Not My Victrola; Something A Little Different

We were out on a drive in the country tonight at sunset, and it was glorious. A front was going through and the patterns in the clouds along with the colors prompted an old song to pop back into my head. They wouldn't let kids sing this song in public school today, but we did with Miss Kos in the 1950's and everybody liked it. In fact we sounded glorious!

Respecting Rotten Trees

I was asked to drop this rotten red maple recently because it was endangering  a parking area. You can see the evidence of fungus on the stump and the stem, and it sounded (Thump it with a hatchet.) punky, too. There are a few things to think about with rotten trees. You don't know how much strength the hinge is going to have, so you don't want to fight side-lean. Walk around the tree and find that spot where the tree is well balanced side-to-side; that way the tree won't be trying to go sideways, pulling the hinge apart. You also don't want to fight back lean, because the tree will probably just head over backwards when you start pounding on your wedges. You have to take it in the direction of its weight/lean. Make your hinge about 1/2 again as thick as you normally would so it doesn't crush and trap your saw.

Evaluate your tree so you know where it will go if the stem breaks. Breaks happen suddenly and you won't have time to think about it if it happens. It will happen to you if you cut many of these hazard trees. When it does go pop you will know exactly where to step to get out of the way. In this case I made my front cut for the tree to rotate, I punched the saw through from the right side of the photo to the left and angling back. I then hooked the dogs in and began sweeping to the front of the tree to set the hinge thickness. The back of the tree popped apart before I got there and the tree went down as planned, just a little quicker than I wanted it to. I made one step and was 135° from the front cut when the tree hit the ground. Normally I like to be ten feet or more away when the tree lands, but this is what you get with rotten trees.

When you are cutting sound trees you can take your time, stop and talk about it, or even take a lunch break. When you are cutting a rotten one you need to have your plan in mind and do your cuts as quickly in succession as possible. Don't fiddle around and give the tree a chance to collapse or pull apart when you could have it cut on your terms.

Weekend Steam: Henschel Engine

Midwest Central's Number 16  is almost a spring chicken, being born in 1951. It is very modern as steam engines go, and it came to Mt. Pleasant in 1982. It is sidelined now awaiting boiler repairs, but it will be back on the active roster someday.

A Very Old, Rare Engine: Van Duzen

From what I hear there are no two of these engines alike still in existence. You see them on SmokStak occasionally, but there aren't very many of these. These came from the early years of gas engine production, so the numbers are few. We were very fortunate to see one up close, in person.

A Lifetime Of Faceplants

We just had our annual FFA Forestry Contest at Sam Dale Lake in Wayne County, Illinois. Nine schools brought forty-five students, and a good time was had by all. This kid doesn't know it yet, but if he goes into forestry for a living he will be putting his face in the dirt on a regular basis. Here's why.

We're always looking up. Tree quality and vigor, stand dynamics, squirrels, birds, angels, hickory nuts. We walk while we look and we fall down. Most of the time the ground is soft. You become more careful when you wear tri-focals.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

This is one of 1800 Anniversary Models that Ruger made in 1985, and it marked the end of the .44 Magnum Carbine in Ruger's lineup. I was out before I looked at the bidding, but maybe you want to give it a go. CLICK HERE to read all about it and to place your bid.

$2726. Keep a light coat of oil on it.

Tuesday Turbo Boost

 Johny Cash had a good hit with his version. I first heard this song done by the Sons of the Pioneers.



Vaughn Monroe started all this in 1949 with his orchestra...



...and was seriously mocked by Spike Jones. You gotta love More Cowbell! Mr. Monroe was not amused.

Maybe You Haven't Been Grinding As Finely As You Should....

Improve your attitude with This DOUBLE BARRELED GRINDER!

Back To The Old Grind! Duplex Action, Baby!

Crankin' It Up With Brat The Cat

This record got to old Brat, and he had to leave. The poor old boy hasn't seen his mother since he was  a barely grown kitten and it was too much for him. If you still have a Mother, give her a call. Don't suffer the heartbreak of my Motherless Kitty.

Bad-Ass Hero of 9/11

This man made a difference, while 911 operators were telling people to stay where they were and to wait for help. He would have none of that, and 2700 people were saved from destruction. CLICK