"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

RIP, Pope Francis.
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Modoc ED said:
Ya know Gary, the picture you composed with the knife and wonderful, cheery picture, of the Pope, along with the medals, is very tasteful in spite of the sad passing of Pope Francis. Thank you.
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Thanks, Ed. I picked up that memento of Pope Francis at the Vatican two years ago. I purchased the Zuava in Florence on that trip also. In my mind, they go together. I am very sad that he passed. It was terrible news to wake up to this morning. He'll be missed.
 
We had a flash flood tear through here the end of last August, and it deposited tons of rock & debris in my back yard. Thanks to the local Amish, and the army of local rednecks, the majority of the rocks were hauled off in the weeks afterward. The one dump trick driver told me that he & his buddies hauled 45 tri-axle loads of rock from my place & my neighbors place. He estimated 990 tons!

After things thawed this Spring, I got out with my tractor, front end loader, and landscape rake, and started the levelling process, and getting rid of tons of smaller stones. Being Spring, I had to work in between rainy & muddy days, but I finally got the last of it done, and grass planted yesterday.

Before: (That stuff is piled about 4' high.)
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After:
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Ironbut said:
We had a flash flood tear through here the end of last August, and it deposited tons of rock & debris in my back yard. Thanks to the local Amish, and the army of local rednecks, the majority of the rocks were hauled off in the weeks afterward. The one dump trick driver told me that he & his buddies hauled 45 tri-axle loads of rock from my place & my neighbors place. He estimated 990 tons!

After things thawed this Spring, I got out with my tractor, front end loader, and landscape rake, and started the levelling process, and getting rid of tons of smaller stones. Being Spring, I had to work in between rainy & muddy days, but I finally got the last of it done, and grass planted yesterday.

Before: (That stuff is piled about 4' high.)
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After:
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Looks great! :thumbsup::cool::thumbsup:
Did you keep a rock pile back by the bridge as a "memorial"? ;)

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Looks great! :thumbsup::cool::thumbsup:
Did you keep a rock pile back by the bridge as a "memorial"? ;)

- GT
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No. There's a stream that runs across the back & down along the side of my property. A lane runs past my house, and back to the three other homes behind me. They hired someone to replace the bridge that washed away. That was after all the big stuff was hauled away, so the guy had to haul in some ballast for around the base of the bridge. He had to pause work when everything froze up in November. They're able to use the bridge, but it's still a work in progress.:)
 
That's amazing! You obviously have a lot of really great folks in your area, to pitch in and help like they did! And you did a really nice job finishing it off! I think I would have just sat down and cried if I had been faced with that job.
 
Headwinds said:
That's amazing! You obviously have a lot of really great folks in your area, to pitch in and help like they did! And you did a really nice job finishing it off! I think I would have just sat down and cried if I had been faced with that job.
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Absolutely! The flood tore through here late Thursday night the last day of August. When the sun came up on Friday, I think everybody in the county who had a front end loader, track hoe, or dump truck, was on the road in front of my house, ready to tear into it. It took them all day moving dirt & rock, just to get the stream back inside its banks, then they showed up the next day to help clean up. Not a one of them would accept any money from me or any of my neighbors. The local Amish were here every day too.

Every time I think about it too long, I get a lump in my throat. I'm usually on the other side, helping others. Not on the receiving end. I'm a firm believer that when the s#!t hits the fan, it's better to have one redneck friend around, than twenty college grads. My educated kids don't like to hear that, but those have always been my feelings.
 
Time and again I've saw similar situations play out, both locally around me, and across this country. There are times it feels like the world is full of hatred for each other due to religions or politics or boundaries. But really when it comes down to it, the majority of humans are loving and giving towards each other, especially in times of tragedy.
 
Did you ever think when you bought the small Tractor that you would ever have to use it like you did ????? My wife and I had a good laugh about your sentiments about your kids and ours .
Take care my friend .

Harry
 
Old Engineer said:
Did you ever think when you bought the small Tractor that you would ever have to use it like you did ????? My wife and I had a good laugh about your sentiments about your kids and ours .
Take care my friend .

Harry
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I actually bought the tractor in September, after the flood. I have a 500' lane, that I have to plow snow off of every winter, plus the parking areas behind the house, and in front of the pole building, and using the snowblower was getting really old. I had been eying one that an Amish guy close by had for sale, but waited too long. Then this happened, and I went & bought a new one within a couple weeks. The cost of the tractor & attachments was probably less than what a landscaper would've cost. It's not a large one, but it's plenty big enough for the snow removal & the landscaping that needed done after the flood. Image.jpg
 
Ironbut said:
I actually bought the tractor in September, after the flood. I have a 500' lane, that I have to plow snow off of every winter, plus the parking areas behind the house, and in front of the pole building, and using the snowblower was getting really old. I had been eying one that an Amish guy close by had for sale, but waited too long. Then this happened, and I went & bought a new one within a couple weeks. The cost of the tractor & attachments was probably less than what a landscaper would've cost. It's not a large one, but it's plenty big enough for the snow removal & the landscaping that needed done after the flood. View attachment 2857687
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I love a good tractor story. My old Ford tractor long since sold off but still near and dear to my heart.

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Best thing I ever did was buy a small tractor with a front loader. Every time my wife gets a big idea about planting a tree or putting in a flowerbed or cleaning out the chicken coop, she knows how to run it. No more days of me pushing heavy loads around in a wheelbarrow for her honey-do list. I've got my own to-do list to attend to!
 
Ironbut said:
...I'm a firm believer that when the s#!t hits the fan, it's better to have one redneck friend around, than twenty college grads. My educated kids don't like to hear that, but those have always been my feelings.
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Hey now, some of us are redneck college grads!

Not directly related, but one of my good friends is an up-and-coming archaeologist from West Virginia. He grew up in a Depression House (online they are called West Virginia Homesteads, a New Deal project) in a coal mining family. I always enjoy hearing his accent at conferences because he is not about to hide his origins just because he has a PhD.
 
Modoc ED said:
I love a good tractor story. My old Ford tractor long since sold off but still near and dear to my heart.

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My son's favorite bedtime book for most of his life was "Grandpa's Tractor." He used to have me read it to him every night. He still gets excited whenever he sees an old Farmall tractor. He loved getting to ride with his Grandpa on his tractor (even if it was a Kubota). He was very sad about Grandpa not having a tractor anymore when we sold the vineyard (I was too. I don't think I'll ever be done feeling sad about losing the vineyard).
 
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