Life goes on - Winter 2017

Kevin we have had two mild winters we were due for some snow we can get a good amount some winters. My wood gas is going I am starting on the engine & cab now working on breather an cables. Going this Tuesday an have the nerve ends burned in my back.
L4,L5,S4,S5 see how that works they going to do one side then about three weeks do the other side

Good luck with the back work, and your wood gas project. In Jesus name i prayed lord be with you.

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I tried bees last summer. We had a lot of cool days and cold nights. The hive didnā€™t grow very fast. I think this year I will surround the hive with straw bale to keep the hive warm except for the month of July. We got up to 85F 2 or 3 times per summer the last 3 summers in July. In Minnesota, we need 50 pounds of honey for the bees to survive the Winter. I really am not sure if a Flow Hive would be applicable here.

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Kristijan

I am a beekeeper in eastern Quebec for over 20 years (another good reason for you and your family to visit us)

I wintered up to 120 hives some years (here it is very little). The strongest colonies are wintering outside under an isolated box. I do not have as many hives as I want to be able to spend more time with my other passions the forest management and DOW

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On the ranch that I work we farm about 3,000 acres mostly of alfalfa and grass with some hay barley on a couple small fields. We spray to kill everything on new fields a few months before I farm them up and plant. Other than that nothing here gets sprayed for anything.
The guys that have hives here generally give us honey. They send all of their hives out to California for the winter for whatever reason. Iā€™ve read up on it a little and do know that some folks keep their hives here year round and feed them sugar, but it seems like Iā€™d read that there is a big gamble of losses. Something that I read was that the bees will generate their own heat by getting in a big ball and it can be as warm as 85 degrees inside that ball, although Iā€™m not volunteering to reach in to find out.
Getting bees would just be a small hobby for me if I ever did do any, just to see what all the fun is about.

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By the way, although the Simple Fire is hooked to the generator and just needs for me to size the charcoal and fire it upā€¦
This was my excuse for the day as to why I didnā€™t get to it.
I bought it the night before last along with a factory made trailer for $950. Itā€™s a 2000 Artic Cat 500 efi. I rode it for a while today after feeding and really liked it.
Another thing to add to the list of, ā€œWell thatā€™s the first time Iā€™ve done that sober!ā€

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Congrats on the sobriety Allan. The wendsday before Superbowl will be 16 years for me. After quitting drinking and smoking I was able to quit working as well. Of course I still work but at my pace now. I like myself alot better and am learning more every day. I donā€™t get it. I used to know it all.

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I find the older we get the less we seem to know but we also spend far less time fixing our mistakes then we did when we knew it all.

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We sometimes complain about tiny welding. This guy loves it.
Amazing skills. He even puts effort in making these small tractors look worn and dirty. Everything is made from scratch, even the tires he makes outof silicone.

If you want to fast forward, take a look at the Volvo BM with a gasifier at 5.45 and for you Americans thereĀ“s a Mc Cormick at 9:03.

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Thanks JO; That was fun. What a craftsman he is-- and the detail that he puts in; most would not even know he did, like the hammer in the tool box. I sometimes use an excuse for my sloppy work that I donā€™t have the machinery. I didnā€™t see him using much more that an oxy/acet torch and a grinder. Glad to see he has good taste in the tires he makes ( Goodyear). For many years the tire companies gave out tires just like he has made only they had a glass ā€œrimā€ in them so they were used for ash trays with the tire companies name stenciled in the glass. The gasifier on the tractor actually was tinted so that it looked like it had actually been burned. The McCormick W6 at the end, reminded me of one at an auction. When they drove it up to sell, it sounded every bit as good as the tractor that that Swede plays his guitar with.
This reminds me, I have not found any 3/32nd stainless steal arc welding rod. I have looked. Hmmm It takes longer to read my replies than to watch your video. Sorry TomC

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This was the first match I got in North America. Part number 316L650.
IĀ“m sure you have loads of additional suppliers.

http://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/en/Products/Alloys/Welding/Stick-Electrodes/316L-Stainless-Electrodes.aspx

This may not be the same guy, but i no itĀ“s the same type tractor. Volvo BM ā€œVictorā€. 2 cyl 2.2L diesel from early 50s. Maximum torque at 800 rpm :smile:

While IĀ“m at it IĀ“ll throw in a water pump blues.

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Here is the one that I like; ( there also is a band that records in the same shedā€” one guy plays a regular old blacksmith anvil_)

Guess who-C

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Harris Product Group is related to Lincoln Electric. They listed sever places with in 50 miles of Crivitz. Will have to try themā€“all. If no results, My friend was a Vice President of Asia for Lincoln. Like me he has been retire for years but still has connection.(?) TomC

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COLD down south !! -10 F chill factor this morning and we are not accustom to this type weather . This is the second day the schools and most business have been shut down.

Hopper top froze shut on my wood burner and had to use my torch to free it . Truck starts almost instantly and runs good in this temps.

Chicken eggs froze and busted but we will use them when they thaw.

You guys up north are tough !.

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Sorry you have to go through that Wayne. Iā€™m not going to lie, I will spend more time indoors at those temps. A good pile of firewood and all is good. We got warm enough to snow one day and below 0 temps the next. The tractor started fine, so I had to plow the 1.5 mile road. Layers will handle the subzero temps. I tuck an extra pair of insulated gloves in my coat so when my hands get cold, I can trade out the cold gloves for warm ones.
Thankfully the Winter donā€™t last forever and weā€™ll be complaining about how hot it is.
If you have too many cracked and frozen eggs for what you can eat, keep the extra in the freezer until youā€™re ready.

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William, You might know a lot about politics, but honey-bees ya donā€™t.
Honey bees winter over in the hive. they ball up around the queen and keep active to generate warmth while consuming honey stored in the hive. The queen, once she is mated, never leaves the hive unless the colony swarms and they have no replacement queen. Honey bee colonies that die over-wintering were not healthy in the fall, or the bee-keeper took too much of their winter stores. If the weather warms up, like 58 degrees or so, they may venture out and take cleansing flights. Many if not most commercial bee-keepers start with new hives every spring. I got rid of my 2 hives of bees because I couldnā€™t handle the stress at the time. I gave them to a local bee-keeper friend who had 200 hives. Pesticides are a problem, especially in agricultural areas. If you want to be kind to bees, plant lots of bee-friendly wild flowers like dutch white clover and let your dandelions grow. :honeybee::honeybee::wilted_flower::rose::blossom::tulip::bouquet:

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Not cheap. Over a buck a piece on ebay.

for 3/32 SS arc rods.

Wayne,
I thought about you when I saw the weather report last night. At least your truck likes the cold.

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I have always wintered the hives, despite the Quebec winter, long and cold. Here the bees spend 5 months without leaving their hive

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