Life goes on - Summer 2022

Thanks Steve. I didn’t know what they were called. People did some very interesting things back in the day.

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I never knew they did that in the USA.
Saw them in Pertrolia years ago, just thought it was a cheap Canadian farmer solution lol…

We had a saw mill with a jack shaft that powered everything inside.
I never saw it in action that I can recall but I do remember the stationary engine on a sledge that was used for other things on the farm.
My grandfather told me when he was young he would use a team of horses to pull it around to do all kinds of different functions on the farm.
Tractors were expensive so they were reserved for the real farming tasks.

Horses however were best for saw mill work.
They hauled the logs and worked in the bush where there were no roads.

So my point…
Talking to one of the young guys at work with a farm.
He has a saw mill, raises beef and chickens, grows a lot of hay and feed for animals to sell and has a personal garden.
I told him that’s how my family farmed too, small family businesses that did not cost much to run but kept the place running through the depression and war.

I Iike this particular young fellow at the mine.
He’s a farmer that does a little light electrical work on the side.
I don;t know how he manages his time.
And he was smart enough to add a solar farm and bought some property with a ring in for horses ( what ever horse people do in rings… )
5 small kids and wife that runs the woodlot and saw mill employing others too!!!

Ok that’s a story that does not lead anyplace.
But thats where I buy my lumber, chicken and beef.
I don’t save any money but I know where it all comes from and its not in any way supporting an unsustainable type of farming or lumber operation.

( young guy has no horses, in fact he says horse people are weird… But he has said a few times a team of heavy horses for the wood lot would still make sense because he would not be tearing the place up with a tractor )

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I don;t know much about corn but that’s a reasonable looking ear to me.
About 20 years ago I tried to grow some corn but we just didn’t have the heat and time to get decent corn.
I have some ears of peaches and cream about half that size at harvest time and my wife laughed at me…

Last week I was driving through a farming area about 40 miles east of here.
( the soil here is no good for farming and my employer retains an easement from 1940 shielding them from liability for crop damage from pollution … Someone tell ON gov and Vale war is over and we won… )

Anyhow.
Corn fields full of what I guess is feed corn.
The plants are all brown and dry but standing so I guess this means they are left to dry before harvest to store???
Is that why its still in the field?
I don’t know, corn never grew this far north…

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Yeah with corn, most will let it go dry before harvesting. Sweet corn is a bit of an exception because people eat it fresh.

I saved kernels from the best ears this year but I think I’m only gonna grow grain corn from now on.

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Hi BruceJ, yeah winter a’coming just around from the Fall. For me that means lots always wet squishy ground.
But unlike your fuel hungry snowmobile; winter is my engines low use-needs time of the year.
No more need to do grass, weeds and bramble vines weekly mowing-macerating.

Ugg. Takes about 50 gallons a year for all of that. With the Wife always wonder why I complain of being broke buying those fuels.
Our new place I am stepping down to the size to just use one small Honda walk-behind quart of gasoline.
Sigh. One more year of the big old place to have to gallons a season maintain.

Ha! I’ll take the gentle 200+ days of continuous rains man. You keep your winter wonderland of snow.

And the squirrels here took two full sacks of English seed walnuts I forgot and left out.
They know. They know wintertime is a’coming.
Regards
Steve unruh
Edit. Add.
Opps. I seem to be having a really bad cognitive day. Bruce you said snowblower. A gasoline thirsty V-8 powered long drive-in road show blower. S.U.

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Bravo a great machine because it was cheap on fuel and reliable.
Elan was also a great machine because it was even simpler and more robust.

The snowbug " Snow Tractor "
In the summer of 56 my Dad drove one of these as on a slag track in heat and dust with some friends…
They were encourage to break them, and they did!!!
By the time snow was on the ground the machine was well designed and engineered except for that crappy engine selection.
Now a smart fellow might find one of these snow tractors ( there were American sleds of this ear that were not all that different )
Make note of the room at the back!
You could put a decent size engine like a souped up 440 Honda clone and charcoal gasifier on it.
Then you got a real cool woodgas machine.

Better view of the mechanicals and belt.

This has some American brands of the era.
Lots of steel and cast iron, very heavy machines.

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Summer of 2022 is coming to an end fellows.
For those of you who live where you can’t get reliable snow, you have my deepest sympathy.

For those of you that do, and are over the age of 50 here is some great stuff from the golden age of snowmobiling.
Absolutely delightful trip down memory lane.

Of particular note here I want to point out the Johndeere spitfire, the johnson Golden Ghost and the Yamaha snow scoot…

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Hi Wallace,
Joni in the Ukraine showed woodgasing? charcoalgasing? a Russian-Ukraine version of one of these snow sleds.
I’ll look for the video.
S.U.

See the fuel gaseous fuel supply tubing at 2:03
Hey he has put up a new avatar. I think he is getting his perspective and humor back. S.U.

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It looks like an older Ski-Doo, but the name on the side I believe roughly translates from Russian to " Blizzard " ( not sure if Buran is used the same way in Ukrainian or of they have another word… )

Pretty cool.
Just when you thought you had an original idea, once again the “Egg Painters” beat you too it.
дуже хороший Євген

I had to look that one up
хуртовина ( thank you google )
Bit of a tongue twister.

No actually its not now that I google and listen too it.
The letters in Cyrilic often look the same from different eastern languages but unless its a modern borrow word you got to know what your trying to pronounce and how.
I wish I could purge all the Russian influence in my illiterate attempts to pronounce things and start over in pure Ukranian.

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As much as I love those antiques…this is the snow we deal with here… notice how they get these machines stuck and cut to a different scene…lots of shoveling.
We don’t get snow that builds a crust until April. November/December/January months are all powder…hence we need high horse power engines that are very light.

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Looking at all that snow makes me nervous Bruce. I’d rather look at topless chicks in mini skirts.

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Happy Thanks Giving everyone…

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all the sentient Maple Leaves and Moose on the Forum

Edit: Also happy Leif Erikson Day in the US!

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Yes and to you Wallace a Happy Thanks Giving, and a Blessing this year. We are looking forward to our USA Thanks Giving in Nov.
Bob

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HI All, we had a great Sunday in finding new high mountain lake we canoed in.
The youngest at still 7 years get really scared of power boat wakes in the closer Silver Lake when in our canoe. So a non-motorized lake, instead. Our previous non-motorized go-to was Lake Merril directly S.S.W. of Mt Saint Helens.
Coldwater Lake is directly to the north of Mt Saint Helens:

BobMac it reminds me of a mini-Lake Chelan.
S.U.

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My Uncle is selling his '98 Ram. Has the 318 V8 and he still drives it, he wants 3500 and that’s in my price range. Might jump on that. I know it’ll be more sluggish than a Dakota but it’s still a V8 truck. And I could build a straight up WK for it.

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Go for it Cody. You really need another project to keep you out of mischef. :smile:

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Well, my Dad keeps saying I shouldn’t worry about the Sierra and keep it “normal” so I’d “have at least one reliable ride”.

And I’d like to keep the Mazda on the farm for pulling stuff around. Not have to worry about what a bumper looks like or driving out in the rain on the interstate.

Edit: I think it was SteveU that said “Cody you need a gasifier on something with a ROOF” to paraphrase.

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Credit union approved a line of credit to me. Very reasonable monthly payments. Will cover buying the truck from my uncle. Now to wait for it to get to my account, buy it, and get the title changed over.

@Norman89 what’s the skinny on the late 90s automatics in the Ram 1500s?

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If its running on wood I wouldnt worry about it, should be fine. They need regular service like any auto and have the same overheat issues as the 3/4 and one tons do, but not a real issue if its just driven and maintained. Its the guys that haul around 10,000 lb trailer overloaded and flatfooting the skinny pedal to listen to the pipes that kill em frequently

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