Weekend Steam II: Ride Along On A 15 Inch Gauge Loco!

 Took a trip and never left the farm. Many Thanks, Merle!

Weekend Steam: Steamwagon Spectacular!

 Growing up, the engines on the other side of the pond were pretty much a mystery to me. No More! Merle keeps finding great videos of engines over there, and I am loving it. Thank You, Merle!

We Have Peppers,

 onions, and right now we are going out to pick tomatoes. You can probably guess where this is leading.

Plunket Junior Engine

 Our friend Gary Bahre had this little jewel of an engine with him when he went to the Evansville show last month. It was obviously meant to do light work around the home or shop, as evidenced by hte groove for running a round leather belt like you would see on a treadle sewing machine. Pretty Neat!

Forty-Seven Is Bacon!

 Special Day, July 13!

Phoebes Have Fledged!

 We have two families of Phoebes this year, one on the east side of the house, and the other on the west side. The ones outside our bedroom window fledged yesterday, so we can use our lights again. They are cute little birds.

Susan's Staples Are Out!

 She has been cleared to drive again, just two weeks after the revision surgery on the right hip. Here is the quick rundown of her hip surgeries. The left hip was replaced on May 2, and she went home the next day, had her staples out at two weeks, and had an easy recovery, going to physical therapy twice a week. June 15 was the date of her right hip replacement, and again, she went home the next day. It did not feel as good as the left hip did after surgery. It just seemed off a bit to her, but there were no problems she could point to. On June 26 the right hip dislocated. She dropped and had terrible pain. We got her to an emergency room, and after some extremely painful manipulations they got her hip back in the socket, but she could not move her leg, and the pain was unbearable. She was transported back to Sara Bush Lincoln hospital at Mattoon where she was operated on Monday, June 27. The liner (cup, or socket) placed in her pelvis had rotated, and that caused the ball to pop loose. The surgical team removed the liner, reamed the pocket in her pelvis a bit larger, and replaced the liner, using a screw to insure that it would not move. Recovery has been slower this time, with more pain than the first time, but she is doing well. 

Susan does not like to look at the X-rays, but they are sure worth looking at. The first one is the dislocated hip, the next one is after the ball was manipulated back in place, and you can see that the liner is rotated out of place. The third picture is the repaired hip, with the screw visible. If I ever have this type of surgery, I will ask for a screw to anchor it!

Tuesday Torque: A Tour Of A Mega Ship's Engine Room

 Pretty darn big! Thank You, Merle!

Weekend Steam: Clayton And Shuttleworth No. 38472 "Louise"

 Better late than never! This little video is wonderful! Thank You, Merle!

Junior, July 7, 2022

 Junior came to us in December 2015. He had been abandoned by his family, and was in an animal shelter in Peoria, and was ten years old. He was a sweet, good natured dog, and he was a perfect gentleman as a house dog. When he needed out, he would go to the door and tell you telepathically that he needed out. We rarely heard his voice. We found that if he had the chance, he would run. He even tried a getaway after he went blind. That is not unusual for  a Schipperke. Junior had become deaf and blind, and I carried him in and out for a long time, but he still enjoyed being around the other dogs and he had a healthy appetite. A couple of strokes crippled him in the last week, and we could tell he was hurting, so we made the final trip to the vet with him. The video was shot the first day he was with us.