Summer Starting to End on the Farm

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It has been good spending time on the farm. I really had forgotten how quiet and dark it is here. It can actually be a bit unnerving. The leaf doodle bug was put to work in the forest. However, it looks like the car will be going back on the road. We can say it failed field trials,but that would only be partially true. The better utility value at this point is more suited to getting a teenager back and forth from high school. The mycological aspects of the farm did not disappoint. The pics of these shrooms are not photoshopped. The coal stove (very heavy) is loaded on the truck. It will be rebuilt in Georgia if I can save it. Coal stoves are increasingly out of production. When they are gone they are gone. The small wood stove is now in its place. The pic of the red sky in morning was indeed a warning of weather. We had strong storms and tornados in Upstate NY. Although I was travelling much that day in the area, I missed the worst of it.
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I should be physically qualified (PQ'd) next week. I recovered from my teeth extraction quite fast. My bite has changed and that has given me a bit of discomfort. I have one more doctor visit (I think) and one more dentist visit. The next step after being PQ'd is receiving plane tickets to the ice. My POD (point of departure) is Binghamton NY. I will fly commercial to LA and then to Auckland and then to Christchurch NZ. I will be in Christchuch for a couple of days with orientation and we have to wait for weather, logistics and get my ECW gear (Extreme Cold Weather). From Christchuch I wil get on a Air Force C-141 (most likely) and fly to Mactown. Mentally I have moved from extreme excitement to a more subdued cautiousness. It will be a very different experience. You just cannot mentally prepare for the unknown. The humdrum boring issues are the ones to be cautious of, missed flights, lodging problems etc.

This is a flower arrangement the grandkids made a couple of weeks back.

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