FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Midland, NC – Tanner Hunnicutt named to Chief of Security of Duke Poultry Institute (DPI).

On Monday Tanner Hunnicutt was named as to Chief of Security to the soon to be opened DPI.

Tanner is a three year old border collie with a proven track record for herding and maintaining a flock of chickens.

Rejoice

Rejoice! The Hurricane track is moving north so St Croix will get a glancing blow. On personal note the takes us out of the path in NC too. Not to discount this at all for my island of choice but this could have been much worse.

For whatever reason, I insured this trip months ago against delays, lost bags, bad weather etc. This is the first time I ever bought travel insurance.

For now I am packing and assuming I will be there after the winds and storm on Wednesday afternoon.

Yesterday I got in one more dive before I travel to St Croix for my advanced open water classes. We dove at a different quarry and I must say this place was rather shitty.

The visibility was horrible and it was bone chilling cold below 22 feet. We went down as deep as 33 feet and it was unbearable with the 5mm wetsuit we were wearing. At one point the greenish water turned mustard yellow.

We managed to dive along the wall of the quarry and elected not to have a second dive.

So not matter how much crap this storm kicks up the visibility down there it will be infinitely better to what I saw yesterday.

Earl

Hey Earl…I’m trying to get to St Croix mid week.

Saturday...Poor Mans Christmas

I’m getting down to the short rows now. By the way city folks…know where that term comes from?

The Chicken coop should be finished soon. We have a few doors, screens and such to apply, and then we level the outdoor area and actually connect the two structures.

I am going to install a light timer at the coop to keep more summertime hours of light. Chickens lay better in light so a timer will fool them somewhat.

I’ve got a lot of chores to do today. Starting Wednesday I’ll be gone for most of two weeks. First I’ll be on my dive trip down on St Croix. Then back a day and up to East Tennessee for a Border Collie rescue reunion.

So this all means I have to cut grass, stock up on hay and generally do the things I will neglect in the next few weeks.

Tonight there is a home game without tailgating and tomorrow I plan 2 dives in a different quarry.

Lastly I have noticed my spam mail changed abruptly a few months ago from encouraging me to enlarge my penis to suggesting that I may want to buy adult diapers in bulk. I wonder what happened.

Explanation

Let me bring you up to date in case you haven’t been following the saga on Facebook regarding my chicken coop.

This chicken coop has been called a mansion by many and I’ll admit it is one of the finest structures on the Hunnicutt Compund.

We have decided to Name it the Duke Hunnicutt Poultry Institute in honor of my late dog Duke who passed away suddenly this spring. He was a big supporter of this chicken project.

I have been having some home renovation and remodeling done around here for over a year. About this time last year we concluded that we were going down the wrong path with our contractor and we fired him. We had to disassemble some work which led to an abundance of used building materials.

Most of this lumber and exterior vinyl shingles and been stored under a tarp for 12 months.

Rather than let this stuff just sit and attract snakes we decided to build a coop with style and grace. My current contractor designed and is building this coop mostly from surplus materials. He even donated some time to the project himself.

My role has been minimal…mostly a fetch it position for materials and beer.

Gigi

I am starting to get a few eggs accumulated from my chickens. This morning I asked my wife if she would like some scrambled eggs and toast.

“Boiled”, she said.

The she asked if the eggs would be our chickens and I said they could, even though I have some older store bought eggs.

She made a face and told me she doesn’t think she can eat our unborn grandchildren.

Complex Day

A strange day it was yesterday. I went to work as normal.

My home remodeler said he would come by and put in some time on the chicken coop. He has agreed to get me dried in and I can finish it or he’ll do it on the clock. In either case this coop rocks.

I decide to call my dive buddy who was supposed to do a deep dive at Lake Jocassee, SC. The lake is incredibly clear and at 130 feet is a cemetery and further down is an in tact lodge used as a hotel years ago.

Well I found out that the dive went badly. On the first dive my friend and his dive buddy made it to the cemetery but then his buddy starting freaking out. My friend assumed it was nitrogen narcosis and motioned for them to go up to around 70 feet. His buddy got better but still had a wild eye look about him. They surfaced safely not achieving their goals.

The second dive was worse. Two pairs of divers went down. My friend had a new buddy this time. As they hit bottom my friend saw one of the other divers signal a problem. He was out of air. Apparently the diaphragm ruptured and all his air was escaping. His buddy offered his backup air but the guy couldn’t seem to take in air.

My friend came over and offered his air. This worked but the backup regulator failed on his unit so my friend was airless. He started grabbing for air and they had a cluster of divers short on air and nerves rapidly ascending as a group.

Now was a fear of the bends from serious decompression. They all got oxygen and so far so good.

My friend told me that at one point he was sure he was going to die.

Wow. This really makes me think long and hard about this sport. And it makes me want to really see that cemetery for myself all at the same time.

Then late in the afternoon I stop by the club for a beer and see what is on the menu. I learned that a member that I know well has been indicted for fraud. $42 Million or which he personally gained $5 million.

It makes me glad that I struggle in honesty. I would not trade places.

Labor Day Early for Me

Sunday I was a busy fellow….and remember this…I am not a fan of manual labor.

I cleaned horse stalls, the chicken coop, cut the grass, sprayed defoliant around the property and by late afternoon it was time to start the chicken coop.

The coop will be placed beside their spacious outdoor facility. Then the two will be tied together after the outdoor portion is leveled and backfilled. Once this is complete I think I could have as many as 20 chickens and assume I was be in the chicken business a long time.

We started with the foundation and digging holes. Fortunately the ground was fairly soft but the heat and humidity was high. I found the task exhausting.

We then placed the piers and leveled and squared it all up. By now it was nightfall and we called it a day.

We have designed this coop to be dry, warm, yet well ventilated. Winters here are nasty, cold, dark and wet. This effects egg production so they’ll have lights and radiant heat. In the summer box fans will keep them relatively cool.

Oh and I did get another egg yesterday.

A Thing of Beauty

I grew up in Durham (pronounced Derm), NC. Durham was a tobacco town and home to American Tobacco and Leggit and Meyers Tobacco and the Durham Bulls Baseball Team. It was a blue collar town that reeked of tobacco.

We had a wonderful place downtown that made the best hotdogs on the planet bar none. At least we thought so. It was Amos N Andy, a small standing room only unless you were luck enough to get a seat in the shoe shine stand. Get a few dogs all the way and a Pepsi and you would be in heaven.

They closed up decades ago but sold their chili recipe to another hotdog dive in Durham.

Last night my friend grabbed a few quarts of chili, their slaw and we reconstructed the good old days of Derm Dogs.

Air Fills?

Yesterday I called down to Cane Bay Dive shop to see if they did air fills at all their locations. I was curious if they did air fills at The Divi location. The Divi is on the east end south shore and about the closest shop to where I will be staying.

“No...we only do air fills at our main location.”

So last night (harp strumming) I dreamed I was down on the island on day one just wasting time when I could be in the water. I got down to the beach at the Divi and the whole beach was draped in thick theater curtain and the ocean view was completely blocked by the same type of curtain.

I went down to the waters edge and lifted the heavy curtain and was told that this are was under construction. I decide to walk along until the curtain ran out so I could see what was going on. Behind the curtain was a raging storm with high waves.

Then I decided to go back to the villa where someone had placed a New England Patriots game helmet and a practice helmet with shoulder pads in the living room. I was sure this was a trap so I finally touched the helmet with a long stick from another room. I could then see it was actually a Houston Texans logo on the helmets and was relieved.

Trip Planning

All eyes to the southeast as I keep watch over the tropics for storm development. You see, in just two weeks I will be traveling to the womb of hurricanes at the peak of hurricane season.

Yesterday my compass arrived and I installed it in my backup regulator that I will leave on the island.

I want to use my own dive gear while I am there but I am limited to a 50 lb bag at a check price of $25. So if a second bag is necessary I will check that with my travel partner for $25 instead of paying $30 for a second bag.

Divers actually use lead weights to keep the down and to offset buoyancy of air tanks, lungs and wetsuits. I use 14 pounds most of the time. The weights fit in my vest and I want to take them too. I may need to disperse these weights around in my checked and carry on bags.

I am also taking a small cylinder of back up emergency air called by the brand name Spare Air. In order to do this legally the tank must be decompressed and disassembled. I’ll do this and reassemble it down on the island. This also means I will need to take my Spare Air filler which weighs a few pounds.

Hopefully this evening I can get in another practice dive at the quarry.

Nicknames

Living in the south and being a guy means that one will have a nickname.

Currently I know or have been called one of the following, Humps, Catfish, Head, Monkey Tail, Tail, Peen, Otis, Eddie, Binky, Ass Breath, Q, Pecker Head and there is always a DJ or PJ and Junior around.

Eggs?

I was looking at baby chicken pictures and thought, “Where have the months gone and where the hell are my eggs?”

Sunday was the official day I was expecting the chickens to lay. I did get one egg two weeks ago but so far that is it.

I have been told in the beginning to expect small eggs and many double yoked eggs. Then the hens will get in the groove of things and should produce 250 eggs each their first year. Gradually the production will decline (after my third bypass) and each chicken should produce 1,000 eggs in a lifetime.

Activity has picked up back at the chicken coop. Lots of eating and squawking so I feel certain we may have a Denny’s moment any morning.

My Hobby

I like having a hobby that has its own logo.

Riding the Range

No, I wasn’t on top of the stove pretending I was in a car cause I was loading and unloading wild mustangs yesterday.

Okay it was a trained mustang and it was only one. Still I man handled that horse like only wReggie can. It was sweet and gentle and I kindly asked if she would go in and go out of the trailer and she did.

I had to haul her from the backyard of a doublewide fully loaded with the nicest white trash you ever would want to meet. All of them were smoking cigarettes; all the women had on Daisy Dukes, even the fat old grand mother. The kind of folks you would find running a meth lab but nice.

We waded through the various generations of chickens and made out way to a fenced area. She loaded easily and transported easily.

On arrival we had an audience of roosters, cows, a horse, dogs and many goats.

I know now that there are animal folks crazier than Gigi and me.

The Root Canal

It was a piece of cake relative to what it could have been.

My body does not make efficient use a pain deadeners like Novocain so dentistry is never pain free. My father had the same problem. A good injection will block out most pain but those breakthroughs are painful.

And so he started drilling and it went fine. Then he started digging each root removing the live nerve and that went fine until number 4. It hurt like hell. He poured in more painkillers directly on the nerve. It hurt much less.

Overall not bad…. seriously Teresa. I have had crowns that cause more discomfort.

Oh…I could have bought a 50 inch TV for what it all cost too. But that is the cost of maintaining a buff 54 year old body.

I Hate This Crap

For the past week I have had a crown working loose on one of my molars. I made a mental note to call the dentist to get it reset.

Last weekend I dove in the quarry and when I hit cold water the darn thing hurt a bit.

Monday and Tuesday I felt like crap. I was tired and I had a headache. I even came home early Tuesday and slept 4 hours in the afternoon but was curious because I didn’t have a fever.

Today I went to the dentist to get the crown re-cemented and I found out it was fine.

I have the early stages of an abscess and I am lucky I suppose. He said that it would only get worse and become one of those situations people talk about when they have an abscess.

So Thursday…I have my first root canal. Joy.

PS…I hear there are pictures on the Internets of Mic sleeping in the yard on a mattress.

Hump Day Eve

Ever notice how most house painters are associated with being drunks? Ever noticed a paint can opener has a bottle opener on one end? Just saying…..

I Was a Child Again

Last night we had a horrendous thunderstorm move through. There was frequent lighting, heavy rain, and high winds. It went on for hours.

Cedie came to me for comfort but decided it would be safer with Gigi.

Soon we lost power.

I had started supper and it was mostly done except the steak. We ate by candlelight.

By 8:30 I was bored and drifted off to sleep on the sofa. I would wake up every so often to check for power. I could hear the comforting rumble of heavy lineman trucks in the distance.

Somehow for a moment I had the child-like feeling that all was right in the world and someone was looking after my well being. It was a nice comforting feeling I rarely get as an adult.

Just Two Things Today

Can’t understand why some people actually enjoy buying tires. I know two tire freaks that replace perfectly good tires because they like the feel of new tires.

You ever notice that house guests always grab a glass or coffee cup from the cabinet that rarely gets used by the actual owner? I hope they blow the dust out before they use it.

Why Am I Smiling?

Literally 4 weeks from today I will be in the air headed for Miami and on to St Croix. And no, I am not ashamed.

I have a super deal. Out of pocket the trip and lodging and car are costing me $510 for the week……a whole week! $72 a day! I can’t vacation at a local beach for that and I’m talking I’ll be in paradise with coconut trees and a clear warm ocean.

Now I will be expecting to eat and have some adult beverages but plan on buying some groceries and fantastic local rum at less than $7 a bottle. And I’ll buy gas and be diving but still this is inexpensive.

The airline ticket is valued at $611 right now but I used 30,000 American Miles so mine is free. This is off season so the normal 50,000 to 60,000 miles was not required.

And guess what? St Croix is actually cooler than we are this time of year so I’ll say goodbye to upper 90’s and have strong breezes with fresh air. No ozone and pollution.

I Don't Know How to Title This

My chicken (s) finally started laying. I went out yesterday morning to feed only to find one large brown egg sitting on the ground. It was still warm. How cool is that?

I got my check for jury duty for one week of service…$52.

Last night I dreamed that somehow the government requested my service and I was put on a very long flight to an unknown destination. When I arrived it was revealed that I was in Pakistan. I was given an M-16 and one bullet and told to follow the orders of the man I was assigned to.

I asked if it would be possible for me to practice shooting this weapon and he suggested I needed to buy some bullets. Then he told me to hop in the back of his golf cart and hold my weapon high while he drove to find some beer and then check in to the hotel.

I didn’t feel very safe.

Can't Stand the Quiet No Mo

I have been deliberately quiet on the blog scenic trying to see if anything can be gained from being more anonymous. It just frustrated me.

Gigi and I plan to head to Southport, NC for a long RV weekend. I plan my wreck dive for Sunday.

I have been reading everything I can about the dive site and experiences but it seems most divers aren’t bloggers or will to share details of the experience.

My biggest concern is diving with sand tiger sharks. I am told that this shark poses no more danger than a barracuda however they do look frightening and are big.

This dive will be my second deepest at 85 feet.

Around home I have been straightening up the garage and inventorying tailgate equipment. I added another two burner Coleman stove top. I would really like to upgrade to one or two chaffing dishes with the roll top.