Month: June 2019

The weekend forecast was for 48 degrees and raining at The Lot so I decided to stay home this weekend. In addition to the normal chores I decided to do some work on the Ford 8N and Oliver OC-3 tractors.

Now don’t roll your eyes… there will be a few bits from around the house and life in general as well.

Ford 8N

The Ford is getting a bit closer to operating condition. The leveler box I ordered arrived and was installed along with the 3-point hitch adapter and top link. As you might expect, the top link attaches between the top of the hitch adapter and the tractor and keeps the hitch from pitching forward or back.

The new leveler box is at the right-hand side of the hitch. The top link keeps the hitch vertical as the hitch is raised and lowered. I hope to test this arrangement by pulling the chipper around a bit this week.

OC-3

A few hours were spent working on the Oliver OC-3. One job I knew I had to do was replace the clutch linkage, as when I bought the tractor parts of the link were missing. I had ordered a replacement and now was a good time to begin that work.

The OC-3 has an adapter that goes between the clutch and the drive shaft that had to be removed. Once I had the adapter off I found quite a bit of dirt, old seeds, and even a few small stones that had found their way into the adapter and clutch assembly. What a mess!

After some scraping and several tanks of compressed air to blow out the crud, the assembly looked to be fairly clean. I was getting ready to reinstall everything until I realized the replacement linkage I had ordered (used) was missing a nut and washer, according to the OC-3’s parts manual. These are standard hardware parts but I did not have them on hand, so I came to a stopping point. I’ll get them on my home from work tomorrow.

Here are a few photos of this project so far:

It will be a long time yet before the OC-3 is in running condition but getting one of the many projects that need doing under way is a step in the right direction.

House

Pam has been busy with her Solstice card project plus working on the yard’s aesthetics by adding a few more flowers and greenery.

Pam added several more geraniums to the corner planter; due to cooler early summer temps than last year, flowers are thriving.

Another “Pam Project” has been putting together this year’s Summer Solstice cards. Using cutouts from catalogs and craft store stock, the [few] cards created are unique and bright.

Conclusion

So, even though it was an “at home” weekend instead of an “at The Lot” weekend, we both kept busy and I proceeded to Plan B projects. (There is always a Plan B.)

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

This coming week, I’ll probably start going through more of the boxes we currently have stored above the garage. How did we get so much crap up there anyway?

Happy Trails.

Last weekend (June 8 – 9) we made our first overnight stay of the season at The Lot. The visit consisted mostly of restocking The Box’s dry and canned goods, replenishing the linens that had been removed for winter storage, and getting a supply of fresh water.

Water

Getting fresh water in The Box’s storage tank is always a chore the first time each season. Water has to be hand-pumped from the community well and each round trip takes just over an hour. Two trips are required.

The storage tank hold about 40 gallons of water and the hot water heater holds another 6 gallons. With the water jugs I have, each trip will get me about 23 gallons. I use my home-built water transfer system (a 12 volt pump and two hoses, one for the jug(s) and the other for the water tank) to move the water into the storage tank. This not a fast process but works better than trying to pour the water from the jugs into a funnel to get it into the tank.

Weather

Saturday’s weather was terrific. It was warmer than expected, low 70s, but a breeze was blowing to keep us cool, even when in the sun. The blue sky was populated with white clouds, and recent snows had the mountain tops painted in white which made them really stand out against the sky.

Sunday’s weather was not so good. We awoke to a heavy mist and grey skies. This was OK with us as we had planned to return home fairly early in the day, this not being a “work” trip. Any moisture is always welcome at The Lot.

Aspen

At this elevation spring has just begun and the aspen had that “new spring leaves” look going, which is quite attractive. Young pine already have new growth on the ends of their branches.

A walk around The Lot revealed work to be done to remove some aspen that had not survived the winter. This happens every year as aspen are not long-lived trees; I generally begin the season by doing “clean up” in areas we had previously worked.

Walking through the area we call the aspen grove was an absolute delight. With all the dead wood gone a person can move unhindered through the area, taking in the sunlight filtered through the new leaves. We remarked to each other that young pine, some only a few inches tall, could now get the sunlight they need to thrive.

Plan for 2019

It became pretty clear that 2019 will be a tidy up year for The Lot. In addition to removing the trees that didn’t survive the winter, several smaller jobs need to be done.  These include consolidating the pine firewood I now have scattered in several piles around The Lot, finishing cleanup in one small corner of the aspen grove, hauling logs to a central location for processing this fall, and chipping piles of brush left from clean up efforts in 2017 and 2018.

Last year we harvested around 4 cords of firewood. This year that number will be more in the 1 to 2 range, just because we are moving higher into The Lot and the dead wood is not as thick on the ground as it was in the aspen grove. That is OK with me; my left arm is improving but still not 100% and I don’t yet know how it will react to very hard labor.

Conclusion

The trip turned out well. The Box is now ready for summer use. A plan of action for the summer has been formulated. Now I just need to get my chipper, trailer,  and other tools to The Lot to begin this summer’s clean up activities.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Hard to believe we’re almost at the Summer Solstice already. I sent out a few cards to mark the occasion.

Things are heating up on the retirement house search too, with a potential road trip in the planning stages. Stay tuned.

Happy Trails.

There is no “theme” to this post; it is the time of they year when summer its not quite here (aka working at The Lot) and our time is filled with tasks large and small and just doing “stuff.”

Packing

Last weekend Pam and I removed several boxes of items that had been in storage in the garage attic. Pam has spent several hours going through these boxes, repacking what we would like to keep, and throwing out things we no longer want.

There is quite a bit of “Kid Stuff” in these boxes including Legos, computer games, posters, and books. Some will be sent to the kids, some will go to a local donation charity and some may get sold on eBay. This is all in preparation for an eventual move to a Midwest retirement location.

Lawn

Last year we had our big cottonwood trees trimmed back in an effort to save it from a fungus that attacked that species. The tree is not looking good this year. I had to use my chain saw to remove several dead limbs. We decided any shade was worth keeping so the cottonwood will remain in place for the rest of the summer before we decide to remove or keep it.

To help offset that loss we planted a new tree, a globe willow. There are several of these growing in the neighborhood so I hope this one will take root and grow well.

Flowers

Some of our flowers are going great guns. Blue and yellow iris are in bloom and one of our columbine plants has popped out some red and yellow blossoms.

The yellow columbine, blue iris, yellow iris, and blue flax are adding color to the yard.

Last weekend we stopped at a home improvement store and bought some annuals and mulch. Pam has been busy arranging the flowers in the corner planting box.

Some red geraniums are in the planter and will add a spot of red when they bloom. The greenery in the background is hollyhock plants, budding out now and getting ready to sport a variety of pastels. When they do we will have the nicest corner in town!

Ford 8n tractor

In addition to helping Pam, mowing and weed-wacking the yard, and handing down boxes from the garage attic, I have been doing a bit more work on the Ford 8N tractor. I am hoping to use it at The Lot this year to move the chipper around to places I could not get to using the ATV.

I put in a few minor repairs to the air intake system but the bulk of the effort went into the “load leveler” box, part of the rear hitch.

The load leveler had one major function: plowing. With the tractor’s right wheels in a plow furrow farmers needed to be a way to keep the plow level. The right-hand hitch linkage is adjustable to make this happen. When not plowing, the adjustable link was used to make the drawbar level.

On my 8n the adjustable link was frozen (rusted) in the plowing position. If I am going to use the tractor for towing I needed to have the drawbar level.

After much work, including removing the link from the tractor, I was able to get the link to move only to find it is rusted beyond usefulness. Decades of sitting outside had allowed water to enter the threaded area of the link, damaging the threads beyond use. I now have a new link (around $50.00) on order and hope to get it next week.

The last, and major, project to do is replacing a leaking gasket. This requires removing the PTO shaft and dropping the hydraulic pump out of the tractor. The work is not terribly precise but is very messy and involves moving and lifting quite a bit of weight. It will take several hours to complete as once the pump is removed one must clean everything, and based on my experience so far, cleaning the pump and the cavity it fits in will be no small job. It needs to be done but I am not looking forward to doing it.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth

I’ve been watching news reports of the flooding in Iowa, first in Davenport and now in Burlington. The Mississippi River has been predictably high since the snowmelt started. So have other rivers in the state, which we saw first-hand during our visit in April. Something to consider re: the relocation.

It’s already heating up on the high desert. Bummer that. Fields is putting up blocking panels on all our skylights. It’s amazing how much heat comes in from the roof through those skylights. One of our cats, Velvet, will not be happy with this development, as she follows incoming spots of sun around different rooms for her naps.

Happy Trails.