Tuesday Torque: Challenge Engine

 Merle found a cute one for us this week, and it is a different layout from the typical farm engine. Thank You, Merle!

Lovely Little Grinder For Your Coffee

 

                                                               Back To The Old Grind!

How Come You Ask Me If I Want Mo' Lasses When I Ain't Had No Lasses?

 We had a great time hanging around the sorghum evaporator pan at Boonville, and came home with some freshly cooked molasses. It's great on crackers, toast, and ice cream. The show goes on one more day.

Crazy Mountains, Montana

 In this video, Tristan not only gives you butterflies in your stomach, there are grasshoppers!

Weekend Steam II: Huber Steamroller At Boonville!

 This Huber steam roller has been sitting idle for many years, but Andy Glines and friends got to work on it and have it running for the Fall show at Boonville, Indiana. The operators all agreed that this engine is hard to fire. The boiler is the same diameter as Andy's Huber traction engine, but is a bit longer. Andy's engine is easy to fire, but the roller takes forever to get steam up. Tending your fire on a return flue is harder than a locomotive boiler, but there is plenty of experience in these guys. It's a puzzle, but I bet they figure it out. 

Weekend Steam (And Gas): Boonville, Indiana Engine Show Is This Weekend!

Boonville's October show is a three day event, October 14-16.    There will be steamers, gas engines, tractors, and a great flea market.  Put it on your calendar!




Directions: Thresherman’s Park, 2-1/2 miles north of Boonville on W. New Harmony Road, 1/4 mile off Hwy. 61.

Click on the Google Earth Photo to enlarge.

Sadness Leaks Through Tear-Stained Cheeks, Rest In Peace, Little Ozzie

 Ozzie came to us a little over three years ago. His owner was a Schipperke breeder who developed health problems and had to move to an assisted living home. Her dogs were taken in by Midwest Schipperke Rescue friends, and Ozzie came to us to foster. He was a stud dog, and had a nice kennel. He adapted quickly to life in our home, and mixing with our dogs, and he had a sweet personality. Midwest placed him with a lady in St. Louis and they hit it off immediately.

Ozzie had a bed in every room, but preferred sleeping with his new owner. He had three wonderful years as a beloved house pet, but became ill recently. An ultrasound last week showed that he had liver cancer, and this morning he died. We are heartbroken for him, his owner, and the breeder who surrendered him for his retirement years. 

Antonio Bertali: Ciacconi, Alana Youssefian, Voices Of Music, Baroque Violin

Voices Of Music website (click)

Photo-Reminiscing About The 8 HP Bessemer

I was looking at a few photos of the old Bessemer engine and dug out some more to make a brief slide show. This engine was busted for more than ninety years. The rod broke around 1920, probably because the oiler ran dry while the engine was running. Susan and I bought it and dragged it back to Prestonsburg, KY, where we lived at the time, then later brought it to the farm.  We set it up by the road to hold our mailbox, until Gary Bahre came along and it went home with him. The new rod was welded up out of flat stock, machined, and a babbit bearing was poured. The Bessemer is a 2 stroke engine that can run on liquid fuel, propane, or natural gas. The main bearings are lubed by grease cup, and the cylinder and rod are oiled by a dual drip oiler. 

Combining Beans

 Our second crop beans are not very tall, but we had some timely rain, and they set a lot of pods. We think they did alright. Susan likes these joy rides in the combine!