Annual Christmas Song Festival! Handel's Messiah

 We are just one month away from Christmas already, and here is the full 2 1/2 hours of Handel's Messiah, from Sydney, Australia to get things started. Open it on YouTube in a new tab and leave it up so you can come back to it easily.

Backyard Buck

It is firearm deer season where we live and we have been very careful to leave the deer alone so they don't go out and get shot. The deer see our dogs out in the yard every day, and our activities around the house rarely cause any alarm.

Weekend Steam: We Are Going To Germany!

 Many Thanks, Merle! Sorry I am so late today.

You Must Be Very Quiet?

 This handsome buck along with a few other deer all were on camera a couple days ago. Forty-five minutes previously, Susan was on camera piloting the Grasshopper in what we hope is the final mowing this year.  Firearm season starts Friday, November 22. Remember your camo, your scent killing spray, a see through deer blind, rattling antlers, grunt call, super-duper deer cartridges, etc. Or, just don't plod along like a human, go sit against a stump or tree, and don't wiggle around excessively. Ride in on a lawn mower or John Deere tractor if you really want the deer to come and check you out. 

PS: One of our deer hunting tactics for friends going out in the afternoon is to crank up a chainsaw and let it idle at the house while they go to their hunting location. It works like a charm. 

One Of Our Old Landmark Trees...

...is falling apart. There is some ancient storm damage where the top spreads, so those big limbs are not anchored to the center. There is a hollow that squirrels will chew into for denning, then bees move in and run the squirrels out, then it grows shut again. Sort of amusing, and you have to observe for years to see it happen. It is a swamp white oak and is perfect for this upper glacial lakebed site.

Tuesday Torque: 1895 Motuer Millot

I don't know how you do it Merle. You keep finding new old things that I have never even heard of! Thank You!

 

Weekend Steam II: Surprise Burrell

 Thanks, Merle! Surprise Burrell is always a good channel to look at. 

A Stack As Long As A House

We have been using the warm weather to get wood into the barn and under the eaves at the house. We have a stack five feet high covering most of the front now, nearly four cords of good wood. The blond wood on top of the stacks and in the back of the Kubota is from trees we planted in 1976. It's our normal!

There is always more to do. Back To The Old Grind!

 

Weekend Steam: Samson Traction Engine Scale Models

 Beautiful, aren't they? Many Thanks, Merle!

Out Strolling

 I took a little walk in the woods at the farm today and the big old pin oak out back is really falling apart. It has dropped two widow makers in the tree to its left in this photo. There is plenty of dead wood on the ground. Don't stand around under trees in this condition...It is all going to be on the ground someday. 

I wandered over to a hollow hickory that is used as a den tree. Don't reach in and feel around in hollow trees. You might shake hands with a wampus cat. It looks like a young raccoon, and it did not wish to be bothered. 

Burglars Have Visited Again!

 What an aggravation!

Stump Analysis

 We always examine our tree stumps and evaluate them for any mistakes, and to improve our tree cutting skills. This is the stump of the sweetgum we cut at the Carmi Rifle Club recently. I was asked a question about cutting trees and that stump is a good one for labeling and instruction. We do a five step plan for every tree. 1: Assess hazards 2: Assess forward/backward weight and lean, and side lean 3: Design front cut and hinge 4: Design your back cuts 5: Escape from the stump, preferably at 135 degrees to direction of fall. 

The stump shows how steps 2, 3, and 4 go together. Click the photo to enlarge it. 

And here is the tree going over, in case you missed the post about it.