Wayback Machine: Joe Glenn Demonstrates A Rescue Technique

Important technique to know for lifting a section of a tree off of a pinned victim. Steps in the process: 1, Set cribbing in place to prevent the tree from moving. 2, Make two holes through the log with four bore cuts each. The holes must be large enough for your poles to slide through. 3, Make angled cuts so the section can't fall, and wedge the section in place. 4, use poles to lift the log section off, and don't step on the victim. Each hole requires making four bore cuts through the log; become proficient at bore cutting before you try this.

This rescue strategy seems quite relevevant, given all the tornadoes we have had this year. Keep your saws tuned up and ready to go, know how to do a bore cut, have wedges and a hammer in your chainsaw kit, and practice this method. You probably will never need it, but if you do, you better know how to do it.

Gun Handling: Food For Thought And Discussion

Here are a couple of videos worth watching if you handle firearms.  Hang out in a gun store and you will see poor handling habits.  Watch  your babies being handled by curious strangers all day and you will be frustrated. I am struck by a conflict in my mind of spending thousands for a custom 1911 that must be babied, versus a mass-produced version that sells for $1000 or less that can survive just fine with hard use.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The USA Shooting Team

Ruger is offering a pre-production M77 Hawkeye in 6.5 Creedmoor, made in 2010.  This model was not in the catalog until 2011.  This is a new rifle, stored in Ruger's vault.  CLICK HERE to read all about it and to place your winning bid. This fine rifle will sell mid-day, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. $715

Tuesday Torque: 5 HP Hercules Buzz Saw Rig

Road King posted a video of this original 5 HP Hercules engine.  Making wood wasn't easy in the Good Old Days, but this was a huge improvement from using a crosscut saw for every cut.  Those short cuts make me nervous, though.  I wish they kept hands a bit farther away from the blade.  Note the drop cart, which was necessary on engines with a one piece base. The drop center not only lowers the center of gravity, but it places the flywheels at the right height to pull them over for starting.  Our friend Gary mounted his 9 HP Economy on a straight cart, and it would make you bust a gut to roll over the flywheels.

Don't Just Stand There!

Step back, escape the area around your stump.  Watching the tree go will eventually cause you to be hit.  I had cut several snags and was tired when I did this one, so I stood still.  I got lucky and was only swatted on the hand.


We have lots of chainsaw work in the next couple weeks, so it's Back To The Old Grind!

Struck By Lightning

You might not notice this unless you are always looking up in the trees.

 A bit of zoom and you can really see it.  Pecan is an odd tree with lightning.  If the bark is wet with rain, lightning zips down the outside and just pops off the outer bark without injuring the tree.

This lightning bolt also popped off a gray squirrel; poor thing.  God Caught Him Before He Fell.

Sometimes you will be caught in a thunderstorm while you are out in the woods.  Beat feet back to your truck, and avoid passing close to trees.  When lightning comes down on a tree it may bounce around anywhere around the base, so keep some space for safety.  We were caught in a heavy downpour while canoeing in Missouri on the Eleven Point River.  We put in on the left bank, just a short distance from a big bur oak.  The adults kept the kids from gathering under the tree, and we stood in a loose group as the clouds dumped on us.  A big lightning bolt smacked a sycamore directly across the river from us; it was a bit like being shot at and missed.  The kids needed no more convincing to stay away from the bur oak.

Weekend Steam: Steam Rally Across The Pond

The culture is different, the engines don't look like ours, but they give engine lovers the same thrill.  Many Thanks to Merle for spotting!

White County Farm Bureau Young Leader Pistol Shoot...

...is coming up in one month!  Put July 13, 2019 on your calendar.  Send in your registration early and save ten bucks! You can practice at Pistol League, Thursday evenings at 6 PM. You probably can borrow a .22 pistol if you do not own one that is suitable. Bring your own ammo.

The 9th Annual Young Leader Pistol Shoot will be Saturday, July 13 at the Carmi Rifle Club. The .22 steel target shoot will include 6 unique stations, with both adult and youth classes (12 & over). Each station will feature 5 targets, with 5 relays at each target.

Each shooter will have a chance at winning a Ruger Mark IV .22 target pistol, with the top 3 in each class having additional chances. The pistol was donated by The Gun Room at Indian Creek RV in Norris City.

Competition will begin at 9:00 a.m. Registration is $25 per person if registered prior to July 1; and $35 after July 1. Registration includes lunch and drinks. Lunch for non-shooters is $10.

2019 Pistol Shoot sponsors are:

HARVEST SPONSORS – The Gun Room at Indian Creek RV, Citizens National Bank of Albion, COUNTRY Financial, Yesterday’s Drive-In & Catering, Botsch & Associates, Precision Crop Services, Farm Credit Illinois, Fairfield Memorial Hospital, Burnt Prairie Fertilizer, and the Carmi Rifle Club.

GROWTH SPONSORS – Carter Trucking, Consolidated Grain & Barge, Wabash Valley Service Company, and Dartt & Company, CPA.

For registration and sponsorship details, go to the White County Farm Bureau website at www.whitecfb.com/pistolshoot.

Wayback Machine: CRP Recon Joys

CRP signups made for intense workdays.  The county Farm Service Agency offices would often have dozens of new cases or renewals, and every field had to be inspected. I would map out the whole county to reduce backtracking, make a soil map of each case, and look up  the history of renewals so I would know what had been planted.  After seeing each case, the landowners had to be interviewed, and then the new plans could be written.  Conservation Reserve pretty much controlled my work for all of my years working for Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  It wasn't what I expected when I hired in, but it was good work that actually changed the landscape of the counties I worked in.  All that driving and walking meant that I saw lots of interesting sights.  Here are a couple of good ones from the spring of 2012 in Hamilton County.  The tractor is an Allis-Chalmers WC; the barn is probably melted down to the tin roof by now.

The throttle shows some honest wear. I guess the reason I focused on the throttle is because it is very familiar to me.  A kid working that little lever while driving a tractor feels like the king of the world.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The USA Shooting Team

Ruger is auctioning another good one this week!  It is a Law Enforcement Only Mini-14 from 1997, which was during the Clinton-era assault weapons ban.  This baby comes with two twenty round magazines, a flash hider and a bayonet mount. Know your local laws before bidding, because some state and local laws still prohibit this rifle.  CLICK HERE to read the full description and to place that winning bid. This fine carbine will sell mid-day, Wednesday, June 12, 2018.  $1425