Don't Get The You-Know-What Smacked Out Of You By A Springpole

You will see springpoles if you cut trees or deal with storm damage. They occur when a falling tree pulls a sapling or pole down with it, and they are loaded with energy much like a longbow. A good friend of mine cut one about thirty years ago on the outside (tensioned side),and it knocked him cold. It broke his glasses, blacked both eyes, but he came to after a while and staggered out of the woods.

Imagine two lines, one parallel to the section coming up from the ground, and the other one parallel to the pinned end. Bring your eye to the point where those two line meet, bisect the angle and draw a line to the pinned tree. Nip it; that's right, NIP IT on the inside of the curve at that point. Lay your saw over so you are not cutting straight in. You can extract your saw when using your blade almost parallel to the stem, and use repetitive nipping. You will see the energy ease out of the stem with every little cut you make.

Bisect that angle perfectly and the two sides will still touch when you are done. You don't have to do it perfectly to release the energy safely. Have a helper pull a sapling down and stand on it the next time you are out with a chainsaw to practice this technique.

Photo Credit: Mary Grapperhaus

Hey Everybody! Meet Sheba!

We had a busy holiday weekend full of excitement. Susan and I watch Schipperke rescue sites, and this little girl appeared in Northern Illinois in need of a home. We filled out the necessary application, and I went to the other end of the state on Monday, and then back home. Sheba is a "Fluff" Schip, which is a variation caused by recessive genes. Her coat is not right for the breed, but is highly prized by Schipperke lovers. She is getting along fine with Skipper, although he did show his 'possum face when she first came in. She likes long walks and stuffed monkeys. She is very playful but goes quiet right away when we turn out the lights. Thank You Marcie!

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

You might stand a chance to win one this week. This is a P85 from 1990, and collectors don't fight over them the way they do other models. This is a new gun that never left the factory, and since it's a Ruger, you know that it's a good one. CLICK HERE to read all about it and to place your bid. This fine semi-auto pistol will sell mid-day, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Honored American Veterans Afield.

$565 You missed a great deal!

Tuesday Turbo Boost

Hit It Twice As Hard This Week!

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola Holiday Bonuses!

Weekend Steam: Let's Go To The Black Hills And Ride The 1880 Train!

We took this ride many years ago when we hijacked my dad for a trip to South Dakota. We did a trail ride, panned for gold, saw Mt. Rushmore, and brought back a big pile of rocks. We need to do that trip again.


This video begins and ends with the 1880 Train, and has Diesels in between, but it provides some good views of South Dakota landscapes.

Not My Victrola: Add A Little Context To Conflicts Past And Present

Published on Dec 31, 2008 by Pax41written by B. R. Hanby "Darling Nelly Gray" is a 19th c. popular song composed by Benjamin Hanby, and as such, is a pseudo-African-American folksong. Hanby composed the song while attending Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio in 1856, in response to the plight of a runaway slave named Joseph Selby or Shelby. Benjamin Hanby's father, Bishop William Hanby, a United Brethren minister who was active in the Underground Railroad, was attempting to raise money to free Selbys beloved. Although author and origins of the song are known, it may be seen in relation to the blackface genre. In the song, a male slave in Kentucky mourns his beloved, who has been sold South to Georgia. It has been called the saddest song ever written for its conclusion, which is essentially an embrace of death after a life of loss and sorrow.

In a long green, valley on the old Kentucky shore
Sure I've whiled many happy hours away,
Just a sitting and a singing by the little cabin door
Where lived my darling Nellie Gray

When the moon had climbed the mountain, and the stars were shining bright
I'd take my darling Nellie Gray
And we'd float down the river in my little red canoe
While my banjo so sweetly I would play

One night I went to see her, but she's gone the neighbors say
And the white man had bound her with his chain
They have taken her to Georgia for to wear her life away
As she toils in the cotton and the cane

Oh, my darling Nellie Gray, they have taken you away
I'll never see my darling anymore
They have taken you to Georgia for to work your life away
And youre gone from that old Kentucky shore.

Now my canoe is under water, and my banjo is unstrung
I am tired of living, anymore
My eyes shall be cast downward, and my songs will be unsung
While I stay on the old Kentucky shore

Now my eyes are getting dimmer and I cannot see the light
Hark theres someone a-knocking at my door
Oh I hear the angels coming and I see my Nellie Gray
So farewell to the old Kentucky shore

Oh, my darling Nellie Gray, up in heaven, so they say
And they'll never take you from me, anymore
Oh I'm coming, coming, coming, as the angels clear the way
So farewell to the old Kentucky shore

This song came about five years before secession and Fort Sumter, and most recruits from the North would have at least heard this song, if they didn't know it by heart. No matter how many times you hear that the Civil War was about states's rights, you have to include slavery in the equation. 

150 years after the end of that war it seems that there are a whole lotta people wanting to start something all over again. My guess is that the loudest complainers couldn't earn a C if they were given a test that covered the buildup to war, the war itself, and the history of the South after the war.

We don't like to do politics on this little blog, so just enjoy the song and add it to your bag of tools if you are a student of history.

Crankin' It Up With Brat The Cat! Fabulous Fourth!

We gave Brat the week off, and pulled a video from the archives to stir your patriotic passions for the Fourth. Be safe, be steadfast.



Under The Double Eagle and Invincible Eagle March by TrueBlueSam

A Tree Is Not A Shelter...

I'm always telling people to quit parking under trees around their homesites. The trees that catch my eye have obvious problems, and are disasters just waiting to happen, but sometimes a good one bites the dust, too. This big pin oak was solid, but a little twister reached down and spun the top out and dropped it right on a nice car.

There isn't any defense against tornadoes, but there is for normal storm damage. Don't plant a silver maple or red maple within 100 feet of your house! Those two species are guaranteed to drop major parts in any serious thunderstorm. Prune out branches with steep angles before they become large. Keep your trees pruned so they are balanced away from your house. Take out trees that develop root rot and other serious structural defects from wounds and rot.