Some Radom Stuff

So if you have watched the news lately you are probably depressed...we have an unending stream of bad news and a gloomy forecast for whats to come and I just reject it. We just dont care to be a part of the doom and gloom crowd and so here are some happy thoughts:

General Dollar Store - We just recently found this gem in a nearby town and I am a fan. Not much of a selection but they have prices that make WalMart look like the Bon Marche. We always thought it was a cheap clothing store but they have a bit of everything and we found bottles of ketsup, soya sauce, mustard etc for $1.00, boxes of named brand cereal for $1.59, bags of dried beans for $1.00 etc. If your poor or on a limited budget or if you just like a good bargain...check it out.

Weather - its spring in the Ozarks and we are loving it...here are a few of our activities -

Planting onion sets...who cares about the protests in Wisconsin...

Judy has a new doo...to heck with the Oscars

Charlie Sheen?  Who is that?

No lack of employment at the farm. Judy and Bandit tackle some skunk holes under the porch.

What arthritis?

Two new raised beds....and nostimulous money from the Federal Government.

Its not a fence to keep out illegal aliens but it does keep in the horses and cows.

Hurricanes, snowmageaddan, tornados, flooding....nope....just some global warming we call spring bringing out the Daffodills.

And for the old man, aka dad, aka, super Doug, the never ending maintenance of the rolling stock continues.

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This bugger of an air filter has to be special ordered over the Internet and isnt available locally.

The Dixon has a pressurized oil system (26 hp Kawasaki engine) so I changed the oil and filter.

Took off the mower deck to clean it out, lube it and change the blades.

Should have done this last fall.

We had basically brush hogged with this when we first got here and it tore up the blades.

Lubing the mower deck. 

With Green Grease of course.

New blades...big difference.

The old blades were....in bad shape.

Put a notched belt for the starter on the Sears Suburban to keep it from slipping.

The idler pulleys had bearings that were dry and squeeling and of course we couldnt find any in the area that fit so I packed the bearing races as best I could and replaced the tensioner spring which eliminated the problem for now. Will probably have to order them over the Internet.

Replaced the spark plug with a split fire, greased the zerks, and the thing is a screamer now.

In the barn ready for spring mowing

Already using the tractor to turn the compost and do some dirt work.

Going to extend the wood shed out about 10 feet to cover the door to the wood boiler and provide some additional protection from the elements

We are experimenting with running the downspouts from the garden shed to some poly tanks which will be placed on a platform so we can collect rain water for watering in the back. Its worked well and we only need to purchase the tanks and build the platforms...just another project to beat the high cost of water.

This is where we will put the water collection tank on the porch side of the garden shed.

On the other side of the shed will be another collection tank.

Its spring which means the frogs are singing in Missouri...no frog shortage here.

Our contribution to particulate matter in the atmosphere ...no carbon credits here. Still, since Missouri uses coal fired power plants almost exclusively so we dont feel so bad. We are also gradually adding to our solar array and the pond will be aerated via a windmill...wonder how Al Gore heats and powers his mansion?

At the end of the day instead of worrying about the state of the state...we just worry about what we can control...TURN OFF YOUR TV and relax!!!