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 went to medical about my ankle. The flight surgeon was quite helpful and informative. I have a minor/moderate sprain. I don't think I have ever twisted my foot so bad before. It was a good warning for me. It means that although I have been very careful I have not been careful enough. I worked in the shop today hobbling around while everyone was out in the field. My ankle is already a lot better now that I have an ace bandage on it. The startling thing has been that I can't walk as fast. People are passing me, yikes! I should be headed out to the field later this week. It got kind of nasty out there today anyway. It is 7:15 right now and four of my co workers are still on the mountains. The weather has closed in and they can't get them off. They were supposed to be picked up about 4:00. One of them sounded kind of cold up there. Whenever we get dropped off by a helo we get survival bags which includes a tent, sleeping bag, shovel, camp stove and food. I am sure hoping they won't have to be out there too long, breaking into the survival bags. The department has had an excellent history of not having to get into the survival bags. You also don't have to worry about the gloom of night. You just have to worry about the unpredicable nasty-ass weather. Storms can last up to about 3 days. The pilots and everyone else is concerned about your safety, you have had training, you have a radio and folks know where you are. Compared to a couple of people camping or mountain climbing this is much safer and secure. We have infrastructure.

Werner Herzog the director of documentaries like "Grizzly Man" is on the ice and I was supposed to fix him up with some radios today. We also received some Distinguished Visitors (DVs) today for whom we set up some wireless. Senator McCain was down last year. It was also weird getting a phone call from someone out in the field who was having a problem with their HF radio. That is fun work helping someone with an HF radio problem.

This is a picture of McMurdo General Hospital, AKA Medical.

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