Wednesday, January 31, 2024
The Ice Is Rapidly Leaving!
The forecast is for days well into the fifties, and lows mostly above 32. It is a relief, and we are burning just the upstairs stove!
Valentine Countdown Bonus! My Gee Gee From The Fiji Isle, Todd Weinhold
Valentine Countdown: Love And Marriage, Frank Sinatra
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Valentine Countdown: When You Say Nothing At All, Keith Whitley and Allison Krauss
The duet that never happened...
Monday, January 29, 2024
Tuesday Torque: Mall Two Man Chainsaws
Merle found a new topic for torquing down Tuesdays! I see saws like these at engine shows, but I have never seen one running. Thank You, Merle!
Valentine Countdown: Blue Eyes, Elton John
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Valentine Countdown: Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses, Kathy Mattea
Trying To Get Graceful
I had a dance class fifty some years ago and Susan and I try to Fox-Trot and Waltz occasionally. Lately we have been pulling up Tango instruction vids on YouTube. That is real pie-in-the-sky for those of us with stumbly feet, but the music is great. We can dream.
Back To The Old Grind!
Here's how you start!
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Weekend Steam II: Steam Powered Speeders!
This is one of the neatest ideas we have seen. Every rail/steam fan needs one of these! Thank You, Merle, for the link!
Valentine Countdown: Love At The Five And Dime, Nanci Griffith
Weekend Steam: Plowing At Pinckneyville
Merle sent a link for a short by Somplace Or Another, so I went to YouTube and found the long version. Thank You, Merle!
Friday, January 26, 2024
Valentine Countdown: Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Patti Page, 1952
Thursday, January 25, 2024
The Birthday Of Burns...
Some hae meat and canna
eat,
And some wad eat that
want it,
But we hae meat and we
can eat,
Sae let the Lord be
Thankit!
Address To A Haggis
Fair fa' your honest,
sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.
The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill;
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need;
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.
His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready sleight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin', rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmost! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit!" hums.
Is there that o'er his French ragout,
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad make her spew
Wi' perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash,
As feckles as wither'd rash,
His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed -
The trembling earth resounds his tread!
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whissle;
An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.
Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a Haggis!
Valentine Countdown: Brand New Key, Melanie Safka, February 23, 1947-January 23, 2024
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Valentine Countdown Bonus! Frankie and Johnny, Jimmie Rodgers, 1929
The Wood That Won't Fit In
Robert Service wrote about men like that:
"There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,And they roam the world at will."
Valentine Countdown: Love Nest, John Steel, 1920
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Big Tree Falling Hack
Valentine Countdown Bonus! Frying Pan, John Prine
Valentine Countdown: A Little Kiss Each Morning, Rudy Vallee
Monday, January 22, 2024
Valentine Countdown: I Only Want To Be With You, Dusty Springfield
Tuesday Torque: 80 HP Case, Pulling The Sled
We usually feature internal combustion for Tuesday, but a steam engine pulling the sled is a torque exhibition. It appears that they stop the weight part way, probably so the engine can pull all the way through, but it is still impressive. The bit 110 Case engines have no trouble pulling all the way through with the weight all the way forward. Thank You, Merle!
80 HP Case Pull Click the link.
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Valentine Countdown: Stardust, Hoagy Carmichael
These big rounds are from the lower end of the leaner we cut in a recent video. They are hefty, and we can take them down to easy sizes with the hydraulic splitter. The wood is partially dried from standing dead, and the small splits will burn well in about a month. Black oak dries fast if you let it have air and keep rain off of it. The upper wood is already going up the chimney.
Back To The Old Grind!
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Weekend Steam II: Plains Railway
Many Thanks to Merle for spotting a railway we haven't visited. Y'all gotta go to New Zealand for this one, or sit by the fire and watch it on your handheld computer.
Valentine Countdown: Your Song, Elton John
Friday, January 19, 2024
Weekend Steam: Erie Shovels
Valentine Countdown: Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Another Load Of Ash
The ground is frozen, but the air temp got above freezing today, so off to the woods I went. Amazingly, these ash trees are still solid, and they are ready to burn! We have this little load split and stacked by the house.
Valentine Countdown: You Are The Song, Arlo Guthrie and the University Of Kentucky Orchestra
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Valentine Countdown: Tea For Two, Comedian Harmonists
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Valentine Countdown! Can't Help Falling In Love With You, Brooklyn Duo
Monday, January 15, 2024
Tuesday Torque: 30-60 Mogul Startup
Thank You, Merle! This is a good looking old tractor! Can you imagine trying to make a living with equipment like this today?
But Wait, there's more!
Air Cooled Go-Buggy! I love the Model T marker light.
Valentine Countdown: That Lovin' Traumerei, Al Jolson
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Weekend Steam II: Enough Winter For You?
This is nice, Merle! We hope you are inside and staying warm!
Valentine Countdown!
Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey! Ada Jones, 1911
Friday, January 12, 2024
Weekend Steam: Catch Me If You Can!
Thanks, Merle!
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Morning Light And Wildlife Show
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
A Bit Of Easy Firewood
Not many ash trees are still alive in Illinois now. Many are still standing, but that won't last long. This is a tree we planted 48 years ago, and it is fascinating to see how the roots decayed and let go of the soil. We drive by an ash a bit bigger than this on the west side of IL Hwy 242, just north of McLeansboro. I hold my breath every time I go by it, because it leans to the road. There is a good chance it will kill or injure someone if IL DOT doesn't take it down soon. Anyway, with cold weather on the way, I want more wood in the stack, and this was an easy one. I cut it and brought one load home, split it and stacked it, and went back in the rain the next day to pick up the rest. It's easy, and it is ready to burn.
aaa
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Deadly Side-Binds
You must assess the forces in the wood you are cutting with every stroke of your chainsaw. If you don't, you will wreck logs and get your saw jammed up frequently. Yanking a saw loose out of a pinch can also break your crankshaft. One of the less common forces you will see is the side-bind, and they can be deadly. Here are a couple of videos of side-bind accidents, and one of my own that we did a few years ago.
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Monday, January 8, 2024
Sunday, January 7, 2024
George Called....
....just before sunset yesterday while I was over at the farm. "Got him." I got his location and hustled back to Belle Prairie and fired up the Kubota. George and Dusty have been seeing this buck on camera, always at night. He came by George's stand yesterday while there was still light, just out of range, and kept going. George grunted and stopped him, and with nothing to lose he grunted again and the old guy came back to check him out. George put an arrow straight through his heart. George can shoot. Congratulations, George!
Monighan 4W Dragline Documentary
Pack a good lunch. Those levers will build your arms!
Back To The Old Grind!
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Weekend Steam II: U.S.R.A Light Mikado, B. & O. Railroad Museum, Baltimore
We missed this historic engine when we visited the museum in 1999. Never enough time. Thank You, Merle!
Friday, January 5, 2024
Weekend Steam: Steam Potpourri
Anniversary Knee Checkup
Susan had her right knee replaced one year ago and we went to Effingham yesterday for an evaluation. It's working well and looking good. Her other knee doesn't look too keen in the X-rays, but it isn't causing any trouble, so we are just going to be kind to it. Getting old isn't the same as it used to be. It is a good time to be alive.
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
You Can Cut A Leaner...
...without being smashed, or splitting the log. We keep seeing new videos on the YTube showing barber chairs and split trees. Those life-threatening situations are easy to avoid if you will just start bore cutting to make the hinge before you cut the back of the tree. If you aren't bore cutting, you are stuck in the axe and crosscut days with your techniques.
Tuesday Torque: A Couple Of Rare Ones On Facebook Reels
Thank You, Merle! We couldn't do this without you!