spring flowers and good food

[Handstitched]

That had me in stitches  I have a friend I might send that to. She drinks wine like I drink beer,  she doesn't  cook too much  either.  Mostly ' ding food'  . You know,   microwave...bzzzzz....ding !!! 

On 4/17/2023 at 7:35 PM, chuck123wapati said:

you just cant beat that smoky flavor lol.

Hear hear !!  A totally different flavour, love cooking outside  . I'll have to try and fix Dads lawn mower, ( now the weeds have grown back) he's fiddled about with it so much  over the years its pretty  messed up  , it  only sorta   goes. I'm trying to avoid having to buy a new one. 

Not good news about your truck . Uni joints & diffs  can be  a PITA ( pain in the ar***)  to fix. Been there done that...( Landy's ) ....not fun . 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

I figured i'd quit tramping on Frodos thread lol. Caught two nice rainbows yesterday. Floured and fried them in Butter, onion, and clove or two of garlic, love that cast iron!!!  Had home made cheese biscuits and Jalapeno poppers with them. Had a great day , found a fossil leaf. Going fishing again today!!!

[chuck123wapati]

On 4/20/2023 at 2:24 AM, Handstitched said:

That had me in stitches  I have a friend I might send that to. She drinks wine like I drink beer,  she doesn't  cook too much  either.  Mostly ' ding food'  . You know,   microwave...bzzzzz....ding !!! 

Hear hear !!  A totally different flavour, love cooking outside  . I'll have to try and fix Dads lawn mower, ( now the weeds have grown back) he's fiddled about with it so much  over the years its pretty  messed up  , it  only sorta   goes. I'm trying to avoid having to buy a new one. 

Not good news about your truck . Uni joints & diffs  can be  a PITA ( pain in the ar***)  to fix. Been there done that...( Landy's ) ....not fun . 

HS

Hey how have you been?  i finished up the truck yesterday, everything new under the front end and ready to go. We caught a few trout at the lake too last week and man i'm eating like king Charles. Fresh trout caviar and smoked trout served on home made toast  and washed down with some home made wine, very rare wine indeed lol. Darn its tough being poor lol.

Spring is here now and the work starts I'll be tilling up the garden tomorrow and getting it ready also cleaning the garage for some knife making and hide tanning. 

[Handstitched]

14 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Hey how have you been?

Good to hear you have got your truck finished , woo hoo    I wish I could say the same about my poor ol' Grey Fergie tractor. It should have been finished ages ago and running by now , but  when you have two parents that need my help daily, in between everything else I do  it ain't easy .  I got the  head  & manifolds back on. Water pump next. Its like a slow moving jigsaw puzzle, one piece at a time. 

Man, you have been eating well  We're now into casseroles & curries and all the other yummo  winter foods . Getting really cold now. A storm about a month ago  gave us a few fallen  branches etc. for me to cut up for wood.  

We have about 4-5 bottles of  ' cheap'  champagne  , only 6 bucks a bottle, but it doesn't taste any different to the ex$y fancy stuff , we pop a cork on the odd occasion, yep life can be tough , lol     

Take care & eat well 

HS

[Handstitched]

@chuck123wapati 

Vegans ( veggo's )  have their place, God Bless them  , but this p***es me off.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/vegans-confront-aussie-neighbour-over-cooking-meat-makes-us-feel-sick-064558069.html

I wasn't sure whether to post this on here, or on the ' jokes ' thread .  If that ' vegan' was next to me, I'd be putting the barby on every night. I had  BBQ satay Pork skewers recently , and tonight, rump steak, and lamb chops the week earlier...on the barby, the aromas were devine  .  

And Chuck, I had a rare passing thought yesterday  ...buy a new barby, God forbid  .Not sure how much longer my 'ye olde ' cast iron  4 burner will last .  It really  is looking its age now  .

I got it around 1995-ish.  All the newies these days have stainless steel burners.  I'll make the oldie last a bit longer.

HS

 

[chuck123wapati]

7 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

@chuck123wapati 

Vegans ( veggo's )  have their place, God Bless them  , but this p***es me off.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/vegans-confront-aussie-neighbour-over-cooking-meat-makes-us-feel-sick-064558069.html

I wasn't sure whether to post this on here, or on the ' jokes ' thread .  If that ' vegan' was next to me, I'd be putting the barby on every night. I had  BBQ satay Pork skewers recently , and tonight, rump steak, and lamb chops the week earlier...on the barby, the aromas were devine  .  

And Chuck, I had a rare passing thought yesterday  ...buy a new barby, God forbid  .Not sure how much longer my 'ye olde ' cast iron  4 burner will last .  It really  is looking its age now  .

I got it around 1995-ish.  All the newies these days have stainless steel burners.  I'll make the oldie last a bit longer.

HS

 

oh Jeez in your country too? I don't know what to say anymore or how this entitlement crap ever got started its friggin insane.

Vegans do have their place but are ignorant of basic human biology. These virtue signaling types kill me,  If they met me during hunting season they sure wouldn't like me and my smoker LOL. or me hanging my critters in the garage next door  or me tanning my hides. But if they met me on a day of foraging for wild edibles they would follow me around like half jacked off dogs lol.

Keep that old bbq going man the new are crap unless you buy really expensive you wont get anywhere near the quality. 

Hope your folks are doing well my friend hang in there and have a great day !!

[Handstitched]

14 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Vegans do have their place but are ignorant of basic human biology.

One of our  high school excursions ' back in the day', was a tour of an abattoir,  mostly sheep, fair dinkum. I don't  know what was going through the minds of our teachers  to do that, but anyway, while all the other kids were almost passing out, I was keenly fascinated. Nothing was wasted, every part was used. I loved how they got the brains out,  a hand operated gizzmo like a giant nut cracker. I stood there for ages watching that thing , lol . We all had a BBQ that night, with lamb , tasted dam good too . Perhaps vegans need a lesson in reality. 

14 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Keep that old bbq going man the new are crap unless you buy really expensive you wont get anywhere near the quality. 

I think you have convinced me to keep giving my ol' barby some love. And I agree about the quality of newies. I doubt they would last anywhere near as long as mine. And, quite often they are the most common things to find on a kerbside rubbish collection , says a lot about " quality" 

Keep eating like a king 

HS

 

[Handstitched]

Howdy friend, In the conversation thread  I decided against the bellows. I used my head instead of my heart . But the blow torch you saw in the tools thread ?  I got it fired up...fired up being the operative words. Its unrestored don't forget, ,  I  filled it halfway with kerosene, lit the spirits under the plumbing,  ...ok ..so far. (this will make you laugh) , I started pumping  and ........Holy F***k !!  it spat out neat kero across my workshop, but then that lit up  like a damn flame thrower nearly setting stuff alight  ,there was this long thin flame spewing out ,  I  released the pressure, rushed it outside  put it on the ground where it  stayed for a few minutes , and I got my breath back and give  my heart a chance  to stabilise  ...the dumb things we do !!!  

I tried the second time...outside, while it flamed up a little bit, it did eventually started to work OK ...phew !!  The first one I restored fire up without issue. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

Holy cow I'll bet you had fun for a minute. i converted a Coleman white gas lantern to kerosene once with a similar outcome lol. Had to buy a new globe after i tossed it out the door on fire. That oil has to get hot before it vaporizes well. Its too bad your so far away i have a wood lathe and enough metal working tools to build anything you would need for a bellows. I think i even have plans for a bellows in one of my foxfire books. Man I've got so many projects that I don't know where to start, bad thing is I don't really want to start lol fishing sounds more fun. 

[Handstitched]

33 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

Man I've got so many projects that I don't know where to start, bad thing is I don't really want to start lol fishing sounds more fun. 

I second that  So many things I wanna do  , but theres  only 7 days in a week. But right now ,   I just want to find patch of bush somewhere for a few days, and give myself some ' me time'. Just  me ,  a tent, a  few supplies and a camp fire.But, this thing called 'life' happens.  

This whisky is going down well tho , pretty chilly outside atm . 

Another set of bellows will come along I'm sure , but thanks for the thought    

HS

[Handstitched]

@chuck123wapati I've almost got my ol Grey TEA20 tractor finished. The head , manifolds, (new) water pump and (new)  housings are back on . But get this ,  fiddling about trying to find bolts etc for the housing  and checking to see if they fit, I accidentally dropped  a small  1" bolt & washer down inside the head into the water cavity  where the thermostat housing goes on   F********** K !!! .  I fiddled about using a magnet taped to a piece of fencing wire to poke around inside  to get them out again.....no chance.So, *sigh*  I made a major decision, I left them there.  Theres no way I'm removing the head...again and undo all my work .  They're not in a position that would interfere with the pump ,(water pump is separate from the head)  ,  and being small I really don't think they'll interfere with water flow. Just when I think everything is going well....this happens.  

Just the throttle control, the fan , pulley , new belt  ,  new radiator & new hoses and  a new fuel tap to go . No guarantees, but may be finished at the weekend. 

Theres a few other bits and pieces I'll be  replacing over time , the exhaust for one thing, too big , not original, sounds like a hot rod and makes me go deaf LOL  , and new plugs , points etc. 

Hope your day was better than mine. 

HS 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Handstitched

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Handstitched said:

@chuck123wapati I've almost got my ol Grey TEA20 tractor finished. The head , manifolds, (new) water pump and (new)  housings are back on . But get this ,  fiddling about trying to find bolts etc for the housing  and checking to see if they fit, I accidentally dropped  a small  1" bolt & washer down inside the head into the water cavity  where the thermostat housing goes on   F********** K !!! .  I fiddled about using a magnet taped to a piece of fencing wire to poke around inside  to get them out again.....no chance.So, *sigh*  I made a major decision, I left them there.  Theres no way I'm removing the head...again and undo all my work .  They're not in a position that would interfere with the pump ,(water pump is separate from the head)  ,  and being small I really don't think they'll interfere with water flow. Just when I think everything is going well....this happens.  

Just the throttle control, the fan , pulley , new belt  ,  new radiator & new hoses and  a new fuel tap to go . No guarantees, but may be finished at the weekend. 

Theres a few other bits and pieces I'll be  replacing over time , the exhaust for one thing, too big , not original, sounds like a hot rod and makes me go deaf LOL  , and new plugs , points etc. 

Hope your day was better than mine. 

HS 

Oh man what a thing to happen, i pulled the same mistake on an intake one time but i had to pull it back off lol. hopefully yours will end up in the radiator hose.

I had a great couple of days we went fishing again lol, didn't catch anything but one small Walleye, and my son took a couple of Carp with his bow. Now the work starts again lol tilling and planting our little garden.

The worst day fishing is always better than the best day working. 

[Handstitched]

1 hour ago, chuck123wapati said:

The worst day fishing is always better than the best day working. 

Man, they are some beautiful pics, especially the first one, looks so serene, relaxing     With beautiful  views like that,  doesn't matter if you don't catch any fish. The flowers are  obviously unique to that part of the universe , look great. 

I think, and I hope ,the bolt & washer will end up somewhere inside the water jacket of the block . They're a bit too heavy to just float around. They'll just hit the bottom  of the water jacket....fingers crossed. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

21 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Man, they are some beautiful pics, especially the first one, looks so serene, relaxing     With beautiful  views like that,  doesn't matter if you don't catch any fish. The flowers are  obviously unique to that part of the universe , look great. 

I think, and I hope ,the bolt & washer will end up somewhere inside the water jacket of the block . They're a bit too heavy to just float around. They'll just hit the bottom  of the water jacket....fingers crossed. 

HS

Almost three hours before we even heard a car pass by.  i have to find out the names of those flowers they are amazing out in the desert. Yes if it gets down there its shouldn't cause no harm just keep an eye on it and check for hot spots  when you fire it up.

[Handstitched]

19 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Almost three hours before we even heard a car pass by.

I so  love that !!!!  I've been watching quite a few wild camping vids on yootoob . We've heard of ' home sick',  as in missing home, I must be getting  'camp sick' , missing going bush

I'll certainly be keeping an eye  and ear out for anything unusual when I start my tractor. 

HS 

[chuck123wapati]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:19 AM, Handstitched said:

I so  love that !!!!  I've been watching quite a few wild camping vids on yootoob . We've heard of ' home sick',  as in missing home, I must be getting  'camp sick' , missing going bush

I'll certainly be keeping an eye  and ear out for anything unusual when I start my tractor. 

HS 

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”

[chuck123wapati]

saw this youngun on the pool edge yesterday wondering how to get a drink. It is one of two chicks born this year and It just learned to fly.  The second picture is from about 15 feet away. 

[chuck123wapati]

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

saw this youngun on the pool edge yesterday wondering how to get a drink. It is one of two chicks born this year and It just learned to fly.  The second picture is from about 15 feet away. 

 he was back again today now i have to make perch so he can get a drink.

[Handstitched]

13 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

he was back again today now i have to make perch so he can get a drink.

So the nest is somewhere near you or your house ?  Great pics.  Watching nature is more entertaining than TV  

If you're on the market for a loco , theres plenty , at Donkey Creek in Wyoming , somewhere east of Gillette.  Just watched a vid on yootoob   ' Hundreds of Loco's at Donkey Creek' . Quite impressive , and kinda sad at the same time , as some of them may be retired, and even scrapped.  Theres around 7 locos at our  local wheat bin , just sitting there, abandoned. They were fully operational in really  good condition.  The rail  & grain company bought them to use, but  are now  deemed  under powered , apparently, and some don't meet current ' environmental standards'  , wtf?  I  just hate seeing good  quality iron go to waste, just millions of $$$ just sitting there. They could be used for training purposes,  mechanical training,  tourism..put them to use,  anything but go to waste. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

6 hours ago, Handstitched said:

So the nest is somewhere near you or your house ?  Great pics.  Watching nature is more entertaining than TV  

 

HS

yes there is a huge pine tree across the street that they have nested in for years and years. we look forward to their return every spring, I don't know if its the same pair or their kids but they come back every spring. Its so much fun watching them and the young Deer grow up. it rained last night and two young fawns just had a great time running around in it.

 The town i live in, Rawlins, was an end of tracks town built during the time  union pacific rail was set across the US so trains are a part of life here. Gillette is about 300 miles north of me and btw where my wife grew up. I imagine they are mothballed because of the loss of coal mining in Gillette, its a shame the way our world is being destroyed but i wont go there today lol. it pisses me off.

 Here are some of my shots of one the last and largest steam engine (Big Boy) and another smaller in the us she came through a few years ago on her maiden voyage since being rebuilt and thousands of folks followed her stopping at each town along the trip. They are so cool!!

 

 

the video isnt mine!

 

[Handstitched]

18 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

Here are some of my shots of one the last and largest steam engine (Big Boy

Man, that thing is enormous !!!!  When they blew the horn, I actually got goose bumps . What a sight to behold. The chap at the back ( last pic) , I can only guess whats going through his mind, he's  living a childhood dream no doubt  .  Loved that 

HS

[billybopp]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Man, that thing is enormous !!!!  When they blew the horn, I actually got goose bumps . What a sight to behold. The chap at the back ( last pic) , I can only guess whats going through his mind, he's  living a childhood dream no doubt  .  Loved that 

HS

The 82 year old Big Boy 4014 did one better a week or so ago, while hauling a dozen or so cars of its own.  A very long, very heavy freight train stalled after stopping on an uphill grade.  It was holding up 4014, so they pulled it up behind and gave a push to get the freight train started!  

 

[Handstitched]

 

53 minutes ago, billybopp said:

It was holding up 4014, so they pulled it up behind and gave a push to get the freight train started!  

Now theres something you won't ever  see  here in Oz. That was impressive .  The wagons over there have the same graffiti as ours , if only the " artists" knew how to spoll....er...spell. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, billybopp said:

The 82 year old Big Boy 4014 did one better a week or so ago, while hauling a dozen or so cars of its own.  A very long, very heavy freight train stalled after stopping on an uphill grade.  It was holding up 4014, so they pulled it up behind and gave a push to get the freight train started!  

 

that is cool. 

 

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

 

Now theres something you won't ever  see  here in Oz. That was impressive .  The wagons over there have the same graffiti as ours , if only the " artists" knew how to spoll....er...spell. 

HS

When i was a young boy my folks had a good friend ( Morris Lundbeck) here that was a retired engineer, he ran a big boy on the route from from Cheyenne to Rawlins its now in the city park In Cheyenne where 4014 was rebuilt. He was an awesome man and one of my inspirations. He worked his way to the US from Denmark as  a young man on a sailing ship, then worked his way to Wyoming where he worked in a blacksmith shop here in town until getting his education and a job on the U.P. some time in the 70's My dad was given his uncles sheep wagon when he died as soon as Morris saw it he laughed and told him exactly when and where he had built it. I still have the wagon and the memories. His house also had many photos of the old trains he ran and a few local train wrecks to boot.  

 I always wondered if i took my truck down to a freight yard and left it would someone paint the darned thing lol.