Another Sign Of Spring!

 

Tuesday Torque: Biggest IC Engine In The World?

 It looks like it could be! Thanks, Merle!

Hey Kids, How Many Buzzards Can You Find?

 I see three! This Spring we have two nesting pairs of turkey vultures in our outbuildings. Good Times!

We are really pleased to see our red-headed friends come back from the Rio Grande. 

Here You Go! (Click the picture.)

Illinois Is A Cluster Migraine

 Illinois passed an "assault weapon" law in January, and multiple lawsuits are being used to fight it. We will have to wait and see what happens. This video shows one of the effects of the law. Even a basic Ruger 10/22 is illegal. (and much, much more) Click it over to YouTube to read the comments. Many here in Illinois have not studied the law enough to understand the consequences. Most County Sheriffs say that they will not enforce this law, but the IL State Police are forging ahead, and are targeting small gun shops around the state. Pritzker drove half of the FFLs out of business a couple years ago and now he is going after the rest. 

Weekend Steam II: Steamers Pull The Sled!

 This is a great one Merle! A repro Holt crawler, and I have never heard of it! Holt and Best are California brands, and a long way from the brands I grew up around. Click The Screen Shot for the video on YouTube.

Weekend Steam: Sir Nigel Gresley

 Recently overhauled, there are some great videos of this beautiful engine. Many Thanks to Merle for spotting it!

Spring, Voices of Music

 Always good for a listen!

New Foster

We picked up Rufus yesterday. His owner passed away a couple weeks ago. Midwest Schipperke Rescue made arrangements to take over Rufus' care and placement to a new home. He is still traumatized. He was taken from his familiar surroundings and was neutered, vaccinated, and had a dental done with eight extractions. His unkempt toenails were trimmed while he was out for his surgery. He is well housebroken, and sleeps through the night. He has several cushy beds to choose from and his own private dog yard for his frequent walks. He will be seeing our vet for some bloodwork and evaluation. He is at least eight years old, probably more. He is a sweet little boy. 

One of Midwest's volunteers picked him up in northern Indiana and brought him to Illinois. Dog rescue cannot happen without good volunteers. 

 

Cleaning Iron Skillets And Pots

I saw my dad do this many years ago to clean iron that was too crusted to scrub. We accumulated a bunch of skillets, Dutch ovens and pots over the years and decided it was time to do something with them. A good bed of coals does most of the work, so this is a job to do during the day when you can let the fire burn down a bit. Put in some iron, open the draft, and ignore it for an hour or two. We like to scrub the pots with stainless chain mail and dish soap, then Susan rubs them with lard and seasons them in a warm oven.  

Daffodils Just Keep Going!

 This has been a stellar early spring for the daffodils. They have stayed pretty for weeks; much longer than usual. 

Tuesday Torque: Iowa-80 Trucking Museum

 Merle found a good place....Many Thanks, Merle! There are many videos of this museum at Walcott, Iowa. They are also on Facebook.

Widowmakers From The Road

 I am seeing lots of widowmakers along the road. Emerald ash borer is the cause of many, and I have started taking photos. They are everywhere, and going into McLeansboro we look at an entire ash tree that is set to fall into Highway 242. Carry your chainsaw with you.

Back To The Old Grind!

Had Enough Winter?

 Forty Two feet of snow up there in the Sierras this winter. Makes our Arctic breezes and flurries seem kinda pitiful. We really should be seeing morels now instead of snow pellets! Thanks, Merle, for telling us about the Donner Pass videos!

Weekend Steam: Ravenglass And Eskdale Railway

 Good One, Merle! Many Thanks!

Appropriate Sentiments For The Day

What I Think Of....

 

...is Patti putting all of these daffodils in the ground one fall. I was making holes, Patti was planting, while sitting on the ground, and Susan was finishing and firming each bulb. The ground was dry and almost brick-hard. This was Patti's project, and it made the World a brighter place. 

They Are Keeping An Eye On Us!

If we make too much noise with the dogs the owls will fly off the nest, but they stay close and wait for us to leave.

 

Tuesday Torque: Two Nice Moguls At Rollag

 These two IHC Moguls were on display September 2022 at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers' Reunion.  These are high-end engines, and most farmers opted for less expensive options to power machines around the farm. 

Well Dang.

 We did not handle the time change well. Maybe this will make up for it with you.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Narrow Gauge Steam In Latvia

 Many Thanks to Merle, who sent this link for us to enjoy!

Weekend Steam: Slipping In The Snow

 Winter doesn't want to quit for some reason. Thank You, Merle. Nice stack talk.

Bucking Badly

 

The big rule of thumb for bucking cuts is to cut into the compressed side first, and finish on the tensioned side. We cut one wrong here to show what happens. You can split a log easily by bucking badly. Dope out each cut you make to avoid being stuck or splitting a good log.

Barred Owls Coo!

 We have a great time hooting and doing howler monkey calls with our barred owls, and now they are also cooing to each other in our back yard. We have been hearing this talk for some time, and we suspected it was the owls. Now we have confirmed it. It is fun to have the birds around!

Work Easier With Wedges

 Take a load off your arms and back when bucking a big log that is compressed on top. It's not laziness; it saves wear and tear on the body, and keeps you working safely and effectively.

Please pardon the fur hanging into the top of the screen when the camera is zoomed wide. We got a new microphone and a wind sock that looks like it is made from a possum. We will fix the problem for sure! The new mike does sound good!

Tuesday Torque: Two Nice Ones At Alapahoochee Engine Show, Georgia

Mike's Engines posted this nice video of two of his engines The Peerless side shaft and Gade 2 HP are both desirable old engines for any collection.  Thanks for spotting this one, Merle!

Today, Clean And Lube!

 I helped at a concealed carry class this past weekend. We had eight students, many whom had never handled a pistol. At the end of the class they have to shoot thirty rounds total from 15, 20, and 30 feet. Five of students scored 299 out of 300 possible on their targets.  Pretty darned good!

                                                                  Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Take A Ride On The Little Puffer Railroad

Thank You, Merle! Nice Ride! It says SF Zoo, so we can probably locate this one with a few Googles. 

And here it is! San Francisco Zoo Railroad

Weekend Steam: Steam In Brazil!

 Still working for a living! Great Pick, Merle! Thank You!

Had A Big Wind...

 It blew down a lot of wood, and a few dead trees. This ash is dead, of course, and it also had a low fork that had died and introduced rot into the stump area. You can't see it in the photo, but that wood is softer than normal; a bit punky. Thinking back to Forest Patholgy, there are two main types of wood rotting fungi; brown rot, and white rot. I guess this one is white, because you can't see it in the white wood. You can see a couple of bud scales from red maple on the stump. Everything is getting ready to pop!

Revisiting A Wounded Pecan Tree

 Going back a few years, one of our hunter friends nailed a sapling pecan tree in our woods in December 2014. I left a target for him to use and he found that his sights were WAY off. No venison for him! I stopped the other day and took a couple photos of that tree, and it has closed up the wound. It is overtopped by a cypress and a silver maple, so those are going to exit stage left. By the time this tree is a sawlog, you won't be able to tell that the cobb has a hole in it!

B & O Railroad Museum Roundhouse Roof Collapse Twenty Years Later

Susan, Zeke and I visited the B & O Museum in 1999. Somehow, we missed this catastrophe when it happened. The restoration is remarkable.

 

Tuesday Torque: Ruston Hornsby 98 HP Twin Cylinder

 Simons Museum is a great place that Merle found. Some of their videos are on Instagram, some are on Facebook, and some are on YouTube. Trying to get an embed code that works from Facebook or Instagram is an exercise in futility, but here is a good one from YouTube! Thank You, Merle!

Wear Your Hard Hat!

 Look Quick! Something is always waiting to get you. Wear your personal protective equipment when you are running a chainsaw. Even for little stuff!  Watch how it knocks the chain off the bar.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: A Snowy Short

 NYMR SR S15 Number 825 Greene King in the Snow  Many Thanks, Merle!

Weekend Steam: A Sad One, Weyerhauser 2-6-6-2

 Thank You, Merle! Idle for nearly fifty years. Click the YouTube logo to read the writeup. 

Mechanical Challenge! Barn Fresh Oilfield Engine

You don't find many Barn Fresh engines nowadays, but this is a good one. Always undercover, and he has it running in short order.

 

Diesels In Death Throes

 There is some dramatic video here! These very likely are due to failure of seals in turbo or superchargers, allowing lubricating oil to be blown into the combustion chambers.

Phantom Doggie Mystery Solved

 

We have been getting nighttime photos of a canine for many months, and at first I thought it might be a coyote, but it's a dog. A coyote would not be so predictable. We finally got a daytime photo, courtesy of one of our hunters. It's a happy little fellow. Now we need to find the owner. He isn't causing any problems other than marking on the dog yard fence, which really sets of our dogs when they go out.

Tuesday Torque: Portland Tri-State Engine Show, 2022

 Thank You, Merle! This is a great look at a show that I have not been to!

Same Old Same Old

 Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: A4 Pacific Sir Nigel Gresley No. 4498 Leaving Grosmont

 Great stack talk, and plenty of smoke. Thank You, Merle!

Weekend Steam: Cumbres and Toltec 484

 Cumbres and Toltec 484! Thank You Merle!

 

How're Ya Fixed For Files/

 Tap your file down frequently and brush it to knock chips out, and replace it when it no longer cuts well. File straight, so your top edge is correct. Watch your side angle. You should be pressing straight into the gullet as you stroke. Run your file too high and your chain won't cut well. Run it too low and the teeth will be grabby. Check your depth gauges so you get a good bite. 

Forked Firewood: Think Before You Swing A Maul!

That wonky wood between the forks is a tough nut to crack if you split by hand. Work your way around it to save your breath and frustration. Better yet, get a hydraulic splitter before you wreck your elbows!

Makin' Wood!

 I am really shocked by the moisture content of these trees. We have been checking them after splitting and they are running 15%. We can put them right into the stove and they light and burn. We are hoping to store a bunch of this wood in the barn as a hedge against emergency wood cutting!

I am glad to have good weather for a few days. I was back in the woods to drop more ash trees. We got a load home, split it and stacked it, and checked the moisture. These trees are running 15% moisture right off the stump, so we are stacking at the house and saving the dry wood in the barn. The 359 began misbehaving, not wanting to idle down, and I found that a bunch of dust from these dry trees was under the cover. I blew it out and then the throttle would click back to idle.

Not Prevention, Not A Cure, Worse Than The Disease....

Tuesday Torque: Galloping Goose

 The Rio Grande Southern built these in the 1930s. Thanks for spotting, Merle!

Busy Start To The Week

 This morning we had a vet appointment, then we stacked wood. I went back to the woods, cut another load, brought it home, and we split and stacked it. We checked the moisture content of the ash trees we are cutting, and they are right at 15% from the stump. Back To The Old Grind!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! You Are The Song, Arlo Guthrie and the University Of Kentucky Orchestra

I hope all of our Internet friends have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Thank You for visiting!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Love And Marriage, Frank Sinatra

Weekend Steam II:Heavy Freight

 Dramatic! Many Thanks, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Time In A Bottle, Jim Croce

Toby Is Retiring To Florida!

 Today we took Toby to Lambert Field in St. Louis to meet his new papa. Toby was a quick turnaround, with just two weeks in our home. Midwest Schipperke Rescue made Toby a Lifer because of his age; there was no adoption fee.  The kind people who adopt rescued dogs are special, and become like family to the foster parents. We have adopters as far away as Denver, Houston, Detroit, Chesapeake Bay, Chattanooga, and now Florida. Good People!

Weekend Steam: Tractor Races Locomotive

 Steam Wins, Steam Wins!  Thank You, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! At Last, Etta James

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Fever, Peggy Lee

One Piece At A Time

 Susan and I are both hoping that she is done with surgeries for a while. She had her eight week checkup at the Bonutti Clinic in Effingham, and her knee checked out just fine. 

Annual Valentine Song Festival! The Old Songs, Barry Manilow

Bad Idea Falling Cut

 When I was working in Kentucky, many of the loggers had an odd method of match cutting the trees they felled, and they usually called it stump-jumping. Match cutting is used in bucking logs and making pruning cuts. You make a cut on the compressed side until the kerf begins to close, and then you cut on the tensioned side, causing the two sides to part. It is not a good idea for falling a tree, though many do it. A match cut gives the tree no guidance and it will fall where gravity and wind take it. The idea of the method they called stump jumping was to create a V match cut on the stump. The V is supposed to act like a knee joint and let the tree fall with a bit of guidance.

I have watched this cut being made and there is little that is predictable about the path the tree takes. It can pop sideways, spin, or jump back. A hinge is a darn important safety device when you cut a tree. It guides the tree in the direction you want it to fall and it keeps the butt of the log anchored to the stump until hinge failure when the face cut closes. 

I was surprised to see this reminder of a bad idea in McLeansboro the other day. Maybe this ash tree was taken down from the top and this was just part of the final cleanup. I hope so, but I have seen that many of the bucket truck tree trimmers do not understand the safest ways of falling a tree.

Annual Valentine Song Festival! These Foolish Things, Rudy Vallee

Tuesday Torque: 50 HP Superior Oilfield Engine

 This looks to be a 2-stroke engine with a crosshead, and the displacement cylinder is the tail end of the power cylinder, much like the Bessemer oilfield engines. This guy is seriously in need of blocking, but I bet he has that figured out!  Many Thanks, Merle, for spotting this one!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Gentle On My Mind, Glenn Campbell

Quick Turnaround

 Toby came to us just a couple weeks ago and he will be moving on to a new home in a few days. He's an old boy at 14, and his people had to go to assisted living, and he came into Midwest Schipperke Rescue. He might be a Schip mix, or a Pom; we are not sure. He is a good little boy and will adjust well to a new home.

                                                               Back To The Old Grind!

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Come Down My Evening Star, Joan Morris and William Bolcom

Weekend Steam II: The Last Narrow Gauge Steam Train In Bulgaria

Courtesy of our spotter, Merle. Many Thanks, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Save The Last Dance For Me, The Drifters

Weekend Steam: Ten Wheeler....Somewhere...Is It Russia?

 Merle found a really good channel with engines we have never seen. Is it in Russia? I don't know, but I am sure someone will know.  The channel has fewer than 100 subscribers, so click over there and help them by subscribing.  Many Thanks, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Smiles, and Whispering...

The end of eras (Ragtime, pathetic ballads, minstrel songs), and the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. 

Smiles, Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra: 

Whispering, Paul Whiteman's Ambassador Orchestra:

My favorite recording of Whispering, The Comedian Harmonists:

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Oh Boy, Buddy Holly

Sun Dog Says...

 ...Weather on the way. The forecast says it will stay south of us. Texas is going to get way too much ice.

Annual Valentine Song Festival! True Love Ways, Buddy Holly

Dry Wood From The Barn

 We have been going through the wood with the cold spells this winter. We like to run the stove in the basement when the temps get down in the twenties and colder, and we have a foster dog downstairs to keep warm. That doubles the amount of wood going up the chimney. Warmer temps are coming in a few days and I will be out in the woods again bringing in more dry ash wood. 

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Passionate Kisses, Mary Chapin Carpenter

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Misty, Johny Mathis

Tuesday Torque: The Only One, The H. A. Wetmore Tractor

So Many With Chainsaws...

So Few With Skills....

                                                                Back To The Old Grind!

A quick rundown. The hinge should be about 80% of the tree's diameter at breast height, and should be on the side of the tree where it is falling. Placing it back gets rid of all of your leverage if you need to use wedges to push the tree over.  The thickness of the hinge should be up to 1/10 of the diameter of the tree. You see no hinge wood at all on this stump. The back of the hinge should be level with the front of the hinge. The taller you make the hinge, the greater the risk of it failing from twisting as the tree goes over. The back cut should normally be made perpendicular to the bole of the tree. That is normally horizontal. You will hear people tell you straight-faced that they angle the back cut so the stump can push up on the tree. Call me if you ever see a stump reach up and push. What that angled cut can do is allow the butt of the log scoot down and out, leaving no hinge to guide the tree, and totally change the balance of the tree. A tree that was balanced forward can be changed 180 degrees, and drop on your head as you try to get away. 

Anon: I think it originally looked like these stumps.

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Bicycle Built For Two, Nat King Cole

Weekend Steam II: 106 Year Old Locomotive Runs For The First Time In Seventy Years

Many Thanks for spotting, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Crying, Roy Orbison

Annual Valentine Song Festival! When Will I See You Again, The Three Degrees

Many Thanks for the suggestion, John!

Weekend Steam: Ride The Mt. Washington Cog Railway!

 Good One, Merle! Many Thanks!

Long Time, No See

 

Susan and I took a little detour this week to look at a tree planting project that I hadn't seen since its first year.  It looks pretty good.

I remember meeting with the landowner at his shop after he picked up his seedlings. He told me he was going to put them in his pond for a few days before he planted. Whoa! I got that straightened out, and went over seedling prep and care. 

I delivered a tree planting machine first thing the next day, and he had a small crew working on his seedlings. One guy was winding roots up tight in pigtails so he could plant them easily. Whoa, again! How do people think of such ideas?  Got that straightened out, too.

I just checked the acreage on Google and it is about 18.5, so they planted about 8100 trees. The cedars you see are volunteers, and they are good for migrating birds and other wildlife in need of a little shelter. It looks pretty darn good.

 

Annual Valentine Song Festival! It Had To Be You, Frank Sinatra

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Are You Lonesome Tonight? Elvis Presley

Will Police Enforce Unconstitutional Laws? Illinois HB 5471 Tells The Tale

 Illinois State Police Resignations In Protest Of HB 5471: 0 and counting...

Burns' Birthday!

Robert W. Service wrote all kinds of poems. Sad poems, funny poems, thrilling and thoughtful poems. It is a crime that English teachers in the U.S. of A provide only a few samples of his work that he turned out during his time in the Yukon. Every year at this time, The Haggis of Private McPhee is running through my mind. It is a thrilling tale, and the experiences of McPhee and McPhun are all too real pictures of the Western Front. It might even bring a tear to your eyes. 

 The Haggis of Private McPhee

"Hae ye heard whit ma auld mither's postit tae me?

It fair makes me hamesick," says Private McPhee.

"And whit did she send ye?" says Private McPhun,

As he cockit his rifle and bleezed at a Hun.

"A haggis! A HAGGIS!" says Private McPhee;

"The brawest big haggis I ever did see.

And think! it's the morn when fond memory turns

Tae haggis and whisky -- the Birthday o' Burns.

We maun find a dram; then we'll ca' in the rest

O' the lads, and we'll hae a Burns' Nicht wi' the best."

"Be ready at sundoon," snapped Sergeant McCole;

"I want you two men for the List'nin' Patrol."

Then Private McPhee looked at Private McPhun:

"I'm thinkin', ma lad, we're confoundedly done."

Then Private McPhun looked at Private McPhee:

"I'm thinkin' auld chap, it's a' aff wi' oor spree."

But up spoke their crony, wee Wullie McNair:

"Jist lea' yer braw haggis for me tae prepare;

And as for the dram, if I search the camp roun',

We maun hae a drappie tae jist haud it doon.

Sae rin, lads, and think, though the nicht it be black,

O' the haggis that's waitin' ye when ye get back."

My! but it wis waesome on Naebuddy's Land,

And the deid they were rottin' on every hand.

And the rockets like corpse candles hauntit the sky,

And the winds o' destruction went shudderin' by.

There wis skelpin' o' bullets and skirlin' o' shells,

And breengin' o' bombs and a thoosand death-knells;

But cooryin' doon in a Jack Johnson hole

Little fashed the twa men o' the List'nin' Patrol.

For sweeter than honey and bricht as a gem

Wis the thocht o' the haggis that waitit for them.

Yet alas! in oor moments o' sunniest cheer

Calamity's aften maist cruelly near.

And while the twa talked o' their puddin' divine

The Boches below them were howkin' a mine.

And while the twa cracked o' the feast they would hae,

The fuse it wis burnin' and burnin' away.

Then sudden a roar like the thunner o' doom,

A hell-leap o' flame . . . then the wheesht o' the tomb.

"Haw, Jock! Are ye hurtit?" says Private McPhun.

"Ay, Geordie, they've got me; I'm fearin' I'm done.

It's ma leg; I'm jist thinkin' it's aff at the knee;

Ye'd best gang and leave me," says Private McPhee.

"Oh leave ye I wunna," says Private McPhun;

"And leave ye I canna, for though I micht run,

It's no faur I wud gang, it's no muckle I'd see:

I'm blindit, and that's whit's the maitter wi' me."

Then Private McPhee sadly shakit his heid:

"If we bide here for lang, we'll be bidin' for deid.

And yet, Geordie lad, I could gang weel content

If I'd tasted that haggis ma auld mither sent."

"That's droll," says McPhun; "ye've jist speakit ma mind.

Oh I ken it's a terrible thing tae be blind;

And yet it's no that that embitters ma lot --

It's missin' that braw muckle haggis ye've got."

For a while they were silent; then up once again

Spoke Private McPhee, though he whussilt wi' pain:

"And why should we miss it? Between you and me

We've legs for tae run, and we've eyes for tae see.

You lend me your shanks and I'll lend you ma sicht,

And we'll baith hae a kyte-fu' o' haggis the nicht."

Oh the sky it wis dourlike and dreepin' a wee,

When Private McPhun gruppit Private McPhee.

Oh the glaur it wis fylin' and crieshin' the grun',

When Private McPhee guidit Private McPhun.

"Keep clear o' them corpses -- they're maybe no deid!

Haud on! There's a big muckle crater aheid.

Look oot! There's a sap; we'll be haein' a coup.

A staur-shell! For Godsake! Doun, lad, on yer daup.

Bear aff tae yer richt. . . . Aw yer jist daein' fine:

Before the nicht's feenished on haggis we'll dine."

There wis death and destruction on every hand;

There wis havoc and horror on Naebuddy's Land.

And the shells bickered doun wi' a crump and a glare,

And the hameless wee bullets were dingin' the air.

Yet on they went staggerin', cooryin' doun

When the stutter and cluck o' a Maxim crept roun'.

And the legs o' McPhun they were sturdy and stoot,

And McPhee on his back kept a bonnie look-oot.

"On, on, ma brave lad! We're no faur frae the goal;

I can hear the braw sweerin' o' Sergeant McCole."

But strength has its leemit, and Private McPhun,

Wi' a sab and a curse fell his length on the grun'.

Then Private McPhee shoutit doon in his ear:

"Jist think o' the haggis! I smell it from here.

It's gushin' wi' juice, it's embaumin' the air;

It's steamin' for us, and we're -- jist -- aboot -- there."

Then Private McPhun answers: "Dommit, auld chap!

For the sake o' that haggis I'll gang till I drap."

And he gets on his feet wi' a heave and a strain,

And onward he staggers in passion and pain.

And the flare and the glare and the fury increase,

Till you'd think they'd jist taken a' hell on a lease.

And on they go reelin' in peetifu' plight,

And someone is shoutin' away on their right;

And someone is runnin', and noo they can hear

A sound like a prayer and a sound like a cheer;

And swift through the crash and the flash and the din,

The lads o' the Hielands are bringin' them in.

"They're baith sairly woundit, but is it no droll

Hoo they rave aboot haggis?" says Sergeant McCole.

When hirplin alang comes wee Wullie McNair,

And they a' wonnert why he wis greetin' sae sair.

And he says: "I'd jist liftit it oot o' the pot,

And there it lay steamin' and savoury hot,

When sudden I dooked at the fleech o' a shell,

And it -- dropped on the haggis and dinged it tae hell."

And oh but the lads were fair taken aback;

Then sudden the order wis passed tae attack,

And up from the trenches like lions they leapt,

And on through the nicht like a torrent they swept.

On, on, wi' their bayonets thirstin' before!

On, on tae the foe wi' a rush and a roar!

And wild to the welkin their battle-cry rang,

And doon on the Boches like tigers they sprang:

And there wisna a man but had death in his ee,

For he thocht o' the haggis o' Private McPhee.

Annual Valentine Song Festival: I Only Want To Be With You, Nicolette Larson

Here you go, John! We are just trying to mix it up a bit year to year!

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Stardust, Hoagy Carmichael

Tuesday Torque: Pony Motor For A Big Bessemer Engine

 I am sorta surprised we don't see more gadgets like this one. I know that some oilfield pumpers have contraptions they can use to crank recalcitrant Fairbanks engines, though most of them spin the flywheels the old fashioned way. 

Working On A Method

                                                             Back To The Old Grind!

Annual Valentine Song Festival: Somebody To Love, Jefferson Airplane

Weekend Steam II: 1997 Titanic Movie Engine Room...

 ... Is actually the engine room of the Liberty Ship S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien. Many Thanks to Merle!

As it appeared in the movie scenes. 

Annual Valentine Song Festival! A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody, Rudy Vallee

Tim Ard Short Vid: Chap Insurance

 These saws make around 200 cuts per second when they are running wide open. Wear Your Chaps!

Weekend Steam: Narrow Gauge Railways Around The World Part 5

 Here's Number 5; I think there is one more in this series that Merle spotted for us. Thank You, Merle!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold, Dan Seals

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Love At The Five And Dime, Nanci Griffith

Driving The Dogs Nuts!

 This squirrel, along with his playmates has been taunting the Schips, and they have been sucked into the game. I hope the squirrel doesn't get too cocky, because I don't want fleas on our dogs!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Blue Eyes, Elton John

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Lovesick Blues, Hank Williams

Nitrogen Tanker Truck Mystery Solved!

 There has been a parade of nitrogen tankers in and out on our county road. We kept our ears to the ground and finally found out what is going on. The coal mine has (had?) a fire, and nitrogen is used to extinguish underground fires. They must continue putting nitrogen down the hole until the burned area has cooled so that it won't re-kindle.

New Hi-Point 10 mm! You Need One....

 ...because it is illegal in Illinois. If Chicago politicians don't like it, it must be good! It is a great product, made by Americans, for Americans! All of the video reviews I have seen so far show this new model to be a reliable firearm at a great price.

Tuesday Torque: Kerosene Annie At Rollag

 Bringing the Oil Pull prototype back to life and to the show at Rollag was a pretty big deal. Western Minnesota Threshers Reunion has recently posted three videos of Annie.

Annual Valentine Song Festival! You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You! Dean Martin

Bankers, Postal Workers, Givernment Employees...

 ...Don't hook up; you can sleep in. Everybody else, Back To The Old Grind!

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Ain't We Got Fun!

 In 1921 the Twenties weren't quite roaring yet. This song held up for many years, but I doubt that Millenials have even heard of it. Our shellac copy sounds a bit better than this record, but it does have lots of honest wear. The favorites were played hard and they didn't necessarily get a new needle for every play.

Mystery Trucks In Our Neighborhood

 We keep seeing these nitrogen tankers on the county road and it took a while for us to find out what was going on.

A coal mine fire! The trucks are off loading to a tank and nitrogen is sent in a temporary pipeline to a borehole into the mine. We have been told that the fire is out, but nitrogen continues to be sent down to cool the burned area until it will not be able to rekindle.

Weekend Steam II: Crab Orchard and Egyptian Number 17

 Number 17 was retired in 1986, and was the last steam locomotive in the U.S. in regular freight service.

Annual Valentine Song Festival! Ukulele Lady, Vaughn DeLeath

Annual Valentine Song Festival! I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, Arlo Guthrie and the University of Kentucky Orchestra

Weekend Steam: Bizarre Hybrid Locomotive

 This is a new one on me, Merle! Thank You!

"Just Out Of Harm's Way"

 We really like August Hunicke and are learning from him, but I am going to keep my feet on the ground!

Sixty-Seven And Counting....

 Don't hold your breath waiting for the IL State Police to make a statement in favor of the Constitutions of the United States and Illinois.

Mechanical Music At A Whole Different Level

 Tuning and maintaining one of these would be well beyond the abilities of most owners. 

Illinois Gun and Magazine Ban