The Useful Duck!

Contribute to my Vacation, please...

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Cocoa Beach New Year's Eve

We cut across Florida to St. Augustine and then took highway 1A1 down the coast to Cocoa Beach. Lulu got her first sight of the Atlantic ocean. It was a little chilly.
It is kind of a amazing to drive for miles along the beach with old life oaks and palms and pine trees on one side and condos on the other. I would have like to have seen it 40 years ago.

We are at the Best Western at Cocoa Beach. We are with our friends from Oregon. (See the previous post) The internet service is pretty bad.
I think we are going to BBQ in the back yard. The plan was to hang out on our balcony and watch fireworks but we don't have quite the view as described by Orbitz. Nor are our rooms quite as close as we thought.
Also, Duck Dynasty should boycott Cracker Barrel because Cracker Barrel is kind of nasty. "Cheeze" grits and turnip greens don't really turn a Denny's into soul food. Although antiques on wall always makes it feel like home.
Anyway, got to get the daughter to the beach! Happy Nude Year!!!
Saw a pelican.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas in the Pine Woods

We left internet access Christmas Eve. It is not so much that we are deep in the Pine Woods of Florida.

With the Robertsons...

But rather we spent Christmas with some friends who don't have wireless internet broadcast throughout the house.

Many years ago I worked for a farmer in Florida. I baled straw. Why I would go from one end of the USA to the other to bale wheat straw has been a much debated point in my life. Perhaps it had something to do with my affection for girls with southern accents, perhaps it is the boil peanuts and fried chicken, or it could have been that I baled straw 50 miles from Panama City Beach, the redneck rivera... Very nice folks. I would make more comments but they may read the blog and I don't want them to get "big heads" until I'm gone.

Our last stop in "civilization" was a synagogue in St. Petersburg which features a stained glass window which MuddyValley spent a year of his life making.
We made a few affectionate jokes about Mr. MuddyValley being somewhat meticulous. I must say a photograph does not do it justice!
I suggest clicking on the photo to enlarge it.
I'm posting from the McDonald's in Blountstown, FL.
Drinking sweet tea.
We are heading to Cocoa Beach with Mr. Robertson as pictured above.  with friends. It was his parents and family we spent Christmas with. We have been friends for many years. That may change when he reads this blog...
Happy New Year!
I have no corn photos.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

To Tallahassee

We were going to Tarpon Springs...
Daughter had a rough night.
Yesterday was good. I called a friend who is a nurse and found out what we were doing wrong. She has spent every winter in FL, (except this one of course) She said to drag Lulu down to the pool or the beach and the sea air would clear her out and cool her down. She was right.
We sat at the pool and watched the local sunbathers. I like the old leathery ones who chain smoke. Like a dried up strip of gater jerky with perfect boobies bolted on three-quarters of the way down.
But...they are usually friendly.
We got rid of any asprin. You would not believe how many over the counter medications have asprin and you do not want to kid a kid with a fever asprin.
We bought night time nyquil cause "It's the good stuff, It's like Whiskey and helps you sleep"
We forgot about the possibility of freaky dreams that come from Nyquil induced sleep.
It all started around 11 p.m.
Headache and fever....and coughing
So we went to washcloths on the forehead.
I'd get her cooled down and she would sleep and then wake up.
Sometime though my wife took over, (bless her heart and I crashed)
There was a bit of a storm this morning which I missed.
There are clouds and wind and a little rain.
It is kind of nice.
There have been a few more items dropped from todays plans.
1. most likely we will not extensively tour Muddy Valley's life work
2. most likely not going to tarpon springs

But, we are coming back with our friends after Christmas.
Lulu is feeling better this morning.

Monday, December 23, 2013

The world looks different at 9 a.m. than it does at 3 a.m.

Yesterday evening mildly annoyed at the drunk people yelling and the Bob Marley oldies guy at our hotel bar and his war of the oldies with the one-man-band next door. I started to write a blog about it. Apparently I was at the "push send" stage when the daughter started really coughing.
She developed a fever and started shaking.
I got a bucket of ice and wife got wash cloths and we took turns cooling her down. We thought it was going to be ok at 11 and wife went after more supplies.
It was the worst from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.
We started wondering how things were at the ER room at the St. Petersburg Beach hospital.
It is 9 a.m. and things are better.
For those of you who are the praying sort, this would be a good time for that.
We may not make it to see MuddyValley's life work in stained glass today or and melting clocks today.
Glad we are NOT camping.

Dueling Pathetic One Man Bands at St. Pete Beach-the post I forgot to publish at 10 p.m. Sunday Evening

So...
I was heavily lobbying for camping. We were looking at Ft. DeSoto park. Beachfront camping spots for $35. We even bought a tent. We were trying to figure out how to brew coffee without spending too much money on camping supplies.
Then everyone got sick.
So we scrubbed travel and adventure for a comfortable hotel room. We are back at the Howard Johnson at St. Pete Beach. Went shopping at Publix cause we couldn't find a Piggly-Wiggly.
However, my brain is about to explode from 1. Thumpy Bass Music, 2. Dueling mediocre one man bands. 3. Dueling mediocre one man bands and 20 something males whooping. 4. Middle aged morons revving their fake Harley's.
The beach is nice.
We are still coughing.
I will be well tomorrow.
Things that I can deal with, Freezing cold hotel room, roasting hotel room, bugs in the drawers, being sick, getting lost, traffic jams...

Saturday, December 21, 2013

St. Pete again

We are at the Postcard Inn at Saint Petersburg Beach.
St. Pete is neat little town. Everyone tells us things have built up a lot and the problem with Florida is all the Northerners that have moved down here.
All the waitstaff are from other places, we found that out right away, they just pick up the accent after like six months.
There are a lot of old buildings from the 1960's-1970's. It is a lot cleaner than I remember Florida from the 1980's. It is cheaper to buy a house here than in Oregon.
I have a CDL, I could drive a dump truck here.
The Postcard Inn is old. It appears to have been recently renovated. Our room is straight out of Crate & Barrel. It looks nice. The beds are good, bathroom in in good shape, (other than one serious issue I will discuss at the end) and it is clean.

Hotel is set up so there is a big internal courtyard. There are nice comfy seats setting around. They have a fire pit and a ping pong table.
We did not try the cafe. There is a restaurant in the lobby which looks cool but we used up our budget for this week and we didn't try it.
Now here is the problem and it is the problem with most resort/beach hotels I've stayed in. On both coasts.
There is always something wrong.
In this case it was that the A/C seemed to be stuck on 60 degrees. This was not what we wanted when sick.
When we walked down the row of rooms to room 267 we noticed the doors were open on quite a few rooms. When we passed those rooms we could actually feel the cold air flowing out.
We did meet some nice local people who were in the process of getting smashed. They had even spent time in Oregon. We had a nice conversation. They had skied Bachelor.
They said if we called the front desk they would bring us a heater.
The phone was busy.
I went to the desk. I wish they would have been just a little more cheerful. I like places where the front desk people are happy.
They were out of heaters. After a half hour or so we got extra blankets. Two hours later they called an offered a heater.
I think they did care.
Since we are all a little grumpy I will reserve judgement. We are moving back to the Howard Johnson tomorrow. They had a beach front room available and it is a lot better to be sick when you can actually see the ocean.
I would stay here again, if the Howard Johnson was full.

Now here is some important/essential info on the Postcard Inn that you won't read in any guidebooks. It is not suitable for younger readers and somewhat embarrassing. However, if you are a guy of reasonable dimensions, beware of the toilets.
The distance between the seat and the water level in the toilet is such that if you adopt the classic thinker pose you can have a rather unpleasant experience, if you know what I mean. Being a rather fastidious person it was quite the traumatic situation for me. Being in the company of women I was unable to explain why I was screaming in the restroom. I said I saw a spider. But then they wanted to know why I needed someone to slide the packet of wet wipes under the door.

Sanibel Island


Yesterday we stood in front of the milepost 0 sign at Sanibel Island. We looked for seashells. It was hot. The wind was blowing. The German tourists looked like they were really having a good time.
We sat down.
After a brief discussion we came to the discussion that we felt like crap and beautiful as it was, there was no point in setting in the hot sun to the point that we were going to end up stuck in rush hour on I-75.
So we gave our parking pass to a nice elderly couple from Minnesota, who were trying to figure out how the parking pass vending machine actually worked, and we hit the road.
We are all sick at this point. A lot of deep coughing, aching joints, tired, but hey! -we are at the Beach!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Thursday in Florida

We are at Ft. Meyers
It is a beautiful city. We were stuck in traffic on I-75 and it took us six hours instead of two hours. We took a detour on 41 but it was like driving on 99 from Portland to Amity like 15 times in a row.
We most likely will go to Sanibel Island tomorrow. Then back to St. Pete
Wanted to see Thomas Edison Museum. Not sure if we will.
I've been a bit under the weather. Ribs are sore from coughing. Spent most of the day in bed. Can't believe I'm sick in Florida.
Hotel cafe was not so great and really expensive so wife bought some BBQ briquets and we had BBQ steaks for supper.
I can't believe how expensive everything has become.
Daughter seems to be having a good time..

Drove across a famous bridge. It was quite beautiful. MuddyValley knows more about it.


Sort of weird to celebrate Christmas in the tropics.

I think I will now go cough myself to sleep.


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

A couple random photos of fine cusine

We had to try the Waffle House...
We had breakfast at the Waffle House yesterday morning. I had grits and eggs and raisin toast. I like raisin toast.
Our waitress was comically grumpy. I kept wanting to laugh. I expected her to say, "what's in your wallet?" She was not young. We tried our best to be friendly and make her smile.
Then suddenly she began singing, "oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree!"
I love Florida.
There was no police activity in the parking lot, despite what they say on Yelp!


It was a Twistee Treat not a Tasty Freeze

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Insomnia II


So here I am in sunny Florida. It is beautiful. White sand beaches. We are staying at the Howard Johnson in St. Petersburg. It is not super deluxe but it is great for us. People are friendly the weather is perfect for people from Oregon.
We walked the beach this afternoon. Saw a monstrosity of a pink hotel which My wife sort of remembers from when she was here years ago. We want to go the Salvador Dali museum, perhaps tomorrow. It reminds me of home. DON'T ask me why...
It is very hard not to spend money.
Had an awesome deep fried shrimp dinner at the Spanked Monkey or Scalded Monkey or Funky Monkey or something Monkey restaurant next door. Walked down to an old Tasty Freeze that is now something else. Had ice cream. The band in the nightclub down the street is playing of cover of that song about standing on corner in Winslow Arizona, just played us some Bob Marley followed by Skinnard earlier. Everyone is in bed and sleeping peacefully.
I'm not...

Insomnia

So here I am in sunny Florida. It is beautiful. White sand beaches. We are staying at the Howard Johnson in St. Petersburg. It is not super deluxe but it is great for us. People are friendly the weather is perfect for people from Oregon.
We walked the beach this afternoon. Saw a monstrosity of a pink hotel which My wife sort of remembers from when she was here years ago. We want to go the Salvador Dali museum, perhaps tomorrow. It reminds me of home. DON'T ask me why...
It is very hard not to spend money.
Had an awesome deep fried shrimp dinner at the Spanked Monkey or Scalded Monkey or Funky Monkey or something Monkey restaurant next door. Walked down to an old Tasty Freeze that is now something else. Had ice cream. The band in the nightclub down the street is playing of cover of that song about standing on corner in Winslow Arizona, just played us some Bob Marley followed by Skinnard earlier. Everyone is in bed and sleeping peacefully.
I'm having issues.
The following part of this post most likely will go away tomorrow so don't comment on this part. I think I should be pretty careful what I say at this point. I really doubt anyone will use the wayback machine or make a connection between worlds but you really don't know.
I tell you what, you sure learn who your friends are in a hurry sometimes.
Also, I hate modern business practices as adopted by supposedly Christian people. It is pretty classic, they come in with a good cop/bad cop act to get you to put yourself in the worst possible light, then go after the person least likely to sue and they pretend to be really caring and respectful of a person's privacy but they actually reveal/hold just enough info to make them look good and make everyone think the worst of the targeted person. Then you can't defend yourself because if try to tell your side you still look like the bad guy. You are sitting there sputtering, "it wasn't like that, you have to put events in context, what about all those years you knew me before? That is NOT what happened," and they just stick it to you. Unbelievable when it comes from people who are supposed to be better than that. Who claim to practice conflict resolution. But screw you, and then tell you it is for your own good and you should keep quiet about it-for the good of Christendom...
They have Martyr's Mirror in the library and at this point thought I would be funny and make a comment about Anabaptists who have concealed carry permits but it just made me really really depressed. I'm not explaining that joke, if you didn't get it, then you won't.

At The Beach, we see dolphins!



My wife and daughter don't want to be photographed and I'm gonna be in deep doo-doo but I had to post the view from our hotel.
We were awaked to my wife exclaiming, "Dolphins!!!!"
This was at 6 a.m. Oregon time. 9 a.m. Florida time!
The daughter fell out of bed.
She thought her Mother was yelling that dad had fallen off the balcony!
Later we had Waffles at the Waffle House.
They are at the beach. I will follow. (The family, not the Waffles)
I really need to be sitting down to post...if you know what I mean...
NOTE: I had to use the smallest filled rectangle I could find in GraphicConverter....Also, the pink rectangle is supposed to be pointing to a dolphin. I saved the photo at too low a resolution.
I love Florida and my new camera...and the fact that I am no longer in Oregon where it is cold and wet and muddy....

Monday, December 16, 2013

Hang it to Houston and hammer down... I think that is how we ended up in Tampa

I really wanted to ask people in the Houston airport about the expression "Hang it to Houston and Hammer Down!" but my ears were so badly popped that I can't really hear anything.
We are now in Tampa.
I imagine the nephews are partying it up at our house and listening to the Legendary Stardust cowboy at high volume. They are probably in the hot tub in the underwear...
I need a online nannycam.
Had a window seat out of Houston and saw some farms. Lots of center pivots.
It is a little chilly here. A frosty 68 degrees!
I ain't commin back!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

I'm an idiot

If you read this afternoon's post...
So I got all self righteous and emailed my complaints to the fellow church member I thought was my friend who was on the school board. I might have been a little harsh...
So I got back a bunch of condescending BS and the understanding that they were making an example of my wife cause they tried to cover up issues in the past and so need to make a statement.
And now I am going to have to find a new place to attend church.
And I don't know what to do with the excellent letter we wrote detailing the actual events. And my wife is justifiably angry with me and I'm feeling kind of ill. Worlds Collide!
The world I want to be true and reality sometimes meet....
This post will also go away.
This blog may go away...
......

Friday, December 13, 2013

Coldness, rain, feed making, nothing much to see here

Yesterday we had freezing fog and then freezing rain and then regular rain and I broke my forklift.


I'm making feed in the worst weather. I somehow ended up at the last minute doing the worst job.
The ball joint end pulled out of the shaft of the hydraulic steering cylinder on the forklift and pretty much messed up the shaft. Someone should have either put a locknut on it or used red loctite which we buy by the jumbo sized container and then over apply when not needed. This will be a fun repair in the mud...

Have a nice day...


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Who wudda thunk? I have friends!

I got several packages in the mail Monday...
I hurriedly ripped open the plain brown wrapping! You know when you get packages with plain brown wrapping there is something good inside! Of course this only exacerbates my problem of impulse buying on ebay, which I guess, makes me a chronic exacerbator.
I opened the smallest package first, cause I knew by the shape that the bigger package was the Jimi Hendrix albums I impulse bought on ebay...
After shredding several layers of brown paper I found a trove of bass plugs.
Including the original "JitterBug!"
It was from a nice fellow who I bought a vintage wax sealing jar lid from a while back. He likes to carry around a duck.
Which reminds me of a story about a fellow with a pet duck. He would take the duck with him everywhere he went. One day he decided to go to the movies.
They wouldn't let him take the duck!
So...he put the duck down his pants and snuck the duck into the theatre.
He sat down to watch the movie and was joined by a couple elderly ladies. They didn't seem to be paying him any mind so he decided to unzip his pants to let the duck watch the movie.
All of a sudden the elderly lady next to him set up with a start and elbowed her companion.
"Mildred would you look at that," she exclaimed with consternation!
"Oh, that's nothing I haven't seen before," her companion replied with a sniff.
"Well sure," the first lady replied, "But this one is eating my popcorn!"

But, I digress...

The second package also had a surprise! A really cool bonus album cover.
The Buddies! West Coast Action Sound. Not a lot of info on the Buddies. But Mr. Buddy Looks very determined!

I only made it past the second song. Sort of a Beach Boys wannabe album. Ok for background music and an awesome album cover.
I do like surf music but the lyrics really annoy me after a while. I was looking for Ventures albums. They don't sing!
I need to be making feed but I have stomach cramps. It could have been the bean soup last night or it could be whatever felled my daughter last week. Or it could be I'm just worried about leaving on a trip, spending money, no retirement, cold weather, and general laziness. Or perhaps it is the five cups of coffee I used to wash down a handful of vitamins that are supposed to keep me from getting sick...

So...

Here is a question for those who have traveled in the past decade.
Should I take my rather large MacBook Pro or should I take a sketchbook and write down my adventures? I could post them with my wife's iPhone.
I did not buy a wireless access point as Old Farmer did for his rambling adventures.
As of now I'm taking a rather large digital camera, MacBook Pro 17," and the assorted cords. I sort of hate to take anything of value that I can't keep on my body. I bought a MacBook 13" on ebay for $250 Monday but then the seller emailed my saying it wouldn't book properly and the battery was dead and he sent my my money back.
I thought about an Acer touch screen tablet which I could also use for GPS but didn't want to pay more than $250. I have a 14" ibook but it is now too slow with all the bloated stuff on the internet.
I'm really thinking about going without a computer.
I would if we were going to camp the whole time, but that doesn't sound like it is going to be practical.
Hmmmm....

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

I go to a seminar

Yesterday I went to a seminar/class/whatever about UAV's. They don't like to call them "Drones." For some reason "Drone," has some negative connotations. Probably similar reasoning discourages one from referring to the "Cloud" as "SkyNet."
I sat next to the Lovely and Gracious Mrs. Muddy Valley who is a happy and positive person. Mr. Muddy Valley declined to attend. He does not realize that moving from a Sunny state to the end of a dirt road in places called "Muddy Valley," or "Gopher Valley," can exacerbate your curmudgeonly characteristics. (I have always heard that exacerbation will make you go blind but now that I looked it up on the net, I discover it just means grumpy.)
I suppose I should give a review of drone school and how much I like the cool technology and just how nervous it makes me after hearing the speakers earnestly tell us when it can do and how of course, there are moral obligations to protect privacy.

I will take out all the fun stuff and bring it down to a couple basic points.
1. Drones could be really cool technology that would allow you to use cameras that tell by analyzing the colors of the plants, when you need to irrigate or spray, and identify problem areas of fields, measure the growth of plants. The data can be analyzed to give you a printout much like a soil test and since it can be tied in to global positioning it can be used with modern variable rate sprayers and planters and tied into yield data and so on.

2. This technology would be cool on a small farm but will actually result in gigantic farms where the "land manager" could never get his, her's, it's feet dirty. I really hope it will result in huge crop failures like the commie collectives but it won't.

3. While Law Enforcement has to have a warrant to spy on you.... I suspect other regulatory agencies do not. Some years ago I reported a field was 8.5 acres and it was was really 6.9 acres. The conservation cops actually hired an airplane to fly up a lonely valley in the foothills of the coast range, they took pictures and measured the field. I was off by 10 percent on my reporting. I explained that I really had no idea of the field size as I just dumped seed in the drill and when it ran out I called it a field, and 8.5 acres sounded like a good number... But, that was not enough. I had to write a letter to the local conservation board or I would have had to give all my government welfare payments back.
You can't tell me that if drones are available for cheap automated flights that they will not be used for code enforcement and if you take a leak behind the tractor you will get a fine for violation of a salmon bearing stream!

4. I don't like winery people any more after hanging out with them for a day than I did before I got to spend a day with their L.L. Bean covered bottoms.

5. Drones are cool, I want one.

Also....
I was going to write my whole post about a comment I got on the recent anti-Monday post but I started ranting about drones. Another interesting person from the South found me and I hope joins the blog. I am going to try to give her annual ryegrass growing advice but Orin is the expert and I fear he has abandoned me now that I have no reviews of Porter Wagoner albums.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

It is cold but the snow is going away

I keep being ambushed.

The dog has short hair and gets very cold. He needs a dog sweater.

My wife brings him in the house. I figures that if he doesn't move he is invisible and I can't see him.
He won't even leave the blanket to take a drink from the toilet. This goes back to the time he cut his foot and had to live in the house for a week. He ate five pork chops that were cooling on the kitchen counter.


Friday, December 6, 2013

It is snowing

My daughter had to go to school.
This is pretty funny.
You have to realize we live in Oregon and everything shuts down when there is a hint of snow.
Most people then sit around the TV and watch cars slide down the hills in Portland and laugh when the News People have to run for cover.
My daughter is not happy!
I tried to help.
I said, "Out of solidarity with you, I promise not to have a snowball fight with your cousins."
This did not help.
Right now we have almost blizzard conditions outside our house.
Blizzard Lite-Less Filling
I doubt it is really slick outside as it is 25 degrees. It is not going to warm up today so it won't be dangerous.
I suspect NOTHING will get done at school today. There are a lot of windows and the kids can see the snow. But then again, it ain't like we would be a tuition refund for a snow day...
A record snowfall!

And Now a photo of some corn!
This was like what...last month?

Thursday, December 5, 2013

I repair the offending hydraulic line

It is 17 degree F outside.
I've been thinking I should really check on the hot tub. By checking I mean walking out on my porch stark nekked and getting in. Perhaps with some Legendary Stardust Cowboy on the HiFi and a nice hot cup of Swiss Miss hot chocolate heavily laced with Peppermint Schnapps.
One would not want the pump to freeze up!
I wonder if other farmers would stop by and talk to me?
I once told my sometimes a big helper that I would give him $100 if in hot weather he would drive the silage truck naked, and then when the dairyman wanted to talk to him for a half hour each load, he would get out of the truck and casually stretch and ask for baby powder.
He refused.
I repaired my cross-threaded hydraulic line.
I went to town and bought a new double flare collar thingy. I'm pretty sure that is the exact term. Strangely enough, I could not buy 1/2" brake line off the rack. I was told they only stock it up to 3/8.
I exclaimed, "But are we mice or are we men?" and the nice lady just looked at me funny and wandered off.
The autoparts stores just don't hire the quality of help they once did.

The Offending Part

So I dug out my double flaring tool set and I even found the instructions.
I did a practice run on a discarded section of tubing. It turned out perfectly.
So.....
I carefully trimmed the old flare off of the offending line. I removed the old collar. I chamfered the edges of the trimmed tubing. I made sure the edges were square and level.
I put the tubing in the special die clamper thingy.
I used the die to set the height of the tubing.
I clamped it.
The special clampy thingy in the vice

Then I remembered I had not installed the new collar first!
I installed the new collar. It was a tight fit.
I put the die in the end of the tube and tightened the press thingy.
I looked like it was working.
The die is supposed to make the end of the tubing round over towards the inside. But of course my double flare set is an old American Brand that has been almost ruined by the fabled Chinese Export Craftsmanship.
Then I removed the die and used the pointy part of the clamp to make a regular flare.
I don't think it really worked right.
But it is now installed.
Try and get your fingers and a wrench in there!

Perhaps when it starts pouring out ATF it will be warm outside...
Of course it didn't go quite that smooth....
Along they way there were several stops for loading hay, chicken feed, random acts of laziness, lunch, hot chocolate, but no nap.
Perhaps today will be more efficient?

An Update: I found another corn picture and so here it is! Perhaps I already posted it. Who knows? Like I actually read my own blog!!!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

More positive thoughts!

Yesterday...
My daughter has been sick so I have been working on sending out bills and figuring out what I need to buy before the end of the year.
I ordered 24 new coulters for my Great Plains drill. By ordering 24 I got the price down by two dollars per row.
I called about tires for the 2-155.
I can get four bias-ply Goodyear tires for $5,700 installed. (Two front and two rears)
I could get radials for $7,500. I think that would be Titians. Some people don't like Titians.
I really wanted Firestones. They used to be the best.
Of course who knows? A new tire will last a decade at least and by that time the company could chance everything.
It is sort of a hard decision.
The rear tires are 18.4-38's and the front are 16.9-26. The fronts are an odd size which limits my choices.
The question is- Would radials give me that much more flotation and traction over bias ply? I'm getting a long-bar/short-bar pattern because they are supposed to wear better going down the highway. I rarely pull the tractor brutally hard. It is mostly pulling a 15ft no-till drill behind a 160hp tractor at 6.5 mph.
After reaching the limits of my decision making abilities I retreated to the shop to alternate between working on the G1355 and repainting the uncle's sign.
I couldn't find the orbital sander.
I did get the transmission cooler lines hooked up in front of the radiator.
I printed and lost the wiring diagram.
A fellow no-tiller stopped by and looked at my no-till drill.
I attempted to look up Newholland parts online out at the shop but the airport is not working correctly.
I helped my dad in the restroom.
I put air in my sister-in-law's tire.
I checked on my daughter.
I scratched
my nose.
I spent one hour attempting to attach the oil cooler lines to the three speed shifter and stripped one completely.
This could mean I have to pull the hydra-shift or amplitorque or what ever they call it. This means the tractor splits part into three sections.
I didn't even say a bad word.
I was going to take a photo by my phone quit.
I thought about grinding my phone to a powder but I didn't.
I shut off the lights and went to the house.
It was 7 p.m.
I am now looking at the online job openings for janitors and groundskeepers at the local college...

And moving to Belize...

Note: Just because I am frustrated does not mean that I am not aware of pain and suffering in the world. I am frustrated in my little fishbowl and so you read about it in this blog. And now my phone has chimed that I have a message. Is this my wife or daughter texting about forgotten glasses or a text book which will give me an excuse to take a drive or is it my brother's sometimes a great employee texting that he will not be coming to work? I do not know. Perhaps I will continue to set here in my easy chair and wonder. Of course if my brother is reading this at some truckstop or on WiFii in his truck sleeper he will most likely have no sympathy for me. He will probably think I am a ma-roon for stripping the threads on that cooler line. An hour! I spent an hour trying to get those lines hooked up. Did I mention how difficult it was to get the lines into position? I must get more coffee.... Look at the phone... Go to work....

Monday, December 2, 2013

Another Monday which I hate

My daughter was quite excited to spend a couple days with a friend who has moved to the next town. Well, the town next to the next town. Actually, the town next to that town. Well, lets just say 45 minutes or so away.
The worst thing happened at the sleep-over.
Everyone got sick!
So we went after her Sunday morning.
She is on the couch right now and I'm trying not to wake her up. I need to go out and finish the pig feed for Werner Von Braun (not his real German name) who didn't text me when he expects to arrive.
However, I suspect the scream of a three cylinder Detroit diesel and the roar of an unmuffled turbo-charged 806 International outside her window may wake her up.
She is going to be worried about missing school, since we are leaving soon for Florida. The cold part of Florida, where people used to say "Sheeeeeeee-it" a lot.
Perhaps some ideas for places to go?
I should get on NAT and see if I could get invited on some farm tours.
Where is the place where the Mermaids swim in the tank?
I want to go there...

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Blue Goat Doesn't Suck anymore!

Ok, I've been pulling my punches.
I have a bit of a love/hate sentiment towards the infamous Blue Goat restaurant, located in Amity.
I wanted to like it because they have a really cool oven, they are locals who work hard, really good restaurants are hard to find outside of Portland, they seem to be nice people, weird funky stuff is really cool when no one else is being weird and funky.
I hated the Blue Goat because they represent the death of the old ways. There is no Amity Cafe. There is no hardware store. There is no Meeker's Warehouse. Just wineries and pictures of grapes and people who have more money than I and I hate them all.
But I digress..
This is not about my objection to "progress" but rather about my recent happiness at the Blue Goat.
Back to my complaints from the early days at the Goat.
Here is the problem, I've been mildly annoyed by their tendency to run out of food. They ruin a perfectly good pizza with pear sauce. Voices echo off the bare brick walls and prevents me from hearing most conversations when there are more than five other people in the building.
I also have never had the urge to eat dead goat.
The food has been ok. Not really great. It is more novelty food. In my opinion it is from things put together for contrast and effect rather than from a love of good food. Clever and interesting food rather than a good satisfying meal. And when I say satisfying meal I mean a big good steak and a baked potato.
So, in my previous reviews I tried to be nice. I looked for something positive in what was kind of a laughably poor dining experience which was basically decor and "coolness" over really good food.
My wife and I had planned to treat my brother and his wife to dinner. In the end he turned out to be the one with the hundred dollar bill and I was the one with the tens and twenties and somehow I think he ended up paying.
Perhaps that is why I enjoyed the food.
It was a Saturday evening and the Blue Goat was fairly busy. We did stand at the door for a little while but soon a place was cleared.
The menu was pretty simple which is good.
I avoided the Jersey beef. I've had that before and I would say I was disappointed but how can you blame the cook when you are the one that ordered the "Jersey" beef. Jersey is a milk cow. It may be more lean, but it also tends to be a little tough and stringy and with less flavor than Angus, or Herford, or an actual beef type animal. Of course my experience comes from raising feeders purchased at the local auction or bull calves from local dairies and should have some merit.
I ordered the Blackened Pacific Rock Fish (I think, my mind is starting to fail).
It was very good.
I've never like the Blue Goat tendency to pair contrasting tastes. I do not like pear sauce and cheese on a pizza. However, the blackened fish with little squares of yams and crunchy greens really went well together. The sweet yams contrasted well with the blackened fish the spices set off the flavor nicely.
I am enough of a Philistine to not remember terms now that I don't have the menu in front of me but then again, if you were high culture you would probably not be reading this blog.
The portion was not huge but it was not small. I would say just right.
Last week I had fish and chips at the Hotel Oregon and it was much more expensive and much less tasty.
My wife had a Jersey Burger and was quite happy. It had Blu Cheese on it and came with sliced potatoe fries, like the old Captain Neon burgers of the above mentioned chain of brewpubs. But, unlike the modern incarnation it was $10 and the waitstaff were happy and helpful and competent.
My brother had the Rockfish and enjoyed it. My sister-in-law had the Hungarian Stew. It was a little too loud for me to hear how she felt about it. But, that is a problem with my ears.
I've gone to the Blue Goat several times a year since it has opened. I've been a bit frustrated.
This is the first time I've been able to say that I would go back for the food rather than just to be amused by the clever wine crowd, or to look a the cool oven, or because I just don't want to drive to the city.
So....
If you have tired of reading my drivel and just scanned to the bottom of the page...
It was good, I liked it, I will return sooner than later, and....
I didn't like the Jersey Beef because I have a freezer full of fat Black Baldy Beef and it kind of ruins you. If you've been buying your beef in town then you will think it is great, so peddle your bicycle or pop in your Prius, put on your short pants or perhaps those trendy back ones with the narrow legs and the ironic shoes, and if you are really a ma-roon, wear your kilt (cause everyone cares to know you think you are Scottish) and swill some wine at the Blue Goat. Tell them I recommended it ask to see the oven!
Also, please mention that you think the people that run Amity are a bunch of idiots for screwing up the parking and putting a bench directly in the way of being able to see South on 99W.
I swear, Amity is run by door-knobs. What the world needs are more wine tasting rooms with no parking and five handicapped parking spots per block. Oh, not to mention the 5 crosswalks per block, except for where the kids from the elementary school cross every day.
I'm sure they hired traffic engineers.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

What farm shops used to look like, what is in our water, a guy attempts to rob a porn shop with a fake bomb and fails... Any Christmas ideas for beer hobbyists?

The MMG1355 is starting to take shape.
There are a couple problems.
1. I slid the main PTO shaft all the way forward and there is an inch of room between the spacer plug and the snap ring groove. In fact, you can push the spacer plug past the o-ring. I do not see how this is possible. Unless someone forgot to install the flywheel. (Weighs 150lbs, is big and round, don't see it sitting in a corner of the shop...)
2. During installation of the engine, someone let the engine down on the oil cooler lines and smooshed them all...
3. We installed the engine out of a 2-150 White a couple years ago. It has a different oil pump which does not have the hydraulic charge pump on the engine. So, we ran a line from the case drain on the hydraulic pump to the oil cooler. Now we are going back to the Moline/G1355 set up and I have to figure out how to change it back. I can't remember.
4. I modified the a/c to put the condenser in front of the radiator. It was too small. I need one the correct size. I'm to cheap to just order the right sized on from Harold Electric.

No Corn photos...

Here is a photo showing why our coffee tastes different than other people's coffee.

I put a beaker of water on the woodstove for a day. I think next time I will weigh it first. Wonder why the residue glows in the dark? I need a test kit...

And... This guy is going around pretending to be a human bomb and robbing convenience stores. The porno shop gal was way to clever for him. She told him to get lost! You would meet some freaky interesting  people if you were a clerk at a porno store...
Also, am I the only one who still finds humor that the old Crab Bowl restaurant is now a Fantasy Video store? Ok, now I am officially weird, that was like 30 years ago... Don't get off the farm much...

Not getting off the farm much brings up another point. We are taking another epic and low budget vacation. I say "another" because we did it once before. A decade ago we took a 1970 Chevy 4wd and an equally ancient Aloha trailer and a three year old on a 6,000 mile ramble across the USA. We even camped in Collieguy's pasture!
This time we are flying to Florida. Not the tourist part of Florida. Nope, the Northern Panhandle, followed by a week on the Redneck Riviera, and perhaps a trip to Cape Canaveral to see MuddyValley's contribution to the space program.
Since we are limited on funding, it should be interesting. You all may not understand our vacations... Cheap... We were going to buy a $30 tent on Amazon and have it drop shipped but it is starting to look like it will be colder than expected. Might have to move up to one of those Yurts in the National Parks. The question is... do I take the MacBook and blog? Should I buy a cheaper book on ebay? A tablet?
The other question is... If we run out of money are are stranded at Mexico Beach is there anyone who knows where the Holiday Soup kitchens are? A list of charities? Youth Hostels?

Also...
I am trying to figure out a present for someone obsessed with craft brewing. I was going to get him 50lbs of malted barley and a bag of hops. That is not working at planned. Could get him a ton easier than 50lbs.
I tried this link for advice. This is a totally pathetic list of gift suggestions. I could write this crap and it would at least be funny...
Perhaps I'll just buy him this  on amazon about 20 times Click-There Stands the Glass. Or a Legendary Stardust Cowboy collection, No, don't want to get him on the Hard Stuff...

Monday, November 25, 2013

I hate Apple Computers

I hate Windows more...
But I was once a die-hard Apple fan.
Oh for the days of the Commodore 64... Or when Apple sort of cared about its customer base...
My wife has an iPad first generation.
The Apple "i" concept is based on the idea that you want to sy
nc stuff to a main computer. If there are more people with one main computer then you have different accounts. This is a stupid idea.
The iPad is a fine stand alone computer. There is no reason to ever hook it up to a main computer for backup.
So.... Now that iOS 5.1 is the last version that will work with the iPad I and now that Safari won't load webpages and I can't update it... I suppose it is time for a Kindle? A Windows Surface? I may be over-ruled in end but I do not want to buy another iPad!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Leggo of my lego

My daughter has about one year or two years left playing legos with me. She is interested in creating and building and likes architecture. She makes plans for lego houses on graph paper. That sort of thing.
I'd like to find her either a really epic lego house or perhaps the architecture set, or one of those technical sets with gears and a remote control. Or perhaps the "mind-storms" system where you can program with a computer.
But... It is all so @#$%^&*( expensive. I've been unable to find any of this stuff used.
Those big buildings or complicated bulldozer sets are like a really huge multi-demensional puzzle and you do learn how gears work.
I have spent hours attempting to build a two speed transmission out of legos or complicated winch systems. I realize the daughter is more interested in houses than mechanics.
They even have a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
Perhaps I will just dig out the Lincoln Logs and paint them white. Perhaps she will not notice.
Or better yet, go back to implanting false memories, "But honey, we got you that for your fifth birthday but you left it out in the rain and it was stolen by trolls. Don't you remember?"
Like the birthday party with the clown and the elephant... ah yes....

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A full night's sleep?

So I went to the chiropractor yesterday...
I pretty much killed the whole day yesterday!
My wife's car has a funny vibration and the tires are noisy. So I took it in to see what was up. I has a bad rear strut and this has resulted in a funny scalloped wear pattern on the tires.
Now it is not so bad you can't drive it but you can't wear out a car that you can't afford to replace.
So between the strut repair and two new tires and wheel alignment we are looking at $900.
What do you do?
I could replace the struts I suppose but I would take two weeks and screw something up. If it were my Studebaker cruiser I would just drive it until the wheel fell off or the battery went dead and I didn't get around to starting it for a year and a half-oh wait... that already has happened. Well, the wheel didn't fall off yet...
But it is my wife's car, given to us by her father, and so it falls into a different category.
So I figured I would go to the chiropractor and see if my luck would change.
I had already been to the guitar store to buy some super slinky guitar strings for my daughter's hand-me-down electric guitar that she says she want's to play but doesn't. I had quite the discussion on motivating beginners with the shop owner. And I mentioned that I needed one of those little knobby shiny things that you hook the strap onto. He rummaged in a box and found exactly what I needed.
We discussed the guitar.
It is a Teisco E100 that my brother bought when there was an electronics store in Amity. Next to the J & J drive in. I may have stolen it from him but I can't remember.
Which brings up an interesting story. My other brother saw the former owner of the J&J who was talking about a high school kid who liked to park his car in the way at the drive-in. The owner asked him a couple times to move it and when the kid protested the owner got out his old Ford pickup, which had a large plank for a front bumper, and he pushed the kid's car out of the way! Ah, yes, the good ole days in Amity... No police department!
But, I digress...
I spent $13 bucks on guitar supplies that I could have purchased on Amazon for $5.50 and got a free guitar pick, but I wanted to "shop local."
So I'm setting on the chiropractor couch thingy and jiggling. I'm feeling the tension. $900 buck to work on the car, plus that $13 for guitar strings and a little shiny knob that I know I could have made from flat washers and a drywall screw... and I look at the receipt. The guitar guy charged me $5 for a stupid knob!
I jiggle some more.
The Chiropractor's nice wife asks me if I am cold. Somewhat puzzled, I answer, "no."
I realize I am setting straight up, hugging myself, and jiggling.
Hmmm. "Not cold, just going insane, no problem, I'm fine...."
Pretty funny, so now I'm setting straight up, hugging myself, jiggling, and giggling.
I am so happy I was in a Chiropractor's office instead of a mental health facility!
So... it turns out it has been over a year since I last ran out of money and declared myself cured and I had to go though a whole series of tests and questions.
When does it hurt, where, why, how, and so on.
My back hurts and I get very stiff when I sit or lay down for long periods of time, it feels better when I get up and exercise. The Chiro gets kind of a grin and points out the irony of this when viewed in light of my determined efforts to avoid work at all costs.
Ho, ho, ho! said I, getting into the Christmas spirit a little early this year!
Anyway... He did the adjustments... I went home and worked on the G1355, had a nice dinner, sat in front of the woodstove.
Later I attempted to listen to the trove of Beach Boys albums I recently acquired which were just a bit more scratched than I expected and I realized that most of the Beach Boys material really sucks. Especially when Mike Love decided he was an "artist."
I went to bed.
This morning I woke up late and realized my back was not all that sore and I could actually get out of bed without leveraging my legs to the floor and propping myself up. AND I have mostly been sleeping instead of rolling from side to side and imagining I was being chased.
I'm still not getting to work early... I was almost out the door and got a hankering for steak and eggs and I came back in. The sun is shining and my brother is gone and the "little" helper has texted in that he is doing something important and I have to take the car into town to get the struts repaired. I am not setting in that waiting room for three hours. Perhaps I shall walk somewhere... If only my bicycle would fit in the back seat...
Blah, blah, blah...
Does anyone actually read all the way to the bottom of these posts?


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Out with a bang and the real reason for the Butterball Turkey hunger strike

Smokin' in the boy's room?
(Click Here...) Why you shouldn't smoke in the restroom.


Why there is a market for porn... I found this site after being encouraged to spread rumors linking GMO corn to the ButterBall turkey Hunger Strike...
Click here for a link to pretentiousness.  I once had a friend who worked in a ladies underwear store. Once I went in and asked the other sales girl to help me find some nice silky sleepwear for my "Aunt" who was about my size. Much hilarity ensued... But, while we were discussing the subject I brought up the question as to who exactly wears this stuff. The response was, "people who probably shouldn't."
But then the manager appeared and I had to leave.
But, I digress...
I was wondering how to start a chain email rumor that GMO feed is behind the ButterBall Turkey hunger strike but I think someone beat me to it!
Get Involved with stupid causes! CLICK HERE!
Anyway, after reading about ButterBall Turkeys I have decided it is really a hunger strike. They have gained amazing superpowers from all the chemicals they have ingested and also from the radioactive spider that got loose after the nuclear meltdown in Japan and have formed the ButterBall Turkey Political Action Committee, BBTPAC, otherwise know as ButtPac, and are going on a hunger strike to raise awareness that Turkeys are being persecuted on Thanksgiving day because they are not allowed to get married in Wyoming.
"I will not give up my life so that a middle aged, White Male, conservative, christian, homophobe, can sit on the couch and watch old SouthPark videos it a little window on his MacBook Pro while pretending to watch Dr. Who, on Thanksgiving day, which is really Indian Casino and racist mascot oppression day, and I'm so angry I'm going to... oh look it is raining, I think I'll stare up at the sky with my mouth open.."
Said Turkey # 14445356990, official spokes-turkey for BUTTPAC...
ANd now some music to sooth your soul...

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Hanging on to your sanity

My dad is not going into oblivion without a fight.
He is 94 and still goes to work most days.
He sits in his office and does "stuff" with salesbooks and endless charts of numbers on white copy paper.
We have been trying to figure out what goes on in his mind. He can't explain it but he wants "something."
He emerges at coffee time (10 a.m and 3 p.m.) and usually doesn't say much. But he follows the conversation and contributes when necessary.
Yesterday he asked me for help.
He has been counting.
He made a grid on plain white paper.
He started numbering in the first column 21-30, the next column was 1-10, the next was 31-30.
He was stuck on what comes after 35.
Also, would the square at the bottom be 40?
If so, then would the top of the next column be 41 or 51? And how do you write 51?
It took some deciphering to figure out the simple pattern. The column of 1-10 seemed to be out of order but I think he just started to far from the edge of the paper and went from right to left instead of left to right.
He seems to have a plan to count by "10's" using this grid.  I think there is more to the grid than what we understand. Perhaps some pre-calculator multiplication trick.
Anyway, I got him on the right track.
Several farmers appeared and I stuck around the store.
One is the last of three brothers and I very rarely see him. I didn't really get any good stories but he wanted to talk about my no-till project for his nephew which worked quite well. We also talked about his neighbor rebuilding a bridge. He helped the fellow's father build the bridge and they thought it was going to last forever. I suppose the 21st century seemed pretty far away in 1950 or 1960.
Dad appeared again. He had forgotten what came after 56. We went over the grid again.
I went back to work.
Near dusk, another neighbor appeared and wanted advice on a rotating goose scarecrow in the shape of a giant eagle.
Dad needed to know what came after 99. He had made a new chart.
Then the owner of the local truck shop appeared.
He thinks we should buy a mid 1970's kenworth with an 8V71 Detroit, 250" wheelbase, 13speed, Eaton two speed rear axles, walking beam suspension, new tires and good paint.
I have no idea what many of those words mean. I just smiled and nodded.
Dad appeared, "What comes after 110 and how do you write it."
And so it goes...
I went out and stared at the G1355 for a while.
I'm starting to see a pattern.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Mud... And, things we do to avoid getting a real job...

Making feed is a stupid thing for me to do...


I bought a straw chopper to pre-chop the hay before it goes into the mixer-grinder. This way I don't have to feed individual flakes by hand.
Speaking of feeding individual flakes by hand... Click here to read about atheists with their feelings hurt.
And tell me is this any different from any other marriage? Well, literal vs pure philosophical, I guess...(Groom Blindfolded-get it?)
We were watching KPTV channel 12 this morning and they were bragging about their up to date news. This is pretty hilarious. They get their national news from the Google startup page, only like three days later and with about half the information. If they can do it, I can do it!
The lazyfarmer news!!!
News Break! The Chicken Crossed the Road!!!!!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A question:

My brother is off driving truck...
I could
1. Continue to set in my easy chair and watch Dr. Who season 6 starring Ms Gillan as the companion or
2. Go back to work... Mud, itchy chicken feed, trying to put a tractor back together... Etc...

Putting the tractor back together after 2 years


I went out to work on the Minneapolis-Moline G1355 yesterday. I went sort of blank. I have no idea how this stuff goes back on. It was two years ago that I took it apart.
Brother and I put the engine back in. Brother put the engine back together. My traditional role has been the engine installation. I installed the starter...
I was going to install the water pump and air cleaner (which shares mounting holes with the thermostat) and put the frame rails and front end on, but I can't remember anything...
I went back to making feed.

Monday, November 11, 2013

A Monday rambling post that doesn't really make much sense and has nothing to do with farming or corn pictures

Sunday evening I retreated to the back bedroom to organize curate my obsessions hoarding collections and I found a couple Velvet Underground albums.
So I fired up the vintage Scott 282 Tube Amp (cause It reminds me of my childhood) and put The Velvet Underground 1969 on the Rek-O-Kut turntable that once belonged to MuddyValley's father.
I had to pause for a moment of ironic humor, not just in honor of all the clever ironic Lou Reed fans, but really in honor of the silliness of life in general.
1969 is a live album, Lou's clever banter is recorded on the opening track. He makes a clever comment about it being a "school night" and then encourages the audience to partake of whatever it is that helps them find happiness (don't have the exact quote and too lazy to get up and restart the album so perhaps I'm completely full of poop on this one) and then there is a little dig about what ever it takes to find happiness in Texas. (another paraphrase, I'm going to have to listen to this again this evening and update)
I found it interesting to hear the condescending tone way back when.
I find it amusing to remember all the 1960's chatter about the oppression and the police state and sticking it to the man and the power of youth and changing the world and then seeing how it all ended up.
Sure, gay people can get married...but...
But, a couple silly girls dress up like the twin towers and you would think they had sinned against the supreme being.
A silly actress dresses up as a stupid TV show character and you would think she was a slave owner. Good grief, get over being a victim already... If you paint your face black with white or red circles around your mouth, a top hat, a monkey tail, and you make fun of the Negro then it is black face. If you paint your face black to dress up like a black doughnut or a TV character then it is not racially offensive and if you are offended you are an idiot...
Not to belabor a point but the world is now much worse than it was in 1969 and the clever generation is now in charge.
What a bunch of phonies, he said ironically...
And now I give you the voice of a dead drug addict, a drug addict who beat the odds and made a lot of money and fulfilled the prophecy written in the liner notes of his album. Yes indeed, school children now go to a museum to see a display on Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, and it has not been 100 years...
Kind of funny to see the two old guys from the youth generation getting together to sing.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

I just remembered that I've left my tractor and drill in a field somewhere...

This morning my lovely and gracious wife took a break from making pancakes to point out that I had neglected to put plastic over the dirt pile I left in the front yard. Also, that it was my obsession to get plastic and put over the dirt pile, and that after getting the plastic, I then let the dirt pile set in the rain.
I pointed out that I had covered one dirt pile but got distracted and didn't get the second one covered.
She gave me a funny look...
And then I remembered! I went off and left my tractor and drill in a field somewhere. It should not be hind to find them as I only planted 100 acres this fall. (Not that I will ever get around to sending out bills.)
Here it is, next to the old barn with the recessed door hangers.

I also found this harrow that was built by my father and uncle, back in the day... when real farmers didn't wear short pants...
Now, instead of going to work, we are going to watch season one of Dr. Who. This will reinforce our families' belief in the mythology of the UK as seen though reruns on OPB! (And faint memories of being there in 1984)
However, we now have a 42" LCD TV (gifted from the Father in Law) and unlimited internet TV on our rather old Wii, due to our new Onlinemac antenna and someone subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Last night I stayed up late watching episodes of Angry Beavers. I wanted to watch South Park but it would have cost $1.99 which I deemed as too expensive.
Have a nice day...
Or perhaps a better Eastwood quote:
"Get off my lawn!"

Thursday, November 7, 2013

True Art is in the eye of the Beholder?

http://www.britishonly.com/estore/new_items/default.asp

I hate rain, but yet I live in Oregon.
My brother is out working. I can hear things clunking and banging.
I'm in the house in the dark looking up Art's-Way mixer/grinders and listening to British Ska and drinking about five gallons of coffee.
I'm supposed to be making feed for my neighbor but I ran out of barley.
The barley is at another neighbor's warehouse ten miles away. We have no trucks that are currently 1. Roadworthy (although that never stops us) 2. Licensed (cause the State of Oregon violates you on license fees)
And it is raining.
I would borrow the tow behind fertilizer box from the place where Orin is a board member but since we kept the spreader all summer and fall and were too lazy to put the tarp over it, I do not want to be the one to take it back. And I don't have the nerve to ask to borrow another one.
Eventually someone is going to come knock on the door.
Perhaps I shall brave the rain and venture out into the mudhole that is our farm...

In my mind's eye I am 22 and riding this...

I have license for it...
All it needs is a new helmet, new tyres, the correct fender, the sump under the crank cleaned out, new points, the zenier diode repaired or a large capacitor fitted instead of the battery that never stays charged, new tail light lens installed, new turn signal lens installed (I have the lenses). I should rebuild the forks and buy new shocks but I won't get that done. Needs a good once over with semi-chrome polish or Mother's Mag Wheel polish.
But I also have a whole list of farm projects to do...
And a Studebaker cruiser that is rusting in my driveway. Just needs an oil change, a little work on the brakes, the battery is dead, and a transmission oil change.
That is it... And it has been setting for a year....

So here are some videos, I think the first one is of Kev and his mates out on the town... After a while they run into the hippo on the lawn guy who say they are "good lads" and mayhem follows...
And...
And


Not to mention
And that whole train of thought was started by an email from British Only that was advertising calendars which is about the only thing they have left, after a decade of closeout sales...

Also, here is how to make Rum if you are interested. CLICK HERE

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