Out Back

This nice snapping turtle was on our pond bank Saturday. The first frost is probably less than two weeks away, so he'll be digging in for winter soon.

Looks a bit dinosaurish, doesn't he?

Biting Like......

Chainsaw safety and use are topics that I speak about regularly. At this recent event, one of the groups had a logger a few years older than me. It's a bit dangerous telling people how to take care of and run a chainsaw when a logger might chime in. This guy had learned to log from his father, but had taken safety courses a few years ago and was my Amen Corner. He uses the open face and bore cut to create a good hinge, and he likes the way he can get away quickly and cleanly from the trees he cuts. During our sharpening discussion he used a great expression describing how he likes his saws to cut. I probably will be using his expression in future talks.

Susan and I worked up a spruce tree over the weekend, and converted some of the wood into cants to stash away in the barn for future use. I put a factory ground ripping chain on the saw, and in just a few seconds figured out that it wasn't sharpened aggressively enough. We stopped and filed, reconfiguring the teeth slightly for better cutting.

Here is the result: it's Biting Like An Old Sow!

Not My Victrola

Here is a great Charleston sung by Johny Marvin, and posted on You Tube by RReady555. This will help you start the week on the right foot.

Here Comes Monday!

Back to the old grind!

Our Last Rose of Summer

Today in History

September 27, 1908, the first Model T was built. Henry Ford introduced it to the public in October, and by the time it went out of production nineteen years later, Henry had built 15,007,033 flivvers. This photo is copied from the back cover of 'Model T Memories' by Floyd Clymer, who was selling cars at age 11, and soon began selling Fords.

This book by Mr. Clymer is still in print, and can easily be found on the internet, but I am afraid the $2.00 price that I paid some forty years ago has inflated a bit. It's a good reference book, and entertaining, too.

Model T's came in many body styles, or as a bare chassis so you could add a body yourself. The early T's even came in colors other than black.

Many T owners repainted their car to have a prettier ride, and today's restorers are keeping that tradition alive.

These are my favorite T pictures. Above, my mother as a little girl is riding in the back of a T out for a joyride. Note the lady behind the wheel. The horn did not work on this car, so she has a cowbell to clear the road. Below is the T Truck my dad bought and restored (teaching me a lot in the process) to keep me out of trouble as a teenager.

UPDATE! Here is great oldie sung by Billy Murray, posted on YouTube by SilentBacchus.

Weekend Steam

We got lucky and saw this old gem out idling around at Old Threshers this year. This engine is a rare old one, and it was on static display at Mt. Pleasant for many years because of a bad boiler. It now sports a welded boiler of modern steel and is in operation annually. There goes that man in the hat again!

Crankin' It Up

Here's a little trivia question for you. What are the names of the two characters in the song 'School Days?' Not too many will know; most adults my age don't even know the words to the chorus. I first heard this song at the tender age of four, performed in the one room school that I would soon attend.

This acoustic recording was made on February 26, 1907, and the record is in pretty good shape. I played it on the old Brunswick and added some photos for a nice slide show.

High Risk Environment

In the not-too-distant past, farm families were often devastated by accidents that maimed or killed. This photo makes me cringe, seeing the long dress so close to cogs and chains that are running the drag behind the wagon. The man's overalls are also an easy grab for the cog on the elevator. Tumble-rods like the one above have killed plenty of people and farm animals, too. It's just natural for folks to push harder during harvest, and Safety-First is sometimes forgotten.

Handling grain is much more efficient than it used to be, and one person can perform the whole harvest operation if need be. The big killer nowadays is drowning in flowing grain. Shelled corn that is moving will not support a person, and even though the danger is well publicized, farmers are killed every year when they get in a hurry. Farm country newspapers are posting safety articles now to remind farm workers of the danger.

Modern methods make the harvest a quick process if the weather cooperates. I don't think I have heard any farmer wish for "The Good Old Days." We like to see the old machinery demonstrated, but farm life is much easier with today's equipment.

Grab your Sweetie!

We're over the hump this week, and a little treat will give us the strength we need to make it to Saturday. This is a very nice Fox-Trot from KSPM01; I am sure you will like it. Push back the chairs and dance!

Chestnuts, Chestnuts

The drought last year gave us our first chestnut crop failure since our trees started producing more than twenty years ago. Chestnuts are falling again this year, and we have a pretty good batch already. These are a great snack to carry with you, and they gain in sweetness as they age. Chestnuts have to be refrigerated or they will dry out, so you only take with you what you will eat in one day. Susan is famous for her chestnut dressing at Thanksgiving, and I am already looking forward to that treat.

Lightfoot

When our 2000 Chevy Astro had only 12,000 miles under its wheels, it ate the back end off of a Dodge Stratus that turned in front of us one night. All occupants were belted in, and the only injury was a burn from a side impact airbag for the girl driving the Stratus. Both cars were pretty well trashed, but because ours was practically new, our insurance company wouldn't total it, and it was rebuilt. I have been completing that rebuild ever since.

During our first winter driving this car we found that the anti-lock brakes kicked in sooner than we liked, and that it was hard to stop on any mildly slick surface. Pumping the brakes like I did when I drove a '51 Hudson made stopping possible, and soon, Susan was able to stop the old fashioned way, too. Stopping quickly on gravel required the same technique, and we figured that it was just the nature of the anti-lock brake system on this car.

Recently we both noticed a change in the feel of the brake pedal, (165,000 plus miles) so I installed a rebuilt master cylinder. Susan helped me bleed the system, and then we went out on the gravel to test it. HOLY COW! We could stop fast on gravel! No aggravating anti-lock kick in! What we have figured out is that, when we hit that Stratus, with the brakes engaged to the max, we blew the cup for the front brakes, and have been driving with only rear brakes for over 150,000 miles. Henry Ford would be proud of us, even if it was a Chevy.

Moral? I'm still learning how to get around under the car, and if I ever take a bad hit with my foot on the brakes I will rebuild or change the master cylinder; or get a new car.