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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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Time moves fast. It moves faster as you get older. Maybe it is as simple as the ratio of your entire experience vs. recent experience or maybe it it is something different. I went for a hike today. I hiked the next section I hadn't hiked on the Appalachian Trail. Reaching for the calculator, I have discovered that I will finish the entire trail at my current rate in about 22 years. The forest was very quiet today only speaking with occasional squirrels, a grouse, occasional other birds and a couple of hikers. I am getting better at hiking. Today's hike was a short 8 miles with some very serious vertical. I rested quite a bit and spent 4 hours on the trail, ready for a lot more. There was a cat that lives at the Hawk Mtn. shelter. That was a nice treat. Of course the cat (with several names in the register. I accepted "Bagel" as the cat's name) was a bit friendly. The cat enjoyed some of my ham and cheese. I enjoyed the cat and conversation with a hiker. ...

Cortland NY Airshow and the Farm

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I was up in NY for the weekend. The weather was pretty nice. We fished in the farm pond and had large mouth bass and fresh eggs. It really shouldn't be called fishing in the pond. It is more like catching. We didn't get any of the whoppers that are in there, but we got some nice ones. DJ got a lot of mowing done. The fields are looking good. I don't get tired of driving up on top of the hill in the jeep and looking down the valley. Pictures don't do that one justice. We went to the Cortland County Airfest. They had a C-54 which was the primary aircraft used in the Berlin Airlift. It was inspiring. The dog and the rooster get pretty close. They both avoid eye contact with each other, though.
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Prague was excellent. It was nicer than I thought it was going to be. No matter what your impression is about Prague, it is the place for "Pils" (the term taught to me by my brother's expatriated Czech friends) and the original Budweiser (Budvar). It is a great place for global convergence. The city is a bit like Venice, a bit like Amsterdam, but mostly it is like Prague. The big joke is when you are in a restaurant and you ask for the... "Czech." Most folks are very capable with English downtown. There are casinos, museums, blue-light, all in downtown and a whole lot of history (including recent important history). I spent time in the National Museum (well worth every second). It also occurred to me that my meeting attendees list sounds a little like the beginning of a interesting joke. You know, "an Englishman, five Finns, a Dutchman, three Germans, a Frenchman, a Scot, two Danes and an token American walk into a Bar..." We had a great meeting. ...
I have a lot to post. I have been in czech, switzerland. Back in the us, flying, bbqs, hiking, camping, airshows. The internet is down in ny. Tommorow. It should be up again. The storms have done a lot of damage.many photos to come.
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I am not in Kansas anymore. I know, the saying is more than old. The folks in Kansas have a great base. It is something I revere as part of my aspirations of farm life. I am off to Europe again Saturday. I arrive in Prague, Czech Republic Sunday. We have a intense agenda. The Pareto Rule applies. "Get 'r done" in a Global City DJ and I are looking at buying property in Costa Rica. It is difficult to schedule the visit/purchase because of work/project compulsion. And of course, spending much time there is a bit of a time-management conundrum as well. Actually, my vision is really developing a respite for friends and family from around the world. I can see a very nice visitor register (on paper) emerging, which of course is priceless. The guy on the scooter... I had to take a pic. It was awkward taking the pic. I am glad I did. It was just too weird. What emotion does that image evoke? I get a few. Interestingly enough when we were on the Interstate in Kansas w...
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I ran into this bug this morning in the parking lot in Duluth. I was thinking I had to go to central America to see a land insect this size. That's my shoe there. I almost tripped over this guy. Yes, he was alive. I kicked him to make sure.
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I hiked about 10 miles on the Appalachian Trail (AT) yesterday. It took a while to get to my start place on fire roads. It was maybe 13 miles off the pavement. It was a nice ride through the woods. It was a little like driving the jeep around the property in Berkshire. It was similar, but the jeep is a lot more fun around the farm. The hike of course was great. I went to the top of Springer Mountain again, but from the other way, not from the approach trail. I met a few folks. Some were finishing up an 8 day trek from North Carolina. It is a culture that's for sure. At the summit we were in the clouds and it was misting and a bit rainy. It certainly felt like I was in the clouds. My new hiking shoes worked very well. The GPS on my phone did the trick is showing where I was. The ceiling was a bit low this morning on a trip up to Gainesville, GA. in N53057. I am getting better with ATC and the Atlanta airspace. Learning is what it is all about.