Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Late Droppers
These little bucks were out in our back yard yesterday morning. I was surprised to see antlers. I thought all of them had dropped by now. The deer are still ganging up, but that will end soon.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Schipperke Friends
Our Schipperke friend, Mary, came to visit our pack. Buster is her sweetie. Good Times! Life is sweet!
Monday, March 17, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Mini Diesel 4x4 Truck
Merle, this is much more than a cute project. The Diesel engine is a master work! Many Thanks!
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Weekend Steam II: Advance Rumely Stack Talk
This is a 20 or 22 HP Advance Rumely on the dyno at Old Threshers, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
This one is at National Threshers Reunion, Wauseon, Ohio. It looks like a 18 HP.
20 HP pulling the sled at Missouri River Valley Steam Engine Show.
Friday, March 14, 2025
Weekend Steam: Stephenson Link Reversing Gear
Many of the reversing gears you see on steam engines are baffling to watch and comprehend. That is why I like the first reversing gear, Stephenson Link. It uses two eccentrics and a sliding block to switch from one eccentric to the other. Watch if a few seconds and it is self explanatory. Thank You, Merle!
Click For Video
Thursday, March 13, 2025
The Stoves Are Cold Tonight!
Spring weather really has arrived. We are having good fire weather and have the dam burned off. Big winds are forecast for tomorrow, so we are making preps to carry dogs to the basement in case of tornado threats. The daffodils are popping!
We are always thrilled by the daffodils, and they never last long enough. It is a great show!
We have just been firing the basement stove this week, and today we let it go out. Maybe we will have to fire up again next Wednesday evening if the forecast is correct. Saves wood!
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
March 2025 Dam Fire!
Susan and I try to get a burn in on the dam every year to discourage trees from coming up. This time was the best fire we have ever had. It was a hot one, and really cooked the woody weeds. A decadent black oak below the dam broke up this year, and I had to do some disassembly there, and then used water to cool it down. Susan has been helping on fires and tree plantings since 1975. She's a darn good hand on a fire. She shot most of the photos and video.
Monday, March 10, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Single Cylinder Marine Engine
Great weather to be on the water this week...Thanks, Merle!
This Was A Test
The north end of our dog yard had hickory leaves all around the perimeter, and we started finding ticks emerging from the litter. It was a warm, breezy day yesterday, so I rolled the leaves away from the fence and lit it up. Perfect burn. We are supposed to have a few more good burn days this week, so we will be blowing in line to burn the dam. Back To The Old Grind! Good Times!
Eighty Years Ago...
The Iwo Jima invasion was going on eighty years ago right now. I pulled O.T.'s Third Division book off the shelf yesterday to look up where he was, and on March 9, 1945, the 21st Marines, 3rd Division reached the north shore of Iwo, collecting a canteen of seawater to confirm that they had done that. That was one of the few things that he shared about his time on that island.
Jessamyn Harter is running a fine page of Facebook covering Iwo Jima during the eightieth anniversary. I highly recommend that you visit it regularly! CLICK HERE
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Santa Fe Railroad Five Chime Whistle
Thank You, Merle! I think this is an Advance engine. It looks like it has been roaded for a few miles, judging from the lugs.
While I am thinking of Advance engines, have you all seen the new 6 HP Advances made in Ohio. There are two in the following video. One is powering a sawmill, and at 7:20 they add a second 6 horse engine. One of them dynoed at 56 HP, and the other at 62 HP. Pretty good for a 6 horse, I think. That exhaust is sure crisp!
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Old Friends Return!
Our turkey vultures are back from down on the Rio Grande! It is always a thrill to see them roosting and warming in the morning sun. I hope they settle in one of the barns again this year so we can make some new video.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Monday, March 3, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Mislabled, But Nice...
...I do wish some knowledgeable engine person would identify this throttler for us. Thank You, Merle!
Spring Is Slouching In
The ground was frozen hard again yesterday and this morning, March 3, 2025. Storms are predicted for Tuesday. We usually scratch down the chimneys in January to keep them safe, but this year the roof was snow and ice covered, and the weather hasn't been fit to work outdoors. Saturday I got up on the roof and cleaned the flues. The basement flue had just one spot where I knocked out some creosote chunks, but the upstairs flue was nasty. I filled an ash bucket half full with creosote! It was far enough up the chimney that it wasn't likely to catch fire, but I am glad it is safe now to finish winter.
Boron: Here you go! Johnson Chimney Sweep info, plus a quick vid.
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Weekend Steam II: As Long As We Are Out West...
...let's go to Ely, Nevada, to the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. Courtesy of commenter Rick! Thank You, Rick, for the suggestion!
Friday, February 28, 2025
Weekend Steam: Oregon Rail Heritage Center
Here's another great place to visit that I will never see in person. Merle keeps us in vicarious travel mode. Thank You, Merle!
s0CDzE8Po6g?si=ZejbM6flHZEEiCUB" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Still Looking For A Home
We still have foster Schipperkes waiting for someone to adopt them. I think the rotten winter weather has inhibited people, and we are hoping that some good applications come in soon.
Bandit, the 14 year old boy has his weight down from 20.2 when he arrived to 17.5. He is getting around much better, and we should be getting another pound off of him. He loves to lie on the couch in front of the stove down in the basement.
Here's Bandit getting a checkup at our Vet this week. He is looking a bit sleeker now.
Sophie is definitely ready to move on to a permanent home. We have had her and Atlas for nearly a year now, and they will both be good companions for someone. Atlas is not a lap dog, preferring to stay by your feet, but Sophie will gladly get in a chair with you. That is Sophie looking at the camera. Vinnie and Mina are crawling all over Susan, and Teddy is wishing he had the chair to himself.
Mike Venturino Collection and Wolf Ears Holsters
Firearm enthusiasts were all saddened last year when Mike Venturino passed away. A collection of his columns for American Handgunner was published, and I ordered one right away. It is a great collection with many years of Mike's knowledge in his postings. Click the photo if you wish to get a copy for yourself, or for friends and family.
Mike discussed Mexican Loop holsters in one of his articles, an authentic style of holster from the late 19th Century. He featured a couple from Wolf Ears Holsters, Stan Dolega, proprietor, of Laramie, Wyoming. Stan builds his Mexican Loop holsters with a bit of belly between the two restraining straps, so the holster doesn't try to climb when you draw. It is an authentic design that was used in the 19th Century. Click the photo for Wolf Ears' website.
The holsters are made to order, so there is a bit of lag time after ordering. Stan called to make sure the information I sent was correct, and provided an estimated time. Wyoming, and his shop was very cold at the time, and he was running behind, but the holster arrived in three weeks. It is a perfect fit, and shows excellent workmanship. Click over to Stan's website and have a look around.
Almost Spring,
and we are getting out a bit now! We went over to do some chainsawing for friends at Enfield. A tree in their yard went into their pond when our ice storm hit. They sent a photo of their problem, and it was a much smaller problem than our black oak that was in the pond. We were able to punch holes for chaining up and then winched it out, cutting off wood, and repeating, until it was all up on the bank. Two hours and we were done. It felt good to be out doing something constructive.
Monday, February 24, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Lister 4 Cylinder Startup
Watch carefully how he does it. He hits the compression relief for all four cylinders, gets the engine spinning, then takes the compression relief off of one cylinder. The engine starts on one, and then he quickly takes the compression relief off the rest of the cylinders. Many Thanks, Merle! Click the photo to go to the video.
Sunday, February 23, 2025
I Guess We Are Blessed!
This barn is a wildlife refuge. We weren't looking to get armadillos, but now we have 'em. No, we are not going to have a variety-meat barbecue! I never go to the barn without a .22 in hand...
Friday, February 21, 2025
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
An Inch Of Snow Can Make A Messy Road
You don't need much snow to make our roads impassable. A couple inches of light, dry snow, a bit of a breeze, and you better know your drifting spots or you will be stuck. The good news on our light snowfalls is that they have protected the wheat from the bitter cold that will go on through Thursday night. The wheat would survive it naked, but it really sets it back. The weather will be better soon! We Hope!
Monday, February 17, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Lindeman John Deere Crawler
You gotta love Lindemans! They are out there, but sufficiently rare to grab your attention. One of the tree planting contractors in my district used one for tree planting for several years. It had plenty of power to pull a single row tree planter, and it never got stuck planting in soft ground. He eventually retired it and planted with a rubber tired Johny Popper. Spring planting tree seedlings has to be done early. We often started in February, so getting stuck was always a possibility. A common tactic was to install duals on a two wheel drive tractor with the outer tires smaller in diameter than the inner tires. You could go down the road without handling problems, but when the tractor began settling into a soft spot, the outer tires would pull you through. If you don't have a crawler, the two-sized duals worked well for tree planting. Anyway, here's a Lindeman! Thank You, Merle for spotting this beauty.
Winter Is Still Hanging On
We were down to about two week's worth of wood at the house, so we brought up wood from the barn to get through the coming snow and cold spell. I can hardly wait to get out in the woods and start making wood for next winter.
We are staying in except for walking dogs, and anxiously waiting to see what we get in precip tomorrow. Might get another two inches, or more, depending how the storm blows through, then the really cold air moves in. It's getting better next week, though. Most of this snow has dissipated in a couple days through sublimation. We are not really doing any Old Grind right now. It is good to be retired!
The pond re-froze last night, and the silly geese were out there cooling their heels on ice today. They took off about 3 P, and I bet they are pushing south ahead of the Arctic air coming in.
The end of our 95 feet of stacked firewood!
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Weekend Steam II: Stay In, Go West!
The weather is not fit to work outdoors, so grab a cup of coffee and go to New Mexico with us!
Flash Flooding, Now Snow
The Groundhog got us all! Yesterday we had heavy rain and flash flooding. The state highway down to the county seat was closed, and someone wrecked in the water, either not paying attention or pushing their luck. Our township gravel to the farm was running like a creek, but you can drive it if you go easy. There aren't any culvert crossings in that stretch, so it is safe for the locals who know it. About midnight the rain blew out and snow came in, a couple of inches. This morning the cold air is streaming in, and it will be cold for a week. We are going to the barn to bring up more wood...
Friday, February 14, 2025
Weekend Steam: Sad News From Boonville, Indiana
John Reynolds, well known steam engineer at the Antique Steam and Gas Engine Club, passed away February 12. We have admired John and his family's Kitten engine for many years, and we will miss him. Click the photo of him firing the engine for the link to his obituary.
The engine club at Boonville currently has a couple of posts for John, and several photos. LINK HERE
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Annual Valentine Song Festival! Make Someone Happy, Jimmy Durante
We have had a great time posting our songs this year. We put in several that we have not used before, and kept some of our old favorites. We hope that all of our visitors have enjoyed the music as much as we have. Happy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Nervous Deer
Dogs have been running the neighborhood, and the deer are not loitering as they usually do. This group had three six-pointers, and another buck that had shed one antler. I hoped to get a good photo, but they were running before I opened the door. The deer understand our dog yard and they don't spook at the Schips.
Monday, February 10, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Mini Lanz Bulldogs
Wow, Merle, this video is getting the hate on YouTube. My brother and I were both driving tractors when we were that age. Dad had me pulling wagons in, and pulling a side delivery hay rake. I have seen many kids driving farm trucks long before they could get a driver's license. That's what farm kids do.
Click Pic For Link!
Bonus vids below!
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Recalling Rusted Skills
It is time to update/renew our forestry plans, which are needed in Illinois so the assessor doesn't class our forest as residential. I wrote plans constantly for many years, and each requires maps of the boundaries, stands, and soils. Since retiring I have written no plans for a couple of reasons. There are some darn good consultants in our county, and I don't wish to compete with them. Their efforts over the years made my life much easier, doing tree plantings, harvest markings, and timber stand improvement for my landowners. The other reason is that I figure my replacement doesn't need the landowners saying, "Johnson said to do it this way!" So I have stayed out of the way, except for Arbor Day festivities with school kids. Anyhow, I now have my maps fixed up, and I am ready to write up the inventories, descriptions, and recommendations for the next ten years.
Back To The Old Grind! This photo is the soil map for Bull Springs. The video was shot on the east end of the 15 in 2023 when I was doing TSI.
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Friday, February 7, 2025
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Annual Valentine Song Festival! O-Hi-O, Al Jolson, 1920
A country girl, you know, is just like a Ford
They're not so stylish, but for service, Oh Lord!
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Two Stoves...
Seventy feet x five tall, up the chimney. 3 1/2 months. The January cold spell pulled it down quickly!
Monday, February 3, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Pioneer Prairie Tractors
Click the pic for the link!
Pioneer prairie tractors are beautiful to behold. One visited Pinckneyville a few years back, and I got to ride the platform of one up at Rollag. It has a big 4 cylinder, horizontal opposed engine under the hood. Rumors were out that someone was having engine parts cast, and that turned into complete sets of engine castings being made. I keep listening but haven't heard any more about it. It could be true, and I hope it is. Many thanks for the link, Merle!
Rollag:
Patti and a Pioneer at Pinckneyville. Gosh, this was August 2015.
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Old Friends
I don't care what the groundhog said, Spring is just around the corner. Our barred owls have been gone for months, and are back to our hollow hickory now, carrying on like a couple of teenagers. They are cooing and chuckling and rubbing noses every evening. Susan is talking about planting cabbages and other early crops today. Spring will be here soon.
Anniversary Day Today! One year ago we went nearly total carnivore. We gave up bread, crackers, peanut butter, potatoes, and all those other carbs. I am back to 155 pounds, the same as I weighed in 1974. We will break over just a bit when we are out with friends, or feeding company. The only hard part was the peanut butter, but I have been clean for a year now, and 50 pounds lighter.
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Weekend Steam: Steam Donkeys!
John Dolbeer invented the steam donkey in California in 1881. This was the beginning of mechanization in the logging industry. The first ones dragged logs through the woods, but they were soon used for lifting logs, too. Fifty years ago, forestry teachers were singing the praises of the Dolbeer Donkey, and I bet they still do today. Here are a few videos showing old steam donkeys in operation. Many Thanks to Merle for bringing up this topic!
Friday, January 31, 2025
Thursday, January 30, 2025
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Annual Valentine Song Festival! A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody, John Steel, Rudy Vallee
This song is another study of the change that came with microphones and electric recording vs acoustic recording. John Steel, star of the Ziegfeld stage had to sing to the back of the auditorium, and record through a megaphone to a vibrating diaphragm. Fifteen years later, Rudy Vallee crooned to microphones.
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Still Ganged Up
They will scatter when the weather warms up a bit. Have not seen any antlers lately, so it is probably time to look for sheds.
Monday, January 27, 2025
Sunday, January 26, 2025
The Back Roads Are Clearing Up...
...Go out and replenish your milk and corn meal.
Back To The Old Grind!
Annual Valentine Song Festival! Dance Me To The End Of Love, Leonard Cohen
Many Thanks to our friend Mary for requesting this song!
Saturday, January 25, 2025
For Today:
Friday, January 24, 2025
Weekend Steam: Burrell Single Crank Compound, 4" Model
Merle, this is a new concept for me. We have seen tandem compounds with both pistons on the same rod, and cross compounds with the cylinders having their separate cranks, but I have never seen a single crank compound with parallel cylinders before. Both the high and low pressure cylinders are connected to the same crosshead. I think that American manufacturers never made an engine like this one. Many Thanks, Merle! (Click The Photo for the Link, or HERE.)
Annual Valentine Song Festival! An Old Fashioned Love Song, Three Dog Night
An Old Fashioned Love Song was released January 1, 1972. More than fifty years ago. When I was in high school, 1920's songs were only forty years old. Holy Cow!
Foster Schips Adapting
The downstairs dogs are real pets and love to rest in front of the fire. We will be sending Bandit (L) out into the world soon. Zahara (R) must be treated for heartworm, so she and Peaches will be with us for a while. They are buddies and will go out together. So much joy!
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Still Hard Ice!
Walking our driveway is still a challenge. They are calling for 31 tomorrow, so maybe we will melt a bit. A thaw is coming in Saturday. Maintain your verticality! Falls kill old people!
Annual Valentine Song Festival! Tea For Two, Marion Harris, 1925; Comedian Harmonists, 1934
Electrical recording and microphones were introduced in 1925, so Marion Harris is of the old school, where you had to project your voice to the back row, and sing loudly into a megaphone to be recorded via a mica diaphragm vibrating a needle into a wax disc. Big changes were ahead for performers. The dividing line was a century ago. It is hard to believe, because I still play my acoustic discs on the phonographs.
The Comedian Harmonists recorded Tea For Two in 1934, and you can tell that artists were adapting to the new technology.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Monday, January 20, 2025
Tuesday Torque: Shoot Fire! It's A Lanz Bulldog Pulling The Sled!
Lanz Bulldogs are a single cylinder 2-stroke engine; a big, heavy chainsaw type engine. Boy can they pull! Thank You, Merle!
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Keep Those Home Fires Burning!
Black oak is our favorite for cold weather. Fast growing, easy to split, dries fast, burns with blue flames. Dig ashes, add wood, repeat.
Back To The Old Grind!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
