June e-Postal Results Are Up!

Sebastian has posted the scores for the June contest. Click here, or on the link under Get Out And Shoot to see the results. Click on the July contest to download your target and join in the fun. I carefully checked my sights today, and corrected one click right. I did much better shooting the target this time.

ohfercryinoutloud!

So, I went out behind the barn to shoot Mr. Completely's July e-Postal contest, checked my sights, and shot at my first hole, offhand at 21 feet. HOLE IN ONE! Not bad for a duffer almost 58 years old! Piece O Cake!

Second hole. Seventeen shots-count 'em, to hit the hole. I quit, and plinked a bit to settle my nerves. It must have been bad ammo, or the rear sight was loose, or tricky air currents behind the barn. It couldn't have been my middle age eyes, or trigger finger. I will try again tomorrow.

Not My Victrola

Here is another Paul Whiteman record, this one from 1935, uploaded by Mickey Clark. The Darktown Strutters' Ball played in a Swing style really shows how music changed during the 1930's.

Here It Comes Again!

Back To The Old Grind!

July e-Postal Match: I Almost Missed It!

I was about to print out the target for this month's e-Postal Match and realized that I had not linked to it on TBS. This month the host is Sailor Curt, and this contest is a challenge. Your task is to make all five holes with as few shots as possible, and stay out of the hazards, where you are penalized extra shots. Sailor Curt needs your targets by midnight, July 28.

Not, Funny Ha-Ha

Cypress is a bit funny compared to other trees when it is hit by lightning. I guess the wood structure and the nature of its sap is just the right combination to maximize the effect of flash steam when a bolt strikes, because cypress trees throw chunks of themselves all over the place when they are hit. This top blew off of a twenty year old tree two nights ago when a squall line passed over us.

This photo was taken on Saturday, July 18, and you will note that Dear Wife is wearing a jacket. Our high temperature was 70, and the kitchen felt pretty good Saturday evening with the oven fired up to cook pizza. Wow; a cold day in July! Get out and drive your SUV a few extra miles to warm us up, if you believe in that sort of thing.

Weekend Steam: Good News, Bad News, Good News

Video by EverywhereWest



Video by SteamAirMan

There is some news about Old Threshers at Mt. Pleasant,Iowa that travelers need to know this year. Veterans can go on the grounds for half price on Thursday, September 3, the first day of the annual show. This deal is available only for a one day pass. The bad news is that the two locomotives that do most of the work hauling passengers are down for maintenance. Number 6, the Baldwin Mogul engine has been disassembled, and the boiler has been sent off to have the stay bolts replaced. Number 9, the Shay from West Side Lumber is also down for some major maintenance. The Henschel engine will be packing most of the load, and a diesel switcher will be picking up the slack, so the trains will still be running to move the fans from one end of the grounds to another. The next good news is that veterans will ride FREE! on the train on the first day of the show. This is a great deal for vets who tire out, or who just want to ride and relax. Start planning for your trip to Mt. Pleasant.

Crankin' It Up

Celebrate the weekend with a snappy Fox-Trot, courtesy of The King Of Jazz, Paul Whiteman, and his orchestra. Carolina in the Morning will move your feet and lift your spirits. I could hardly hold still while I was recording it off of the Brunswick.

Beauty

Sourwood is not an important tree from a commercial standpoint, but it is a tree that really brightens up the landscape during the summer. I became acquainted with sourwood when I moved to Eastern Kentucky in the mid-1970's, and I missed it when we moved back to Illinois almost thirty years ago. I think it was in 1984 that we took a trip back to Paintsville, KY to visit our friends, and to dig some sourwood seedlings. They are slow growing, understory trees, but they pay us back every summer with these beautiful blossoms. Sourwood honey is supposed to be a special treat, but I have never had the good fortune to taste it. We used to keep bees, and we learned to have our bees ready each year for the persimmon and basswood blooms. If sourwood honey is anything like persimmon or basswood, it would be worth a trip back to Eastern Kentucky just for a jar of honey.

Something Old, Something New

At first glance from head-on, this tractor resembles an Aultman-Taylor 30-60, a heavy duty threshing engine that is familiar to most tractor nuts. I quickly realized that I had never seen a Twin City tractor like this one before, so I spent some time looking it over and taking some photos. The radiator gives it that Aultman-Taylor look.

I have to admit that I am lost in this array of levers and pedals.

The four cylinder in-line engine is impressive, and is a sharp contrast to the Aultman-Taylor horizontal four cylinder opposed power plant.

Get a load of that water pump!

It looks as if it is ready to go to work plowing the prairie, or pulling a thresher all day. It even has a set of extension rims. We saw this beauty at the SIAM show at Evansville last month. I would love to hear it run, but the owner did not unload it. Just seeing it was a joy.

Can It Be Saved?

This Bradford pear had a girdling root that wrapped around 270 degrees of the circumference. The homeowners had me look at this tree because it was failing. Doing surgery on a problem like this is not a sure thing, especially during a wet summer when fungus and bacteria have ideal growing conditions in the soil. I told the landowner how to proceed, and he has removed the root with a Sawsall and a sharp chisel. I will be taking a look later this week to see how the patient is doing.

Adventures At The Dented Can

We took EJ to the Greenfield Discount Grocery in Wayne City while he was home for the Fourth of July weekend. We filled a shopping cart for him so he will be well fed for a while. We had a pleasant visit with the grocer, and he confirmed what we suspected from our visits to this fine store. He has a steady stream of customers now, and most of them have learned to "load up' when they find items that they like. This means that our grocer friend is on the road more to keep his store stocked, and it also means that the items on the shelves turn over frequently and that the variety is better. Here you can see Dear Wife and EJ checking out the cheeses.

I usually walk by the candy bars with my hands in my pockets, but this display case was filled with Snickers bars enhanced with CAFFEINE! I didn't buy the whole box, but I did load up. These babies do the job, and are great on a long drive. I think one of them saved my life, keeping me awake on my drive back to the farm from Iowa on Sunday.

Not My Victrola

Here is another all-time favorite of mine by Marion Harris, uploaded to YouTube by Pax 41.

Here Comes Monday!

Back To The Old Grind!

Birthday Girl

I had to run up to Iowa for the weekend to attend a high school class reunion, and it happened to coincide with Mom's birthday. I stopped at Cabela's in St. Louis and picked up a Lee reloading kit for her so she can roll her own for the .45 Blackhawk. She used to do piece work in a factory, so reloading is a piece of cake for her. Here, she is resizing some brass.

Putting a primer into the primer arm.

Seating a primer.

Checking to make sure the primer is flush.

Cases primed, charged, and ready for bullets. Saturday morning we went out to the range and spent a couple hours teaching the basics of pistol shooting to one of Mom's friends and his nine year old son. The kid was a real natural with a single action revolver and not only did he amaze his father, I think he embarrassed him a little by outshooting him.