Jag DIY and Autumn Clean Up
OK I was a little upset today. The pouncing (or leaping, as some enthusiasts call it) Jaguar mascot on the front of the car came loose! A disturbing moment, mostly for fear of the $110 p/hour the mechanics charge at the dealership and the thought that this would mysteriously take them a couple of hours to fix, not to mention parts. So I figured I’d fix it myself and in typical fashion, and embracing dad’s mentoring, the repair was, in spectacular fashion, over-engineered and hopefully wont fail anytime soon!
On inspection it turned out that this lump of steel, which is now stupidly banned in Europe for fear of dis-embowling someone in the event of an accident (yet ironically you’re still allowed to run around with bull-bars attached to the front of your car!) is held to the bonnet with nothing more than 1/32″ steel guage cable that you’d typically find stopping you as you apply the brakes on your push-bike (unless of course you now have hydraulic/disc brakes, smarty pants!).
Water had eroded the cable and caused it to fail. With some mental notes on how it all came to pieces I dismantled the housing and set off to the nearest hardware store with yet another fabulous excuse to buy more tools! I’ve always needed a crimper!
First off I upgraded the cable from 1/32″ to 1/16″ then I bought the meanest, baddest looking steel guage crimps I could find and an equally menacing looking crimper.
After a quick detour to our favourite place, the Newtown Creamery with the dogs, and polishing off some several small cups of ice cream (the dogs had their own cups, Jen spoils them too much!) we arrived home and I eagerly set about fixing the car.
I cleaned off the old rust with some good old WD40 and a wire brush and coated all working compenents in a layer of marine-grease in an attempt to prevent future water damage from eroding away my new 1/16″ steel guage cable. With some finesse from Jen, a little patience and the action of some lovely crimpers we were set. The pouncing Jaguar mascot was faithfully returned to her rightful place.
Seizing the opportunity to capitalize on a glorious day I then set about doing some fall clean-up around the garden. Saturday was a day of nothing but rain, Im thankful, but it meant a great deal of time was spent indoors watching trash TV, including my new favourite show; Nitro Circus. (The antics of these adrenaline junkies are jaw-droppingly crazy to watch).
First off I gave the grass possibly the last mow of the season and had great fun listening to the 46″ deck munch through several inches of leaves and grass. After that I topped up the leaf-blower with some 2-stroke and spent the next few hours playing with the specification rating of 200mph winds. Great fun!
I then moved onto to splitting some wood, great for burning calories and, I find, quite relaxing. I’d bought a new wedge specially for the task after somehow managing to break the previous lump of solid iron whilst pounding it into a rather large stump of wood.
By the time I’d split almost another cord of wood the sun was setting and long shadows began to race across the lawn. As dusk saturated the autumn leaves even more, I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful this time of year really is. With a rising moon set against a russet sky the last remaining leafs on the trees twinkled with a golden brillance. I took a deep long breath of the cold crisp air and thought to myself, in the words of the late, great Louis Armstrong. “What a Wonderful World!”.
This last photo was looking down from the stump left from having the tree cut down last year. I decided to climb up it for better shots of the garden !
Woodbury Outlets, Bear Mountain and Westpoint Military Academy
Jen had been protesting all week that she needed a new wardrobe for work so this weekend we decided to hit the Woodbury Common Outlets in New York state. Full of the Burberrys and Jimmy Choos of this world but at discount prices. It’s Bicester Village in the UK but on steroids. We’d taken Christian and Lisbeth there when they were over in May earlier this year and they bought so much they had to get another suitcase !
It’s not a bad place to get to; an hour and a half away through some very scenic countryside on Route 6, crossing the Hudson and heading into New York state.
We set out early so we could hit the shops at opening time and by 3pm we’d explored every shoe and dress shop known to man. I managed to sneak in a couple of trips to my favorite places. North Face, Nautica and Williams Sonoma, but by 3 Jen was done. 5 hours of shopping, I considered myself lucky !
Because it was still light we decided to head to West Point Military Academy, the US equivalent of Sand Hurst, set against the backdrop of Bear Mountain and the Hudson River.
(The first two pictures were scanned from the Guide Book).
As luck would have it, or rather not, West Point was closed to tours for a home game against Vanderbilt. You were allowed into the museum though, so we had a quick look around before heading back to Bear Mountain. The architecture there was amazing.
Bear Mountain is a state park in New York with some pretty incredible views and a fantastic suspension bridge over the Hudson River. Despite being closed for renovations we did manage to witness an amazing sunset over Iona Island and the Hudson from a view point on Route 6.
Sunday was more laid back. With Autumn in full swing I dusted off the leaf-blower and chopped another cord of wood, finished clearing out the vegetable garden and generally tidied up before sitting down to some hot apple cider!
Long Shadows and Dancing Leaves
As the shadows get longer and the leaves pirouette like confetti from the sky the ambiance of autumn gathers momentum. Today I spent some time in the garden clearing up leaves and turning over the raised vegetable beds. It’s a beautiful time of year, but it’s a reminder that winter is not far behind !
Last weekend I cleared out the embankment and built a stone wall along the driveway. Still some way to go, but it’s a start !
Jen, only two months earlier weeding out the vegetable beds and a fresh crop of lettuce and asparagus.
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