Wednesday Windage: 44 Mag Rifle For Bear

Tuesday Torque: Minneapolis Comfort Tractor

 Minneapolis built these one year, in 1938. They cost nearly double what other tractors cost, almost two grand. They had a heater, windshield wipers, fabric seats, and were geared so they could cruise down the road at 40 miles per hour. We saw one years ago at the Cedar Falls, Iowa show. Someplace Or Another caught this one at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa this year. Thanks, Merle!

Great Show Activity For Kids!

 

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Loco Potpourri

 

Weekend Steam: Steam Loco In Poland!

 Thanks, Merle! The video uploader does not allow embedding, so click on the screen grab and it will link you over to YouTube.

Dance Macabre

 We can't have Halloween without this one!

Salem Witch, by Sanford Lee aka Professor Barnswallow T. Farquar

 One of our all-time favorites from a Kansas City Friend who just completed his 39th year of touring and entertaining.

Cutting Dangerously?

 I would not cut an ash snag that hung up like this, but I was pretty safe working with a dead black locust. Their wood is more lasty after the tree dies. We have it stacked under the eaves, ready to go up the chimney.

Be Kind To Your Chainsaw Clutch Bearing!

 Your chainsaw clutch bearing is easy to ignore, but the payback is a ruined crankshaft and clutch assembly. Overheat the crankshaft and you can wreck the seal to the crankshaft on the clutch side. Maintenance is easy, because you should take your bar off every day to clean it and check for damage and wear. Keep extra E-clips on hand, and don't be taking your clutch apart in the woods where you will lose parts.

Wednesday Windage: 30-06 Accelerator Ammo

99 Years Is A Mighty Long Time

 Dwain (Dad) would have been 99 years old today.  He passed away at age 77. Jerry was born 4 1/2 years after dad, and he made it to 87. Their father was gone at age 40 from a perforated ulcer. His father was also dead at 40 from tuberculosis. So, things are getting better. I have to go more than two more years to keep this trend going. Take good care of yourself!  

Speaking of longevity, October 28 is the day my dear Aunt Bessye was born in 1892. She made it to age 94. She is the one that everyone in the family said would not live too long! Bessye is sitting next to Carl in this photo from their wedding day in 1917.

The Babe In Arms on the right side of the photo is a cousin. He took care of Bessye in her final years. A good guy! He handed me boxes of Bessye and Carl's photos and negatives. Dad's mother Orpha is in front of him, ten years before Dad came along. 

Tuesday Torque: Century Old Mack Truck...

 The teardown is not going to be smooth. Sixty years ago when I was more active with old iron, an engine sitting out and rusting wasn't so far gone from its active years. Add sixty years to twenty-five or thirty, and it is a different game. I wish him well and will have to come back and watch for updates. 

Fun, Fun, Fun!

New Pony!

Full Chisel!  Back To The Old Grind!

 

Weekend Steam II:

 I apologize for the delay. Sundays get busy around here... The Silverton train is a great ride this time of year!

Weekend Steam: A Charming Scene!

 I looked up some of the commenters, and this is in France.  Many Thanks, Merle for spotting this nostalgic farm scene!

Did You Miss Your Cuts?

 Don't go nuts trying more cuts to make it right. Make sure they pass each other, then wedge or push with equipment to tear the fibers holding the tree in place.

Gas Powered Threshing At Boonville

 Gas tractors for threshing was part of the evolution to the high-tech combines of today. One man could operate the tractor and you no longer needed a water boy to help keep the steamer operating.

Wednesday Windage II: .38 Wadcutters For Self Defense

 Back in the Eighties, gun writers were talking about loading hollow base swaged wadcutters backwards to have a super-spreading hollow point.  I think that loading would not do well on penetration, especially if multiple layers of clothing had to be traversed. .38 Special is an easy shooter in a full size revolver, and Plus-P ammo is easy, too, in pistols other than lightweight snubbies. Soft, swaged bullets need to be held to standard pressure and speed to prevent stripping lead into your riflings. Hard cast bullets can be pushed faster, and will perform well on up to black bears in a pinch.  Here are Mas Ayoob's thoughts on the subject.

Wednesday Windage: Tim Sundles, Why Carry A .45?

 I am enjoying my .45s, and visitors do pretty well with them, too. I use standard pressure loads. No bears in our neighborhood!

Tuesday Torque: Armstrong Starter Won't Do It!

 Thanks, Merle!  

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Excitement, Then Same Old, Same Old

 

The 66 Mustang has been residing in our barn for fourteen years, and the shirttail relative who owns it is finally ready to start working on it. He came last week and we loaded it up. Barns are not good places to let cars rest. It's MOUSY!  

After all of that excitement, it was back to business. I have two hickories on the ground to split and stack, and a couple of dead black oaks that have to be dropped.

We also take some time to enjoy the wildlife roaming around the yard. Dusty will be out this week, I think, to look for a buck.  Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: Valley Hills Antique Power Club...

 ...Morganton, North Carolina. The Charlote-Mecklenburg Fire Department brought their steam pumper to the show. These machines are rare, and always a crowd pleaser. Thanks, Merle, for spotting this one!

Here is another video, with more of this show.

Weekend Steam II: Last Week...

 Boonville, Indiana...

This Weekend, go to Pinckneyville. The Fall Festival is still going Sunday!

Weekend Steam: Sentinel Steam Lorrie

 1931 Model, a real young'un!  Many Thanks, Merle!

Another Foster Schipperke!

 

Buddy is our newest foster Schipperke, coming to us from quarantine at a veterinarian's office.  Buddy was surrendered because of life changes in the owner's life, and he is a sweet dog. He appears to be housebroken and he likes to cuddle up to us on the couch. We will be learning more about him in the days to come. He should be an easy one to place in a new home. 

Necessary Task Every Fall

 Don't get too excited, this is a boring video! This is a necessary task we do before we light up in the Fall and again about halfway through Winter. A dirty chimney will catch fire, and possibly burn your house to the ground, so, pre-empt trouble and clean that chimney before you fire up in the Fall. Do not wait until the flue is not drawing well; that is inviting trouble! If you do let your chimney choke, it's a sure thing that smoke will be belching into your living room every time you open the stove, and an inch of ice will be on your roof so you can't go up there!

Wednesday Windage: Ruger Super Single Six

Tuesday Torque: Stover 7 HP and Buzz Saw!

 This busy display was next to the sawmill at Boonville, making firewood out of slabs off the green chain. The proximity of the blade to hands has always made me a bit nervous, but it's no problem if you maintain your attentiveness while working. The fuel pump was not working on the engine so the operator was adding fuel to the carburetor reservoir while the engine ran. Risky.

We Can Hardly Wait For 5 AM And Coffee!

 

                                     Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: Sorghum At Boonville!

 Susan and I made a trip over to Boonville, IN on Friday and had a few great hours before we hurried back to take care of the dogs. Beautiful Day!  The sorghum shack smelled heavenly.

Weekend Steam II: I Want One Of These!

 Great One, Merle!  I need one of these!

Weekend Steam: AI Reports On Big Boy 4014

 Thanks, Merle! That appears to be mostly good info. Compounding was tried and used for a while, but superheaters improved efficiency without the problems of compounding locos, and the steam era finished out with simple engines.

Crunchers!

Every morning, every evening, and often in the middle of the day, we have acorn crunchers in the yard. This morning there were a dozen, all antlerless, mothers and their young'uns.

There are a lot of deer in the neighborhood. I had to go out after dark last night, and a herd of deer crossed the road in front of me. A nice buck nearly ran into me, but I shut down in time to miss him.  Had to dodge a few raccoons, too!

 

Painting The Clouds With Ag Lime!

 

Glorious Day In October!

 

!

 Beautiful day from beginning to end!

Boonville, Indiana Fall Show October 9-11!

 

Gas, Steam, Threshing, Sawmilling, and More!

Wednesday Windage II: 23 Years Of Deer Data and Best Times To Hunt

Wednesday Windage: Mas Ayoob on Handloads and Legal Problems

Tuesday Torque II: Forgotten Trucks, from Rocky's Rides

Tuesday Torque: Love 'em or Hate 'em?

 Maytags hold a unique place in the old engine community. Unlike other old engines, you will hear many disparaging remarks about Maytags.  I am not saying what I think because it is almost like making a political opinion known. Thanks, Merle! We are treading on dangerous ground here!

Lira Has Left The Building!

 Lira (previously Licorice) came to our Southern Illinois home nearly a year ago to be a foster dog and to learn how to be a pet. She has had a long road adjusting to being part of a family and a pack, but she is ready to move on, and she did Sunday! Lira is now several hundred miles away in her new home. Many thanks to the kindhearted lady who drove to adopt Lira. It is a great match and good times are ahead.

How do you know when a dog is ready to move on? Lira began jumping into Susan's recliner while we had our morning coffee. That is a huge change from the timid girl that came in a year ago.

Vesper and Leo are also ready to move on to permanent homes, and we hope to locate the right people soon. Back To The Old Grind!

Leo

                                                   Vesper

Weekend Steam II: Steam Powered Machine Shop, The End

 

We have watched many episodes of the Steam Powered Machine Shop, but it has now come to an end. The equipment will all be sold soon, and you can take part if you are in need of machine shop equipment. Click Here for the link.

Pioneer Acres Steam Festival, Irricana, Alberta

 The current Engineers and Engines Magazine features this show in Alberta, Canada, and it is worth looking at. This part of Canada saw steam come in near its peak, and countless acres of prairie suddenly became farmland producing wheat. It is much different from the progression of farming in the eastern U. S. and the Midwest, where mechanized agriculture developed during the Nineteenth Century. 

The video is a news report from one month ago, and I will add some videos from previous years below that.

Cleaning Gutters

                                                                                   

Also doing some repairs, such as adding new hangers. These gutters were installed in 1979, so a little maintenance is to be expected.  Just because you are not too old to climb, you must not forget that you are too old to fall! Keep that belt buckle centered while you work. 

The cistern at the end of the  concrete was there in 1903 when Susan's g-grandparents bought this place. A log cabin stood where this house is, and we used that cistern until 2000 when the water main came through our front yard. Water seemed like magic then! We moved to the farm in 1980, and pumping down the cistern and cleaning it was one of the first tasks we had to do. We learned the importance of clean gutters from that chore.

Fall Colors Are Coming In Better Than Expected....

 ....after the long, hot dry spell we had during the summer. We might get a little rain Thursday night/Friday morning.

The sumacs are looking great, but they will drop their leaves soon after they peak. Don't neglect enjoying them because they won't last.

Red maple has been teasing us, with little bits of color scattered about their crowns. It is more evident now, and there will be red, yellow and a bit of orange, often on the same tree. They are muted after all the dry weather, but they will be nice to watch.

Black walnut is turning its signature yellow, and the leaves soon drop to the ground. Note the nuts hanging in the tree. Some of our walnuts are already naked, and still have nuts hanging all over them.

Beautiful in the morning sun!  Get out early and enjoy the season change!

Wednesday Windage: Tim Sundles With Three Bear Encounters

 

Tuesday Torque: A Machine I Would Love!

 Thanks, Merle! That little one-lung engine would gasp at the big sycamore rounds we just put away in the barn!

Weekend Steam II: Private Locomotive Collection

 AI would be much better if real humans narrated, but Oh Well, or words to that effect. This is a new one on me, and I will be looking it up. It looks like a good trip to take.  Many Thanks, Merle, for the tip!

Bread Is Not As Simple As It Seems

 

One of the comments: Stephanie Lynn

The amount of work a single loaf of bread requires is phenomenal. The land had to produce the livestock, wheat, milk, and grapes. Millers milled the wheat. Farmers milked the cows and grew the wheat. Winemakers grew the grapes, made the wine, and the “grape must” was a byproduct used to help proof the bread and get it to rise since Europe didn’t have sugar hundreds of years ago to feed yeast. The baker used those ingredients to fold and proof dough and put it in a giant oven that required hands to gather and split firewood.

To start a community from scratch before factory farming and highways and fast transportation took years to get the fields cleared of stones and plowed and vineyards planted and fruiting and wheat growing and cattle raised from calves to milking age and a mill built and barns built, and grain seed storage built, and vermin under control, and ovens built, and a marketplace created.

A simple loaf of bread is near impossible to create on one’s own without the help of many skilled hands.

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam: Little Case Portable Conversion

 I wish this video showed some details, but this is what you get with shorts and reels. I looked for this guy on YouTube with no luck. Anyhow, this is a little Case portable engine that has had running gear added so it is a little traction engine. This would be a fun little engine to show, and easy to truck down the road. Many Thanks, Merle!

Full September Moon Saturday!

 

Trouble, We Got Trouble!

This big, healthy sow popped up in the back yard today and I was able to slip out with a rifle to end the threat. I found last year that groundhogs will dig in the dam for our pond, so I have set my love for these little clover crunchers aside. She is the third one this year, but being a big, healthy female, I know that she had some babies this year.  We will be watching.

 

Persimmon Prognostication

Read it and weep, Southern Illinoisans. That spoon in the persimmon seed says that we will have plenty of snow in the upcoming winter. Lay in some extra wood, because it is not fun picking up firewood from the snow!

 

Wednesday Windage: .22 LR In Ballistic Gel

 I keep coming back to the same thought on using .22 ammo for self defense. Buy premium ammo. Bulk ammo (for me at least) is where dud rounds occur. Find what works for you and use the bulk ammo for practice only. Also, micro pistols do not work well with old, arthritic hands. Don't buy a tiny little pocket pistol for your elderly mother. It will not work!

Here's Gun Sam:

Seasons Change

 

We have been watching the goldenrod come on for several weeks now, and it is really bright, and in many large patches as we drive through the country. Ironweed is scarce this year, but boneset is abundant. Be sure to hang some to dry for treating cold and flu treatments come winter!

And of course we must listen to Voices Of Music!

Tuesday Torque: Mt. Washington Cog Railway

 Merle sent a short video (Thank You, Merle!) about this railway, and when I look on YouTube there are more videos about it than you can shake a stick at!  I grabbed a couple, and I hope you like them. There is no "Coast Daddy, Coast! on this trip!

A Mill Far Away...

 ...in both time and space. This beautiful bur mill was working at an engine show at Harrodsburg, Kentucky back in 1978 or 1979. Neat fact placing it for us is the Hagen gas engine in the background, just over the belt running the mill. It is a rare Kentucky built engine with a unique carburetion system. It's unmistakable, making for an easy engine identification quiz. 

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam III: Yesteryears At Old Threshers!

 Here's a collection of photos we have from Midwest Old Threshers at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa from the 1950s into the early 2000s. If you have followed this blog for a while you will recognize many of the pictures.

Please note the pretty little Gaar Scott engine at 1:40 to 1:43. This engine belonged to Everett (Pat) Holtcamp of Winfield, Iowa. I remember seeing this engine in the Iron Men Album many years ago in a column by Gil Johnson of Wisconsin. Pat's two daughters were running the engine in his photo. I looked for it, but could not remember what issue of Iron Men it was in, so I did a Google search for Gil Johnson, Dairyland Driftings, and that column was number 1 in the results!  Here's the link to it. Farm Collector owns the Iron Men archives now, but you can go have a look. 16 HP Holtcamp Gaar  I did some searches looking for Pat's obit, but could not locate it. I did learn that his home burned in the early 90s, severely injuring him, and killing Gertrude, his wife. Sad news like that hits you as if it just happened...

Here's a better look at the Gaar Scott in action, from my 1966 issue of Iron Men Album. Farm Collector's scan is poor quality.

Weekend Steam II: Halltown, MO, Steam-O-Rama, Featuring The Case 150!

 

Weekend Steam: Achensee, Austria

 Thanks, Merle!

Under Pressure!

 Cooler weather should be moving in next week and we will push ahead with this sycamore project. Hickory and black oak trees also await!

One Of My Favoritest Trees! Kentucky Coffee Tree

Country Sun

 We never tire of sunrise and sunset. It's a new show every time. This thunderhead near St. Louis provided a little crepuscular ray action the other day.

Case 150, Southwest Missouri, This Weekend!

Who is ready for the 64th Annual Steam-O-Rama?!

We are hosting the J.I. Case Heritage Foundation EXPO and Kory Anderson's 150HP Case Steam Engine - the largest steam traction engine in the world!

Kory will be giving rides and demonstrations with the engine at 11AM all four days! Thursday-Saturday, join him in the Stark Steam Engine Motel at 2:30 PM for a discussion about the 150.

For more info, please visit our website: steamorama.com

Southwest Missouri Early Day Gas Engine & Tractor Association Branch 16

Whinrey Homestead

Address: 6065 St Hwy O, Ash Grove, MO 65604 / I-44 exit 58 (Halltown exit)

Admission: $10 per person; 12 and under free with adult supervision; $25 season's pass good for all 4 days!