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Showing posts from March 12, 2006

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.
I am in Florida this week. It is good to see my Brother and Sister since they both live in Florida. The traffic seems to be an issue here as the state experiences such high growth in development. I compare my role on the county planning board in NY to what planners have to do in Florida and there (believe it or not) some comparisons. There are great leasons to apply back in NY, anticipating growth (or not) and applying the values of what the community wants and does not want. The weather is nice in Tampa in March compared to back home. I often think that people up north mistakening think that it is "Summer" all year round. It gets hot down here, really hot. I don't mind the cold too much. Occasionally, it is a nuscience when you are scraping the car and you have a cold and you aren't dressed right, but overall it is ok. I will be canoeing sometime in the next couple of days.
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It appears to becoming spring on the farm. Yesterday it must have been in the 60s. Today (early) it is 40. I got a jeep load of wood yesterday. I disassembled and carried a fallen ash up the embankment in the woods. It was a good workout. What I like to do it cut the tree in about 6 foot sections (shorter or longer depending on diameter) and then tip it up on my shoulder and back. I can effectively carry quite a bit of wood that way. In a word; It was fantastic. There is nothing quite like the woods. I saw some nice sized turkey tracks. Dennis is coming down May 1st. We are going to bag some. Sound is important for the movies. The first pic is one of many springs on the property. It is not flowing a lot at the moment, but it will. It is sort of like a peat bog. I heard a story of someone getting trapped in a peat bog and they couldn't find him. But the next spring there was peculiar spot that looked like it was warmer than the rest of the bog. Click pic for video Click pic...