Sentimental Songs From The Great War

John McCormack's recording of Roses of Picardy is probably the best known version of this song. Posted by patriot4913.



Al Jolson recorded this sentimental tearjerker in 1918. Posted on YouTube by teoghiechimneys

Potatoes In The Root Cellar?

 We've had a long fall with good weather in Southern Illinois, so you should have all of your crops safely stored away now.  If you tire of digging potatoes by hand every fall, you should keep your eyes open for one of these nifty little rigs.

 I recognized the purpose of the potato digger before I saw the label on the side, because it is quite similar to the machines used for lifting tree seedlings, and I've seen those a few times.

 The tail piece shakes the soil of the spuds before they drop off, same as a seedling lifter.

 If you're going to produce a prodigious pile of potatoes, you should add one of these to your tool list for the machine shed. 

Sentiments From World War I

We posted several records from The Great War a few years back, and this week is a good time to recycle them.  Katy gets a lot of plays, and YouTube viewers still leave positive comments frequently; mostly in the vein of "My grandpa used to sing this song." 

BangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBangBang.....

 We finished the siding project for the southwest corner of the barn Sunday.  I realized Saturday night that my old ears don't like the sound of nails being pounded, and I wore ear protection Sunday.  It doesn't take much to turn up the tinnitus volume nowadays.

While we worked on this side Saturday and Sunday we made frequent trips into the barn for boards and nails, then to the garage to run the table saw, then to the barn to drive nails.  The deer that hang out in our woods stayed right out back, only about 100 feet from where we worked.  They could see us clearly in the barn when we were pulling boards out of our stash.  They are pretty tame as long as we stay on our side of the line.  Our friend Troy stopped by for a brief visit, and when I took him back in the barn to have a look at the herd, they all disappeared.  Must have been his camo, or maybe they could read his mind.

Hercules Engines At Boonville

There were three slick Hercules engines on this trailer load of restored iron last month at Boonville. If you have a listen, you will hear the exhaust whistle tooting away.

More Work Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Veterans' Day Is Coming Up Friday

Take a moment to think about the sacrifices of those who served, and thank a veteran this week.

Crankin' It Up: Exotic Places

It's not Sheherazade, but it's not too bad. Performed by the Waldorf Astoria Dance Orchestra November 29, 1918.

Back To The Barn

 We haven't spent much time working on the barn for many months, but the open corner kept reminding us that we needed to get back to work, so we have been spending time on recent weekends going up and down ladders, nailing in new stringers, and fitting new siding boards.  Our goal for this week is to close in this corner and treat the boards with linseed oil in preparation for painting.

When the southwest corner is finished we need to start in on the northwest corner.  After that, there is plenty more to do; actually we will never be done, but I do think we are starving some of the termites, and that is gratifying.

A Visit To Pond Creek Logging

I stopped in to see how Jason and his partner were getting along, and had the pleasure of watching several big old white oaks being dropped and hauled. This patch of woods is well into over-maturity, and the red oaks were all damaged by fire about sixty years ago. You can identify the red oak logs by the hole in the middle. White oak bark is more fire resistant, and those trees were in much better condition. Jason asked if I would like to drop a big white oak, and having a sense of value of those trees, I declined; but did take down a hickory and a big post oak. Thanks, Jason!