Login

16

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: February 18, 2017, 01:52:44 PM »

Charlie, you are right about the dentures. Cannot eat anything with them. Back to soft foods. Only good part is that they are good looking teeth, but worthless for eating Bad part is I got the bill yesterday for almost $400.00. Have ordered some denture pads to see if they help.

Came in for dinner a few minutes ago Temp is 61 degrees and warm sunshine. Guess I can leave the jacket in the house this afternoon. Working on the paneling for the new shop. Got all the panels up that don't require cutting. Got a panel saw and guide system that I just got assembled. Typical Chinese material. Have to make a few changes to make it work. Jury still out on that.

Guess I better get out and take advantage of the weather.

Gene

17

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: February 12, 2017, 07:26:57 PM »

More variable weather in Ohio. Had 4 inches of snow the first of the week, then turned cold with 10 degree temps, then warmed up into the low 50's and almost all of the snow has melted. Very windy today with gusts near  40 MPH. Clear skies this evening so will be a good view of almost full moon. Had cloudy sky Friday night so was not able to see the lunar eclipse or full snow moon.

Looks like Charlie is getting a pretty heavy snow. Looks like lake affect coming off the lake. Maybe getting 8 to 12 inches. Good luck with that.

Been working on insulating the walls in my new shop. Only have a few panels around one window and the electric panel. I can get my paneling now and start covering the walls. After that I will get the steel to install on the ceiling.

Got a call from the dentist that my new lower dentures are ready to pick up tomorrow. Been almost 3 months sinse I had the lower teeth pulled. Maybe I can finally get off this soft food diet.

Gene

18

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: February 02, 2017, 10:13:55 PM »

Still no snow in Ohio. Highs daily about 30 and nights in low 20's. Have decent soil moisture but not excessive. Cloud likely drive a tractor anywhere and not get stuck. Have very little frost in the ground.

I did kinda chuckle when you got the truck stuck.

Been getting along better the last few days. Had a couple doctor visits and a prescription for antibiotics and change of inhaler, I am breathing a lot better now. Got insulation for the new shop on Tuesday and have worked last 2 afternoons getting a good start on that. Getting along pretty well with that. Ran out of kerosene in the torpedo heater this afternoon, so quit early when it cooled off in there.

Got the Jeep back from the body shop this morning. Looks like they did a good job on the repairs.

Ground hog saw his shadow this morning so will have 6 more weeks of winter.

Gene

19

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: January 30, 2017, 09:33:42 AM »

Wow, is it really 36 degrees in Saskatchewan? Must feel like summer to Ralph. Bet we get to see some new videos from the drone.

Charlie and I are both at 19 degrees this morning with snow for charlie. Had a few snow squalls here in Ohio yesterday evening with a mild but uncomfortable west wind. Only a dusting of snow on the ground. Last week was much warmer with temps in the 50's. Was a nice weekto work outside. Been working on the new shop and finally ready to start insulating then paneling.

Have not been able to get out and cut any firewood this winter. Having too much trouble with my breathing. Started on an antibiotic and changed my inhaler last week and seems I am doing better. Have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor to check on my progress. Cold weather makes it hard to breath with any exertion.

Hope everyone is doing well.       Gene

20

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: January 03, 2017, 09:37:14 AM »

Ralph, can you operate the drone from the cab of the 2090? likely the metal will block the signal?

Have had a few warm days for January. Right now is 48 degrees, but will be turning colder for tomorrow. Been raining most of the night, so kinda wet this morning. Snow forecast starting tomorrow till weekend. Temp down to near zero by the weekend. Water in the lanes will turn to ice again, Think I will stock up on groceries today.

Been having a bout with bronchitis for the past week and makes for hard breathing outside. Getting better and was able to spend some time out yesterday at the wood pine and in the new shop. My furnace quit working over a week ago. Finally found the problem on Sunday and got it working again. Was just a bad wire connection from the thermostat. A 5 minute fix if I had know at first what to check.

Wood pile going down faster than I had expected, so will be using the furnace more. New stove seems to use more wood than the old one.Hope all are having a good start to 2017.

Gene

21

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: December 30, 2016, 09:08:12 AM »

Nice video from the drone. Would be limited flying a drone. Am only 4 miles from the Bellefontaine airport and FAA prohibits flying drones less than 5 mile from any airport.

Gene

22

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: December 26, 2016, 11:52:44 PM »

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and Boxer Day in Ralph's part of the world.

Had a nice Christmas at daughter Lori's new residence in West Liberty. Lots of room for the family get-together. Got some nice clothes and a LED work light.

Hospital clinic visits have shown some promising improvements. Endoscopy and colonoscopy results are looking good and don't have to go back till March.

Harvest this fall was disappointing. Soybeans only yielded about 27 bushels per acre. The new combine was problematic with cutter bar issues due to poorly installed aftermarket floating cutter bar. Finally got it working after a couple delays and major redesigning of the installation. High point was that I had contracted for delivery and managed to hit the high market price. Came up short on delivery, but the contract price paid $.66 cents a bushel, so was not a financial loss. Harvest weather was favorable with dry conditions' but the dry summer delayed the ripening of the straw so had to wait for the stalks to dry, even though the pods were ripe and dry. Fall chisel plowing went well so that is done for spring.

Had so much trouble with my old John Deere grain drill that I upgraded to a 5100 IH drill and expect it to do a more consistent job of seeding.

Only had about a week of winter weather with a low of 3 degrees  and only 1 inch of snow and a spell of freezing rain that took a week to melt off. This weekend has been warm and is 48 degrees tonight.

New wood stove has been doing a good job of heating the house, but seems to use more wood than the old one.

Hope everyone has a happy New Year.

Gene

23

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: September 25, 2016, 08:55:21 PM »

Had a nice ride to Portland, Indiana on the Honda Shadow. i am getting more used to it. Weather was mostly clear and temperature in the high 70's

Harvest conditions in the western part of Ohio and Eastern Indiana. Lots of corn and soybeans being taken off. Saw several combines running in that area today. Very little being done closer to home. Everything seems to be later here. I still have a lot of soybeans with green leaves on them but will be changing fast.

Sounds like Dean is making preparations for winter with all the remodeling, Looks like a nice place  to watch the winter snows and winds in comfort.

Gene

24

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: September 25, 2016, 09:17:18 AM »

Gosh, hard to believe it has been 5 months since my last post. Been a lot happening with my life and things at the farm.

Have still been having some health issues and several visits to Ohio State hospital and clinics for testing and consultations with several different doctors. Seems I Have issues with my liver and pancreas that hinders digestion of my food and seems to pass without properly digesting it.

Have had a very dry summer with many crops suffering from the drought. My soybeans have managed to hold on and looks like they will make a decent yield considering the dry weather. We are still very dry, warm and lots of sunshine. Only harvesting being done is corn silage. Corn and soybeans are still a few days from any heavy harvesting. Hay crop was almost non existent for 2nd and 3rd cutting. Managed to get a decent 4th cutting after some nice rains in August. Ground is still very dry, so shouldn't be a factor for early harvest.

I bought another combine this summer. It is a White 7300, like my other one. This one has set in a barn since the owner died in 1992. It is in very good shape and came from a farm that had no rocks. Has had some exterior damage from the elderly owner not being fully aware of outside obstacles, like driving into the barn with the radiator screen still up. Been using the old 7300 for a parts machine for parts.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]979[/ATTACH]

Bought a motorcycle in June. Is a 1100 CC Honda Shadow. Just now getting confident in riding it. Plan to ride it to Portland for this afternoon's directors meeting. Will be the longest trip I have made on it.

Beginning of my stay at Portland tractor show was very hot with 95 degree temps. Finally cooled down by start of the show. Had some rain showers during the show, but was very welcome to finally get some moisture. Had a little over 3.5 inches in rain gauge when I got home from the show and soybeans were finally responding as pods were developing. Spent a total of 3 weeks camping at the campground.

Looks like everyone has been keeping up to date but me. Good to hear from everyone on here. Have missed keeping track of all.

Gene

25

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: April 10, 2016, 06:11:21 AM »

Hard to believe I have burned more firewood from mid march to now than in December. More freezing weather and very strong winds. More wind than I remember. Gave up on picking up limbs from the trees till the grass needs mowing again. Had snow showers Saturday morning and later in the afternoon. Just a light coating on the ground. Dean had a little more.

Closed out the deal on the airplane yesterday, so no longer an airplane owner. It will be going to a good home and not too far away.

I have wanted to replace my Gravely Pro master 300  lawnmower. Have wanted a Pro Master 350 and located one on Craigslist in southern Ohio, so will take the truck and trailer this afternoon and likely bring it home. Will be an easier mower to drive with better wheel arrangement and power steering. Has a 23 horsepower Kawasaki engine and 60 inch deck.

Gene

26

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: April 03, 2016, 10:46:47 AM »

Ralph, sure glad you are getting some spring weather. We have had almost constant raw winds here. Wind speeds at 50 mph or more. Been almost every day. I have cleaned up the tree limbs from the lawn 3 times this week and yesterday's winds have blown more down to be picked up. My maple trees will be bald before the winds abate. more 35 MPH winds forecast for today. TV station showed scenes from Union county where the electric poles were blown over about 45 degrees for quite a distance. Union county is the next county east of me. West of us in Mercer county U.S. rt127 is closed with downed poles and trees. actually had snow showers yesterday afternoon with the 50 MPH winds. I did take advantage of the one good day on Wednesday and got the lawn mowed for the first time. Forecast for more cold weather all this week. Hope spring comes back.

Gene

27

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: March 27, 2016, 06:41:41 PM »

Dean, looks like the Ford is doing a fine job with its new job. Hope Ralph is finally losing the snow and frost in the ground. Drying up nicely here. Amish neighbors all have their oats planted and starting to spread manure. little too wet for the tractors on the ground. Next door neighbor cultivated some ground earlier this week but was too tough to work it down and plant it. Getting about time to get the lawn mowers out,

Took advantage up last week'e warm, dry weather and hauled the rest of the oak firewood hauled up to the barn. should be a nice warm winter.


[ATTACH=CONFIG]968[/ATTACH],[ATTACH=CONFIG]970[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]969[/ATTACH],

Gene

28

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: March 04, 2016, 09:43:12 AM »

Western Logan County turned white over night. Had a light snow all day Thursday, but most melted as soon as it came down. About dark last night the snow started accomulating and light snow most of the night. Only about 2 inches of wet snow this morning. Forecast is for much warmer weather the next few and then almost daily rain next week. Spring is not far off. Just going to let nature take care of the snow removal.

Rain earlier in the week has left a lot of standing water. Ground froze enough that I was able to get to the woods and hauled a small load of the oak i have split. Wet mixture of sleet and snow made it uncomfortable, so settled for about 3/4 trailer load to be sure I could get up the hills. No problem.

Finally got the truck running on Wednesday. I kick myself for what I found. I thought I had checked all the electric circuits and ohmed out alright. I neglected to check the injector solenoid for short to ground. Repair would have been a 30 minute job and a $50.00 part. I have learned a lot about Cummins common rail injection system.

Gene

29

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: February 27, 2016, 10:02:01 PM »

Dean, so glad you got the little Ford home. Sure is a nice looking tractor. Worked on the truck yesterday and some today and still haven't found what ails it. With the 3 inches of rain and 3 inches of snow melting it is very wet here. Decided I needed a nature walk this morning and spent about 2 hours walking in the woods. Very wet and soggy and had to try to stay on the higher ground to keep out of the standing water. Only a few small drifts left and easy to walk around.

Walked to the west end of Dale's woods and saw some more trees to cut up when things dry up. Still some dead ash standing and some have some pretty good size to them.

Our family required a lot of firewood with a drafty 10 room house and 2 wood stoves to keep it warm. Our buzz saw was a saw made by C.A. McDade. It was top of the line with a large table that ran horizontally on tracks with ball bearing rollers on each end. We always knew we were in for a busy weekend when we came home from school on Friday afternoon to see the saw set up and belted to one of the tractors. We didn't have chain saws so the trees were cut into manageable lengths with 1 and 2 man crosscut saws.

30

'round the pot-bellied stove / Western Ohio Update

« on: February 27, 2016, 01:51:39 PM »

Been thinking I need to catch up. Been cutting some firewood  before the 3 inch rain earlier this week. Ground has been just wet enough to be greasy on top after the sun warmed up the surface, making ground too wet to haul with the tractor and trailer. Been cutting mostly hickory for this winter's wood. Cut up the 2 big oak trees for wood for next winter after it seasons. Got 3 inches of rain on Tuesday, so put a stop to any work in the woods.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]958[/ATTACH],[ATTACH=CONFIG]958[/ATTACH],[ATTACH=CONFIG]959[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]960[/ATTACH]


Pictures came out a lot bigger than I expected. My camera somehow changed resolution and took photos at 930 MB instead of 093 so took a long time to load, but think they will open alright.

Had another test at OSU hospital 2 weeks ago yesterday. Did an endoscopy of throat and down and took 7 biopsies on my pancreas. Haven't gotten any results of that, so guess nothing serious..

Had our biggest snow of the winter on Wednesday with 3 inches of wet snow. No need to remove any except on the sidewalk. Warming up for the weekend with highs in the upper 40's and 50's for tomorrow. Been a very mild winter.

Gene