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.
Post a Comment
-
About birch sap and pollen allergy

It is a nice warm morning. I suspect it is in the 50s! I can see fawn struggling to get around down in the llama pen. She is working at it. I am about to go back and collect birch sap. I will probably get some firewood as well. Also on the list today is working on my competition speech. I have been at work manning the printer for the big job we have going. We got a 19 hour shift out of the machine yesterday. Today we will have at least 8 hours. Farm school was pretty good yesterday. I need to take a day off and make some phone calls and otherwise decompress. I find it strange that I take my job as seriously as I do. No one else does. So why should I? My accounting class is over. That class really put a drag on me. I learned a lot, but it felt like I had a tire around my neck. I have decided not to enroll in a class this summer. I just have too much other stuff on the plate, including: new roof on house, barn work, drainage work, llama trek work, toastmasters, forestry work, tractor work, and other project work.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
I am flying this morning. We are getting off the beaten trail. We are going to Mt Heine on White Island and Williams Cliff on the side of Mt. Erebus. We are trying to determine if we have a found a better radio location at these two points. We are taking GPS, maps, a 900 Meg radio and ice axes. It will make the network simpler if I can prove these spots will work. Cravasses are common near Williams Cliff so we are on high-guard about where we will set the helo down. We may not set down at all. Cravasses are really problematic down here. They are hundreds of feet deep and they are very often covered with snow. Sometimes the snow may be 6 or 10 feet thick and may support equipment for a while. Then one day the equipment breaks through. Ice radar is normally used for traverses.
Read more
-
Image
medieval labyrinths - contemporary medieval I decided on a pattern for my labyrinth. It is called the "santa rosa" as shown in the picture. It is a contemporary design based on the Chartres labyrinth in France. I specifically like it since it has a focal point that you view from four angles on the way in and on the way out. The design is 200 feet across which calculates out to be almost exactly 1 mile to walk in and then out. I am still deciding what the attraction points will be in the center and at the focal point but I know I will use water in at least one spot. Maybe a fire pot at another. The labyrith is crudely staked out now through the arrowwood viburnum. I am going to use the small tractor to mow it since I measure the holder turning radius at 12 feet. That is a tight turning radius for a 65 hp tractor but not tight enough for the switch backs on the labyrinth. I have to do all this work in the winter or spring while everything is dead so I can actually see what ...
Read more

100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

-
Image
We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
Read more

Back South Again with More Projects

-
Image
A lot of driving. I have forgotten how much driving is involved when on the farm. Everything is far. But I also had to drive up and back twice to Syracuse to pickup/drop off Angie at the airport and a business meeting for Wisdomino in Albany. Yeah it was a lot of driving for me. All and all it was about 4000 miles in three weeks. Early in the morning I decided to check out some auctions (dangerous). I ended up being high bidder on a 2015 New Holland Boomer 33 ( "hours unknown, does not run, may have problems, no key, no battery" ) from the State of Tennessee. I figured I could swing by Nashville and pick it up on the way to Georgia. And indeed I did. It was only a couple of hours extra, maybe 4. But, it was more efficient than going to Georgia and then back and forth to Nashville. Nashville is about 4 hours from Duluth. So I was looking at a 4 hour savings. After I go through it and getting if working I will tow it up to the farm in NY. I wasn't prepared for a trac...
Read more

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.
Read more