Catching Some Rays

 This doe was enjoying the warm sunshine, and probably getting a few minutes away from her baby.

This One Was Past My Limits,,,,

 ...but with nothing to lose, I went for it. This tree showed me that my limits make sense, and I partially won, keeping the tree from going straight into the pond. 

Wednesday Windage: Gun Sam, With .45 ACP vs .357 Magnum

This should be interesting. I do know that .357, shot without earplugs will remind you to be more careful for the rest of your life. It makes your ear drums ping!

 

Tuesday Torque: Pushers and Pullers

 

We Have A New Ag Teacher At McLeansboro High School...

 ...and she wants to put Forestry into her curriculum! Busy evenings ahead! Here's the start.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: 4014 and 2102

 

Weekend Steam II: Rebuilding Locomotive "D" Valves

 You never know when a locomotive may come into your life, so here is some information you might need!

Weekend Steam: Sanding The Flues

 Oil burners require regular cleaning of the flues while they are on the road.  I first saw this in 1966 when I got to ride the Number 9 Shay from West Side Lumber Company. Stan Mathews was operating on the right side, and they sanded the flues while pulling the little grade to the old time village.  Many Thanks to Merle for spotting this.

Big Boy sanding the flues...

The morning ritual that steam people around the World know--cleaning the flues with a brush or spiral spring scraper.

Rescued Schipperkes Being Delivered!

 Midwest Schipperke Rescue has been busy since early January with the dogs from a hoarding case in Eagle Point, Oregon. Fifty eight live dogs and thirty dead ones were taken in a raid on home, and Midwest Schipperke was given the task of arranging care and adoption of those dogs. Two pregnant bitches had a total of twelve live pups after the raid and most of those have been placed, some as far east as Wisconsin. Dogs have been adopted along the west coast from Alaska to southern California and also one to Hawaii. The Jackson County Animal Shelter was able to place some of the dogs locally, and that was a big help. We are down to a few more than twenty dogs that still need to be placed, and a major step is happening now. Ground transporters picked up ten dogs today and have begun journeys east. The northern route will be delivering in Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maine. The second van will be going to Montana, Arizona, Arkansas, and Tennessee. That means lots of miles, and with stops every four hours to check on the dogs. This is all possible because of countless hours donated by volunteers, and generous donations from dog lovers who have been following this case. Take a look at the route to deliver four dogs to adopters! One way is 3600 miles and about 55 hours of driving!

Wednesday Windage: 22 Long Rifle For Self Defense?

 Here are a couple of videos from Gun Sam on the .22 Long Rifle as a possible defensive round. The big problem you will always hear about with .22 Long Rifle is reliability.  Premium cartridges tend to run nearly at 100 percent, but not quite as good as centerfire ammunition. The little micro pistols will malfunction more than larger pistols. They require more fastidious cleaning and lube, plus a firm grip to add mass to the pistol frame in order to function reliably. Elderly arthritic hands are not a good platform to run micro semi-auto .22s. Gun Sam chose round nose Mini Mags as his choice because of penetration.  Hollow points and flat point designs will make a bigger wound channel. Listen to Tim Sundles on stopping dangerous game, and then draw your own conclusions. .22 Long Rifle probably will not penetrate out the other side of a rib cage, so over-penetration is less of a concern than with centerfire ammo. The heart is right behind the ribs, so I tend to think the wound channel is a higher priority than penetration with rimfire ammo.  Avoiding a gunfight is preferable to having to fight...