Ralph,

Your picture is an awesome nature shot even without the Mercury, but better with it.  Good to see that you are getting a lot of enjoyment from the old girl.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie. It got even better last weekend when I drove the Merc to a local museum antique car show. My SIL drove the Chevy II along behind as a support vehicle in case anything should go wrong in the Mercury's first long trip since 1969. It all went well and I got some video of the trip uploaded to youtube last night.
[video=youtube;-n0ZsAilj7w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n0ZsAilj7w[/video]

Ralph, wonderful video as always.  The Merc looks great inside and out, and I bet it was fun to take it on a bit of a roadtrip.

Charlie, I'm sure your wife is much the better for being under your care as she recovers.  I hope things continue to go well and you have more time for other pursuits.

I haven't hardly posted anything here or on the main list in quite a while.  The Portland, Indiana engine and tractor show is under way right now, keeping Gene plenty busy no doubt, but I'm sorry to say I likely won't even make it over there for an afternoon.   Three different contractors coming to the house today... electrician, insulation company, and a door salesman.

Big project at home lately has been renovation of our "sunroom," originally a porch that was enclosed decades ago and has been modified at various points since then.   All I'd intended to do was build a little "hall tree," as my wife calls it, a place to sit and put on your boots or hang up some coats with some shelves above for hats and gloves.  Then we thought it'd be nice to add a light on top of it to illuminate the knicknacks and such that my wife plans to put up there.   While investigating how to run a wire up there, I discovered there wasn't a bit of insulation in the wall... so we figured we might as well fix that before we built anything new up against the wall.   Pulled off all the old paneling, all the old drywall, cleaned everything up, and then of course realized this would be the ideal time to add some new outlets, make the room lighting a little nicer, etc.   And shoot, that old entrance door is just drafty as can be, and with the wall stripped down I could see it wasn't even framed in very well... so this is the project that never ends.   Anyway, I just got the wiring all finished last night, and just in time because an insulation contractor is on his way to spray on new cellulose insulation.   The door salesman will take measurements for a new exterior door and then come back and install it in several weeks.    

All the rest of the house is solid brick, 13" thick, but the sunroom is just brick veneer over wood sheathing (actually 3/4" tongue-and-groove planks...pretty nice stuff!) over 2x4 wood studs.   But the stud spacing was crazy, nothing consistent at all.  I added a few new ones on 4' centers to make it easier to put the new drywall up, but that just made the overall spacing even crazier, so no way to use fiberglass batt insulation without having to custom-cut every single piece.   So I'm happy to contract out the spray-on cellulose.   Never seen it done so I'll be interested in the process.  I guess it takes a couple days to dry, so I'll plan to hang the new drywall next weekend.   After that I'll be looking around for a drywall finisher to do the mud and tape... that's another task I don't mind hiring out.

Here's a photo as it looks now, just before the insulation goes on.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]974[/ATTACH]

The electrician is coming to add a sub-panel next to the main breaker panel in the basement.   Main panel is fine but full, and although I'm happy to run new circuits I don't feel up to adding a subpanel myself.  While he's here he's also going to wire in a new quick-disconnect cable for my old Winco 20KW PTO-powered generator... some prior owner had put a nice transfer switch out by the electric meter and that generator came with my JD 620 when I bought it from a neighbor a couple years ago, but I didn't have the nerve to try to wire it in myself.

Then this afternoon Lowe's will deliver the drywall along with a bunch of other 4x8 stuff I need for other projects:  pegboard for a new workbench in the shop and another one in the basement, MDF for benchtop worksurfaces and shelves, plywood for a future little roof extension over the entrance door to the sunroom ("project that never ends"...)

Hope this finds you gentlemen well.

Dean
Saint Paris, Ohio

I have not stopped by this forum in a long time. Glad to see it is still going! I wonder how Gene faired at Portland this year. I was at Portland for 2 days this year. Wednesday and Thursday I wish I could stayed more . Merton

Not as busy as I'd like to be here. Only got a couple of days harvesting and its been damp or rainy now for over a week. So we wait. And hope for three weeks of warm weather without a drop of rain. It does give me time to do a few other jobs. And of course keep the old Mercury exercised. Took this photo out on the driveway a few days ago when the sun was out for a while.

Got another tractor driving video on youtube from the past weekend. Pulling the early fifties vintage one way disker working a patch of summerfallow.
[video]https://youtu.be/xWpjGbDKZRU[/video]
[video=youtube;xWpjGbDKZRU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWpjGbDKZRU[/video]

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

Gene, its good to see you back on here again and still doing what you do . Now if we can just get an update from Charlie.
I'm sitting and waiting for the weather to dry up and resume harvest. I'm about two thirds done until this inch and a half rain hit.
Here is some video of before the rain while I was combining.
[video=youtube;lK2N1H7kUQw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2N1H7kUQw&feature=youtu.be[/video]

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

Here I am!!  Just like the proverbial bad penny I keep turning up.  Not a whole lot of outside stuff for me.  Replaced left hip and same leg have been acting up pretty bad and keeping my flying low.  It was a difficult chore just to grocery shop a couple of days ago.  I have been walking with the aid of two canes for a few days. Only good news is that I increased one medication today and my walking is a little better.

I see by my phone today that Ralph is swathing a pretty good crop of oats, even though some is laying flat. Keep it going, Ralph.  We were down to 38 F last night.  Winter may not be as far away as we think.

I have been watching an Allis Chalmers 7040 about 10 miles from here on Craigs list for a month or so. The seller has dropped it to $ 2600 now which is not even good lawn mower money.  Darn, I wish I had any kind of use for that one. If it had a FE loader, it would be mine provided it checked out OK. I would expect a loader to jump the cost a bit.  Considering where it is, I think I may have known the original owner of that tractor.


Good to hear  from Gene.  I think I am ready to sell my Honda Shadow as well as the Elite 250.  I have not renewed the plates this year and let the insurance drop last month.  Time to let someone else enjoy them. They do not take huge garage space but when it is full, every bit helps.


I just now found Gene's morning post.  Great looking combine.  Looks new.

For Dean:  Watch those cats.  Not exactly sure but I think I am feeding 20 now.  They sure are good at math.  Multiply like HE double toothpicks.

Charlie

I see by my phone today that Ralph is swathing a pretty good crop of oats, even though some is laying flat. Keep it going, Ralph.  We were down to 38 F last night.  Winter may not be as far away as we think.



I just now found Gene's morning post.  Great looking combine.  Looks new.

For Dean:  Watch those cats.  Not exactly sure but I think I am feeding 20 now.  They sure are good at math.  Multiply like HE double toothpicks.

Charlie

Hi Charlie
I could use a few female cats here. All I have are three tomcats.
Harvesting going in stops and starts due to rain. Worked til 3:00 am one morning and would have kept on but rain stopped me. I'm down to the last field of flax with a rainy week forecast.
Here is another chapter in the yet to be concluded harvest 2016 series. I hope it ends before winter starts.
[video=youtube;tVrepCilKiM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVrepCilKiM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

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

Hi Gene
Good to see someone else here for a change. I was beginning to wonder what happened to the  list. You did better than me if you finished harvest. I still have about 100 acres of flax that will stand through the winter. It just got to the point  I was getting nowhere  and nearly burning the combine  down with straw wrapping on the beater. Hoping for better in the spring.
Winter has been easy so far with only a little snow. That week of below normal temps was  not  so nice but we are back above normal this week.
I have been doing  a little flying without actually getting my feet off the ground lately. I put some video together  from a few flights showing my yard and my brother's.
[video=youtube;oWOkK0Wv53Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOkK0Wv53Q[/video]

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

Hi Gene and Ralph.  Great to see that you men are still cranking along. With  Jan. 1, 2017  being nearly worn away it must be time to wish a Happy new year.  May the key ingredients for this year be Health, Wealth, and Happiness, old tractors and good crops.  

Nice job with the drone video, Ralph.  I will look forward to more.  Not a lot to talk about going on here si I guess it is time to park this, do a few chores and get some sleep.

Again, New  Years Wishes.

Charlie

Happy New Year guys and hoping to put up a few more drone videos. Gets a little cold on the fingers this time of year plus battery life is shorter than normal. Its pretty much the wild West out here as I can fly where I like. Nearest airport is over an hour away and the nearest neighbour a mile. I haven't dared go beyond beginner mode yet so altitude is limited to 90 feet. But one of these days I'll risk it.