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.