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Posted on Thursday, March 01, 2012
Weather
The weather forecasts were for severe storms across KY. We were watching TV and the weather radio warning sounded and they broadcast a Tornado Watch for our area. About a half hour later the TV programming was interrupted with reports of tornadoes in the western part of KY. They continued the interruption with live broadcasts of the radar as the line of storms moved across KY, over Bowling Green and towards where we live in Cumberland County. As the storms closed in on us, they began weakening and by the time they reached Burkesville, it was just a mild rain with a little bit of thunder and lightening. Further south in TN, they still had some tornadoes moving along the same line of storms, but our area had no damage or injuries.
Posted on Friday, March 02, 2012
Friday Weather
Pauline & Brent brought their family over about 3 PM. We had asked them to get here earlier because the severe weather was supposed to arrive around 5 PM. We had our stuff ready to go to the smokehouse cellar if we needed to seek shelter. Brent and I were at the pole barn putting the road cover on the boat when Linda and Pauline walked down the hill with the kids. The kids were running around the yard close to the fire pit while we sat on the benches watching them and the weather. Occasionally, I went in the pole barn and checked the radar for information concerning possible tornadoes. There were several tornado warnings in Adair County, the next county north of our location. We could see big thunderstorm clouds in that direction and lightening way off, but nothing happened at the farm. The main line of storms parted and went around our area, then we went back up the hill and in the house. We later found out that the Wal-Mart that was a few miles from our house had been damaged and would be closed. Once again, we were sparred the really bad weather.
Posted on Saturday, March 03, 2012
Boat Service
We woke up early and were hanging around in the living room waiting on
breakfast for a while. Stacey, Brent and I were then going on a mission
to take the boat to Cumberland Sea Ray to have some service work done.
We went to the pole barn and moved the old cars out and then hooked the
boat and trailer to the truck. Brent aired the tires up before we left.
We
went to Burkesville and filled the truck with gas and then headed East
on KY 90 towards Burnside, KY. Just before getting into Burnside,
Cumberland Sea Ray was on the left. Brent pulled the truck into the
parking lot and went inside to talk to the service manager. After a few
minutes he signed the work order and we went back outside to unhook the
boat and trailer. We talked with the service guy a few minutes, then
headed back to the farm. 
We
parked the truck, retrieved the Mule from the pole barn and did a little
bit of farm work before Pauline and Linda returned with the kids. Later
in the day we took Julie and Kyle for a Mule ride with Daisy running
along, then had pizzas for supper.
Posted on Saturday, March 10, 2012
Quick IN Trip
Thursday morning we woke and loaded the HHR for a trip to IN. We did the
drive thru for breakfast in Columbia and then settled in for the ride to
Daleville. Several hours later we pulled up in front of my Mom's house
and went inside. We unloaded our clothes and some other items, then we
began doing a few odd jobs. We hooked up an antennae that would boost
the over the air digital TV signals. It worked fairly well and enabled
the TV to pickup the stations that broadcast from Indy. Linda worked on
cleaning for a while, then we prepared to grout the floor tile we had
laid months ago. I mixed the grout with water and added too much water.
It was really soupy, but at least it was easy to spread into the gaps
between the tiles. I used a grout float to push the grout around the
floor in the bath room and hallway. I crawled around the area on
kneeling pads that were made for gardening outside, but they worked well
to save my knees. After my part of the job was finished, Linda began
washing the grout off the tiles with a sponge and two buckets of water.
She changed the water often. I returned to chip out a few places where
the quick-set mortar was showing through and fill the gap with grout.
Linda did a great job of washing the tiles and making the grout an even
height with the sponge. While she was finishing, I went to the grocery
store in Chesterfield and bought some things for us to eat while we
stayed in IN. I also purchased a pizza on the way back to the house.
Linda and Stacey were ready to eat when I carried in the pizza.
Friday
morning we sat the new vanity cabinet in the bathroom and then placed
the sink top on it to see how it would look. Nothing is hooked up
because we needed tools we didn't have with us.
Shortly
after we had done that, Imon called to wish Linda a "Happy Birthday!"
They talked a few minutes and then Linda told Imon we would come down
there in a few minutes. We put Coco in the cage and then drove the HHR
to Imon's garage in Markleville. We talked with Imon for at least an
hour, then went to Pendleton to see Linda's Mom. Nana was talking to her
renter when we arrived. We continued to chat until about 4:30 PM, then
said good bye and drove to Anderson. Linda called Kenny Bourke to find
out if they were home. They were so we stopped at Kim and Kenny's place
for a while. Kim's daughter, Alica came over and cut Linda's hair during
our conversations. She brought 4 of her 5 boys that had visited the farm
about 3 years ago. Around 8 PM we left and headed back to Daleville for
the night.
Saturday morning, Linda fixed breakfast, then we showered
and went to Muncie to visit my Mom. Virginia was setting near the door
when we went inside. I was pleasantly surprised by Mom's condition. She
was alert and doing much better than the last time we had seen her. Of
course she gave me a bunch of crap about this and that, but that is to
be expected. When that started we just talked about something else and
kept the conversation moving along. Once again, when the staff began
preparing for lunch, we wheeled Mom down to the eating area and said our
good byes while she was getting ready for lunch. We returned to the
house and packed our things, wrapped up the loose ends and headed
towards KY at 2 PM. We stopped at King Fish and I went in and ordered at
the Carry Out. The restaurant was packed with customers waiting to be
seated. Our food was ready in a short time and I carried it out to the
car, then Stacey and Linda went with me to the outside dining area. We
ate while watching the Ohio River slowly flow by.
We
finished our meals and drove back to the farm. I pulled the HHR into the
garage and we unloaded around 7 PM.
Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Strawberry Field
A couple of months ago we ordered strawberry plants from the County
Extension Office. We picked them up Monday and they were bare root
plants. I had enlisted Steve Garmon to help me dig the plow out of
Regina's old barn a week earlier, so I hooked the plow to the tractor
and after talking with Linda about the size and location, I broke ground
for a new strawberry patch. We didn't measure, just made the patch fit
the area we had chose, but I'm guessing it's about 50 feet by 40 feet.
Just as I was finishing the plowing, I noticed the plow moldboard had
busted into two pieces. I took the plow off the tractor and put the disc
on the three point hitch. I pulled the disc across the patch several
times, then parked the tractor and went to talk to Phillip Garmon about
the broken plow. He gave me a few ideas on where I might find a
replacement part for the old plow.
Tuesday,
I pulled the disc over the patch a few more times, then took the tractor
to the equipment shed and removed the disc and hooked it to the finish
mower. I made a few laps around the place making sure the mower deck was
functioning properly and managed to wrap some barbed wire around one of
the blades. I spent about 10 minutes cutting the wire and removing it at
the pole barn then parked the tractor. I hooked the Mule to the black
trailer and loaded the rototiller on the trailer. I filled it with gas
and pulled the Mule and trailer to the strawberry patch. I ran the
tiller through the patch to bust up the small clods and finish the
ground work so Linda could plant.
Wednesday morning, we gathered up
the sticks and strings we needed to lay off the rows and put them in the
Mule. Linda wanted to wait until later in the day, so we went to
Tompkinsville to check out one of the places Phil had told me about. It
was called KY-TENN Tractor Supply and it was a real old place with lots
of old stuff. I told the guy what I needed was a moldboard for a 75 year
old Dearborn 14" Two Bottom Plow. He said he had one and walked over and
picked it up. Great, now for the bad news, the price was $114. I gave
him a check and he said he was going to order another one in about a
week if I needed it. We ate lunch and then returned to the farm. We took
the Mule to the berry patch and began staking out the rows. We used the
same string we had used when we grew mums, so the string was already
marked for planting on two foot spacing. Linda began putting the plants
in the ground.
She
planted the 150 plants while I placed the stakes, strung the string and
got drinks from the house. I picked up the tools and things as she
finished, then used the tractor scoop to clean up the dirt that has
spilled out of the patch. We went to the house at dark, finished and
ready for a rain to water the berry plants.
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2012
ASRG & KPAC
After a quick breakfast Linda and I went to the pole barn and uncovered
the 56 Chevy. I backed it out of the barn and drove to the house where
we all loaded in and headed to town. American
Street Rod Garage was holding their Grand Opening and having a
cruise-in to celebrate. We pulled into a full parking lot and were
directed where to park, then went in the office and registered. They
were cooking hot dogs on a large grill and handing those out to people
as they arrived. Free soft drinks were also available. There were around
30 cars and trucks parked all around the lot. My ticket number was drawn
and I won a door prize of a gallon of windshield washer fluid and a
bottle of brake fluid. I put those in the car and continued to mingle
with others that had brought their vehicles. About 1 PM we told people
we were leaving and drove the Chevy home and put it in the pole barn,
shut the doors and went to the house. After about an hour, we loaded
into the HHR and headed to Pauline and Brent's house. They had asked
Stacey to go to a musical performance with them and their kids at the
Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green. We arrived a couple of
hours early to give us some play time with Julie and Kyle before they
went to the show. When they left for KPAC, we left and went to Bowling
Green. We looked around at Home Depot and bought some things to work on
the bathroom at Mom's house in IN. The weather was getting stormy when
we ate at Zaxby's and then went shopping at Sam's Club for groceries and
supplies. After purchasing our supplies, loading them in the HHR in the
rain, we drove back to Pauline and Brent's house to pickup Stacey. They
told us they had arrived a little early and then about how the musical
performance had been.
They
each said they liked the performance real well. A little before 10 PM we
headed back to the farm. We could see the lightening striking ahead of us
as we drove towards Burkesville, but we never caught up with the storms.
Posted on Sunday, March 18, 2012
Fallen Timber
About a week ago, while riding in the Mule, I found one large tree and a
couple small ones that had fallen during a rain storm. Evidently the
ground was saturated enough that the trees had just fallen over.
Today,
Linda and I went back in the 'holler' with the tractor and the Mule to
clear the path. I used the chainsaw to make a few cuts and then took the
scoop of the tractor to pull the debris away from the larger pieces of
the trees. I used the scoop on the tractor like a giant dust pan and
pushed the debris to one side and pile it up against the hillside. Linda
helped by hooking the chain to the trunks of the trees so I could lift
them with the tractor and swing them up on the dry ground. We didn't cut
up the pieces we're going to use for firewood, we just cleared up the
debris and opened up the path for the Mule and ATVs.
We
drove back to the equipment shed and parked the tractor, then put the
chainsaw away and parked the Mule.
Posted on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Busy Wednesday
It seems as if we had to do everything on one day. We left the house a
little before 9 AM.
Stacey
backed the Mule out of the barn and we drove it down to the equipment
shed to get to the truck. Our State
Farm Insurance agent had called and asked me to come to the office
for a short meeting concerning one of our policies. That was our first
stop of the day.
After
about a 15 minute meeting we were on our way to our next stop, the Court
House. We needed to buy the stickers for two of our license plates at
the County Clerk's office. That took another 15 minutes and then we
headed to American
Street Rod Garage. Dave Neff needed some help updating their web
site that I had setup for them. We worked on that and talked with Randy
and Dave until almost noon. We left the garage and went to Kountry
Junction and ordered lunch. We had barely finished our lunches when the
Event's Committee meeting began in an adjacent room. At 1 PM the meeting
was adjourned and Stacey and I left immediately. I drove the truck east
on KY 90 for nearly 50 miles through Monticello to Cumberland
Sea Ray and went inside.
The
service representative talked to me and gave me a run down of what they
had done. Basically, they changed the oil and installed a new battery.
Then he helped me hook the boat and trailer to the truck. Wow, I'm glad
he did. While hooking the trailer to the hitch ball, he noticed that the
ball had become loose and was in danger of becoming detached. That could
have been a disaster. We removed the hitch from the receiver and went
inside and used their tools to tighten the ball on the hitch, then
replaced it and finished hooking the boat to the truck. I thanked him
for his help and we pulled out and headed back to Burkesville.
Linda
came home a few minutes after we arrived and helped move the old cars
out of the pole barn to make room to back in the boat. Stacey picked me
up in the Mule after I parked the truck in the equipment shed. Then we
put the cars back and mowed the grass until dark.
Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2012
Culvert 2.0
Pauline and Brent brought their family over Friday evening.
Saturday
morning we didn't have any plans so I asked Brent if he wanted to help
me build a ditch crossing between the two hay fields. The next thing I
knew, everyone was going to 'help'. I had built a culvert in a slightly
different location several years ago, but it was only a single row of
concrete tiles and the water would overflow into the hay fields, so I
had removed those tiles. When the highway was relocated, they dug out
several of those cement tiles and replaced them with steel pipes. I
asked for the concrete tiles and they let me haul them away. All they
were going to do was crush them and bury them under the roadway, so I
saved the tiles and the crew some extra work. I hauled the tiles across
the creek last fall and left them close to the location of the new
crossing. We used the tractor with a chain attached to the scoop to lift
the tiles and place them in the gully Pauline, Stacey and Linda watched
Julie and Kyle play in the water while we were placing the concrete
tiles in the ditch.
Brent
was swinging the tiles into place as I would lower them with the
tractor. When we couldn't get them close enough together, we used the
back hoe to finish locating the tiles till they touched.
Linda
took Julie and Kyle for a walk along the branch of the creek back in the
'holler'. Those creek rock are extremely slick after the moss has grown
on them all winter.
Pauline
kept a close eye on Kyle when he was playing in the water. It is amazing
how much the kids can find to do without electricity when they're
outside. All of them loaded into the Mule and went to the shed to get
some of the black fabric to cover the cement tiles. They hauled it with
the Mule and then placed it over the tiles. It was an odd piece the
highway crew had left laying around and I picked up. It will keep the
gravel from falling through the busted edges of the old tiles.
We
stopped and the girls and kids went to the house to fix lunch. After
lunch, I went back and scooped up sand and creek rock near the creek and
dumped it onto the culvert tiles. Brent came back out and he used the
tractor to haul some scoops of creek gravel for the culvert too. We used
the back hoe and placed some large creek rock on the upstream edge of
the culvert to hold the creek gravel in place.
Now
the creek gravel will have to dry out before I can level it and we can
begin driving across the culvert.
Posted on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Week In Review
Linda worked the first 4 days of this week and then enjoyed Friday off. We've been mowing a little each day. I broke a bolt on the finish mower that I use behind the tractor. Stacey and I went to town and purchased a new hardened bolt and I was able to pull the support bars back together and slide the bolt back in place, then use two nuts to lock it in place. I have used the tiller to turn over the dirt in the new strawberry patch. Regina was having trouble with her lawn mower and asked me to take a look at it. I determined it needed a new front spindle, so she has to buy one in Glasgow at the John Deere dealer. After Brent's family went home Sunday afternoon, I was sick, coughing and sneezing for about 3 days, now Stacey has become sick, showing the same type of symptoms as I had. The loggers, Bobby and Billy Wray, have come back and are cutting in our woods again. They had to quit because the ground was too wet to climb the hills with their skidders about a month ago, but now, things have dried out and they are back to work. The new culvert has dried out and we are traveling across it. We've put drops on Coco and Daisy to keep fleas and ticks off of them. Coco has tried to get the stuff off of his back by rolling in the floor. Linda finally gave him a bath a couple of days later, after the treatment had soaked into his skin. There are bees and wasps all over the place while we are outside. Linda turned our heat and A/C off and it's remained off for at least three weeks.
