Mid-July Willy Nilly

Willy Nilly Friday.

1. We've had hot weather interspersed by heavy rains. Yesterday started out as a pretty day and we went to Frank's physical therapy appointment. He had another appointment at 3:00, so we took a short ride and stopped for lunch. We were in the car when a hard rain stormed in. It stopped by the time he had to see the podiatrist, but later another storm hit. Then the sun came back, but some clouds remained. Here we see clouds creeping down the Massanutten Mountains.

Skywatch Friday.

2. Strasburg now has a modern community events space. You may want to click on the image to make sense of the reflections.

3. These flowers are from an arrangement. I decided to break it into multiple images and then recombine them into a collage.

Floral Friday and Friday Bliss.

4. My state is celebrating 50 years of using a successful slogan: "Virginia is for Lovers." At some point, "LOVE" signs went up in tourist attractions and became popular as photo subjects. Here is the new sign at the entrance to Shenandoah River State Park. The L, O, and V are made of water-sports equipment and the E is made up of signs that you see in the park.

Signs, Signs.

5. This picture of me in my car was taken by a trail camera. I had car trouble today and it was stressful but it could have been worse.

I first noticed something different with the car after a rainstorm on Monday. The pedal felt different when I accelerated, sometimes shuddering just a little. I thought the gas I had just bought may have had moisture in it. No warning lights came on, but by yesterday I noticed the car was not accelerating with its usual power.

This morning I was going to meet Lynn in Harrisonburg so I formulated a plan. I would get there early and take the car to the place where I had an oil change three weeks ago and have them check it. If more service was needed than they could handle, the Nissan dealer was nearby. Just before I got there, the car hesitated as I left a stop light. However, the mechanic did not find anything wrong with the engine when he checked it with his computerized meter, so he agreed that there was a problem with the fuel. He sold me a fuel additive and poured it in, charged me ten dollars and I went on my way. I drove around on a back road for a few miles before meeting Lynn for lunch, thinking the additive needed to mix with the gas. But instead of getting better, the performance got worse.

I had lunch with Lynn and decided to take a back road to the dealership so they could check the car. About half way there, I knew something was very wrong. When the car barely had enough power to climb a hill, I didn't think I'd make it to the dealership. I spotted a place called Shank Auto Repair and swung into their parking lot.

They were very helpful. The mechanic diagnosed the problem as a known transmission issue with the Altima. His shop was not equipped to handle it, but he believed I could make it to the dealer. He was right, and soon I was in the waiting room at Steven Nissan.

I had to leave the car there over the weekend. Lynn drove me home. This is not ideal, but it could have been worse!  Frank's car will get us through the next few days and then back to the dealer.