Remember the flying deer? Let’s see, that was in May, and this being November it was high time to get Dexter The Battered Red Honda in for some surgery. I got a new fender and hood from a wrecking yard a month ago, and they’ve just been leaning on the wood pile awaiting my pleasure; unfortunately they are only primed, not painted. But hey, they’re a sight better than a crushed-in fender and a crater in the front of my hood.

Here I am with my friend Frank, the genius behind the operation, engaged in the grisly procedure. The new fender fit like a charm. Once we had this bolted in, it was a simple matter to remove and replace the hood.

And …the New Dexter!

Just the same, only more unprepossessing than the Old Dexter! Folks along our country road would recognize his smashed-in hood and wave; now he’s even more distinctive in his three high-class colors: Faded Red, Primer Black, and Dirt Road.

If you look closely you’ll see that more than the hood was smashed in the encounter with the deer. The bumper was crushed in a few inches as well. This means that the hood can’t latch down properly, and is lifted erratically by the wind as I tool along. It only lifts a few millimeters, because the safety catch safely catches it, but there you are. I could take it to a body shop and have it fixed, but I have no buckage to do that. Well, it’s only temporary. As long as it runs.

Also if you look closely you’ll see the dead bumper to the right of the car. We will be taking that to the dump shortly, since we wouldn’t want our home to appear trashy.

Like the car I drive everywhere.