A Bit of Everything

A rare weekend at home let me get a post going that catches up on a few topics. First, a shout out to sister-in-law Becky who just finished a solo 9-day trip to North Carolina. Charlotte, Statesville, and other towns were on her agenda and, due to numerous blog post photos, she was able to share her experiences with the rest of us. Personally, Statesville sounded the best. (“No Sushi, just fish fried as God intended…”)

Another shout out to brother-in-law Craig and his wife Dianne who are in the process of building a cabin near Bloomer, Wisconsin. They bought a 2 acre lot bordering a lake, have cleared a spot, and have begun getting the tests, permits, and other basics leading toward the building of a cabin. Good wishes to them!

Sinbad the Kitten is now Sinbad the (young adult) Cat. He likes to lounge on our deck and – occasionally – be picked up and petted. He is a cute cat, just too bad he did not take to being an inside cat. Here is a recent photo of him:

Sinbad the Cat

The firewood we cut has been delivered to Kathy Hall. She and a friend of hers helped us unload the wood and stack it near her house. Having 4 people working made the job go quicker, a good thing since the truck was half-way out in the road while we unloaded the wood. I figure we have delivered over a cord so far, about 3/4 of it on this load.

Firewood in truck and trailer waiting to be delivered

Another view of loaded trailer

Izzy’s kittens are getting more and more used to dry food and will soon be able to do well without Izzy’s milk. Pam is trying to accelerate the weaning process, as that would mean the kittens could be placed in the Friends of Rifle Animal Shelter, making way for the next prego cat that is currently in our garage, a black mom cat we call Ebony. We used to live in Rifle and drive pass daily on our way to and from work. Pam has worked with Heather, the shelter manager, for many years and I worked for a time with Heather’s husband, Jon, when we first moved into the area. They are good people.

A few “fall colors” are already evident. This is a bit early and portends an early fall/winter. Normally we don’t begin to see color until the first or second week in September. Late September and early October are usually the peak times of the color season, higher elevations turning color first. Last winter set numerous low temperature records and we really hope this winter is on the milder side!

A few weeks ago I replaced the spark plug wires and distributor cap on the Ford 8N tractor. It now runs nice and smooth on all 4 cylinders. (Old distributor cap had a broken terminal that was causing problems.)  However, after taking it around the block, it looks like I need to re-do the rear axle seal on the right side; oil is already leaking out of the brake drum. There is also a gasket on the bottom of the transmission that needs to be replaced as it is leaking. Probably won’t get to that those repairs this year but at least the engine is now in good operating condition. Seal, gasket, and re-install the original air cleaner and that will be all the repairs I plan to do in the short term. More needs to be done but those 3 repairs will basically put the tractor into working condition. Then comes fixing lights, rebuild the steering system, replace rusting rear fenders, and other miscellaneous repairs. It will be awhile until the 8N is done to the level I want.

My thanks to everyone who sent greetings and cards for my birthday and our anniversary, both celebrated during the first half of August. (We are getting old…)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!