These are photos from back when I first ran decent power and water down to the barn, which I was in the process of converting into an office. I was a ditching maniac!!! I rant a 1 inch water main and a conduit with #2/0 wire good for 200 amps at 220 VAC. I had to run both about 450 feet. And that Ditch Witch was kicking up boulders about 2 feet in diameter and bouncing half a foot off the ground. It was rough going.
Of course, I discovered they had run the sewer line only about a foot deep right there by the shovel. But easy fix.
There was no way I was going to pull those #2/0 cables through the waterproof conduit and a number of turns. So I had to thread each length of pipe over the cables by hand. I started from the top and threaded the first piece down to the center and worked my way back up the hill. Then I started from the bottom and repeated the process. It was a btch of a job but it never had an issue for the next 20 years. And installed three ground rods and an over-sized ground cable to maximize my protection against lightning.
The swallow picture is out of focus today. I didn’t look at it before posting because I had to hurry with chores to get up to the pasture to move some critters. But it was a beautiful morning so took these.
Comfortable 68F here today. A bit still for this morning's threshing so the dust hung around. Still got another full day before we finish last year's crop and they'll be cutting this year's in about 3 weeks. Paul is hoping to get a steam engine in for the last ''trosh''.
Supposed to be about 100F here today. It’s amazing how much wind plays into agriculture. It affects so many things directly or indirectly either making things much easier or much harder. Hot branding is always more pleasant with a steady breeze to blow the smoke away. Wheat dust triggers an almost asthmatic response for me. Those conditions would have been murder for me! Direct us to pics of the steam engine if that happens.
I'll be sure to do that. Today we had to make do with the trusty old Fordson Dexter which is not doing too bad after 70 years. The wheel bearings are laughable but it doesn't ever move more than 50 yards.
The view from my bed on the first day of a 2 week holiday where I visited 25 castles, Hadrian's wall, 2 Roman forts, 2 stone circles, 2 henges and a 12th century Abbey.
Was it passed down through each generation? Both my grandfathers were dead long before I was born and I don’t have anything tangible to remember them by either. That’s pretty cool.
I've got one grandfather's WWII machete and my other's gold watch I still use the machete but the watch sits unused in a drawer.
Yes. I remember it hanging in my aunt and uncle's house when I was a little tike. When my uncle [dad's oldest brother] died it went to my dad. And when my dad died it went to me. I also have an abacus my uncle took from a dead Japanese soldier in WWII. Also, I have a pair of fancy chop sticks my dad brought back from Japan when he was in the Air Force. Just recently I was dating a young lady who would only use chop sticks when we ordered Asian food. So as far as I know, for the first time ever they were used.
And just to be clear, I started shooting at age 5. But I started riding before I started I started shooting. Me on Snipper on the family farm in South Dakota. That classic crusty ole character was my great uncle. We made three trips back there while I was growing up. Riding horses and motorcycles and shooting was about all we did. I did have family who owned some of that Black Hills Gold but none of that ever made it my way.
I had a cousin who spent every summer on the farm while growing up [as did my father for the most part]. He and I were almost exactly the same age so I always had a best buddy when we visited. One day he was telling me a story about riding Snipper. It was a nice summer day and he decide to take Snipper for a long ride. He had been working long hours bailing hay and was very tired. And before long, he fell asleep on the horse for something like an hour. IIRC, Snipper just made their regular circuit and he awoke while on the way back home. I always found that so amusing; that he could fall asleep while riding a horse. Now THAT is a great example of the country life. BTW, in later years I was riding Pete, a very energetic young black stallion. Pete was a serious horse to ride. I did lose the reins one time. A tractor right next to us in field backfired as we were going by. He reared up without warning and I lost the reins but grabbed the saddle horn before I fell off. Pete then took off on a dead run. I could see the reins dangling dangerously close to his legs and was praying they didn't get tangled. He was on the approach to home and when we made the turn from the gravel road to the gravel driveway he took a banked turn which dropped the reins even closer to his legs. But we made it alright and were now on a dead run right for the rose garden. He didn't slow down until the last moment which made me think he was going right into the fence. But then in maybe three or four big lunges he came to a dead stop. I literally did a handstand on the saddle but held onto that horn for dear life! I landed back in the saddle and no hard done. Unfortunately my uncle saw the whole thing and nearly banned me from riding Pete. But after I explained it all cooled down.
...landed back on the saddle but no harm done.... But I damn near did a flip right into the rose bushes. And I think he did it on purpose! He could be a dck sometimes.
is that a mastercraft or a nautique? Don't see many of those here in FL It's all center consoles with t tops
