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!