....for work well done! Here we have a very nice young walnut surrounded by lesser trees impeding its growth. Look at your timber with a critical eye and these decisions are easy. The sap running from the grapevine was a nice little bonus.
Back To The Old Grind!
Contrary to the caption on this video, the engine is not ejecting cinders. The Sandaoling coal mine is low quality coal that throws lots of cinders when the engine is in a hard pull. It is dramatic! Many Thanks, Merle!
....Pritzker's at it again! Tom Grieve provides a good update.
It's like we are living in a script by Mel Brooks.
Groundhogs are legal game until the end of March, when a two month pause happens while they raise their young. I have been watching. Today was sunny and relatively calm, and I spotted one at the north barn. It's a 110 yard shot from the dog yard, and the .308 bullet took the first one from the back of the right ribcage and out the opposite shoulder. I went up to retrieve it and checked inside the barn. Another groundhog was sitting just outside its hole, but my eyes were still dazzled. The groundhog went down its hole before I could line up with my .44 Vaquero. I stood behind a post and waited. It popped back up, but just showed the silhouette of the front of its face beyond a straw bale. Well, bullets go through straw pretty well, and at 20 feet the iron sights worked just fine. Two groundhogs in one day!
This video is a new upload, but I recognize the content, so YouTube must have taken down the original and Tim had to delete something. Oh Well. I have had very good luck with Ruger products, and others at the rifle club have had several problems with Browning Buckmarks. I have added after market internals to some of our Ruger Mks, and our latest seems to be settling in at a 4 pound trigger, so I will be getting some Volquartsen parts to improve that.
We had nasty cold and wind, and I have not been out to shoot lately. It's going up to 60 today, so Spring is on the way.
We all were very fortunate. The weather was perfect for this event, and the next day a nasty squall line blew through, bringing dangerous winds and cold temps.
Merle is sending all of us to Hungary today to enjoy a pretty little engine and railroad. It looks to be about a two foot gauge, so I bet there is some oscillation in the cars. Don't try to read while you ride! Thanks, Merle!
Pretty Neat, Merle! Thank You!
The Spring show is coming up in May, and the Summer show in mid-August. Rough and Tumble Website
I recycled a couple of videos from last year, trimming them down and focusing on the process. An after action review is at the end, to reinforce the lesson.
Holy Cow! I went up to the north barn today to get the utility vehicle and walked up on a groundhog who exited stage left under the east end of the barn. I retrieved a camera that I had in the barn, and there is another groundhog living in the west end, and a possum, too. There has been much to much digging going on in the old barn, so I must spend some time and deal with these little vandals. I note that the little earth movers like to come out in mid-afternoon as well as the morning. I have scouted a couple of good spots where I can break up my silhouette with trees. Years ago I would lie on the ground behind a log, but now I think I will use a folding camp chair and a monopod rest.
These little video segments can be good dry practice for you. Use a laser practice pistol, play the video full screen and sit back about 8 feet. Try to pop the laser dot in the vitals every time the groundhog appears. They never give you much time!
...passed away Sunday, March 8, at age 84. Country Joe was at Woodstock, and that is where he became a solo artist when he was asked to get on stage and take up some time. He performed his famous cheer and the Fixin' To Die Rag, featured in the film and on the LP of Woodstock.
During the 1970s he recorded his War War War album, but never performed it for audiences. It didn't sell well, and in later years when people wanted it, it was not available. Joe tried to get his publisher to reissue it, but they weren't interested, so he recorded the whole album again, live, in Canada in 2007. It is a fine album, and you can listen to the songs on YouTube. It was for sale on Joe's website, and I don't think you will be able to get it now that he is gone. Country Joe was a good guy.
Here is the 1970 recording of the Man From Athabasca, and the 2007 live recording.
Merle spotted a beautiful 1915 vintage triple-expansion marine engine that resides in a museum. It's turning, but no steam. This engine replaced the original engines in the 1863 ironclad, HMS Scorpion. It's a beautiful piece of machinery.
And, here is an operating triple expansion engine in the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, one of the two surviving Liberty Ships from World War II. About 200 of these engines are sitting on the ocean floor.
I was seeing two deer until I was ready to hit the Export button, when I saw movement from a third. See how long it takes you to see it!
Thanks again, Merle! I would be nervous riding the front end of this contraption!
Merle sent a rare one. Cam Stoppers had a different method of governing the engine speed. I have heard of them, but have never seen one in the flesh. Thanks, Merle! Even today, engineers are trying to find the perfect engine design.
