Enough Winter Already!

February was supposed to be mild according to the Groundhog, but it bit us a few times. The last couple days have been chilling and we are keeping the stove hot. Let's hope for a decent March. Spring is just three weeks away!

Brushpile Getaway

 Pick your day, and stay with your fire. This one was doing great, and we broke at 1:00 for a snack and water. Susan had errands to run and I went back to the fire. Then the wind came up, a solid 15 mph with gusts. I busted the fire up with the tractor and got a four gallon backpack sprayer. I started putting out wood, coals, and hot ash. I refilled three times before Susan got back, and then she stirred ashes while I put on more water. We used 20 gallons total, through a backpack weed sprayer, and the fire did not get away.

Tuesday Torque! Let's Go To Albany, Minnesota For Pioneer Days!

 Merle found a fascinating marine engine on a Facebook reel, which I will Link Here. Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to embed Facebook reels. Then I went looking for the guy who posted it, and I think his Facebook channel is all video segments that he copied from YouTube. I cannot find him on YT. I did find many videos other people have posted of Albany, Minnesota, and I wonder why I never noticed that show before. Kenny Kizzle shows the same engine, but he walks on by it without any discussion. Oh Well, or words to that effect. It shows up at 28:40.

And a few more. Thank You, Merle, for guiding us around the engine web!

The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out...

Whether you are a soft-bodied mammal or a hard-hearted hickory, there is something waiting for you at your demise. We do our part to send them up the chimney to heaven, and avoid all the munchiness.

The wood seasons quickly if the tree is dead for a while, so long as it is vertical so rain runs off rather than soaking in through the bark. Those seasoning cracks in hickory in less than a week are amazing and gratifying. Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: Link Picks By Merle

 These brief Facebook reels are good ones. I wish FBook made embedding an option with these. Anyhow, click the links. Thanks, Merle!

Case Pulls A Planer

Port Huron Tandem Compound

Weekend Steam: Durango And Silverton

 It's always good to visit the Durangon and Silverton. Thanks, Merle!

Overhauling The Liftmaster Gate Opener

Our Liftmaster gate opener quit last week, and we overhauled it with parts from a damaged actuator that we stashed years ago. It is a relief to have it working again without having to buy parts and pay for service calls. 

Hard Hat Reminder

 Also, that Escape Rule should not be ignored. The hickory tree's fibers slipped, and I stayed in place to get my video. A tap on the head is always a reminder that you should have been somewhere else.

Nice Sunset

 It's like we live in a resort.

Little Six-Point Carcass

 

                                                                                                          Dusty Photo

Our friend Dusty was out in the timber looking for shed antlers and found this little buck that has been cleaned by coyotes and other varmints. We have a lot of hunting pressure around us. There are two outfitters selling hunts, and deer hunters are all around our timber  through the deer seasons. We saw more than a dozen impressive sets of  antlers on social media that were harvested around us. This deer was probably killed by one of those hunters. The shooter should have contacted us and collected it, but did not. Maybe the shooter was not competent to track a wounded deer, maybe the shooter wasn't brave enough to contact us and ask permission to retrieve it. Maybe he shot this deer, saw a better one, and then shot and tagged the second one. Maybe he shot when this little deer was in line with the one he was aiming at. Who knows? It's an aggravation. The outfitters charge well up into four figures for a successful deer hunt, and there have been many trophy quality racks taken around us. This little guy will not mature to be one of those trophies in the future, so sloppy hunting is not just bothering us, it will be hurting the outfitters. The heavy pressure* around our island of habitat for trophy bucks is not sustainable, and I am sure we will be seeing fewer big racks in the next few years.

*We are skeptical about the ethics of some of the hunting that goes on around us. We commonly hear rifle shots at night during both bow and gun seasons while we are out with the dogs. Deer carcasses discarded off of bridges are big red flags.