Busy Day

I had a long day today, and just now checked in on Blogger. I will put up more pictures of today's activities tomorrow evening, and tell a little about the good times had by all involved.

Today in History

A few more pics from my trip last week. Did these old schools always have the pictures of Washington and Lincoln? The school I went to in Iowa did.

Monday Again!

Back to the old grind!

Poets' Corner

EPITAPH FOR A CAT

If in some far-off, future day,

A stranger's feet should pass this way,

And if his gaze should seek the ground,

Wondering, what lies beneath the mound:

Know that a cat of humble birth

Claims this small portion of the earth.

But I thought not of pedigree,

When, like a child, he came to me,--

A lonely waif, whose piteous cries.

Were mirrored in his frightened eyes.

And so I beg that you will not

Defame or desecrate this spot

By ruthless act or idle jeer,

Though but a cat lies buried here.

MARGARET E. BRUNER

Crankin' It Up: Request Line

We received a request through You Tube for I Ain't Got Nobody. Our old records are not inventoried, but while we were looking at our WWI records last night we found it. The singer, Mr. George H. O'Connor was quite the performer, singing for Presidents Taft through Truman. He died in 1946.

Weekend Steam

This ad for Advance-Rumely comes from a 1921 Thresherman magazine. These were great engines, and yes, I am a bit prejudiced, since I learned steam engine operation on an 18 HP Advance-Rumely. They were unusual in using a Marsh valve gear. The Marsh used timing gears with an eccentrically mounted crankpin instead of a conventional eccentric driven valve gear.

Beauty

One of our loyal readers has responded to the post featuring a Skelgas Constellation cookstove with a photo of his treasure. This Wedgewood features two ovens, two broilers, four burners, and a griddle. Stoves of this quality were rarely traded in on a new appliance; they are a joy to use and they outlive the original owners.

I did a search and found this site: http://antiquegasstoves.com/. Antique Gas Stoves restores high quality stoves, and also sells replacement parts. I noticed that their prices are not posted on their stoves, which are restored to factory new condition. I am afraid that if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. Take a look, especially if you are contemplating remodeling your kitchen.

Fungus Among Us

With spring weather we are seeing the reappearance of familiar fungi.

Cedar- Apple Rust

Morels; we had these with supper tonight.

Not Getting Any Younger

Kennekuk County Park, just west of Danville, IL, has a nice historic village which I visited this week. This stove (Skelgas Constellation) on display there had me repeating a lament I have heard from elders all my life. "That's not an antique; I had/used/saw that when I was young." I am saying that with alarming frequency. It is about 1950 vintage. Stoves like this one replaced wood cookstoves after WWII, and I moved and cleaned tons (literally) of stoves like this in my first job in an appliance store.

The stove in our kitchen, which we use every day, is a 1950 model Chambers range. You can get a glimpse of our treasure in the post about soap making (Education label). We have no intention of retiring this beauty; it works when the electricity goes off. Chambers used lots of cast iron in their stoves, and you do not move them about without forethought and several strong backs. Backs younger than mine.

Grass vs Trees

Foresters are famous for preaching against grass in tree planting projects, and for good reason. This thirty year old walnut planting has various treatments to row groupings for demonstration purposes. Grass was controlled with herbicide in the rows to the left, and grass was allowed to grow in the rows up the center of this photo. It is a dramatic difference. The worst grass to have in a tree planting is fescue. It is not unusual to lose 90% of your trees in the first years where fescue is growing. Fescue does not only compete with trees for water; it fights trees chemically.

In deep prairie soils, a seedling with 8" or 10" inches of root doesn't have a chance against deeply rooted grasses during a dry summer. Annual weeds and briars may look bad, but trees seem to thrive amongst them. I have also had good luck with Timothy and red top grasses on poor soils.

Be sure to talk to a forester who knows your area when you begin planning for a tree planting project. Knowledge of local conditions and soil types is critical for success.