Not My Victrola

Pax41 has posted a song by Billy Murray from WWI that is new to me. "Let's All Do Something" is a very crisp recording, and I thought it must be an Edison, but Pax wrote back to tell me that it is a Victor record. It has a great tempo, and a good sentiment to help you start the week! I hope you have a goood one.

Already?

Yep....Monday! Back To The Old Grind!

Sunny Day

Last Sunday was warm, then we had several cold days through the week. Things are looking up today.

Weekend Steam

This week we are visiting another old Iron Men Album magazine for a peek back in time. This old snapshot shows a Reeves traction engine that was used for threshing near Perkins, Iowa. The ladder on the roof might have been used for climbing up to clean the chimneys; I practically get a nose bleed just thinking about climbing up there. I wonder if the old depot is still standing. Have any readers been through Perkins?

Crankin' It Up

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and we have been holding back a nice fiddle record by Don Richardson for the occasion. Unload your knick-knack shelves first if you plan on dancing to this one.

Load Up!

The weekend will be here before you know it, so load your range bag, and print out the targets for Mr. Completely's March contest, and the Gun Blogger Rifle Match (Anyone may enter!). You can enter both of these contests by going out and having a good time with friends or family, and if you enter in rimfire, the cost is minimal. You need the practice after a wearying winter, so go to the nearest shooting range this weekend. Be Safe and Have Fun! I will be out behind the barn trying to improve my score.

Hopping Up Your Ford

The video is one we shot at an engine show last summer, and it has both Model T's and Model A's that have been converted into speedsters. The A's have an exhaust that is a little more 'cackley' than a T. These folks were sure having fun.

This Model T is a bona fide jalopy circuit racer. The old boy who drove it is long gone, but I knew him when I was a kid, and that man could fix anything. His sons drove stock cars, and they really knew how to get around inside an engine. You will too, if you study these pages out of Dyke's Ford Supplement. This week you will learn how to make your Ford perform, and leave those other Tin Lizzies in the dust. There is one more installment that will complete the book learning phase of your mechanical education. If you haven't done so already, click on the T's label to bring up all of the posts celebrating the centennial of the Model T. Click on each page from Dyke's book to enlarge it, then save it to your hard drive. Happy Motoring!

Trees Do The Darndest Things

I ran across this oddball red maple last week, and I thought about it for a bit, trying to figure out what happened here. It looks to me as if someone topped some saplings around this tree, cut openings in the bark of the big tree, and plugged the topped off saplings ito the wounds. Anyway, that is my best guess, which I support because of the large calluses at the junctions. Opinions?

We Let The Fire Go Out

Yesterday we had a dandelion, lots of violets, chiggers, ticks, and tornadoes. Groundhog Day was five weeks ago, and it feels like spring.
There is some excavating going on in our little groundhog village. Pretty soon we will have a new batch of baby rodents in our woods.

Not My Victrola

Gramophoneshane has posted another old favorite, "Kitten On The Keys." It should help you start the work week on a good note.