Weekend Steam

Here is a really big engine from the pages of the January-February 1964 issue of the Iron Men Album Magazine.

Crankin' It Up

This week we cranked up Grandpa's old Edison again and listened to another jazzy fox-trot. The new microphone has definitely improved the True Blue Studio.

Sun Pillar

I caught this stubby pillar yesterday morning before I got out to the hard road. I bailed out and was able to take photos just before it disappeared.

Hazard Tree Assessment

One of my favorite sitting places looked a bit different when I checked on it last Sunday. This old shingle oak was hollow, and it had an opening about eight feet up on the south side, so it was probably occupied by owls, or populated by 'possums. I liked resting under it to watch a couple of intersecting game trails. Last week we had a day with thirty mile per hour winds, and that took it down.

I knew this tree was bad, but it wasn't crowding any crop trees, and it was a good acorn producer, so I have left it alone. It did not have any targets, and it did not hurt anything when it came down. It will make some good firewood.

I spotted this hollow urban tree recently, and unlike my tree, it is in a target rich environment. It could easily hit either of two houses depending on which way it breaks when it comes down, or it could fall into the street and smash a car. There is also the possibility it could fall on a person.

When you compare this trunk to my tree, you can easily see that this tree will come down in the foreseeable future. Look at the trees around your home and spot problems like this one before the hammer falls. Look up when you park your car, and don't hang out under trees like these when the wind blows.

It Yust Goes Down So Smood!

If you like good, clean fun, you need to click over to YogiYorgesson.com. Read Harry Stewart's biography while you are there to learn all about the man who entertains us every Christmas as Yogi. You can also order most of his songs on CD by calling the number on the site. The service was excellent, and it was worth the call just to hear Mrs. Howard summon her husband with "It's another Yogi call!" Yust go nuts!

Not My Victrola

Janet Gaynor performs a sentimental song from the 1929 talkie, "Sunnyside Up." This one is guaranteed to lift your mood for the work week.

Monday Morning Blues

My grandparents gave me a very nice Bible in 1959. It is a leather bound red letter edition, has maps in the back of Asia and the Holy Land, and lots of religious art throughout the book. This picture of Samson grinding grain in prison always bothered me because I knew that he had been blinded by the Philistines. I never gave a thought to him wearing a loin-cloth.

If you do a search for 'Samson In The Treadmill' on the Internet, this is what you will find. The loin-cloth obviously bothered someone. Prints with this Photo-Shop abomination are for sale on more than one site. OH WELL......Back To The Old Grind.

Urban Barns

Barns in town? The town I grew up in has lots of them, and it used to have chicken houses, too, which have all disappeared. I never thought much about them until recently when I realized that the younger generations might find them to be an interesting bit of history.

In the not too distant past, you needed a horse and carriage to get around, and these barns served as shelter for a horse, a carriage house, and also stored feed and hay for the horse. A chicken coop probably stood nearby to provide eggs and Sunday dinners. Many families also kept a milk cow in town.

After Old Dobbin was replaced, these buildings made a great garage for the horseless carriage, and had lots of room to store items in the loft.

Many of them are in sad states of disrepair, and obviously are not long for this world. I suspect that this one is full of clutter so the family car can no longer fit inside.

This one has a new tin roof, so it's a safe bet that it will soon be fixed up and painted.

I learned about my old home town looking for these artifacts. You find them only in neighborhoods built before the 1920's. By that time, most families had a Ford, which required only a small garage to protect the transportation.

This barn is just a few blocks off of the town square, and probably served as a livery stable, or as a feed and hay supply store.

Weekend Steam

This week's steam post features some beautiful winter shots of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. This video was posted by ClassicLights over on YouTube.

Crankin' It Up

We are having fun with the new microphone. It does a great job of capturing our old records without the clicking and fuzzing out of the old mike. Here is a great jazz number from our stack of Edisons that will give you a good workout on the dance floor.