I have heard of black walnuts being taken, large trees are very valuable on the lumber market. Around here, it is not uncommon to hear of large sago palms being taken. They are expensive and easy to dig up and replant.
Some cheek!
A few days after I moved to Grumble Towers, I thought that my next-door neighbours were having a new path laid. It turned out that thieves had been in the night, and stolen the old Yorkshire stone flag-stones!
There was at least one gang coming into my area for some time, and stealing stone. They'd
dig up the paving slabs on a quiet street, and steal stone from old walls, selling it on to richer folks who didn't ask questions. Leeds City Council weren't averse to doing the same either
LOL!
I very rarely eat citrus fruit anymore Gary, as the acid can be a bit much for my stomach. I am quite partial to the odd lime though
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It's always nice to see Cracker Jack, whatever the season Gary
At least the thieves stealing trees or stones have to work for their ill-gotten gains.
Jack, the gang you described had a "business model" that seems to have been adopted by the U.S. government recently.
Sorry the citric acid doesn't agree with your stomach, Jack.
Thanks for the Cracker Jack compliment.
...
We got any ex-dockers or longshoremen here, it used to be such a widespread profession, before containerisation? I bought this piece from a stall that sold vintage tools, but I think this is maybe a retirement gift or presentation piece rather than a tool
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We used a tool very similar to that while baling hay on the dairy farm where I was raised. But instead of a hammer head on the end of the shaft opposite the hook, our tool had a wooden handle fastened perpendicular to the shaft. The guy on the wagon being pulled by the hay baler being pulled by a tractor would hook the bale currently coming out the exit chute, use his other hand to grab one of the 2 twine looks the machine had tied around the bale of hay, and then carry the bale to the carefully stacked pile of bales that had come out previously. The hook made it easier to manipulate a bale to lift it to the top of a stack or swing it into position to keep the structure of the stack of bales stable. I imagine dockworkers might use your tool in a similar way as they handled cargo.
Thanks, Steve.
Gracious as always, Gary . . . Berry and I thank you!
You and Berry the Beauty are welcome, Jeff.
I forgot I got this TEW just before Christmas,took it with me shopping.
...
...
Handsome TEW, John; is that rosewood?
As always, clear and interesting photos!
I'm pretty sure it belongs to the thistle/artichoke family.
And
to the walnut theft.
We had some guys caught after the downtown tornado stealing walnut from the cemetery. And my old across-the-street neighbor reported a guy for cutting down a public walnut tree which the guy claimed he thought was on his land.
Thanks for the info, Jer.
Since my personal experience with black walnut theft was about 60 years ago, I did some googling, and apparently black walnut trees are still valuable today.
Good morning Guardians !
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That stag looks spectacular, Steve, even in the snow!
(I have the feeling that I already typed this comment, but maybe I just thought it when I first saw the photo.
)
That seems like a long time ago now!
I can remember many events that have occurred since that time, but the initial COVID shutdown sometimes seems like it was only yesterday.
I broke my favorite coffee-milk pitcher yesterday, but found this one in
Lake Odessa for $5. Duchess China- I don't see a country of origin, though they had it labelled as English.
It's pretty, it's the right size, and it pours very nicely. I'd had misgivings about the shape, but somebody knew their business.
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Nice pitcher, Jer!
Is there still an "antique mall" in Lake Odessa? I have a "gift card" from Lake Odessa antique place that I received the Christmas before COVID and I've never made a trip out there in the subsequent 6 years.
FC back in the pocket for today.
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Lamb of distinction!
Great grain, Steve!
Speaking of new words, I had to look up charabanc.
Which reminded me of a hayride when I was very young. It was probably something to do with cider or harvest. I remember being afraid of being bounced out of the wagon and under the wheels, but apparently I was clutching the deck boards the whole way, and muttering over and over, "Oh, this is bad. This is bad".
I hope you had more fun than that on your charabanc.
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Cool pic Jer
That word is rarely heard these days, and usually it's only used in jest, but when I was young, it was still in common use here
Interesting memory my friend
One of my early memories is of being at the seaside with my parents. They had hired one of those contraptions with 2 linked bicycles, and I was sat on the wooden bench between them. I slipped off the bench, and fell onto the road, which was fortunately quiet. I can remember lying on my back, watching them cycle away, before they realised I wasn't there
Great pics
I also looked up "charabanc".
I'm amazed at your recall of early memories, Jer and Jack!
The vast majority of my memories are "propositional", just mental statements that such-and-such happened. I have very few sensory memories in which I recall the visual or auditory or olfactory aspects of an event. One of the earliest visual memories I can drag up is me pulling our refrigerator in my red wagon across the orchard when I was 5 and we were switching houses with my grandfather because my Dad had officially bought his farm from Grandpa. That memory is obviously totally bogus!
Bobstag
Cool photo, Mitch!
Does the griffin on the hat band represent anything special?
... I have
L'Ariete in my pocket
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Your ram horn lamb is splendid, Jack!
Ram-a Lamb-a Ding Dong!
Love my avacados...this will take awhile before ready(
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Superb stag senator, Bob!
Your avocado looks like it has much smoother skin than the ones I sometimes buy for my wife. I like guacamole, but I'm not very fond of fresh avocado.
Good morning Guardians !
We are heading for a warm up with a chance of freezing rain this week
GL-24 to start the week
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Pretty lighting in that pic, Steve!
Afternoon Guardians high in the mid 60's today. Hope y'all have a great day
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Sweet slip with your GL-24, David!
- GT
I managed to get
danno50
's giveaway prize in the post, and picked up some shopping. Hope everyone else is having a good day 
...and I am a blond.
Tool Man sounded excited on the phone 
