Tuesday Torque: Two Stroke Exhaust Rhythm

 Merle sent the link for the Lanz Bulldog exhaust video. I always pause to listen to Bulldogs, but there are other two-strokes out there. Let's compare a few. Many Thanks, Merle!

Same Old, Same Old

I did a little chainsaw work today for our deer hunters, including a cull black cherry that endangered them in a prime location for hunting. I had a peaceful walk to spot trees that ought to be blocked up for firewood. One was a nice 10" diameter walnut that had the entire top knocked out by weather. Another is a recently fallen ash sawlog that will be prime firewood. This is prime time to make wood right now.  The weather is moderate and the ground is not muddy. Maybe we can get a few cords in the barn before we have snow. Back To The Old Grind!

 

Weekend Full Of Surprises

 Susan's weekend was a series of fine surprises. Her cousin Ann called Friday night to see if she was up for a trip into western Kentucky on Saturday for an event planned to honor a common ancestor.  I can handle the dogs by myself, so of course she went. The event was for a ceremony to honor Mandley Winstead, who was a Revolutionary War soldier, buried near Nebo, Kentucky in 1846. Susan and Ann's connection to Mandley is through his third wife, Amy, and that was close enough for the invitation.

The church was nearly full, with descendants from the area, and a small band of re-enactors for a little ceremony. 

Visiting the grave site involved some utility vehicles and a short hike.

Mandley Winstead's new marker, courtesy of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Here is a big surprise. This broken marker near Mandley's original stone still has decipherable dates, but the top is missing. Nearby is a footstone with the initials A W W. We looked up Amy Winstead's dates, and this is her headstone. Amy is a 5th great-grandmother to Susan, and a 6th to our son Zeke. This is a great, surprising bonus, having a grandmother we weren't even looking for to suddenly appear. Now we must maintain contact with the landowner for this little cemetery and plan a trip to find the top of Amy's stone. It probably is covered with soil nearby to what remains.

Book excerpt from: John S. Crow and Nancy W. Hutcheson of Mecklenburg County, Virginia and Hopkins County, Kentucky,  A Compilation of Collected Materials Pertaining to Their Ancestors, Their Lives, and Their Descendants, Assembled by Ann Austin Hecathorn, July 1992

Photos and video by Susan. 

Weekend Steam: Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, Fish Camp, California

Many Thanks to Merle for this suggestion. This California logging railroad (West Side Lumber Company) was the home of Number 9 Shay that you can see at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa on the the Midwest Central Railroad. Number 9 moved to Iowa in 1966, and I have been a fan of Shay locomotives ever since. I doubt that I will make a trip to California, so I must travel vicariously via YouTube.