Morning Light And Wildlife Show

 Watching the Belt of Venus is rare for us in the morning. It was good this morning, much better than the camera shows. I won't be standing around over the weekend when the cold weather slides in!

A Bit Of Easy Firewood

 Not many ash trees are still alive in Illinois now. Many are still standing, but that won't last long. This is a tree we planted 48 years ago, and it is fascinating to see how the roots decayed and let go of the soil. We drive by an ash a bit bigger than this on the west side of IL Hwy 242, just north of McLeansboro. I hold my breath every time I go by it, because it leans to the road. There is a good chance it will kill or injure someone if IL DOT doesn't take it down soon. Anyway, with cold weather on the way, I want more wood in the stack, and this was an easy one. I cut it and brought one load home, split it and stacked it, and went back in the rain the next day to pick up the rest. It's easy, and it is ready to burn. 

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Deadly Side-Binds

 You must assess the forces in the wood you are cutting with every stroke of your chainsaw. If you don't, you will wreck logs and get your saw jammed up frequently. Yanking a saw loose out of a pinch can also break your crankshaft. One of the less common forces you will see is the side-bind, and they can be deadly. Here are a couple of videos of side-bind accidents, and one of my own that we did a few years ago. 

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Tuesday Torque

 Got a few new links via Merle. Thank You, Merle!

Little Oil Pull

1912 20 HP Mogul

Avery 40-80

George Called....

 ....just before sunset yesterday while I was over at the farm. "Got him." I got his location and hustled back to Belle Prairie and fired up the Kubota. George and Dusty have been seeing this buck on camera, always at night.  He came by George's stand yesterday while there was still light, just out of range, and kept going. George grunted and stopped him, and with nothing to lose he grunted again and the old guy came back to check him out. George put an arrow straight through his heart.  George can shoot. Congratulations, George!

Monighan 4W Dragline Documentary

 Pack a good lunch. Those levers will build your arms!

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam II: U.S.R.A Light Mikado, B. & O. Railroad Museum, Baltimore

 We missed this historic engine when we visited the museum in 1999. Never enough time. Thank You, Merle!

2-8-2 Light Mikado

 Wiki Light Mikado

Wiki Heavy Mikado

Weekend Steam: Steam Potpourri

 Thank You, Merle! Fbook actually had an embed code available on one of these. 

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Anniversary Knee Checkup

 Susan had her right knee replaced one year ago and we went to Effingham yesterday for an evaluation. It's working well and looking good. Her other knee doesn't look too keen in the X-rays, but it isn't causing any trouble, so we are just going to be kind to it. Getting old isn't the same as it used to be. It is a good time to be alive. 

Knee surgery hurts much more than hip replacement. Take good care of your joints. Forget about football and running for your health. I still have good joint space at 72 because I am a lousy runner. 

Morning Coffee By The Fire

 Ranger treasures his morning lap time.

You Can Cut A Leaner...

...without being smashed, or splitting the log. We keep seeing new videos on the YTube showing barber chairs and split trees. Those life-threatening situations are easy to avoid if you will just start bore cutting to make the hinge before you cut the back of the tree. If you aren't bore cutting, you are stuck in the axe and crosscut days with your techniques. 

 

Tuesday Torque: A Couple Of Rare Ones On Facebook Reels

 Thank You, Merle! We couldn't do this without you!

30-60 Mogul and Pony Motor

Diesel Sure Go, Won't dey!