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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American Demographics

The weather has been good. However, it has rained everyday for a least two weeks.

I started a new regimen. One of the field service guys and I are carpooling. Every other day I am starting to drive the jeep to the back lot on the farm, then walking through greenwood park where he picks me up at 7:15 am. It is a half hour walk at a fast pace. I change my shoes in his car and off to work we go. Gas prices and my body weight being what they are definitely makes sense of the new procedure. The walk in the deep woods on great trails is really something everyone should experience more.

I made a commitment to the Susquehanna Toastmasters club. I will be president this year. I will build the club back up. We have lost many members for simple reasons and of course Tom Ichikawa died. It is my Toastmasters project for this coming year which starts July 1st. I will bring the club up to "Distinguished". Perhaps more appropriately stated, the club will bring itself up to distinguished.

Wednesday at about 10:00 AM (I can even put a time on it, weird) I felt myself move beyond where I was. I have "Moved out of a dark corner". It is pretty freaky. I can never remember being moved from two states like this before. I have purpose, a plan, a mission. Before, I was trapped, confined and subject to others. The only thing that has *really* changed is my outlook, attitude and vision.

It really made me think of the great quote:

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

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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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Back South Again with More Projects

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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...
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Solon NY Water Mill

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