Posts

Machinery Infatuation

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I bought my first NEW piece of farm machinery. I am not sure if this is a failure or a success, but it is different. I picked up a NEW Rotary Cutter (bush hog, brush hog, mower, etc) from a dealer. It cost me almost as much as the tractor did with its bits of hardware and options. It seems to work well on the CNH Boomer 33. I planned on getting up to NY in the next couple of days, but Gracie has been sick.. she has been up and down. The steroid treatment and a change in diet seem to be helping at this point. Besides hauling the tractor and mower up to NY I have numerous events planned over the next month. I will be in Charlotte for a conference as well as Tucson Arizona and of course other events and activities. I started installing radio equipment in the Humvee. It now has a telescoping 30 foot antenna, a 24 volt to 12 volt converter, a removable SDR radio and some other stuff to be sure. I'd like to get it to the Stone Mountain Hamfest -- thats what i am shooting for. I thr...
GlideStone News I haven't found the time to blog lately. It is summer. Check out the blog link above from friend Todd Sheehan. We shall call this a cross blog or "crog." He has chronicled his hand gliding adventures. This guy is a nut. When we worked together he was building racing RC planes (electric). He was cutting the wings from foam then covering with fiberglass epoxy. Then he got into RC helicopters, first electric then gas. I took yesterday off and worked on the south side of my barn. I have to decide whether to fix the drainage right or move on. I have two foundation cracks I am digging under to pour concrete below the crack to stabilize. Bonnie and I really want to live in a finished house and property.
http://www.songstowearpantsto.com/ Not much else to say on this one.
http://www.heartsandminds.org/quotes/quotes.htm I read something very inspirational a while back. It said, "Read something inspirational everyday." Trite but right. The nice thing about inspirational reading is that it is such an open genre. It really is not a genre at all. "Inspirational" cannot be classified in a hierarchy, but only in a faceted classification scheme. Inspirational to one person is not inspirational to another. The material must "fit" and resonate to inspire. Technical writings can inspire as well as spirtual writings. It depends on the mission and context of the reader. It is Saturday morning and I am working on the list. It is cool in the house as the windows were all open last night. I am drinking my weekend coffee.
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These pics are from a llama walk a couple of weeks back. We have been eating a fair amount of our own food lately. We get eggs from the chickens (about 4 a day). We still have some pork in the freezer. Now we are getting lettuce, zuchini and green peppers from the garden. Bonnie has been picking a lot of berries too. We have had several awesome fruit salads with our own blueberries and raspberries. The stuff we grow and raise at home tastes so much better, even lettuce. I went to a few auctions this weekend. I probably spent too much, but I had a good time. I also have some regrets on a couple of items I did not bid on. I ended up with: Three antique seltzer bottles Some junk, I mean real junk mixed in with some good stuff (cheaper than a dumpster) A pressure washer that uses compressed air and a water hose (works ok) A kerosene lantern I very nice soup tureen that Bonnie does not like. (I am going to have to move it on ebay) I am probably forgeting something. My fathe...

The first real (small) garden on the Berkshire NY Farm

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The garden looks nice and we are taking zucchini out of it today. I am looking at windmills. I recently obtained a bunch of 180 VDC motors that I think may be just the ticket. I am looking at propellers now. They are not that much money these days, made of plastic. They appear to be durable. I am looking at ones about 7 foot in diameter. I read an interesting article on testing your windmill on the front of a car. Seems like a natural job for the jeep.
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This was my Sunday morning walk. So much to do. So much not to do. Click pic for video Click pic for video
Tioga Had a rough night last week. This is a movie of tioga as we left for work. He stays out all night and then I let him inside in the morning. He tucks himself in the bed. There is a lot of stuff going on that is for sure. I have to catch up on the pics and posts. It is kind of rainy today. I did mow a couple of acres in the rain. The windshield wipers worked well. It is great to look back to the back pasture and see alternating strips where I mowed and plucked out the Mutifloral roses. It is a pasture on the comeback. Duane and I were thinking about what the original farmers would think as they see their pastures go wild. They didn't have the same tools to create them that we have today. I have a lot of computer work to do today. BAH.