Autumn Leaves

 

The top photo is a shot in the back yard. It sure looks good at this time of year. It would look nicer without the big propane tank in the photo, but you have to have one somewhere if you want to have heat.

The bottom photo shows the railroad tracks that run parallel to the tree line in the other photo. Straight as an arrow to the end of the line at the power plant next town over. The power plant was scheduled to be closed down but apparently the new wind and solar projects aren't enough to pick up the slack. However, if they keep taking prime farm ground out of production for the solar farms, they won't be able to plant basements on the property which will slow down the influx of people moving in from points west and keep the power demand from growing too fast also.

The weather has been beautiful lately. A bit warmer than normal for this time of year which has delayed the trees changing color, as well as the one apple tree blooming, it's been great weather for painting and doing other outside chores. I painted the man door on the shop, the trim on the chicken coop, some trim on the house and some other outside chores. 

I pulled the old Allis out of the barn yesterday to get it winter ready - put some air in the tires, installed the new shoes on the scraper blade and then started checking all the fluids. Everything was going well until the last thing I checked was the engine oil and it's looking pretty milky. I talked to my neighbor the mechanic to see if he'd be willing to work on it. I'm going to start it up today and see if there are bubbles in the radiator. I don't want to spend any great some of money on a repair, but I don't want to spend a great some of money on a replacement either. I checked out Steiner Tractor Parts and they have a kit with the head and valve cover gaskets plus a couple other necessary items for $70.00. Might as well grind the valves, maybe mill the surface while the head is off too. With labor, $500 to $700 at least - maybe more. I haven't had any machine work done for a long time. No way I could get another tractor for that kind of money. Steiner also has a kit with pistons and sleeves and the whole works for a bit over $620. That would run the total bill up well over a grand, but it might be worth it. At my age, probably good for a lifetime.