. New ECU needed, none available local. They found one in Oregon and, after my approval, had it shipped. The shutdown really delayed delivery, it took about 3 weeks. However, when it arrived and was installed, my truck was back and I am once again using it almost daily…Missed that thing!

I have been doing my best to take care of the usual household chores while Donna was recovering from her surgery. That means I around the house a lot. Occasionally she gets tired of me hanging around and kicks me out. Imagine that! Something about wanting to write. So I get on the trike and explore the great roads of Tennessee. I’ve been using a neat App on my iPhone. It records my rides etc. I can then publish the info on the web. I have listed some of the links to my rides below:

• https://eatsleepride.com/c/319215/big_south_fork_circle
• https://eatsleepride.com/c/312827/wilder_rd
• https://eatsleepride.com/c/334838/summer_ride_in_middle_tn
• https://eatsleepride.com/c/334839/cumberland_plateau_
• https://eatsleepride.com/c/334842/another_cumberland_plateau_ride

I rode the Devil’s Triangle recently but operator error meant no recording. Whoops! Might have to repeat that one. Next time with my GoPro. In this area I found one of Tennessee’s old prisons, Brushy Mountain. Plenty of history there. I didn’t have enough time to do much more then ride around it and grab some pictures. I plan on taking the tour sometime in the future.

The pole barn construction has slowed while I get the budget back on track. The truck repairs put a dent it that as well as an unexpected tax bill. As the weather cools down, I will trench for water, Wifi via buried cable, and electric. I previously connected the rough-in plumbing to the septic. Concrete will probably be late fall or next spring (c’mon stimulus check).

Other activities have included feeding the fish in our pond. The #2doods love to help me as the fish now jump at the food, making splashes. They also keep looking for turtles, frogs, and lizards that hangout around there. Recently, a fox took up temporary residence in our horse barn. The #2doods discovered him and he took off into our neighbors field never to be seen again. I think he found more suitable accommodations elsewhere.

Here are some photos I took on my rides…click any one for a larger view.

Ciao for now!

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