Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

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I was up in Wisconsin and the UP (upper peninsula) in Michigan. It was a lot of driving after launching/landing in Appleton WI. I got an item off the bucket list by driving across the "Mighty Mac". Altough it was built in the late '50s. It is still the longest suspension span in the Northern hemisphere. It is a crazy long bridge with a crazy long suspension span. It was good to see the bridge in context of the seemingly endless forests of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The culture in the two haves of Michigan are noticibly different as you might expect. Great time meeting with folks both in WI and MI. The tractor I won in auction, seems to have paid off. This time I beat the odds. It was a really good deal. I have the "no-key, non-running, may have hydraulic problems, unknown hours" -auction win, running well with minimal cost and time. I have some more tweaks, maintenance and minor fixes but the major risks are gone.
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Pigs CAN fly

Below is a pic of my fleet of second or fifth hand machines for screwing around on my farm. First we have my latest aquire of a 1986 Toyota 4 rumnner with only 380000 miles. It is a convertible. It runs great and the 4wd drive works. It is my spare lot car. Second is my jeep with only 288000 miles. Notice the tires are from mobile irrigation machinery. The strength of the sidewall will hold the vehicle up with no air in them. The tires were only 50 bucks a piece since they are industrial tires not testonerone-hungry racer mudder tires for wayward boys. The jeep has acquired some dents in my ownership. The famous quote "what do you expect you think it is a tank" comes to mind. Thirdly we have my Model 632 bobcat. It has a 4 cylinder ford gasoline engine. It runs ok and if has no hydraulic leaks. I don't know what I did before I had a bobcat. I had to lift stuff, man. Fourthly.. you can see the crown jewel of the fleet, my germany made Holder c500 tractor. It has a 65 horse duetz diesel, heated cab, 4wd, articulated, front pto and three point hitch, dual remote hydraulics, two seats and 7 foot alamo-mott flail mower. It is cool and it is very difficult to tip over. It can go over 25 miles an hour and can be licenced for the street. It is a business man's tractor.

Can you see my four free ranging chickens looking for dinner?

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Upper Peninsula Michigan and Auction Win Outcomes

-
Image
I was up in Wisconsin and the UP (upper peninsula) in Michigan. It was a lot of driving after launching/landing in Appleton WI. I got an item off the bucket list by driving across the "Mighty Mac". Altough it was built in the late '50s. It is still the longest suspension span in the Northern hemisphere. It is a crazy long bridge with a crazy long suspension span. It was good to see the bridge in context of the seemingly endless forests of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan. The culture in the two haves of Michigan are noticibly different as you might expect. Great time meeting with folks both in WI and MI. The tractor I won in auction, seems to have paid off. This time I beat the odds. It was a really good deal. I have the "no-key, non-running, may have hydraulic problems, unknown hours" -auction win, running well with minimal cost and time. I have some more tweaks, maintenance and minor fixes but the major risks are gone.
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Solon NY Water Mill

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I went and looked at the Solon Pond Mill. I was mistaken last time when I was up there in 2000. It was Summer and everything was overgrown. The mill is about an 1/8 mile from the building I thought might have been the mill. The mill is in rough shape. But everything is still there. I couldn't get underneath to see if the turbine was in good shape. I had heard that it was buried in muck. I suspect it is there, but probably in rough shape as well. It is a combination grist and saw mill, and could be restored to do exactly that. I am going to pass. I was thinking it would make a great homesite however. There is 3.9 acres (a lot for a mill) and you could build a nice house that looked period and work on getting an awesome water powered workshop out back. There is a planner, and it looks like a jig saw and I bet a few other pieces of woodworking equipment in there. All the shafting looks good. It is fun to think about the coolness of starting with logs and making furniture all out in th...
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Southern Africa!

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I was successful getting to all 8 countries I planned. South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, and Namibia. The trip was 14 days with 13 flight segments. The shortest flight was 15 minutes in an ultralight and the longest flight 16+ hours. I rented a 4x4 in Lesotho and another in Namibia. Among many other things in my travels, I walked across the Victoria Falls bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe and took an ultralight aircraft ride over the same bridge and falls. Namib Desert from the air. Look for my 4x4. Skeleton Coast Heart of Namid desert near uranium mine Maputo, Mozambique-- City Hall and Samora Machel statue Maseru, Lesotho-- I was delayed at the airport leaving Lethoto by about three hours. I had to find a nother hotel in Namibia since I wasn't going to drive after dark. The delay was caused by the Airport being shut down because of an expired battery in the airport fire truck. We had to wait to get a n...
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I got the bobcat going again and I have almost all the holes drilled. I will be taking the auger back Monday morning. I still have to assemble the fence, fashion 4 gates and generally get the job done. I am gaining on it. It is amazing what you can get done when you are not studying for a class and working a full-time job. We have our new llamas, two females named Rosey and Ultima. They settled in with the herd right away. The current animal count: 7 chickens, 6 llamas, and 2 cats. Click pic for video
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