Fun at the ranch…
Had to work out at the ranch this weekend. My wife also had to work so I took Dakota, my son, with me. We went out to test the new tires and suspension on the Defender. I found a couple of places to flex it a little. I wasn’t totally happy with the amount of articulation I was getting on Saturday so Sunday morning before we headed out I disconnected the sway bars. Things loosened up a bit after that. The handling didn’t seem to be that affected. I chalk that up to the stiffer springs I installed. The pic shows off the new steering stabilzer and coils/shocks. The tires also show off their agressive tread with the white limestone dust on them. Dakota didn’t like riding with me when things got ’tilty’ so he hopped out to take photos. I never took it over 20 degrees on the various obstacles though the Defender is capable of about a 40 degree cross slope angle.
After we finished playing we headed back to the trailer to hang out. While I read a book Dakota decided he wanted to go fishing in the creek. That we had no tackle with us was not a hinderance in his eyes. He dug around and found a box of paper clips. He linked about a dozen together and formed the last into a hook. I just watched in amusement. He took a bit of bread from the hot dogs we were eating and baited it. I decided to follow him to the creek to watch. I wish I’d brought the camera. He found a big ol’ slab of limestone leaning on the creek bank and insisted that a big ol’ Largie was hanging out under it. He dropped his ‘fishing pole’ over the side and waited. I laid back and enjoyed the warm Central Texas sun. Not much beats lying next to a cool clear creek on a warm summer day. I was watching the clouds pass overhead when I heard a splash and then Dakota yell. I looked to the left and Dakota started bitching at the water ‘the fish stole my fishing rod!’ Sure enough, a large mouth had come out from under that rock and stole his bread and his chain of paper clips and took them under the rock. I couldn’t help but laugh which only made my son more angry. He’s now bound and determined to come back with real fishing gear and catch and eat that fish. He swears the fish had a mouth as big as his fist. I’ve seen the fish he’s talking about, it’s a Largemouth that might weigh in at about 1lb. A big fish for that little creek.
: A Little Bit Lonesome from the album “Barricades & Brickwalls” by Kasey Chambers