It didn't take me long to get the chainsaw out of Gozer's basement. We've got a great looking Besler wood stove and I was anxious to see how well it would heat the farms house. I hadn't used the saw in several months, so I touched up and tightened the chain, checked the bar oil rez, fueled up, and headed into the "wilderness".
Really...every deciduous tree here needs major surgery, and though I haven't counted them, I'd guess there are 40 or so big elms that need serious attention. Years of "let it grow" maintenance, followed by storm damage have left a mess of down or should be down wood just begging for the chainsaws bite.
Just a couple pulls on the rope and the Homelite fired right up. There is so much brush and down limbs that me and the chainsaw have to practically saw our way to the first tree we came to. This was an impressive tree at one time, but it's split and broken and looks pretty sad, but after a couple hours of chainsaw love, the old tree is starting to look like it will provide years of summer shade again, and I've got a good load of wood to test the old Besler wood stove.
So just one of the major projects around the farm is cleanup and maintenance. I imagine I'll be spending much of the winter taking apart as much wood as I can so the place starts to look a little like somebody cares about it. So far, my efforts are totally lost in the "wilderness" of brush and other materials laying around, but as I've said before...I've got time and determination on my side, and Rome wasn't built in a day either.
The Besler wood stove preformed way beyond my expectations! 2 thumbs up and 5 stars!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Moving Day
We did it! We spent our first night in the farm house last night. It seems like more work than we at first thought, and less too. The scrubbing isn't finished yet, we've got our camping furniture inside to sit on, and a Coleman air bed for sleeping arrangements. Our refrigerator has food in it and is making ice, and some of the kitchen cabinets have food and cooking utensils.
It's going to take a while to feel totally comfortable here. The house was infested with mice, so the clean up has been never ending it seems. We're sure we got the little buggers, but as bad as it was, we may always wonder if we got them all. Every dark speck on the floor is subject to close inspection for the time being.
We've got cables running to and from the motor home with power to, and satellite signals into the house. The TV is working, we bought a radio and microwave, and I even had time to fire up the chain saw for a half hour.
We had our first fire in the wood stove, ate our first supper inside, and generally are enjoying our new surroundings. We've nearly filled our dumpster and still have a week to go until our scheduled trash pickup, so it's a good thing we've got almost everything thrown out that really needed to go. I can wait to tackle the barn and it's old contents.
We're enjoying the friendly people and wildlife everywhere we go, and the more time we're here, the more positive we are we made the right decision on where to settle down.
It's going to take a while to feel totally comfortable here. The house was infested with mice, so the clean up has been never ending it seems. We're sure we got the little buggers, but as bad as it was, we may always wonder if we got them all. Every dark speck on the floor is subject to close inspection for the time being.
We've got cables running to and from the motor home with power to, and satellite signals into the house. The TV is working, we bought a radio and microwave, and I even had time to fire up the chain saw for a half hour.
We had our first fire in the wood stove, ate our first supper inside, and generally are enjoying our new surroundings. We've nearly filled our dumpster and still have a week to go until our scheduled trash pickup, so it's a good thing we've got almost everything thrown out that really needed to go. I can wait to tackle the barn and it's old contents.
We're enjoying the friendly people and wildlife everywhere we go, and the more time we're here, the more positive we are we made the right decision on where to settle down.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Old Mr. Boston
During our journey into the farms past, we've come across mostly unusable things, but one item got me excited. An old book with brown tinged pages with an art drawing of a man with muttonchop sideburns and top hat. The book is so dirty that it's difficult to read the books title, but a little rubbing reveals "Old Mr. Boston De Lux Official Bartender Guide Price $2".
Now I've seen Jay Leno plenty of times showing stuff people buy on EBay, so I start to get excited. Perhaps this is a rare copy of an out of print book that is highly prized by book collectors. I slowly open the cover of the dusty old manual and the first words are "Become a Magician - Learn 74 unique tricks to mystify and entertain..." Wow! Even if the book is worthless, I'll learn unique tricks!
After a very short Internet search for Old Mr. Boston, I discovered that my 1957 edition might be worth as much as $9 if in perfect condition...which this isn't. Ah well, even if the book isn't worth much, I'll learn unique tricks like card, coin, and napkin magic guaranteed to mystify my friends.
Anybody want a free book?
Now I've seen Jay Leno plenty of times showing stuff people buy on EBay, so I start to get excited. Perhaps this is a rare copy of an out of print book that is highly prized by book collectors. I slowly open the cover of the dusty old manual and the first words are "Become a Magician - Learn 74 unique tricks to mystify and entertain..." Wow! Even if the book is worthless, I'll learn unique tricks!
After a very short Internet search for Old Mr. Boston, I discovered that my 1957 edition might be worth as much as $9 if in perfect condition...which this isn't. Ah well, even if the book isn't worth much, I'll learn unique tricks like card, coin, and napkin magic guaranteed to mystify my friends.
Anybody want a free book?
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Rug Doctor
We've been cleaning for over a week now, and are almost ready to 'move' into the farm's house. We've scrubbed, scraped, wiped, vacuumed, and rented one of the worlds great inventions...a Rug Doctor.
What? You never heard of a Rug Doctor? A Rug Doctor is a carpet cleaning machine that you can rent, and my experience with them is nothing short of miraculous. These marvelous machines are ready for those of us that enjoy tackling around the house projects, and don't mind saving some money in the process.
These things are not for everybody. They are easy to operate, but you must dump dirty water, and fill clean water mixed with cleaning chemicals. It takes time, and most people will feel like they accomplished something (you'll likely be sore) after working the dumb end of the machine for a day or so.
My recommendation comes from the 3 times I've rented. The first removed grease and oil from carpet that had been used as garage space for a Harley Davidson, the second removed pine pitch from firewood that had been stacked inside on carpet, and now the farm and it's pet stains. The first place was the worst, the farm about the same as the firewood place. The Rug Doctor removed stains, odors, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
So if you have a dirty carpet and don't mind spending the time to do it yourself, I don't see how you could go wrong renting what I consider one of the great inventions.
What? You never heard of a Rug Doctor? A Rug Doctor is a carpet cleaning machine that you can rent, and my experience with them is nothing short of miraculous. These marvelous machines are ready for those of us that enjoy tackling around the house projects, and don't mind saving some money in the process.
These things are not for everybody. They are easy to operate, but you must dump dirty water, and fill clean water mixed with cleaning chemicals. It takes time, and most people will feel like they accomplished something (you'll likely be sore) after working the dumb end of the machine for a day or so.
My recommendation comes from the 3 times I've rented. The first removed grease and oil from carpet that had been used as garage space for a Harley Davidson, the second removed pine pitch from firewood that had been stacked inside on carpet, and now the farm and it's pet stains. The first place was the worst, the farm about the same as the firewood place. The Rug Doctor removed stains, odors, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
So if you have a dirty carpet and don't mind spending the time to do it yourself, I don't see how you could go wrong renting what I consider one of the great inventions.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Country Lights
Merry Christmas!
HoHoHo! Santa actually found us at the farm. He didn't bring that new JD tractor, that I was dreaming about, but he left some pretty cool stuff to help make the farm our home. The weather forecast is for snow all day and tonight, so this is turning into our first white Christmas in many years.
I suppose everybody that lives up these country roads has studded snow tires. They must have...I mean...if I drove the Jeep up these roads at the speeds people pass by here, I'd roll over in the ditch I'm afraid. Now I admit that the short wheelbase makes things more interesting, and I could lock in the hubs and use 4x4, but we're not in a hurry, and the ice packed roads are only a minor inconvenience to us.
Speaking of country roads, we've noticed some Christmas lights flashing off to our west, but as near as we could tell, they appeared to be in a nearby valley, and not on any of the roads we've explored yet. Last night we ventured out to find the flashing farm.
We found the isolated farm just a mile or so as the crow flies from our place. The house sits well off the road, and the lights are primarily directed to the east (towards our place) which I believe is the front of the house. This is a bit unusual to me as the road makes a 90 degree turn and passes by the home on the south, so that most passersby don't get to see the full light show.
To be honest, I almost feel like that farmer put his lights out just for us to enjoy, because we have a great view of his full outdoor light show from the farm, and as near as I can tell, we're about the only folks that can see it well.
So Mr. Farmer at the corner of 724 and 408...Thank You!
"And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of site, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
HoHoHo! Santa actually found us at the farm. He didn't bring that new JD tractor, that I was dreaming about, but he left some pretty cool stuff to help make the farm our home. The weather forecast is for snow all day and tonight, so this is turning into our first white Christmas in many years.
I suppose everybody that lives up these country roads has studded snow tires. They must have...I mean...if I drove the Jeep up these roads at the speeds people pass by here, I'd roll over in the ditch I'm afraid. Now I admit that the short wheelbase makes things more interesting, and I could lock in the hubs and use 4x4, but we're not in a hurry, and the ice packed roads are only a minor inconvenience to us.
Speaking of country roads, we've noticed some Christmas lights flashing off to our west, but as near as we could tell, they appeared to be in a nearby valley, and not on any of the roads we've explored yet. Last night we ventured out to find the flashing farm.
We found the isolated farm just a mile or so as the crow flies from our place. The house sits well off the road, and the lights are primarily directed to the east (towards our place) which I believe is the front of the house. This is a bit unusual to me as the road makes a 90 degree turn and passes by the home on the south, so that most passersby don't get to see the full light show.
To be honest, I almost feel like that farmer put his lights out just for us to enjoy, because we have a great view of his full outdoor light show from the farm, and as near as I can tell, we're about the only folks that can see it well.
So Mr. Farmer at the corner of 724 and 408...Thank You!
"And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of site, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Presents Under The Tree
I just got up and I'm tired already. You see, I just looked out Gozer's window at the farm house, and the level of work needed to get the place ready to move into is daunting. The more work we do around the farm, the less we feel we are getting done.
The house has been upgraded over the years with some very expensive and time consuming renovations. For example, the house was raised a couple feet and a new concrete floor and block wall foundation built creating a complete full basement which previous owners had finished quite nicely. Electrical and plumbing all were rearranged and upgraded. I think the fastest way to improve something in the old days was to cover up the old layer with someting new. From the peel and stick tiles on top of carpet and hardwood flooring, to multiple layers of wallpaper, the previous residents decorating ideas clash with the current owners ideas, so we're gonna yank, pull, and pry our way through the past.
To the city slicker in me, the house isn't planned well at all. Margie had several relatives that lived on farms in Minnesota that she visited over the years, and she says it's a farm house designed for one thing...a place to eat and sleep so you could work outside all day. Either way, it's got to change to become our dream home. Walls will come down, doors will disappear, and windows appear when non have been before.
We bought 5 acres of work, play, or health spa depending on your point of view. We're into sweat equity, and we think we found just the place to invest it. We had a dumpster delivered and it's 1/2 full after only a few hours of cleaning, and we're just starting to clean out the ignored nooks and craneys and remove things others have left behind of little value. We're fortunate to have the time to renovate the way we want, and not have to work around trying to run a farm at the same time the house is being rebuilt. You see...I'm slow.
Brother Gary showed up late last night with a freshly cut Colorado Christmas tree for us complete with decorations, as well as a refrigerator. Refer was shipped on it's side from Colorado, so it's now standing up, and we hope a day or so of uprightness before plugging it in will find it still works. The price on it was right...free. Father in law's church got new appliances when they completed a big expansion project and was giving it away. Timing is everything sometimes! He also brought wrapped presents from the family, so even though the only furniture in the place is a couple camping chairs, it looks like Christmas.
We've got 3 vacuum cleaners (Brenda at McCook Abstract mentioned that if you have 3 of anything, you have a collection - this is one collection we don't want to start) of various types, and a carpet cleaner reserved for Monday afternoon. Since we don't have to return it until after Christmas, I suppose we'll take advantage of the extra free day use and really get the place cleaned up.
We knew exactly what we were getting into so no complaints, and we're sure glad the grass finally grew so we could get started!
The house has been upgraded over the years with some very expensive and time consuming renovations. For example, the house was raised a couple feet and a new concrete floor and block wall foundation built creating a complete full basement which previous owners had finished quite nicely. Electrical and plumbing all were rearranged and upgraded. I think the fastest way to improve something in the old days was to cover up the old layer with someting new. From the peel and stick tiles on top of carpet and hardwood flooring, to multiple layers of wallpaper, the previous residents decorating ideas clash with the current owners ideas, so we're gonna yank, pull, and pry our way through the past.
To the city slicker in me, the house isn't planned well at all. Margie had several relatives that lived on farms in Minnesota that she visited over the years, and she says it's a farm house designed for one thing...a place to eat and sleep so you could work outside all day. Either way, it's got to change to become our dream home. Walls will come down, doors will disappear, and windows appear when non have been before.
We bought 5 acres of work, play, or health spa depending on your point of view. We're into sweat equity, and we think we found just the place to invest it. We had a dumpster delivered and it's 1/2 full after only a few hours of cleaning, and we're just starting to clean out the ignored nooks and craneys and remove things others have left behind of little value. We're fortunate to have the time to renovate the way we want, and not have to work around trying to run a farm at the same time the house is being rebuilt. You see...I'm slow.
Brother Gary showed up late last night with a freshly cut Colorado Christmas tree for us complete with decorations, as well as a refrigerator. Refer was shipped on it's side from Colorado, so it's now standing up, and we hope a day or so of uprightness before plugging it in will find it still works. The price on it was right...free. Father in law's church got new appliances when they completed a big expansion project and was giving it away. Timing is everything sometimes! He also brought wrapped presents from the family, so even though the only furniture in the place is a couple camping chairs, it looks like Christmas.
We've got 3 vacuum cleaners (Brenda at McCook Abstract mentioned that if you have 3 of anything, you have a collection - this is one collection we don't want to start) of various types, and a carpet cleaner reserved for Monday afternoon. Since we don't have to return it until after Christmas, I suppose we'll take advantage of the extra free day use and really get the place cleaned up.
We knew exactly what we were getting into so no complaints, and we're sure glad the grass finally grew so we could get started!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Rug Pulling
I love maps. There is a lot of information on a map that usually has little to do with navigation, but makes travel more interesting by showing campgrounds, parks, and other points of interest. Now that we're Nebraska residents, I've been looking at maps of the area for interesting things to see or do, and I was reminded of a place we visited a couple years ago... the geographic center of the USA.
Lebanon Kansas, or at least nearby, is the site of the geographic center of the USA...or at least it used to be. Up until 1959 when a couple more states were added to the Union, Lebanon was the center of the free world. If you drive out to the site today, you'll find what looks like the remains of a small motel, and nice monument and picnic tables. The grounds are nicely maintained, and a billboard along the highway proclaims Lebanon the center of the USA.
But the rug got pulled out from under Lebanon's claim to fame in 1959. Even though the "official" center of the USA is now in western South Dakota near Belle Fourche, highway signs proclaim a slowly dimming bit of American history to be just a hop, skip, and a jump off US highway 281.
Maps still show the "Geographical Center of USA" near Lebanon, and if you search Google for the geographical center of the USA, the very first listing is Lebanon, Kansas, followed immediately by information about South Dakota's "new" claim to fame. I found it interesting that Belle Fourche is "moving" the location. It seems they want to take advantage and exploit any possible tourist advantage the site might have by building a visitor center along the nearest US highway which just happens to be about 20 miles from the actual remote location.
So the rug got pulled out from under most of Lebanon's claim to fame in 1959. They can still claim to be the center of the "lower 48", but what remains there to me is another monument to USA expansion, even if it doesn't say that on the billboard.
Lebanon Kansas, or at least nearby, is the site of the geographic center of the USA...or at least it used to be. Up until 1959 when a couple more states were added to the Union, Lebanon was the center of the free world. If you drive out to the site today, you'll find what looks like the remains of a small motel, and nice monument and picnic tables. The grounds are nicely maintained, and a billboard along the highway proclaims Lebanon the center of the USA.
But the rug got pulled out from under Lebanon's claim to fame in 1959. Even though the "official" center of the USA is now in western South Dakota near Belle Fourche, highway signs proclaim a slowly dimming bit of American history to be just a hop, skip, and a jump off US highway 281.
Maps still show the "Geographical Center of USA" near Lebanon, and if you search Google for the geographical center of the USA, the very first listing is Lebanon, Kansas, followed immediately by information about South Dakota's "new" claim to fame. I found it interesting that Belle Fourche is "moving" the location. It seems they want to take advantage and exploit any possible tourist advantage the site might have by building a visitor center along the nearest US highway which just happens to be about 20 miles from the actual remote location.
So the rug got pulled out from under most of Lebanon's claim to fame in 1959. They can still claim to be the center of the "lower 48", but what remains there to me is another monument to USA expansion, even if it doesn't say that on the billboard.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Christmas Songs
One thing I like about blogging is that I can say pretty much whatever I want, and nobody seems to care much one way or the other. I hope you don't mind, but from time to time, I plan on sharing some things I enjoyed finding or have discovered, and with that in mind...
Today I got a great link from a friend of mine to a short video on U-tube. Now I more often than not discard emails with links like the one I got today but the title got me...The 12 Days Of Christmas...Gone Wrong.
If you have a high speed Internet connection, I encourage you to visit http://boortz.com/more/video/12_days_of_xmas.html. It's a 3 1/2 minute acapella presentation that had me laughing out loud, and one that I hope you'll enjoy too.
Today I got a great link from a friend of mine to a short video on U-tube. Now I more often than not discard emails with links like the one I got today but the title got me...The 12 Days Of Christmas...Gone Wrong.
If you have a high speed Internet connection, I encourage you to visit http://boortz.com/more/video/12_days_of_xmas.html. It's a 3 1/2 minute acapella presentation that had me laughing out loud, and one that I hope you'll enjoy too.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Ready Or Not
We've all heard the saying "the job isn't finished 'till the paperwork is done", and though buying the farm hasn't exactly been a job, the paperwork is finished, and we're officially Nebraska property owners!
If you happened to be walking around downtown McCook around 2PM and heard some fool scream Yahoo!... you guessed it, it was me. This is like a dream come true for me. Though the farm needs just about everything, we got time to git-er-done, and turning this little place on top of a hill into our dream home will certainly be a labor of love.
We've got Gozer backed up in front of the barn, I hooked up the power, and we're about to start a whole new adventure with the house and property. I've shoveled some snow, and put a couple Christmas bows on the house, and tomorrow we'll put a couple strings of lights out front.
My father in law, you may recall I mentioned Margie's work-a-holic father, is anxious to get started with his chain saw and helping in whatever way he can. I'm afraid the man is going to work me to death when he gets here, but we can use all the help we can get. My brother in law Gary is an arborist, and he and friends of his plan of working up some of the wood too.
We got to McCook early and had an opportunity to visit several downtown stores. The people inside all smiled, all the customers smiled, I heard "Merry Christmas" in every store I was in, and it was wonderful to us to see the lovely decorations store owners put up to make the season more festive. We even made it into Wal Mart, and thought the parking lot looked full, people were courteous and friendly and it was just different that a big city store.
So all the T's got crossed and the I's dotted so here we are, ready or not.
If you happened to be walking around downtown McCook around 2PM and heard some fool scream Yahoo!... you guessed it, it was me. This is like a dream come true for me. Though the farm needs just about everything, we got time to git-er-done, and turning this little place on top of a hill into our dream home will certainly be a labor of love.
We've got Gozer backed up in front of the barn, I hooked up the power, and we're about to start a whole new adventure with the house and property. I've shoveled some snow, and put a couple Christmas bows on the house, and tomorrow we'll put a couple strings of lights out front.
My father in law, you may recall I mentioned Margie's work-a-holic father, is anxious to get started with his chain saw and helping in whatever way he can. I'm afraid the man is going to work me to death when he gets here, but we can use all the help we can get. My brother in law Gary is an arborist, and he and friends of his plan of working up some of the wood too.
We got to McCook early and had an opportunity to visit several downtown stores. The people inside all smiled, all the customers smiled, I heard "Merry Christmas" in every store I was in, and it was wonderful to us to see the lovely decorations store owners put up to make the season more festive. We even made it into Wal Mart, and thought the parking lot looked full, people were courteous and friendly and it was just different that a big city store.
So all the T's got crossed and the I's dotted so here we are, ready or not.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The Day Before The Day
Today is the day before we close on the farm. We've got the final figures and the money stuff is ready to go. We met with a nice fellow named Randy Bauer who's backing up Diane Hoffman during her family's loss for our final walk through of the farm, and I probably entertained him with our enthusiam for our prospective purchase.
We really didn't expect to see anything different, and didn't. I wish the snow would melt a bit quicker, but then it's mud, so maybe I'm better off and just don't know it yet. After our final visit of the farm before closing tomorrow, we decided to take a drive along Nebraska state highway 47 south to state 89. We turned west and really enjoyed the relaxing drive through Lebanon, Danbury, and Marion. We saw deer, raccoons, wild turkey, pheasant, and hawks. This area really has the wildlife!
Since I know how much needs to be done on the farm, I've been watching for hardware and lumber yards in the area, and Margie had noticed Lord's Hardware & Appliance as we had driven through Indianola in the past, so today we stopped to see what they had.
What a great old building with the tin ceiling so tall that 28' extension ladders stand straight up with plenty of room to spare. With such tall ceilings, the place has tall shelves and a rolling ladder to access whatever it is you need on the top shelf. I know, if I went in there looking for something very specific, I might not find it, but with such a huge selection of stuff, I think I'll find it hard not to visit repeatedly.
One thing caught my eye... I noticed in one of the back rooms several spring steel traps of various sizes, the largest I don't know what for, but I sure hope we don't every want to trap whatever that trap is designed for!
We really didn't expect to see anything different, and didn't. I wish the snow would melt a bit quicker, but then it's mud, so maybe I'm better off and just don't know it yet. After our final visit of the farm before closing tomorrow, we decided to take a drive along Nebraska state highway 47 south to state 89. We turned west and really enjoyed the relaxing drive through Lebanon, Danbury, and Marion. We saw deer, raccoons, wild turkey, pheasant, and hawks. This area really has the wildlife!
Since I know how much needs to be done on the farm, I've been watching for hardware and lumber yards in the area, and Margie had noticed Lord's Hardware & Appliance as we had driven through Indianola in the past, so today we stopped to see what they had.
What a great old building with the tin ceiling so tall that 28' extension ladders stand straight up with plenty of room to spare. With such tall ceilings, the place has tall shelves and a rolling ladder to access whatever it is you need on the top shelf. I know, if I went in there looking for something very specific, I might not find it, but with such a huge selection of stuff, I think I'll find it hard not to visit repeatedly.
One thing caught my eye... I noticed in one of the back rooms several spring steel traps of various sizes, the largest I don't know what for, but I sure hope we don't every want to trap whatever that trap is designed for!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Shovelin' Fools
What a beautiful day once the clouds parted with the winter wonderland sparkling in the sunlight! We've been watching the weather forecast, and since we're to have clear skies and warmer temps, we want to get the snow off the drive into the farm some so we might have a relatively dry place to park Gozer after closing.
Power tools...every homeowners friend, come in all shapes and sizes of course, and I'm pretty sure a snow blower is one of those tools in our future. We only came with one snow shovel, so we took turns working the dumb end, and got the job mostly done in a couple hours. It wasn't a horrible job, and would have been so much easier if the power company hadn't been through ahead of the last snow to turn on the power, so that was packed down, and there seemed to be a pretty good layer of crusty snow just beneath the new snow surface that didn't help much either. We got a good chance to see which way the snow drifts around the place for the first time, and once we know for sure that the farm is ours, we'll at least get another shovel.
Cambridge's RV park hasn't been plowed, so we decided to make a few passes around the circle at least to pack the snow to make Gozer's escape a bit easier. We survived the cold last night, but I don't think it got down to the predicted +3 either. First time I looked at the thermometer this morning it was 12, so I guess it's a heat wave!
Final walk through inspection of the farm tomorrow, and closing on Tuesday...Come on grass...GROW! (see previous "Watching Grass Grow")
Power tools...every homeowners friend, come in all shapes and sizes of course, and I'm pretty sure a snow blower is one of those tools in our future. We only came with one snow shovel, so we took turns working the dumb end, and got the job mostly done in a couple hours. It wasn't a horrible job, and would have been so much easier if the power company hadn't been through ahead of the last snow to turn on the power, so that was packed down, and there seemed to be a pretty good layer of crusty snow just beneath the new snow surface that didn't help much either. We got a good chance to see which way the snow drifts around the place for the first time, and once we know for sure that the farm is ours, we'll at least get another shovel.
Cambridge's RV park hasn't been plowed, so we decided to make a few passes around the circle at least to pack the snow to make Gozer's escape a bit easier. We survived the cold last night, but I don't think it got down to the predicted +3 either. First time I looked at the thermometer this morning it was 12, so I guess it's a heat wave!
Final walk through inspection of the farm tomorrow, and closing on Tuesday...Come on grass...GROW! (see previous "Watching Grass Grow")
Friday, December 14, 2007
Who's Place Is It Anyway?
In my early days with the telephone company, I was a phone repairman working in the foothills west of Denver, and often our repair orders gave directions instead of a road address. You probably know the type... go up Turkey Creek about 3 miles to rock outcropping on the left. Take next road to the right and go... You get the idea. Without an actual road address, you had no other choice but to explain how to find a place.
Now being from the city, I've become accustomed to having an actual address to locate places, and I'm sure I can do that just about everywhere in Nebraska too, but yesterday we had our second experience with local directions, and since the occurrence was at the local power company office, I guess it must be "official".
The first time this came up was when we were getting a repair estimate for the farms heat pump. We gave the address to the place, but was asked who's place was it? We replied with the sellers name and that didn't fly, so we mentioned the name on a plate still inside the front door of the house as John Smith's (the names have been changed to protect the innocent). "Oh sure, I know that place well!"
Yesterday's occurrence came out of the blue at us. We were filling out paperwork to get power turned on at the farm and after completing our paperwork, we were told we were in the old Smith place. That got us started, and We got to find out that one of the office gal's relatives owns the property around us, and the other lady in the office owns a place that was the father of the Smith's of "our" place.
It's pretty obvious that the locals have long memories for their neighbors. I'm just wondering if the farm will ever really be our place, or always belong to the "Smith's"?
Now being from the city, I've become accustomed to having an actual address to locate places, and I'm sure I can do that just about everywhere in Nebraska too, but yesterday we had our second experience with local directions, and since the occurrence was at the local power company office, I guess it must be "official".
The first time this came up was when we were getting a repair estimate for the farms heat pump. We gave the address to the place, but was asked who's place was it? We replied with the sellers name and that didn't fly, so we mentioned the name on a plate still inside the front door of the house as John Smith's (the names have been changed to protect the innocent). "Oh sure, I know that place well!"
Yesterday's occurrence came out of the blue at us. We were filling out paperwork to get power turned on at the farm and after completing our paperwork, we were told we were in the old Smith place. That got us started, and We got to find out that one of the office gal's relatives owns the property around us, and the other lady in the office owns a place that was the father of the Smith's of "our" place.
It's pretty obvious that the locals have long memories for their neighbors. I'm just wondering if the farm will ever really be our place, or always belong to the "Smith's"?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Snow Advisory
Once we committed to buying the farm, we first thought we'd move to the Cambridge town RV park since the sellers real estate agent Diane Hoffman got us permission from town officials, but our plans changed with some other things we needed to get through first. Now we're getting close to closing, and it's time to squeeze in our travel plans between storms.
Again we had a dry travel day, and pulled into the Cambridge town RV park about 6 PM. We discovered the power outlet was missing a "leg" at the first campsite we picked, so we moved a bit and are settled in. We got our satellite antenna up and watched a rather disgusting performance from the two time Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, and caught up on some email.
Along the road we saw several pheasants, a few deer, and lots of raptors. We watched a steady increase in the snow levels along the road as we headed east too, and the town's RV park has about 4 inches of snow. With another another 2 to 5 inches forecast for this afternoon and tonight, we're glad to be here!
This is our first morning to wake up in Cambridge. On our previous visits here, we couldn't stay in the local motel because of their pet policy, so we stayed in McCook. This time we're greeted to partly cloudy skies, that obscured the sunrise, but reveal a winter wonderland around us. The blanket of snow is quite the change from snow you see in Denver most of the time. Denver's snow is a light gray within a few hours of falling from pollution and dust kicked up by the traffic on sanded streets.
Casey, our Golden Retriever is looking out the window having a conniption watching several rabbits play outside the window, and so far, our move to Nebraska is everything we could hope for.
Again we had a dry travel day, and pulled into the Cambridge town RV park about 6 PM. We discovered the power outlet was missing a "leg" at the first campsite we picked, so we moved a bit and are settled in. We got our satellite antenna up and watched a rather disgusting performance from the two time Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, and caught up on some email.
Along the road we saw several pheasants, a few deer, and lots of raptors. We watched a steady increase in the snow levels along the road as we headed east too, and the town's RV park has about 4 inches of snow. With another another 2 to 5 inches forecast for this afternoon and tonight, we're glad to be here!
This is our first morning to wake up in Cambridge. On our previous visits here, we couldn't stay in the local motel because of their pet policy, so we stayed in McCook. This time we're greeted to partly cloudy skies, that obscured the sunrise, but reveal a winter wonderland around us. The blanket of snow is quite the change from snow you see in Denver most of the time. Denver's snow is a light gray within a few hours of falling from pollution and dust kicked up by the traffic on sanded streets.
Casey, our Golden Retriever is looking out the window having a conniption watching several rabbits play outside the window, and so far, our move to Nebraska is everything we could hope for.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Gary Luck
My brother-in-law is a great guy, he just comes up on the short end of the stick more than his share it seems. He's likes to call it Gary Luck. Most of us would equate Gary Luck with bad luck, but I'm usually one of those people that don't believe in luck and that things happen for a reason. Get a speeding ticket? Duh...you were speeding, it has nothing to do with luck for example. Gary seems to have some bad things happen at the worst of all possible times though, hence the term Gary Luck may be appropriate now and then.
Those of you following along know we live in our motor home, and we've got quite a cold spell right now. Temperatures dipped to +6 night before last, and we got some plain old bad luck. Our furnace blower motor seized with little more than a short howl notice, and our plumbing ceased operating too...frozen pipes will do that.
We were lucky as this occurred just before dawn, so things didn't get a chance to freeze solid, and the day itself warmed into the upper 30's quickly enough that no damage was done to the plumbing.
For us, the furnace failure came at a great time! If this had happened while staying in the Cambridge town park, I think I'd have more difficultly finding parts, and could have ended up with quite a mess on our hands if we couldn't get them immediately.
So either it's just a matter of coincidence or plain old luck that the furnace died when it did. At least it wasn't Gary Luck and happened at something other than the worst of all possible times.
Those of you following along know we live in our motor home, and we've got quite a cold spell right now. Temperatures dipped to +6 night before last, and we got some plain old bad luck. Our furnace blower motor seized with little more than a short howl notice, and our plumbing ceased operating too...frozen pipes will do that.
We were lucky as this occurred just before dawn, so things didn't get a chance to freeze solid, and the day itself warmed into the upper 30's quickly enough that no damage was done to the plumbing.
For us, the furnace failure came at a great time! If this had happened while staying in the Cambridge town park, I think I'd have more difficultly finding parts, and could have ended up with quite a mess on our hands if we couldn't get them immediately.
So either it's just a matter of coincidence or plain old luck that the furnace died when it did. At least it wasn't Gary Luck and happened at something other than the worst of all possible times.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Fubar or Snafu?
Computers sure have changed society.
It wasn't long ago that most folks had a kind of loathing for the little boxes with the TV screen and the typewriter type keyboard, partly because people in general don't like change. They once represented a type of change that everybody thought required a degree in rocket science to figure out how to make it work, and the terminology "garbage in - garbage" out became universally understood to explain a host of computer generated financial statement errors. Add to that the number of times you called a bank, mail order house or the like, and were told that the computers are down, and the early days of the information age don't sound all that rosy.
Nowadays technology has improved dramatically as well as the ability of computer operators to get accurate information input into these modern marvels. The Internet has opened up the world to everyone from the comfort of their living room easy chair, and emails fly through cyberspace with the greatest of ease with nearly flawless results.
Yep... Computers and technology sure have come a long way, but recently I had a harmless FUBAR occur at the McCook Gazette's web site. First off, FUBAR stands for Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. I believe this term got it's birth during WWII as a descriptive way to describe daily Army life.
To add a touch of irony to this story, in my past I was a mini computer repairman for AT&T and worked on some some pretty cutting edge equipment. DEC Computer Corp had a large computer who's design engineer borrowed on the FUBAR term by having a useless catchall failure report called the Failed Uni-Bus Address Register that stored totally useless information. When all else failed, the FUBAR was there to catch you...there always has to be someplace for a computer to send useless error information you see.
I'd just responded to an article comment, and noticed that the date and time of the comment I posted showed up as December 32, 1473 at 27:31 AM, and there was a little ! with a circle around it icon that I clicked on that gave me the following message...
"An Obvious Error Has Occurred"
Now I hadn't thought about the FUBAR register in years, and I'm pretty sure the error message I got didn't come from a FUBAR registers output. So does that really mean it's really a SNAFU? Situation Normal, All Fouled Up? I doubt it.
It wasn't long ago that most folks had a kind of loathing for the little boxes with the TV screen and the typewriter type keyboard, partly because people in general don't like change. They once represented a type of change that everybody thought required a degree in rocket science to figure out how to make it work, and the terminology "garbage in - garbage" out became universally understood to explain a host of computer generated financial statement errors. Add to that the number of times you called a bank, mail order house or the like, and were told that the computers are down, and the early days of the information age don't sound all that rosy.
Nowadays technology has improved dramatically as well as the ability of computer operators to get accurate information input into these modern marvels. The Internet has opened up the world to everyone from the comfort of their living room easy chair, and emails fly through cyberspace with the greatest of ease with nearly flawless results.
Yep... Computers and technology sure have come a long way, but recently I had a harmless FUBAR occur at the McCook Gazette's web site. First off, FUBAR stands for Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition. I believe this term got it's birth during WWII as a descriptive way to describe daily Army life.
To add a touch of irony to this story, in my past I was a mini computer repairman for AT&T and worked on some some pretty cutting edge equipment. DEC Computer Corp had a large computer who's design engineer borrowed on the FUBAR term by having a useless catchall failure report called the Failed Uni-Bus Address Register that stored totally useless information. When all else failed, the FUBAR was there to catch you...there always has to be someplace for a computer to send useless error information you see.
I'd just responded to an article comment, and noticed that the date and time of the comment I posted showed up as December 32, 1473 at 27:31 AM, and there was a little ! with a circle around it icon that I clicked on that gave me the following message...
"An Obvious Error Has Occurred"
Now I hadn't thought about the FUBAR register in years, and I'm pretty sure the error message I got didn't come from a FUBAR registers output. So does that really mean it's really a SNAFU? Situation Normal, All Fouled Up? I doubt it.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Infamy
It was a bad day in American history. It changed America in an instant, and thrust us into a worldwide conflict pitting what many people consider a war of good against evil.
"December 7, 1941. A day that will live in infamy" were the words of president Franklin D. Roosevelt on that fateful day when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I guess I'd never thought about the definition of the word before, assuming it went along with the term infamous, so I decided to look it up.
Infamy - Evil fame or reputation. The condition of being infamous. An evil or criminal act that is publicly known.
I think about our veterans and freedoms a lot at this time of year but unfortunately, there is plenty of other infamy going around too. December 7 reminds me of the sacrifice so many have made for me and you, and I want to say thanks again, but this year, keep a special thought for our neighbors in Omaha too.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Watching Grass Grow
Waiting for our closing date to arrive seems like watching grass grow. To make matters worse, the weekend weather forecast for Denver is for temperatures to dip to single digits and snow this weekend. We notice that Cambridge is scheduled for a low of 4 this weekend.
If you've never spent time in an RV when the temperature dips well below freezing, you don't know about the fun of winter RV living. Just trying to keep warm and the RVs water lines and tanks from freezing is a constant challenge. We're fortunate that our motor home has a "heated basement". What that means is that some of the warm furnace air is directed around the tanks to help keep them from freezing and this works just great until the temp gets to 20, then you really have to take extra measures to keep thawed.
We keep our fresh water tank quite full and that helps, and we'll put a light bulb near tanks, as well as turn up the heat a couple times during the night to really warm up the "basement" to help the light bulb do it's job. We have a vent less propane heater we use too as RVs are not exactly designed for such cold. The furnace would run constantly if we didn't have some form of adjunct heater.
Since the farm house isn't quite livable yet, we'll continue to live in the RV once we get there for a short time, so we'll be looking for straw bales to help keep the cold from underneath our rig. At least on the farm, we'll have good power instead of the 15 amp circuit we're hooked to now. A 50 amp plug would work with electric space heaters, but we don't have access to one here.
We have a long list of things we'll need after we close on the farm, and we can't do anything about it. Maybe I should say we're reluctant to start picking up things in case our farm purchase falls through at the last minute. We need a house size vacuum cleaner, but if the farm deal fell through, where in the world would we store something like that? Same for power tools I'll need, ladders, and a host of other stuff.
We've thought about heading south and returning as necessary for my dental work, but I've got appointments frequently depending on how fast the dental lab gets their work done, and with the price of diesel, using Gozer as a commuter vehicle really isn't practical.
So we're pretty much stuck watching the grass grow for a few more days, and watching this time of year, it's particularly slow growing.
If you've never spent time in an RV when the temperature dips well below freezing, you don't know about the fun of winter RV living. Just trying to keep warm and the RVs water lines and tanks from freezing is a constant challenge. We're fortunate that our motor home has a "heated basement". What that means is that some of the warm furnace air is directed around the tanks to help keep them from freezing and this works just great until the temp gets to 20, then you really have to take extra measures to keep thawed.
We keep our fresh water tank quite full and that helps, and we'll put a light bulb near tanks, as well as turn up the heat a couple times during the night to really warm up the "basement" to help the light bulb do it's job. We have a vent less propane heater we use too as RVs are not exactly designed for such cold. The furnace would run constantly if we didn't have some form of adjunct heater.
Since the farm house isn't quite livable yet, we'll continue to live in the RV once we get there for a short time, so we'll be looking for straw bales to help keep the cold from underneath our rig. At least on the farm, we'll have good power instead of the 15 amp circuit we're hooked to now. A 50 amp plug would work with electric space heaters, but we don't have access to one here.
We have a long list of things we'll need after we close on the farm, and we can't do anything about it. Maybe I should say we're reluctant to start picking up things in case our farm purchase falls through at the last minute. We need a house size vacuum cleaner, but if the farm deal fell through, where in the world would we store something like that? Same for power tools I'll need, ladders, and a host of other stuff.
We've thought about heading south and returning as necessary for my dental work, but I've got appointments frequently depending on how fast the dental lab gets their work done, and with the price of diesel, using Gozer as a commuter vehicle really isn't practical.
So we're pretty much stuck watching the grass grow for a few more days, and watching this time of year, it's particularly slow growing.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Omaha's Horror
Columbine High School - Margie and I lived just 2 miles from there, and were at home during the unfolding of the drama that is at least somewhat familiar to just about everyone. The news was filled with the horror for days afterward, and even today, Colorado license plates are available commemorating Columbine, there are memorial services every year, and just the thought of the tragic events bring tears to my eyes still.
Today Omaha experienced it's own horror. I can't express my feelings beyond mentioning something that was brought up about Columbine that has stuck with me, and helps me cope with the feelings brought up by this senseless act..."Rational people can never understand irrational acts".
Omaha will be changed by the occurrences of December 5, 2007. I bet I can speak for most of us when I say our prayers are with you.
Today Omaha experienced it's own horror. I can't express my feelings beyond mentioning something that was brought up about Columbine that has stuck with me, and helps me cope with the feelings brought up by this senseless act..."Rational people can never understand irrational acts".
Omaha will be changed by the occurrences of December 5, 2007. I bet I can speak for most of us when I say our prayers are with you.
Leaving Nebraska
My family was part of the great outward migration from the country to urban living. My grandparents never left, (not exactly true since my last living grandparent moved into a nursing home in Washington state a few months before passing on), but Mom left town (Ewing -pop 500), and Dad left the farm near Orchard, and they attended Grand Island Business College. I guess the college has been gone for years.
Dad was a WWII vet, and Mom worked in the War Department until the war was over, and they moved into an apartment in Omaha. Mom worked for Mutual of Omaha, and Dad hired on with the US Postal Service.
Now as a kid, Dad's job was pretty cool! How many kids dad's carried a badge and gun? Dad was a railway mail clerk and sorted mail on the trains between Omaha and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The mail clerks were required to carry a weapon as it wasn't too many years earlier when outlaws roamed the west and trains got robbed. The early day Saturday afternoon TV shows seemed to always show a train robbery in progress, so my friends were pretty impressed!
Progress made us leave I suppose... The Postal Service decided that train mail sorting wasn't the way to go anymore, so Dad bid on a job in Denver and that's how we left.
For years to come, I'd tell people that Nebraska was a great place...to be from. My Omaha high school's mascot was a bunny, the landscape was flat, the summers hot, the winters cold, and there was nothing to do. One thing though...I stayed true to my Cornhuskers.
I'm still amazed at how I'm coming full circle. Don't get me wrong about Colorado, I love Colorado's scenery and climate as much as anywhere I've been. But there is a lot more to life than climate and scenery, and the pace of life and unlimited growth in Colorado is just not what we want anymore. Now I'm saying Colorado is great place...to visit.
We're really excited to be coming back to Nebraska. 12 days and a wake-up to closing!
Dad was a WWII vet, and Mom worked in the War Department until the war was over, and they moved into an apartment in Omaha. Mom worked for Mutual of Omaha, and Dad hired on with the US Postal Service.
Now as a kid, Dad's job was pretty cool! How many kids dad's carried a badge and gun? Dad was a railway mail clerk and sorted mail on the trains between Omaha and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The mail clerks were required to carry a weapon as it wasn't too many years earlier when outlaws roamed the west and trains got robbed. The early day Saturday afternoon TV shows seemed to always show a train robbery in progress, so my friends were pretty impressed!
Progress made us leave I suppose... The Postal Service decided that train mail sorting wasn't the way to go anymore, so Dad bid on a job in Denver and that's how we left.
For years to come, I'd tell people that Nebraska was a great place...to be from. My Omaha high school's mascot was a bunny, the landscape was flat, the summers hot, the winters cold, and there was nothing to do. One thing though...I stayed true to my Cornhuskers.
I'm still amazed at how I'm coming full circle. Don't get me wrong about Colorado, I love Colorado's scenery and climate as much as anywhere I've been. But there is a lot more to life than climate and scenery, and the pace of life and unlimited growth in Colorado is just not what we want anymore. Now I'm saying Colorado is great place...to visit.
We're really excited to be coming back to Nebraska. 12 days and a wake-up to closing!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Dog Hunter
I got the above picture from my uncle and just can't help but share it. Nice to see the appropriate use of blaze orange. Did I mention, we have a Golden Retreiver?
Cambridge Christmas
I've been scouring online sources for news and information and found an interesting article about 25 fun things to do in Cambridge. You can read the article at http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1294499.html.
Since we're still stuck in Denver, this article about the holiday activities has us wanting to hook up the Jeep to the motor home and head for Cambridge today. We are so ready to be out of the city, and the article sounds so inviting. Unfortunately, we'll stay to get other issues resolved first.
I gotta comment on one item in the article that really caught my eye. First off, you have to understand that I don't have the shopping gene at all, but I wish I was there on Thursday, December 6. You see...that's the day when the stores stay open until 9PM.
If you've been following along with this blog, then you know how I felt about "Black Friday" shopping, but the thought of shopping in a small town when the stores only stay open 'till 9 occasionally sounds like more of a good time than than anything else.
So we may have to wait a whole year for the Cambridge stores to stay open late, but that's not necessarily a bad thing to me.
Since we're still stuck in Denver, this article about the holiday activities has us wanting to hook up the Jeep to the motor home and head for Cambridge today. We are so ready to be out of the city, and the article sounds so inviting. Unfortunately, we'll stay to get other issues resolved first.
I gotta comment on one item in the article that really caught my eye. First off, you have to understand that I don't have the shopping gene at all, but I wish I was there on Thursday, December 6. You see...that's the day when the stores stay open until 9PM.
If you've been following along with this blog, then you know how I felt about "Black Friday" shopping, but the thought of shopping in a small town when the stores only stay open 'till 9 occasionally sounds like more of a good time than than anything else.
So we may have to wait a whole year for the Cambridge stores to stay open late, but that's not necessarily a bad thing to me.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Doc Kilroy's First Impresson
I got to visit Dr. Thomas Kilroy DDS, PC, ABC, XYZ, and some other stuff, for more dental work the other day. Now you have to understand that Doc Kilroy is the only dentist I've found willing to work on me. I think I mentioned before that I'm a cancer survivor, but didn't mention complications of radiation therapy have caused me recurring dental nightmares. Doc is the only guy that takes on tough cases like me that I know of, and I'm glad to know him.
My mother met Doc years ago after her dentist couldn't get a bridge to stay in properly and referred her. Doc fixed her up and that's over 30 years ago. I met Doc as a referral patient from the Oncology Department at Porter hospital in Denver 16+ years ago. He's not only an expert technician, he's a fun guy to talk to about a wide range of topics too.
Doc is into motor sports, and loves his motorcycle rides through the rough country of the western US. We always share tales of the back country, and though we always talk about it, we have yet to meet up, he on his motorcycle, and me in Blackie. We've talked about football, business ventures, travel, and a host of other topics over the years.
I'd guess Doc is pretty close to 60 now, but shows no signs of slowing down much. His braided salt and pepper hair, pony tale, and goatee might make some patients a bit nervous (he almost looks like a biker), and I imagine some people don't view his appearance as too professional either. But Doc really knows his stuff, has a quite and comforting manner, and his new patients soon find out just how good he is.
Doc is the perfect example of the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". If you do judge Doc this way, you'll miss out on a caring doctor that is fun to boot. I'll continue to travel to Denver to see Doc Kilroy for my dental work, 1... because he is the only guy I trust working with my dental issues, and B... he's more than just a doctor. Thanks Doc...I hope you don't retire before people say I've bought the farm in another context.
My mother met Doc years ago after her dentist couldn't get a bridge to stay in properly and referred her. Doc fixed her up and that's over 30 years ago. I met Doc as a referral patient from the Oncology Department at Porter hospital in Denver 16+ years ago. He's not only an expert technician, he's a fun guy to talk to about a wide range of topics too.
Doc is into motor sports, and loves his motorcycle rides through the rough country of the western US. We always share tales of the back country, and though we always talk about it, we have yet to meet up, he on his motorcycle, and me in Blackie. We've talked about football, business ventures, travel, and a host of other topics over the years.
I'd guess Doc is pretty close to 60 now, but shows no signs of slowing down much. His braided salt and pepper hair, pony tale, and goatee might make some patients a bit nervous (he almost looks like a biker), and I imagine some people don't view his appearance as too professional either. But Doc really knows his stuff, has a quite and comforting manner, and his new patients soon find out just how good he is.
Doc is the perfect example of the old saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover". If you do judge Doc this way, you'll miss out on a caring doctor that is fun to boot. I'll continue to travel to Denver to see Doc Kilroy for my dental work, 1... because he is the only guy I trust working with my dental issues, and B... he's more than just a doctor. Thanks Doc...I hope you don't retire before people say I've bought the farm in another context.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Big Farms
I've been reading some recently about corporate farm operations, but I hadn't appreciated it much until our last drive from Cambridge to Denver. We drove west on US 36 across northern Kansas and eastern Colorado this trip, and a few miles east of Byers Colorado is a farm that probably qualifies as a corporate farm.
The first thing that caught my eye was the five 1/4 million dollar each 4x4 tractors lined up, and that was just the start of what almost looked more like a dealership than a farm. There were 4 modest houses that I assume are for workers and their families, and above it all atop the nearest hill was an impressive new house surrounded by a young windbreak only a few years old.
What a change from the farm I visited when I was a kid! My aunt and uncle had a farm in Holt county that we visited a couple times a year. It was a smallish operation with chickens and a few cows. They grew hay, and I loved watching them mow, rake and stack it. There were farm ponds, and that's where I caught my first fish, and I rode in my first and only Jeep FC (forward control pickup) that probably got me hooked on 4x4's in the first place.
I think that was near the tail end of farming as a subsistence lifestyle, but what great memories of the cream separator, getting eggs from the coop, the hand water pump, and the FC Jeep I have. After driving by the big farm, I couldn't help but be a bit nostalgic for the small farm I remember from my boyhood.
The first thing that caught my eye was the five 1/4 million dollar each 4x4 tractors lined up, and that was just the start of what almost looked more like a dealership than a farm. There were 4 modest houses that I assume are for workers and their families, and above it all atop the nearest hill was an impressive new house surrounded by a young windbreak only a few years old.
What a change from the farm I visited when I was a kid! My aunt and uncle had a farm in Holt county that we visited a couple times a year. It was a smallish operation with chickens and a few cows. They grew hay, and I loved watching them mow, rake and stack it. There were farm ponds, and that's where I caught my first fish, and I rode in my first and only Jeep FC (forward control pickup) that probably got me hooked on 4x4's in the first place.
I think that was near the tail end of farming as a subsistence lifestyle, but what great memories of the cream separator, getting eggs from the coop, the hand water pump, and the FC Jeep I have. After driving by the big farm, I couldn't help but be a bit nostalgic for the small farm I remember from my boyhood.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Farm Jeeps
I've been doing a lot of thinking about the farm, and what's the best way to proceed with "projects" once we are the new owners. I have a seemingly endless list of things that need to be done, not to mention the stuff that dreams are made of for the farm, and wouldn't you know it, a light bulb came on.
It always amazes me that the simplest of solutions can solve some big problems. Now I really can't take credit for the idea, though I will take credit for it's implementation.
I've seen pictures, and read that Jeeps were used in place of tractors after WWII as they were readily available and tractors were not. We've got a pretty well built Jeep, so why not use it to drag a chain link fence, log, steel pipe, or whatever over the weeds since they will break off easily? I'm gonna give it try because I think this idea will work!
I thought I'd do a bit of research about Jeeps and the farm, and WHOA, there is some great historical information on line! The first web site I found I'll be back to. Check out http://www.farmjeep.com for lots of pictures, parts access, old ads, and numerous project vehicle articles. Heck, if I can fabricate the implements, I think Blackie might do a heck of a lot of work on the farm.
Anybody got a better idea?
Holiday Spirits
Yesterday we got back to Denver after our quick trip to Cambridge for house inspections, and decided to go to a local fast food place for lunch before we went to the grocery store for some needed items.
While standing in line to place our food order, I noticed a pleasant though somewhat disheveled older lady standing by the door. We acknowledged each other with a nod and smile which is a lot more notice than you normally get in the city.
We sat down, and the older lady soon sat down near us looking out the window whispering to herself. I don't know how the conversation even got started, but she asked us where we were from, and a couple other questions as we ate our lunch, then asked if I had 50 cents I could spare.
I didn't hesitate, though I've become pretty crusty towards panhandlers over the years, to dig into my wallet and give her a buck. I had it, could spare it, she obviously to me needed it, helping others is something I like to do, and it's Christmas. She thanked me and sat back down looking out the window for a few more minutes, then headed to the counter with her new treasure and ordered a baked potato from the "dollar menu".
We finished up our lunch and as we pulled out of the parking lot on our way to the grocery, we saw the lady kinda wandering around as if lost. I'm afraid she is one of those unfortunate folks that needs outside help. Many people do in our country of prosperity unfortunately.
The other part of this story involves the self checkout at the grocery store. We waited for the next available self checkout station and when we walked up, the customer in front of us had forgotten her $10 bill change in the machine and was halfway out the door. I grabbed the ten spot and quickly caught up with her before she got to her car. The look on her face was worth 10 times more to me than the $10 bill could have ever provided monetarily. The "thank you" was delivered with disbelief.
So I hope that I passed a bit of Christmas spirit to a couple people that needed a lift. This holiday season, take a moment and remember that there are a lot of folks that don't have what you do. I know I did the right thing for a couple people, and I bet you can too this season.
While standing in line to place our food order, I noticed a pleasant though somewhat disheveled older lady standing by the door. We acknowledged each other with a nod and smile which is a lot more notice than you normally get in the city.
We sat down, and the older lady soon sat down near us looking out the window whispering to herself. I don't know how the conversation even got started, but she asked us where we were from, and a couple other questions as we ate our lunch, then asked if I had 50 cents I could spare.
I didn't hesitate, though I've become pretty crusty towards panhandlers over the years, to dig into my wallet and give her a buck. I had it, could spare it, she obviously to me needed it, helping others is something I like to do, and it's Christmas. She thanked me and sat back down looking out the window for a few more minutes, then headed to the counter with her new treasure and ordered a baked potato from the "dollar menu".
We finished up our lunch and as we pulled out of the parking lot on our way to the grocery, we saw the lady kinda wandering around as if lost. I'm afraid she is one of those unfortunate folks that needs outside help. Many people do in our country of prosperity unfortunately.
The other part of this story involves the self checkout at the grocery store. We waited for the next available self checkout station and when we walked up, the customer in front of us had forgotten her $10 bill change in the machine and was halfway out the door. I grabbed the ten spot and quickly caught up with her before she got to her car. The look on her face was worth 10 times more to me than the $10 bill could have ever provided monetarily. The "thank you" was delivered with disbelief.
So I hope that I passed a bit of Christmas spirit to a couple people that needed a lift. This holiday season, take a moment and remember that there are a lot of folks that don't have what you do. I know I did the right thing for a couple people, and I bet you can too this season.
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