Exploring/Discovering/Napping

So, I've often thought that in order to 'explore' or 'discover' I would need to go on a vast and exciting road trip.  Well, as my last post showed, you can have just as great a time (and distinctly better food) by camping in your own backyard.  So this past weekend, I not only explored my own 'backyard,' in the literal sense, but also the figurative sense.

I went for a walk on my way back from a Dr. appointment in the same field I had explored several weeks prior.  The last time I walked this vacant field, it was FILLED with some sort of gorgeous 'Black Eyed Susan 'like' flowers.'  I don't know what they really are, but they were so beautiful.  I picked a handful of them and brought them home to my wife, who loves Black Eyed Susans, and they lived for nearly two full weeks.  They were very, very hardy.

 

I loved photographing them and like I said, the field was FULL of them.  Three weeks later, they were totally gone!

 

All that was left of them were the centers.  I must have walked a half mile in the vacant field trying to find them.  Little did I realize, I had been passing them the whole time.  

 

The centers made for a great subject to photograph as well; I especially like them in black and white.

 

The late summer/early fall sky was a rich shade of blue and the cool breeze made me realize how much I love this time of the year.  Later that same day, I was in the yard moving some gravel when I noticed a strange sight:  it was, what looked to me at first glance to be a very 'thick' hummingbird.  After looking much more closely, I realized it was a moth body with hummingbird wings.  I had never seen anything like it before.  I stooped low to the ground and the creature was completely unafraid of me.  I held my hand out to it, but it refused to stop, but continued fluttering around the flowers sticking its long promiscuous into the head of each of the flowers.  I  posted this video to my Facebook account and one of my friends shared with me that it is called a Hawk Moth or a Hummingbird Moth.  (For some reason, I can't get the video to open here, but here is a link: 

Fascinating, no?

Saturday afternoon gave way to a soft and gentle rain.  The rain continued through the evening and Sunday was a bit heavier.  I could hear the soft rain lightly bouncing off the roof of the teardrop and I thought, "I"m going to take a nap, why not take it in the teardrop?"  So I did.  The rain lulled me to sleep and the cool temperatures made the nap all the more heavenly.  Here's what it sounded like inside the teardrop!

We are planning at least one more family camping trip this year, but I'm also looking forward to giving the Carpe Diem its first snow test later this year.  I'm looking into one of those inexpensive 12 volt heaters that truck drivers use.  I'm thinking that will be more than enough warmth in that tiny little cabin.  

So, there you have it.  You don't have to visit the National Parks to have a great expedition.  You can have one in your very own backyard!

Rain Test

The battery meter I had ordered was defective.  I ordered a new one and it arrived today.  So, I decided that I would test it out.  It worked perfectly, so I decided to go ahead and install it.

Just as I started screwing it into its place, the sky unleashed with a torrential downpour.  Once again I was reminded of the genius of the teardrop design; I was completely dry as the rain fell hard all around me.  

As the rain continued to fall, it seemed to come sideways for a few minutes.  Rain splashed the countertop  and the doors.  Luckily for me, the polyurethane did its job!  Minutes before the rain had come, I had lightly sanded the surface.  I'll add another coat or two to all of the surfaces this weekend.  It's nice to see something working the way it is supposed to!

One thing I am unsure of is the health of my battery.  I have only had it for about a year.  I purchased it last spring to use on our canoe with a trolling motor.  I kept it on a battery tender over the winter.  I noticed that the red light stayed on continually a lot during the winter.  Turns out, it might not be okay.  As the image shows, the maximum voltage I can get on it is 11.8 volts.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  I've posted a question on the TTNT website and look forward to the insight of those on the board.

The gasket over the hinge is working perfectly.  I had adjusted the end pieces so that the water would run off the edge.  So far, no problems with the gasket at all.

We have a little moisture coming in through the carriage bolts near the lock.  I am going to use rubber washers to hopefully keep the water out.

I want to use rubber washers on the bolts for the tail lights too.  Additionally, I'll caulk around the top of the lights to keep the water from penetrating under the plastic and entering the hatch.

It's a little hard to tell from this image, but I kept the vent slightly ajar today.  It was another hot day.  The temperature inside rose to over 100 degrees again; outside it was 90+ degrees.  I think the real test will be when I'm able to keep the window screens open too.  

Another item arrived in the mail today; the teardrop's mattress.  We ended up finding a nearly perfect mattress at Wal Mart.  We weren't too sure about it, but after opening the box and letting it expand, we are positive that this will be phenomenal!  It's exactly the right width: 58".  We'll need to trim the feet portion of it to fit the teardrop's bed area, but that should be fairly simple with an electric knife.  The whole family gave it a once over and we really like it.  I'm a side sleeper so I knew that I would need something that would support me; this mattress is perfect.  Throw in a couple of body pillows and we are in sleep heaven!

Tomorrow I'm taking a half day.  I can't wait to get home and get to work.  My first job will be to re-test the trailer wiring.  I'm planning to solder all the connections and test each and every one of them.  My main goal for the weekend is to get the insulation installed and possibly the headliner in place.  It's ambitious, but I'm optimistic.

I found out today that I'm going to have surgery on my left wrist early this summer.  I had the same surgery on my right hand a couple of years ago for carpal tunnel.  Ideally I would like to have the teardrop 'done' enough to camp in it by the time I have that surgery.  I'll have my work cut out for me for sure!