First Snow

... of 2013, that is, of course. Roads were bad, and so took daughter to school in the Land Rover, and afterwards took a small detour to enjoy the scenery. Things I note about this Land Rover on slippery surfaces: in two-wheel-drive, the vehicle handles not that well at all, slipping all over the place. Perhaps because it's relatively light. But put it in four-wheel-drive, it becomes a different beast, and handles very well and is a lot of fun to drive. Secondly, the windows rarely fog up. I had the small fan running, the one that had come with the vehicle and dating from the 40's or 50's, blowing across the windscreen, and despite the humidity and cold, the windows all remained clear. Thirdly, braking, which in normal conditions is adequate, really deteriorated, but it was impossible to tell if this was damp brake shoes or the very slippery surfaces.

Departed Friend.

Just a little mention of my friend for 16 years, Bondi, who passed away last week. He was never happier than when in and around the Land Rover during the restoration, purring away, always appearing to be excited to be able to participate. He will be very much missed.

Winter is Coming

...But not that quickly. A nice warm (10° C), calm, Fall late afternoon, great for a drive in the country.

End-of-Summer Drive

Such a nice day: who could stay in at lunch?

For reasons that remain somehat of a mystery to me, this remains one of the most satisfying vehicles I've ever driven, and I've driven types from firetrucks to Porches to F2000 race cars. An ongoing enjoyable mystery.

(As usual, photos can be clicked upon to make them bigger if desired.)

Stormy Weather

One of those truly spectacular storm fronts came through today. Parked to watch, saw fine dust rising straight up from the fields in a cloud, before suddenly being blown sidways. Must have been quite the updraft in the storm cell. Got home to find tornado alerts posted everywhere.


The wide-angle photo looks a lot better if you click on it. Interesting light.

You can just see the rising dust in the background. I thought it was rain at first.

Birthday

Today is the Land Rover's 53rd birthday. Built July 18, 1960, in Solihull, England, and aside from the chassis and some replacement parts, is mostly completely original. Photo taken yesterday.

Wiper Update

I usually avoid driving the Land Rover in the rain, as I've heard how bad the old windshield wiper system is. Of course, there's been a couple of times when there have been a few raindrops, but nothing really needing wipers. Well, today we were caught in a proper rain shower, and so I switched on the wiper on my side - and it did a perfect job. No hesitation, and wiped the windscreen clear of rain, just as it should. I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised, but somehow was. The 52-year-old refurbished motor did a great job, and the new wiper blades cleaned off the rain as they're supposed to, visibility was great, and on we drove. Too bad the door tops were off and we got a little wet. :)

Caught in mid-sweep, by smartphone camera, as we pulled in. Rain was ending by this point, but still.....