Tick Tick Tick

Yesterday was nice and we're supposed to have cool and rain for about a week.  I thought that was to start Saturday but today is cloudy.

So yesterday I loaded the hardshell kayak in the back and went to the lake.

It was perfect and beautiful.    Mid 70's.  Lake level high again.  Water was colder too.   I think raising it up, letting the level fall some, raising it back, using Green Peter, the reservoir above Foster, to do that, keeps it colder and that keeps the algae at bay.  But I could be quite wrong on why it goes up and down and on the perceived beneficial effects of doing that.  The upcoming rain should help them keep both reservoir levels up.

I stayed til near 5:00 p.m.  Mostly kayaks and paddle boarders were out.   

My car ticked loudly all the way to the lake.  And back.  

 It is a metalic predictable cadence ticking, like a nail in a tire might produce.   I could not find a nail or rock in my tire last night when I got home.   An axle will do that too, however.    This sound started after the first repair, before I knew the axle had been incorrectly seated.  But now that that axle is correctly installed (allegedly), what could it be.

Anyhow I called my brother, who immediately thought axle or something in the tire too.  He suggested I get a small cheap hydraulic jack at harbor freight, then take off each tire and inspect for anything in the tread, then look behind, for anything that could be hitting the wheel as it turns and unfortunately, I need to check to make sure that newly seated axle isn't leaking.

Last night all I did was remove all the hubcaps to see if a rock got into one.  I also removed everything inside the car, so that I would not be mistaking an internal rattle for an external sound.  Sounds can really fool a person as to their origin.  Need a ridalong with good hearing to take out on a quiet less travelled road.   Preferably a mechanically inclined ridalong.  

If I can't find anything stuck in a tire or hitting the wheels or leaks, it will be time to find a mechanic shop.  It should not take long today to check those things out, if I have a jack.  

I told him my embarrassment over the whole thing, trying to keep up on repairs and maybe getting taken advantage of, that I now didn't even know if some of these things actually needed done and how I feared getting them done might ultimately lead to the ruin of my car.  I think addictions got in the way of correct repair.  He said not to feel bad he'd accidentally hired a project manager who turned out to be a cokehead and ultimately vanished from the jobsite for days and he had to fire him.   I told him that made me feel better somehow.  

I've got one more scheduled trip to FCCO end of next week.  I can't drive it up the freeway the way it is, not knowing what that sound is.

At the lake I forgot about any and all troubles.  It was so enjoyable!  I stayed for hours, not paddling around the entire time, but just drifting, rocking in the waves, reading a book, thinking of nothing at all.

Here's to more carefree hours on the lake.