Weekend Steam: Apples and Oranges

Merle (of e-Postal Match fame) sent the link to this video, and it's a good one.  Contests like this one come down to torque and traction, and a smokin' Diesel is just providing a good show if the weight, rubber, and gearing don't match up with the opponent.  Plowing backward with your tires is darned impressive!


Video by: Millar's Tractor Spares Thanks for the link, Merle!

Four Wheel Drive Is A Must

It's a joy to get where you are going without going in the ditch.

Crankin' It Up

Have a look at the next phonograph to go online!  Susan and I bought this old Brunswick in 1975, and we are going to see if we can make it play again.

Wildlife Masacred By Blizzard!

Porcupines Frozen In Mid-Stride!

So Far, So Good, But....

...will it blow snow?  We purchased a new Red Max blower this fall, and it does great rolling leaves out of the yard, and is light enough to use blowing out the gutters.  The snow falling tonight is heavy, but we will give it a try on the driveway tomorrow and see how it does with the white stuff.

"Many A Weary Nibble"

Here's a strange call.  A homeowner contacted me because her cedar tree was raining down the tips of branches.  A close inspection showed that all of these juniper tips were cut cleanly.  You will see this type of behavior from squirrels, who like to drop the ends of oak branches with acorns, or with wasp galls full of tasty larvae, but these limbs are too small for a squirrel to navigate.  That left mice as a choice.  Voles are a mouse-sized rodent, with a short tail, that are murder on tree plantings in grass.  Voles are always chewing up bedding for their dens, and it appears that a vole, or voles, zeroed in on this tree to provide bedding for the winter.  The homesite is being taken over with young trees so the grasses are disappearing, and it looks to me as though the voles moved to the next best thing for bedding in their cozy little dens.  That's my guess, anyhow.  If you can think of a better explanation for who's been making these tiny cedar cuttings, let us know in comments.

Rattles Your Windows, It Does

It's always a thrill when you hear a crop duster arrive over your house.  The pilot usually finishes up his application before you can find the right spot to shoot video, but this time he was right across from the end of the driveway.  I miss the old Pratt and Whitney rigs that Farm Air used in years past, but these turbo-prop rigs are much better at climbing out and pulling a tight turnaround. 

Tuesday Turbo Boost

One listen of this, and you will be fired up all week!


Uploaded by HotAndSweaty.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Homes 4 Wounded Heroes

Ruger's auction this week is a .357 Stainless Blackhawk made in 1978.  It was sent out for a photo shoot, and had a new firing pin installed when it was returned to the factory.   The serial number has been modified to reflect that it is a "used" gun.  It's hard to beat a Blackhawk, and we always keep one handy at our house.  You can bid on this gun at Ruger's GunBroker page, and be assured that every penny goes to benefit wounded veterans.  This Blackhawk sells mid-day, Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

UPDATE: $965.00

On Some Jobs You Must Gum Up The Works

Back To The Old Grind!  (This man is too much of an artist to use a grinder, but that is most of us would do today.)  (Gumming a saw increases the depth of the gullet to match the reduction at the top of the tooth.  If you don't do both, the gullet will fill with cuttings.)