Here we are - Nearly half of September is gone!

It is hard to believe that September is almost half gone! Here it is the 11th already! I have a friend from the USMC that got married on September 11th. Today is thier 25th Anniversary. He's in Iraq, his wife is at home. Five years ago, the attacks took some of the luster off of their special day, but not from thier marriage. He (Max) is SUPPOSED to get back sometime toward the end of the month or next. They are saving the celebration for when he gets home!

I've been working on a couple of projects lately, one especially. If you remember I found a set of old running gear (for a wagon) while cleaning up a lady's farmstead awhile back.

*** Scroll down, and there will be a photo of what I started with.***

I need it to get fence posts in the NEAR future, so I finally got to work on it. I also managed to salvage some 2x6 lumber from an old barn that was torn down (be fore they piled it up to burn). I made the wagon (or Hay rack) 8 feet wide and 12 1/2 feet long. I have about $6.00 into it total, and that was for bolts.

The worst part of this was changing the tires. All four of the tires were SHOT! They were all OLD implement tires, (6.50 x 16) and the rims were from 1930's or 40's vehicles. The front were 5 lug, but were a LOT wider bolt pattern than later 5-hole rims. The rears were 8 bolt but were also wider bolt pattern and larger hub (center hole) than modern rims. I was thankful that the rims, front especially, despite setting for who-knows-how-long, were in great shape! I aired up the tires and found they were so rotten, that the tubes split right through the tires! Two of the inner tubes were still good, so I was able to re-use them. I Usually keep my old tires when I get a new set. I happened to have one 235/70/R16 and scrounged the other 3. My neighbor has a tire machine, so I was able to remove/replace the tires for free. The only time I used the machine was to break the bead loose. I used bars to remove the tires from the rims, and install the new ones. The front two worked slick - I got them off, cleaned up the rims and popped the new tires and the tubes on. The two rears, however, were a tussle. I cleaned up the rims, but could only get one to "pop" onto the rim like it should. I FOUGHT the other for two days before I gave up on it! I found an older Ford 8 lug rim and "modified" it to work. It came with a tire on it, so my tire fighting was over (for now).

As for the deck, I found 2 13' 4x6 beams at a neighbor's house. It ended up that I got these for eggs and helping him for a little bit. I fastened the rear end of the 4x6 beams ONLY. The front ends need to be able to flex. I didn't have quite enough 2x6 lumber to make a deck that was solid, so I left a gap of 1 1/2" between the boards. It will be just as sturdy, but a lot lighter. The edges I covered with 2x2x1/4" angle from an old bridge rail. I also fastened a 2x4 underneath the edges to help make it solid. I even made the deck low enough so my wife can sling the bales while I drive the tractor!



I plan on building a removable back on it so I can stack against it.

We also lost a cat last week. A guy I know from High School was out with his dog. This dog has been a PITA (Pain In The you-know what) since I've known it. He stuck his face in the dinner of my wife's dad, marked all over our house (including my wife's favorite chair), ran head-long into a green block wall and knocked it 4" out of alignment, amoung other things. Pete (High School guy) thinks Buster (mutt) can do no wrong. Last Fall, Buster grabbed one of our hens. When he saw me coming with a club, he spit the chicken out and ran for cover behind Pete. My wife came out of the front door - Pete and Buster made a world record setting dash for the car and were down the driveway in SECONDS! The chicken survived the initial attack, but died that night. We banned Buster from getting out of the car. Pete, to his dying day, will claim that the chicken was at fault and deserved to die for attacking Buster! Buster, by the way, is part Spitz, part Blue Healer, and part guess-what. He's only about 15 times the size of the chicken. This "stay in the car" ban was intentionally defied several times right in front of us. If we told him to get him in the car, he'd get mad and leave. Well - last weekend (Saterday 2 Sept 06) Pete stopped by. He stayed in the car (untill he HAD to get outto chase Buster). As they were leaving, Buster jumped out of the open window, chased down a cat and shook it like a rag-doll. Pete's comment - "Buster know's what to do with a cat!". Buster got into the car after I beaned him with my cane and they high-tailed it down the drive. We brought the cat into the house to see if it would improve. It took it 4 hours, but it died of it's injuries. I e-mailed Pete and told him "DO NOT bring that dog out here again!". His response - It was the CAT'S fault! I told him that he needs to grow up and take responsibility for his dog. Pete is under the mistaken impression that everyone just LOVES Buster - when in reality - most people are putting up a front.

Anyhoo - I'll get off my soap box now!