NOW - HERE'S A PICKLE!

I am supposed to be at Freeborns Motorcycle Hotel on the Blue Ridge Parkway right now but an suffocating under a sea of falling water.  Actually I left yesterday at 4:30 AM and traveled the interstate north toward Johnson City only to run into heavy rain before sunup.  Pouring rain, trailer trucks at 70 miles per hour and faster isn't a great combination for a motorcyclist to face, especially on a very light weight bike.  I turned around and returned home and have been waiting for the rain to stop ever since.  My friend Tom is still at Freeborns waiting on me.  It doesn't look good for the trip up there today either as the rain has intensified since yesterday and continues to fall non stop. The motorcycle sits loaded and ready pointed toward the garage door.  The ride will happen but probably not in time to catch up with Tom, unless he waits even longer.

 Female wood duck

Below are rabbits I noticed while working along the tailrace of Cherokee Dam a couple weeks ago.  They were jumping over top each other and even jumping over and through the lower section of fence.  I actually laughed out loud watching their antics.

Then, I "tried" to start my old Ford truck yesterday and the starter made a terrible grinding, whirling sound.  I thought the Bendix was bad on the starter, the gizmo that activates the starter shaft with the gear that turns the flywheel on the engine.  When I had it checked out the problem was that the teeth on the flywheel that the starter gear meshes with are rounded off and the two parts don't fit anymore.  Great!  That fix will have to wait as its a 5 hour job and I have to leave the truck.  I'm hoping to get the bike on the road any time now so I have to put the repair off.

And now, this morning, I went to take a shower and there isn't any water.  I ran out to the yard to the spigot and there isn't any there either.  This happens all the time with this water company.  All anyone wants is to collect the money and the heck with service.  Jefferson City is the dumbest place to exist in.  I actually live in Jefferson County and it isn't any better.  Total useless town and county combination.  Now what do I do.  No coffee, no shower, no laundry and its a good thing I'm off work for awhile or I'd have to go with a three day beard.  I ain't dry shaving anytime in this life.  I have to call the water company, again, shortly.

I was bored and took some pictures out the truck window.  I do this allot and you never see the shots.  Usually I delete them all.

And, I'm still working on that white balance setting for great egrets.

I just checked the weather and East Tennessee is socked in all the way over the mountain through the western parts of North Carolina.  Its out of here Monday but that's a lot of lost time in this planned trip.  There's nothing to be done for it I guess.  Hopefully the next shots on here will be of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  See ya.