How'd it go today?

Aaaaaaand now the clutch in the diesel has packed it in.

This winter is looking like a 50,000 dollar season in the shop! Glad I get to keep that money, instead of hiring the labor done, but sheesh, would be nice to do other stuff. Like learn how to climb trees with my kids!
 
Ouch.


Spent a few hours sorting brass, copper and aluminum. Scrap is way way down. :(

4th attempt in as many weeks at trying to get some ground help. Motor shop customer's girlfriend's daughter's boyfriend.
 
I've always admired you guys that can do your own work Jim.

Had the claims rep look at my truck today. Had an estimate I brought with me from the local shop for a new replacement. They just cut me a check in full for the estimated price. :)

Cover is ordered and should be here in a day or two.
 
It for sure helps Jim. My main concern is having something that locks and will protect my Bass from weather when I travel to play somewhere.

No deductible, so I'm only out the gas & time to get the check and have the new one put on. Won't match the color anymore, but I didn't see the need to gouge them for the extra expense.
 
I used to travel with a drummer that had a locking soft cover. We got all our stuff in there.

Kept the rain out pretty good, but would not trust leaving my stuff in there overnight. Thankfully we never traveled unless it was a two night gig, we just left our heavy stuff in the bar and took our guitars to the hotel.
 
The issues with me are being at a festival for a week and having a place to put the big stand-up (it takes up about 1/2 of my little camper), and the instrument case not being a hard case I can just throw in the open back during inclement weather.
 
Jim, it was 2 cylinders on each side. numbering front to rear it is 2&3 on passenger side and 1&4 on drivers side. Got the driver side injectors out and started flushing them, 1 and 4 had lots of crap coming out of them. Took the valve cover off the passenger side and found 2 bent pushrods. Snapped a bolt getting a bracket off that side, which is on a manifold bolt, so that manifold is now coming off too. Hopefully that will fix the exhaust tick anyway. Bright side and whatnot. Dad should have the driver's side cover off by now and we'll see what we find there. I picked jax up from preschool after lunch so Dad is on his own with the truck. I'll get back over there thursday.

Nice to hear the quick and easy insurance interaction , Dave! Its always nice when the insurance you pay for comes through for you the way they are supposed to.
 
well the woods where i've been doing TSI work in on and off for the last year is finally being harvested.

this morning i showed up in the old clunker, put on the chains and drove into the forest and started cutting over buckthorn and plum and honeysuckle.

looked up a little while later to see a processor coming over the hill.
fantastic machine.

then a sawyer named butch shows up (been doing this for 35years) with his 461
then another processor.

the skidder shows up tomorrow.

it's gonna be a f**king awesome week.
 
I'm risking sounding really stupid here but what is TSI work?
All that equipment is sweet even if it is frowned upon for many reasons.
 
Sounds good Rock.

I have some bad news for any of youse guys that were looking forward to a nice, wholesome, tasty, juicy, grain-finished, beef in about 18 months. There is officially one less calf to eat now.

Pulled a dead calf after picking up the kids from school today. Its head was down and both front legs were back. Took a lot of internal work, one handed to get it all straightened out in-utero!

Strange thing was I pulled out a couple of teeth from the birth canal, never seen that before.

Got the calf pulled out and it had a broken jaw. I guess she pushed so hard with the calf's head down that it pulverized the jaw.

I guess I have 330 more chances now!
 
Sorry to hear about that, Jim...poor calfy. How do you get the mama cow to not kill you when you are doing the in utero stuff?
 
Was given a break from ROW for almost a whole day. Went to do a residential job for the owner of a large excavating company that we do a lot of work for. 11 removals and one large lead off of a hickory over a road. Got half done. Six hickories remain as it wasn't bid to climb and strip. That and he forgot that he was to supply a loader and operator to help. Back to gas company ROW late in the afternoon to rig out a silver maple hanging over a house. Wasn't to bad. Put on a good show for the neighbors and made another big mess for another crew to clean up.
 
You ever see Crocodile Dundee? Just like what he did with the water buffalo, works on cows too.

Actually, we have a special head catch in the barn with removable sides. It is kinda dicey getting a cow in there if she is pissed. Seen Grandpa put through a fence before while trying. Works best with two people, but el wife-o was at a bull sale.

Grandpa designed and built the chute so he could pull calves inside and do his own C-sections if needed.

EDIT, once you get her in there you come from the side and make contact so she knows you are there. From the side so you dont get kicked.

Then you quickly dive in, usually up to your shoulder if the calf is all wonkey.

I asked grandpa why the cow does not kick when you do that. He asked if I could kick someone with an arm that far up my ass.
 
here's my splainin to do

TSI = Timber Stand Improvement.

my boss is a consulting forester as well as a private tree jerk.

when someone needs to harvest timber they call him and he marks trees for harvest and arranges a sale.

often the forest will need invasive species controlled to aid in forest regeneration after a harvest.

in even age northern hardwood stands it's considered best to try and open up the forest floor as much as possible to give the next generation of hardwoods a chance to grow true.

shit like buckthorn or honeysuckle or even garlic mustard (invasive) will leaf out before the oaks and walnuts and hickory and deprive them of sunlight and thus stunt their growth.

i'm no expert and this is to the best of my understanding.

day to day it translates in me running around the forest with a chainsaw or clearing saw and herbicide.
very nice change of pace.
 
I'm sorry to read about your calf jim, always hated losing calves when I still lived on the farm.
On a more positive note, the wife and I are happy to say we will be having another baby sometime around Sept. She says this is our last one. This will make number 6 for our combined number. Everyone is trying to curse me saying it'll be a girl but I figure my luck can't be that bad lol.
Since I quit working for the logging company though I've been spending a lot of time with my 2 year old (oliver) he seems to really like shooting birds and squirrels and birds with me.
 
Congrats TT what is your name if I might ask?

Jim, that's rough, sounds like you're sort of used to rough though.
But I know that farmer types can be kind of sensitive about that.
I remember one time, one of my dad's favorite nanny goat's got into some grain. Got bloated. He tried to save her by releasing some pressure with a knife poke, she died, he cried. I never forgot that. I was just a little kid standing there. I didn't cry. It even kind of puzzled me.
 
It bothers me every year August. I might go out some 30 below night and put a calf in the cab with me. Take the thing to the barn and put him in the hot box while I get some hot water to try and save his ears, feet and tail. Sometimes even put them in a bath tub. Or work for an hour to pull a dead one.

Bottle feed or tube him if he cant swallow. Work for days to try and save him. Sometimes win, sometimes lose.

Then after all that work you get to sell them so they can become meat. Its weird, I will put a cow to the ground with my favorite swinging pipe if she is killing her calf, then I turn around and take him to the sale barn when he is big enough.

Struggle with it every year. So, go buy a steak so I can feel better about what I do for a living!;)
 
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