We use short sections of rebar to tie up plants in the garden, and we use aluminum cans, plastic bottles and plastic cups on top to keep from poking out an eye. Red wasps like to build whenever we provide cover, so we have to think about that when working in the garden.
Thank You, Merle! The steam engine is done at about 50 seconds, and then pull the slider over to 4:45 for the gas tractor.
Al Berry's V-2 marine engine. This is a really neat little engine. It's reversible and has a feedwater pump! Nice pick, Merle! Thank You!
We have critters! We have seen a rabbit in the garden, but some little Baggins is eating tomatoes more than a foot off the ground, so we think the culprit is a squirrel. We have a lot of 'maters coming on, so we are OK, but we hope the rest of the family doesn't show up.
If we're not certifiably green, we are at least certifiable. We were working down in the basement today and Susan asked for a longer pull chain on one of the lights, because she couldn't reach it. I had just changed the flapper valve on the basement toilet, so I fished the old flapper out of the trash, removed the plastic chain and metal hook, and put that back to use as a pull chain. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.
...from 1904! It looks like an easy starter, but I think it took some work to become that familiar. Thank You for the link, Merle!
It was hot, and the garden was really drying up. The beans were hurting, and we watered peppers, cucumbers, okra, beans, eggplants, and tomatoes. We picked a bunch of tomatoes, and Susan canned 15 quarts of juice. We also dug another row of potatoes, and there is one more row to go, then we will plant turnips. We had a couple of nice cells go over us between 1 and 2 this morning and got an inch of rain. Back To The Old Grind!
A beautiful engine, and a beautiful boat. Thank You, Merle!
We've let our yard go this summer, what with fuel prices and Susan's surgeries. We have up close wildlife shows every day because of that. A couple days ago, two hen turkeys and their poults cleaned all the berries next to the garden, so we learned something. I think this doe is the same one who raise twins last year, only this time she is right up by the house.
Susan keeps telling me that nobody is going to watch fifteen minutes of digging potatoes, and I keep telling her that it isn't like paint drying... I don't expect a whole lot of views, but I think you will enjoy seeing the taters come out of the ground. It's like Christmas, or an Easter egg hunt to us.
Our friend Merle, who picks most of our engine videos has been in the hospital and is having a rough time. Your prayers for our friend are very much appreciated.
Susan keeps plugging along. She went grocery shopping Friday. It tired her out, but we enjoy naps. Back to the old grind!
Took a trip and never left the farm. Many Thanks, Merle!
Growing up, the engines on the other side of the pond were pretty much a mystery to me. No More! Merle keeps finding great videos of engines over there, and I am loving it. Thank You, Merle!
onions, and right now we are going out to pick tomatoes. You can probably guess where this is leading.
Our friend Gary Bahre had this little jewel of an engine with him when he went to the Evansville show last month. It was obviously meant to do light work around the home or shop, as evidenced by hte groove for running a round leather belt like you would see on a treadle sewing machine. Pretty Neat!
We have two families of Phoebes this year, one on the east side of the house, and the other on the west side. The ones outside our bedroom window fledged yesterday, so we can use our lights again. They are cute little birds.
She has been cleared to drive again, just two weeks after the revision surgery on the right hip. Here is the quick rundown of her hip surgeries. The left hip was replaced on May 2, and she went home the next day, had her staples out at two weeks, and had an easy recovery, going to physical therapy twice a week. June 15 was the date of her right hip replacement, and again, she went home the next day. It did not feel as good as the left hip did after surgery. It just seemed off a bit to her, but there were no problems she could point to. On June 26 the right hip dislocated. She dropped and had terrible pain. We got her to an emergency room, and after some extremely painful manipulations they got her hip back in the socket, but she could not move her leg, and the pain was unbearable. She was transported back to Sara Bush Lincoln hospital at Mattoon where she was operated on Monday, June 27. The liner (cup, or socket) placed in her pelvis had rotated, and that caused the ball to pop loose. The surgical team removed the liner, reamed the pocket in her pelvis a bit larger, and replaced the liner, using a screw to insure that it would not move. Recovery has been slower this time, with more pain than the first time, but she is doing well.
Susan does not like to look at the X-rays, but they are sure worth looking at. The first one is the dislocated hip, the next one is after the ball was manipulated back in place, and you can see that the liner is rotated out of place. The third picture is the repaired hip, with the screw visible. If I ever have this type of surgery, I will ask for a screw to anchor it!
Better late than never! This little video is wonderful! Thank You, Merle!
Junior came to us in December 2015. He had been abandoned by his family, and was in an animal shelter in Peoria, and was ten years old. He was a sweet, good natured dog, and he was a perfect gentleman as a house dog. When he needed out, he would go to the door and tell you telepathically that he needed out. We rarely heard his voice. We found that if he had the chance, he would run. He even tried a getaway after he went blind. That is not unusual for a Schipperke. Junior had become deaf and blind, and I carried him in and out for a long time, but he still enjoyed being around the other dogs and he had a healthy appetite. A couple of strokes crippled him in the last week, and we could tell he was hurting, so we made the final trip to the vet with him. The video was shot the first day he was with us.
This is small town Fairfield, Iowa, home invasion, assault on the homeowner to rob him accomplices still at large, and he is bonded out to rob again. How is the homeowner going to be safe? Will this perp show up for his court appearance? Why should he? He's a free man now, and he can hop over to Illinois and continue to live a life of crime. Click the mug shot for the news story on KCII.
Nectria canker is a fungal disease that attacks many tree species, but sassafras is the tree that really suffers from it. The effects are dramatic, and common, and you will see it frequently enough that it is an easy disease to remember. The tree will produce new wood around the wound every year, which becomes infected, and a bullseye effect develops over the years.
Thanks for the pick, Merle! Susan's surgeries have really limited my computer time this last week, and your picks are very much appreciated!
