"Failure to Communicate"

The "Killer" singing one of my favorite hymns. Kind of ironic, him singing a religious tune, considering he married his 13-year-old cousin.

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Went to the grandson's graduation Friday night - short and sweet. The whole ceremony only lasted an hour, mostly due to the fact it's a small high school. The Missus and I are quite proud of the young man.

Saturday morning I went to the boxing club - been a while since I was there. Did some bag work and shot the breeze with Jimmy for a bit. Grocery store after that. I'm not shocked by the price of groceries these days but not pleased with how the prices have gone up over the last few years. Anyone considering retirement should gaze deeply into their crystal ball to see what future prices are going to look like. The fixed income thing could leave you in the lurch with unforeseen inflation.

 

After I got home I managed to watch some motorcycle racing from Road America on the television. The second installment will be on today. I also watched Cool Hand Luke for about the 50th time. One of my all-time favorites. I wouldn't have except it was on TCM, so no commercials.

Some mowing on the agenda today and some exercise, either walking or cycling, along with a little something else as yet to be determined to round out the day. 

Revolutionary Movie

 Hillsdale College has a made a movie that will be showing May 31, June 1 & 2. The movie is titled Revolutionary America and the link here will take you where you can find a theatre showing it, as well as how to get a buy one, get one deal. The Missus and I will be going to support Hillsdale College and as a refresher course on American history. 

Surly and I did the Appleseed shoot several years ago and history instruction was included along with marksmanship instruction. Also, I went on a National Endowment for the Humanities summer trip years ago. I was right there where the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" was fired. I also visited the site of Thoreau's cabin.  I think it's more important now than it has been in years to know about the founding of the country. Patriotism requires knowledge of our country's history. 

I realize this is short notice, but if you can find a theatre in your neighborhood might be worth your while. The movie is a tick under two hours and all the showings that I saw were afternoons at 4:30.

Music to My Ears

 

A few of my favorites I don't hear too often. If my buddy Kevin and I would have been able to get our low wattage radio station up and running, besides broadcasting school events, we'd be playing a huge variety of tunes. In fact, Kevin had an uncle I believe it was, who had a bluegrass band, and I worked with a guy years ago who wrote a couple of religious songs that I've got the sheet music for. There should be a place for that stuff.

My first bike trip 23 years ago was on the Katy Trail with another of the shop teachers from the high school. We stopped in a little burg for the night that had a bike hostel and a little bar next door. We got us a couple of beers and a Tombstone pizza and kicked back. Later in the evening they had Karaoke and we were informed it was our turn after the regulars were done. I don't remember what my saddle pal sang but I did the two numbers above. And you can bet your bottom dollar, if Kevin and I would have gotten the radio station up and running, there would have been Buck Owens and Johnny Cash on the playlist.

Not much to show on the project front due to doctor's visits and general life things that are never ending but I did pick up some fuel line and a filter for the trials bike and dug out the carb I'm planning on using. I'm going with a Mikuni rather than a Dellorto that are normally used on these little Ducatis.

The can of Blaster is for another bike project. The grandson is starting to work on a Yamaha SR500 and the swingarm bolt is frozen solid in the frame. All of the usual tricks to get it out haven't worked but I haven't given up yet.

The eye doctor who did my surgery checked out my eyes yesterday and one is real good, the other as good as it's ever going to be, which is what I figured going in. Next week I'm going to see the toe doctor. I imagine that's going to involve some pain and some healing. Gettin' old ain't for sissies.

Memorial Day Reflection

A couple of observations on Memorial Day weekend. First off, up until I was eighteen, Memorial Day was always the 30th of May. At that time the federal government decided we needed some three-day weekends, four of them in fact. I'm still in the May 30th camp as are many others, however. 

Secondly, there are a lot of people who don't know the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. When Cuzzin Ricky and I do our tour every year, we only decorate one grave of someone who died in the line of duty. The majority of the men folks were veterans but no point in planting flowers in November here in northwest Indiana.  The weather is one of the reasons May 30th was chosen as the date, along with the fact the first Decoration Day was on the 30th.

And, many people just don't have the respect they should have for those who have given everything to secure our freedoms. Especially those in Washington. Our country is in serious trouble with no end in sight.

If you have a few minutes, follow the link to John Kass's Memorial Day opinion piece he wrote in 2022. Kass used to work for the Chicago Tribune and I used to read his columns when I subscribed years back. It's about the best viewpoint on Memorial Day you'll ever come across, in my opinion. Give it a look and remember the importance of the day.

Tree Planting

 

A couple of big skeeter looking bugs and a tree frog on the service door of the garage.

Frog close up. I was in and out of the garage but I used one of the big doors rather than bothering the frog. We get all kinds of wild things around here - animal, vegetable and mineral.

My trees showed up yesterday. The magnolia is a Japanese type - not sure what that means, but it should be pretty when it blooms. The outfit I ordered it from had a few other Japanese trees but the yellow one was sold out. That would make for an interesting addition to the other magnolias I've got in the yard. 

I got the magnolia and the cherry tree in the ground and cut the back yard. Sprayed some weeds and diddled around with some other yard work.

I went to the small engine place uptown the other day to get some fuel line for the trials bike but all they had was the black rubber rather than the clear. There's another place that should have it not too far from me. I'm going over that way this week, so I'll check while I'm in the neighborhood. 

Looks like it's going to be nice all weekend - yesterday was a pip. Going walking with my "tribe" today, and I've got some help lined up for a bit of heavy lifting. Feeling pretty good these days but I still don't have much stamina. It's taking me longer to get back in shape than I thought it would, but other than all the aches and pains from my self inflicted injuries, I'm not doing too bad for a guy my age and I'm real thankful for that.  

Shotgun

 

Getting back into a rhythm finally - meaning I'm once again tackling things with my normal shotgun approach.  I ordered a cherry tree and a magnolia while they were 50% off. It'll be a while before I have cherries but that's another reason to take care of myself. I also ordered some racoon & rodent repellent that should be here today. Even though I think I figured out how the racoons are getting in, I'll spray the repellent around for the mice and in the attic next spring for the 'coons.

I pulled the cover off the trials bike to get it back into the rotation. I did a bit on the wiring and installed a filter on the crankcase breather opening. I need to get some fuel line and a small inline filter, finish welding the mounting tabs on the gas tank and then have my buddy come by and see about getting this thing running.

And moving to another project as is my way, I need to figure out what I want to do about the muffler on the Jitney project. I bought an auger type insert for the tail pipe, but I want to dress up the end of the pipe. I'm thinking a fishtail might be cool, but since the tailpipe is 3" diameter the fish tail might be a little overbearing. I've been thinking about another design as well - I'll have to draw up a decent sketch and see how I like it.

Cuzzin Ricky and I are doing the annual Dead Relative's Tour today - planting flowers on the graves of all of our relatives and a few others up north. 

Sugar Magnolias

 

Magnolia blossoms that flower a bit later than the others. When looking at the photos both of the blossoms appear to be about the same size. However, the one in the top photo is actually about twice the size of the lower one. The lower one is much more fragrant, though.

While doing my yard work the last few days, I decided I need a pollinator for the cherry tree. The tree is one I planted from seed from cherries I bought while on my bicycle trip pedaling through Washington State. The Magnolias and a few other things I had purchased from Oikos, so I went online to see what was available from them as well as a couple of replacement persimmon trees . It seems they no longer sell trees though, only seeds. Looks like I'll have to look elsewhere. 

The garden is all in and the flowers are planted, so I'll just have to stay up with the watering and weed control. It rained really hard this morning, with more forecast for tomorrow, so I won't have to worry about watering for a couple of days, but it'll definitely make the weeds grow.

It looks like it's going to be a bad year for bug bites. I've already been bit several times by mosquitoes and chiggers, and I've pulled a couple of ticks off as well. Last year there was hardly a mosquito to be found. I hate spraying myself with bug spray. I don't like the idea of anointing myself with chemicals on a daily basis - just doesn't seem all that healthy. I have a screen door for the shop I made a few years back, time to get it out of the big barn and installed again.

I think I finally found how the racoons are getting in the shop, which is a good thing because they've done quite a bit of damage to the ceiling. I ordered some repellent that is supposed to work on 'coons as well as mice, so I'll spray up topside as well as down below. It has a peppermint smell that should be much more pleasant than the stuff the racoons have been blessing me with.

I've still have more outdoor stuff that needs work, but I'll be back inside working on projects as well. I've been back on the bicycle a bit and have started the fitness plan. Long way to go on getting back into shape where I want to be, but as my old pal Joey used to say, steady by jerks. 

 

The American Dream

 

The American Dream is a pretty hard sell these days. Going along with that is the following video from the Patriot Nurse:

I watch her posts occasionally and she always has something to say that's worth listening to. This one's about 16 minutes long but she puts some things in perspective that might be helpful.

The farmer showed up on Thursday and ran the disc over the front fields. That's a shot looking west from the mailbox. The grassy strips have gotten narrower since I moved in years ago. The previous owner wanted a wide green space on both sides of the lane. She also didn't want corn on both sides at the same time because it gave her the "willies" or something when it got up high. She and the farmer did shares on the rent, meaning the farmer would have to harvest the soybeans and take it to the elevator, then swap out the bean head for the corn head on the combine and do it again. We agreed to a cash rent and the same crop on both sides of the lane every year doesn't bother me at all. Made his life a lot easier and as long as I don't have to mow it, my life too.

Looking east from the deck yesterday morning. I didn't talk to the farmer, but I'm thinking it's about time for soybeans this year. From what I've been seeing, fertilizer is hard to come by this spring. It would make sense to plant beans, since they're a legume and legumes add nitrogen back into the soil the corn removes.

I planted the garden yesterday and some flowers, along with mowing the back yard. I've still got a little more flower planting to do but it's supposed to rain the next few days. Since those are from seed, I'll try and get them in as soon as I can so the rain will get them to sprout. I've got quite a few tomato plants planted. I might have to get the Missus to give me a few lessons on canning. Food preservation is going to be important in the future, I'm thinking, and going hungry is definitely not part of the American Dream.

Sportster Adventure

 

I got an email from Low Brow Customs about the Sportster off-road adventure ride coming up in June. If you click on the link you'll get the details and see photos from a past run. It looks like a lot of fun but I think my time for that sort of thing has come and gone. However, it'd be a lot of fun building an "Adventure Sportster". There's plenty of old Sportsters on Marketplace - buy one cheap, go through it and then go play in the dirt. I've done a few self-contained long distance bicycle rides, so I know how to pack light and what equipment to bring. Things like changing tires is a lot tougher with a motorcycle than a bicycle, and wrestling a 500 pound bike is a whole bunch harder than with a 25 pounder, especially for an old dude.

Surly needed a replacement pulley for a sander and couldn't find one that was going to be here in a timely fashion, but since he's a machinist, he made his own. Like a lot of things these days, you'd play hell trying to find someone to machine one, and if they had the capability, it would be cost prohibitive. Planned obsolescence might not have been the intention when designing or spec'ing out the original pulley, but there's a whole bunch of stuff out there you just have to toss out if it breaks. And if you're going to throw it out, no need for people with the skills and the equipment to repair it. However, I came across a place than can restore your project, whether that's machine work or making new replacement parts. I'm sure it's not the place I would go to for the old junk I work on, but if you had a high dollar project, they might be just the ticket. 

Hitch in My Get Along

 

I hooked up the pull behind sprayer yesterday to kill some weeds. Things were going quite well until I went to park the mower and sprayer in the barn. I looked back when driving through the door and there was no sprayer behind me. The hitch broke about 50 yards from the barn and that was that. It broke once before when I jackknifed the sprayer when backing up. I didn't do that yesterday, but it broke in the same spot again.

I welded the broken piece back in and then welded a piece of 1/4" steel to reinforce it. I can make the hitch strong enough it'll never break again but I don't want to make it so stout it'll twist the tongue. Hopefully, this will do the trick. 

The forecast called for chilly temps last night so I held off planting anything in the garden. I think I should be safe now to get the veggies and flowers outside. I've been reading a lot about the havoc the Iranian situation is liable to cause this year. In addition to the oil shortage, fertilizer is also going to be in short supply. And even if the ships started sailing through the pinch point today, it'll take quite a while for things to get back to normal - if they ever do. Good time to get your preps in order. No telling how this is all going to shake out.

Let There Be Light.

 

Not the best photo but the bright sunlight outside the window made getting a decent exposure difficult. The phone might have a way to adjust the exposure but I'm more of a point and shoot guy with a cell phone. I did turn on the flash which filled in the shadows a bit, but it would never make National Geographic. Regardless, the point of the photo is the fact I painted the windows on the north end of the shop and washed them. They would look better with a second coat, but this was the first time they've been repainted since I installed them years ago. Definitely brightened up the place.

In the top left of the photo you can see a hole in the ceiling. I cut the insulating board yesterday to replace a 4' square that has suffered some racoon damage. I'm planning on making a scuttle where the existing hole is so I can set traps for both coons and squirrels. Unfortunately, that's going to require a road trip since the lumber yard in town closed down.

The corollary to that of course is if all you've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 

The school where I started my teaching career is having a 50-year class reunion around my birthday - meet and greet the first day, reunion the second, and on the third day a picnic at the city park that is only a few blocks from where the high school was. I might go to the picnic just for the heck of it. It was a good job during some interesting times. If you've ever watched the movie Cooley High that'll give you a pretty good idea of what my school was like. Very fortunate to have worked there for my first four years. 
 

The Passing of a Great One

 

Mert Lawill passed away a couple of days ago. He was the AMA Grand National Champion in 1969 and part of the Harley Davidson "Wrecking Crew" back then. He was very successful with bicycles, designing mountain bike suspensions. He was also featured prominently in the movie On Any Sunday. And in my case, one of my personal heroes of the motorcycling fraternity.

Fortunately, I don't have to go back to work ever again. Yesterday was my one-year anniversary of my second, or third, but definitely my last retirement. I'll keep piddling around doing some work for friends and family, but that's because there aren't any welding shops around anymore or they don't do general repair work. Mostly, however, I do them just to keep my hand in. I spent a long time learning the trade and I want to keep my skills sharp, especially since I have so many projects of my own. If you don't use it, you lose it.

VW & a Rabbet, Not a Rabbit

 

I saw this yesterday while I was out. It's a Volkswagen ID-Buzz. According to the VW website it starts at $59,999. That's a lot of money but nothing comes cheap these days. It's a cute thing but I'm not in the market for a van, especially an electric one. If I was still working at the high school, I could recharge it by running an extension cord out back like I did for the block heater with the old Ford van. Of course, someone would complain so the order would come down from on high there would be no charging of vehicles on the company's dime. 

First cut with the new router setup. The angle is a little too steep, but I cut the rabbet pretty shallow to get a look at how it was going to work. Once I got the feel for it, it was easy enough to move along and get a nice cut. I'm going to shim the fixture some to change the angle. When it looks right, I'll machine it to the proper angle. Looks like about a 3-degree change of angle will do it.

Rain and cool temps lately - big storm came through Monday night and a little more rain yesterday. The grass is growing like crazy, so I'll be mowing the next couple of days along with some project time. I did finish the windmills. The pieces had been galvanized and vinyl coated, and the broken cups the bearings fit in were paper thin. Not the easiest things to weld, but just like the Mounties, I always get my man.

Router Fixture

 

Good day yesterday - chilly but productive. I left the house about 7:30 to pick up the flowers for "The Dead Relatives Tour" and it was just a little above freezing. The sun was out and it warmed up rather quickly. I had to pick the flowers up at the fairgrounds, which are only a short hop, skip, and a jump from Coach Jen's house, so we did breakfast. She's got a lot going on these days, so we got caught up on a couple of things, but it doesn't look like her and I will be involved with any boxing training together any time soon.

After I came home, I went to work on some yard work, walked the dog, put the finishing touches on the router fixture and then watched the Kentucky Derby - good race. Surly and I stopped at Churchill Downs when we took the sidecar trip to Eastern Kentucky about 40 years ago. Looking back, I've been really lucky to have done all the things I've done and traveled to all the places I've been to, both home and abroad. I've got a couple of places I'd like to visit this summer, including a Buc-ee's. I'm thinking my life just won't be complete unless I see one of those before I die.

The grandson is scheduled to come down today to help me with some chores. He's a big strong lad - just what I need since I'm not anymore. A couple of days should really help me whittle down the to-do list.