Above 1200 Sq/FT Out on Quaker Road

[Finallygotit]

I'm taking suggestions on names ....

Kiddos think Fred and Horton are good names

Brutus? Tiny?

 

[Boostingaz]

Jolly Green.

Green Bean.

Bambi.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Wow, what a great update, thank you!

 

[82355]

Four wheel drives are not real common around here, but are getting to be more so. That being said, most people that do have one use them on their grain cart, so no PTO is not common here. The bare backs always look strange to me when I see one. Makes sense in your application though.

Martin

 

[jblnut]

They were probably on the fence about taking the house until you sweetened the deal by saying “ok I’ll throw in the Christmas lights”.

The mover dudes commented on the lights as well

Names; Hulk, Giant (Jolly Green Giant) or JD..

I'm liking JD .... sort of a Scrubs fan so it hits home lol

Damn - beat me to that comment by a few hours . . .

Horrible things they are !!!

Me too! I was just thinking, now that’s a great way to get rid of those hateful things!

No kidding. They were put up in 2014 when we moved in. Surprisingly they still worked !!!

Brutus? Tiny?

My first thought was Bertha ... cuz she's a heavy girl .... Mama Bear gave me "the look" so I guess not lol

Jolly Green.

Green Bean.

Bambi.

Bambi works on a few levels. One of those opposite nicknames because it's not small BUT it is a Deere ... I like it ....

Wow, what a great update, thank you!

Thank you for the great comment !!!

Four wheel drives are not real common around here, but are getting to be more so. That being said, most people that do have one use them on their grain cart, so no PTO is not common here. The bare backs always look strange to me when I see one. Makes sense in your application though.

Martin

Funny stuff is the Steiger is going to NE to a farm to be on a grain cart. Neat.

 

[jblnut]

I've driven TONS of miles on ice and **** and have literally NEVER been stuck in someone's yard. This guy got so sideways he not only needed a pull up the hill but he was jack knifed so badly he literally couldn't move. I gave him the tow strap to attach to his semi while I hooked it up to the tractor and I **** you not he looped it over the TOP bar on his alum bumper and said "That'll work". Goodness. I hate messing with someone elses rig but I just couldn't leave it there knowing it'd tear his bumper off. Dumb. I hooked it to the tow hook under the front end where it should have been. Dumb. Good grief. He was delivering a full load of seed corn at a value of around $180k. Not sure I'd trust him with that again


Progress on the planter repair/upgrades/maintaince.


That rusty worn down looking thing in the center towards the top is a scraper that cleans the fertilizer disks off as they go around. They're $30 EACH ... so a set is $60 ... unless you also need the spring ... than it's $67. Mother Deere is doing Okay I think. Yikes.


Thank goodness this isn't a DB120 .....


This sweet kid is helping to her fullest extent !!! She replaced three sets of worn down scrapers and started putting new fert discs on. I know as a parent I'm supposed to be proud when one of the kiddos helps but I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear the entire time she was helping. I feel so grateful to have this large farm shop to do these things with the family. Literally the best money I've ever spent. They hang out up here all the time and jump in to help and I try my darndest to teach them whatever I can.


Miss Alyssa opened all those awful packages that Deere puts things in and saved me LOTS of swear words. She was so particular with each one laying the parts out just so and folding the trash up perfectly. Her and Lily couldn't be more opposites and it really shows lol\


When we got the planter all together Mama Bear got home from work and we had supper and played a few games of fooseball. She kept her big coat on in protest of it being "Only 62F" in the shop. Good grief


Grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch !!!


Mario Kari Wii for the win !! What better way to spend a Friday evening !! I'm getting old ...........


Walter the Freightliner is back FINALLY after many many thousands in repairs/maint/upgrades and Pops and I are going to get the flatbed extended to the full length of the truck.


Bye bye angled diamond plate deals ...


Not going to be easy to put pallets on here with those tabs sticking up ....


Grind em' halfway and SMACK the **** outta them the rest of the way.


No good reason for this pic other than it looks friggin neat !!!

 

[jollygreengiant]

I've driven TONS of miles on ice and **** and have literally NEVER been stuck in someone's yard. This guy got so sideways he not only needed a pull up the hill but he was jack knifed so badly he literally couldn't move. I gave him the tow strap to attach to his semi while I hooked it up to the tractor and I **** you not he looped it over the TOP bar on his alum bumper and said "That'll work". Goodness. I hate messing with someone elses rig but I just couldn't leave it there knowing it'd tear his bumper off. Dumb. I hooked it to the tow hook under the front end where it should have been. Dumb. Good grief. He was delivering a full load of seed corn at a value of around $180k. Not sure I'd trust him with that again

That reminds me of a story from my younger years back when I worked for my grandfather's crane rental business. We had been called in to unload some equipment from open top sea cans. The equipment in question was the pieces of those suspended work platforms that you see window washers using on the big skyscrapers. These loads in particular were direct from Italy (IIRC) and rather sensitive and not to mention expensive. Anyways, we get there and setup the crane in their yard and unload the first sea can. Everything goes well, and the first truck pulls away so that the second truck could back in beside the crane. Now this was a nice wide open, graveled, flat yard; there was barely enough slope to it to drain surface water. So you would think there would be no issues with the truck backing in right? Well much to our amazement, and the client's increasing horror, we all watched as this truckdriver proceeded to jackknife the trailer so hard that it was in danger of tipping over. As you can imagine this caused a bit of panic in the yard lol. The truck driver was quickly removed from the scene and the client stabilized the sea can while we moved the crane beside it to unload it. Amazingly we managed to get everything out of it without damaging any equipment and before any of the internal load straps broke.

Some people just shouldn't have a truck license.

Nice to see the little ones taking an interest in shop projects. They will remember those days for a long time.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Steering wheel holder is the correct term for that driver. No business behind the wheel for sure.

I had a great teacher when it came to driving semis (my dad) and have tried to pass on as much of that knowledge as I can, to those who will listen!

 

[Sifan]

So great to see your kids involved with the farm, you're making memories that will stay with them.

Safety first with the Kids, you don't want to answer to Mama Bear

 

[Sifan]

Guy from church hired me to work on his farm while I was going to college. Started at a whopping $1.50/hour, if it worked out after two weeks would increase to $1.75, you keep track of your hours and tell me when you need a check. Lunch was included in the deal.

The first lunch, when he went to wash up, his wife got in my face and said listen and listen well, he will be back in a few minutes... no matter what he has told you, your first priority is don't let him kill any of my three boys, your second priority is don't let him kill you, your third priority ... after protecting my boys and yourself, don't let him kill himself! Got that? If he wants to take the boys, I looking at you and you nod yes or no and I'll take it from there. Okay? Hope you like lasagna

 

[jblnut]

The ol' man basket sure does work well for a wood hauler !!


Had a busy day in town a few days back !!


-22F outside makes a foggy mess in the chicken barn .......


Good grief all over the place with this post .... Mama Bear said I needed some sneakers. I have a pair of Muck Boots for wet squishy stuff, flippity flops for when my toes need to be out and my Red Wing boots for literally everything else from doing chores to going to church. I told her I didn't need any more shoes and that I had enough of a selection already. These are the ones I bought. Seemed smarter than arguing.


Also went here for the first time. I gotta say this is some damn good food !!!


Picked up a box of goodies I ordered a while back ....


Three brand new blades


Chickens are leaving so I put all the chicken barn cleaning machines in the shop to thaw out. It was -18f outside ...... brrrrr ....


This green thing takes the top layer off of the bedding in the chicken barn and sifts any good shavings back to the floor to be reused the next flock. Some of the chains were getting a little loosey goosey so they required some attention.


First up was the chain that drives the beater up front. The beater, well, beaters the pooooo to break it into smaller pieces before hitting the shaker conveyor.


Next up was the chain that drives the shaker conveyor. I hit them all with some chain lube and a good thick coat of graphite spray.


This little guy drives the conveyor that brings the poooooo from the front of the hopper to the back of the hopper. It is so short that it hasn't had a chance to stretch much so I left it alone.


I had the water tank for the pressure washer filling while I was messing with the litter cleaner and I guess it got full. Thank goodness I have a floor drain !!!


Next up is Project Alter Walter. Time to get those ramps off the back and extend the flatbed.


Yikes and clean up some wiring .....


Got my new inspection sticker installed ....


I'm cutting apart the old ramps to salvage some of the tubing. It was a shade over $9/ft for new stuff so I figured I may as well salvage what I can. I don't intend to use the ramps for anything so they can donate back to the truck !!


Cutting up a piece to flatten out the frame in the rear ....


The one on the right fit perfect as that is the one I made the template from but the one on the left was off about 1/4". I never thought to check them both. Derp. Oh well. No one will see it once the deck is on and the rear skirt is bolted on.


I put some metal tubes in the floor waaaaaay back when I built the shop thinking they'd come in handy for exactly this one day. One of the rare times younger Mike had a good idea


There are floor pockets over there as well but the Uline metal stand did just fine for today.


Fancy metal clamps


That looks better already !! Picture a nice diamond plate skirt coming down to barely meet the lower bumper as well as a chunk behind the wheels to make it looks all snazzy. I've always liked skirted beds so I intend to give Walter a skirt .... huh. Sounds funny when I say that ... Oh well !!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I like the easy chair option as well! Is that the mother-in-law's seat?

 

[racer-john]

" I've always liked skirted beds so I intend to give Walter a skirt .... huh." It's OK if he is scottish. Lol.

 

[jblnut]

I like the easy chair option as well! Is that the mother-in-law's seat?

It was on the floor in the way so I tossed it up there which lead to me thinking it might be fun to put a couple couches up there and have a "hay ride" of sorts. Which lead me to looking on Craigslist for a kicker rack .... which lead to a phone call to a guy with a kicker rack .... which lead to my wife reminding me "NO MORE STUFF" ...... which is fair. I gots enough stuff around here.

" I've always liked skirted beds so I intend to give Walter a skirt .... huh." It's OK if he is scottish. Lol.

Well now I think it's forever going to be referred to as a kilted bed instead of a skirted bed. Thank you !!

PS .... no peeking under the kilt ..... you will likely see Walters driveshaft

 

[drivesitfar]

Fun stuff today. Yep I noticed the easy chair on the truck bed too and thought maybe the view was better up there or maybe you put there for the LITTLES to get up out of harms way. And so they don’t see walters stuff.

Bye chickens and hello chicks (in a week?).

Stay warm!!

 

[jblnut]

Fun stuff today. Yep I noticed the easy chair on the truck bed too and thought maybe the view was better up there or maybe you put there for the LITTLES to get up out of harms way. And so they don’t see walters stuff.

Bye chickens and hello chicks (in a week?).

Stay warm!!

Leo did sit up there for a bit acting like a king on his throne lol

Chickens left a week ago and I sure am looking forward to going on a trip. I bought some dark sunglasses and everything

I haven't looked at the forecast for the week we'll be there but I guarantee there won't be snow on the beach so I don't care how warm it is !!

 

[bugnut]

Do you have to be careful reusing the bedding? In the past, when I visited animal husbandry operations, clean footwear always a priority.

If your house/home is like most, when momma says spend money, she is always right. New shoes, or whatever!

This green thing takes the top layer off of the bedding in the chicken barn and sifts any good shavings back to the floor to be reused the next flock. Some of the chains were getting a little loosey goosey so they required some attention.

 

[jblnut]

Do you have to be careful reusing the bedding? In the past, when I visited animal husbandry operations, clean footwear always a priority.

If your house/home is like most, when momma says spend money, she is always right. New shoes, or whatever!

While cleaning the barn anything goes but once chicks come it's full bio security stuff in force. Different shoes, pants and shirt and shoes/boots need to be dunked in some nasty sticky orange stuff to sanitize them before entry into the barn.

I have to admit after putting some miles on them last week ...... they're okay. I got back home and put my Red Wings on to do chores again and yeah, I like them much better lol.

 

[cvairwerks]

Cane's was smart when they set their menu up... Only choices are how many fingers and if you want them on a bun or not. I get a couple pieces extra of the toast when I go by there.

 

[jblnut]

Cane's was smart when they set their menu up... Only choices are how many fingers and if you want them on a bun or not. I get a couple pieces extra of the toast when I go by there.

I thought the same thing. Simple and quick to order. How many and what sauce. The toast was amazing for being dried bread with butter lol

 

[cvairwerks]

I thought the same thing. Simple and quick to order. How many and what sauce. The toast was amazing for being dried bread with butter lol

Wish I knew what was used to spice the butter up, as it's good. It's not honey or almond, and I don't think it has any cinnamon either.

 

[bugnut]

Canes is good stuff, but they can keep the bread. I trade it out for extra fries! YMMV

 

[jblnut]

Wish I knew what was used to spice the butter up, as it's good. It's not honey or almond, and I don't think it has any cinnamon either.

I had to look it up when I got home after having it and it's just butter and garlic salt .... so basically just fancy garlic bread !! Doesn't seem that simple though ....

Canes is good stuff, but they can keep the bread. I trade it out for extra fries! YMMV

Only having been there once so far I can just say I thought it was all good. I do enjoy garlic bread though and this stuff was great !!

 

[jblnut]

Kiddos wanted to come help with chores. Who can say no to that !! They popped a squat on a gate and watched the cattle for a while. Good times !!


The cattle like Miss Alyssa. She stands very still until they come grab some hay and then giggles like crazy when they eat it out of her hands. Love it !!


Fresh shavings were delivered in the chicken barn ....


60yds in each half of the barn filled it up quite nicely


Look at those neat busses with snorkels !!!


Mama Bear and I had the opportunity to go to Punta Cana for a week and we didn't say no to that !!!


A bit of a switch from the snow on the ground at home .....


We got stuck in the back of the resort looking that the neighbors


We stayed at a Secrets in Cape Cana and to say it was nice is a great understatement. All inclusive including room service and everything !!!


I didn't get a picture of it but just to the right of the picture is a swim up bar. Fun fact: If you have too many adult beverages you'll feel great until you start climbing out of the pool .... at that point you'll become instantly drunk once you're belly button comes out of the water. So I know that now


Just wild the way stuff is down here. I was very out of my element .....


Damn big lake .....


It tasted at good at it looks !! Mid afternoon snacks


Last sales year we did well enough that we qualified for a very reduced rate trip down here with Golden Harvest. They had a HUGE beach party the 2nd night we were there.


I snagged the pillow on the right and brought it home



Moments after this picture I jumped in the pool .... moments after that I was told the pool was closed for the night and needed to exit


One of the bar tenders asked if I wanted my drink smoked .... Uh what ??


I don't remember all the stuff that was smoked but I know one of the things was cinnamon ..... this was amazing !!


Drank it before the smoke left. I tried it before and after the smoking deal and it was noticeably different. It was really good !!


We went on a catamaran and went snorkeling and swimming .....


Looking at all the palm trees I couldn't help but wonder how well they'd burn in the wood boiler


One of the days we went on a custom tour of the island that our room assistant dude hooked us up with. We told him we wanted to see a coffee operation, a couple farms, the Basilica and some local shops. Boy oh boy did he ever deliver !! This is a small family run coffee farm and they did everything by hand yet. We bought some of the coffee and chocolates they make and it is amazing stuff !!!


You can tell it doesn't get real cold here as this is a water line



All kinds of neat vegetation here !!


A rather neat back yard.


What am amazing Basilica !!


Built in the 60's and is almost complete concrete. Neat stuff !!


Tons of palm trees surrounding it !!


We went by a few sugar cane fields but didn't have time to go to the processing plant. Oh well. Maybe next time lol


Hibachi grill at the resort the last night we were there. This was quite the experience.


Nice little electrical setup by the beach at the resort


Found a tractor


Boarded our return flight an hour late


Missed out connecting flight by 5 minutes and had to stay in a dingy hotel in New York. At least the airline paid for it all so it wasn't all bad.


About to land at MSP. Almost home !! Whoo hoo !! It was a great trip but I was all smiles walking though the shop and barns when I got home. Feels good to be back.

 

[XJSuperman]

I recently got to visit Mexico (shich looks very much the same as your pics). The utilities down there are astounding compared to what we're used to up here. For both climate and "other" reasons lol. Lots of wide open stuff that we tend to cover up. The coffee operation sounds like a cool thing to check out.

How much sand have you found now that you're home?

 

[racer-john]

We went on a catamaran and went snorkeling and swimming .....


I built a plug and moulds for a similar Cat back in the day.

 

[racer-john]

Thank for the pics, I am jealous.

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, looks like you stayed in a beautiful place in Punta Cana. How was the ride from the airport? We visited the Club Med Punta Cana in 1986 and the trip to the resort was an adventure in itself. Club Med was 'Some Stuff Included,' with free box wine and home style buffet meals. I think we also had to work our *** off for those meals. Either I had to pull something out of the water for dinner or somebody was pulling my leg. Then again, my memory of 37 years ago is sketchy. We might have been having fun. I do remember it was a really beautiful place to visit. It was also close to home so we packed for the same weather.

 

[Sifan]

Townie Girlfriend/Wife couldn't believe the noise level of 50 steers munching on corn!

I had a new pair of muck boots for her, she didn't want to get them "dirty" I had to piggyback her across the barn lot to the barn and back.

 

[Sifan]

Over the years, Mrs and I have received several "free" trips/cruises from companies. Nice extra perk for doing the job you're supposed to do Nice thing about it, 90% of the trips, we never would have gone on with our own funds.

I say "free" because we always found a way to spend several of our own $ on a "free" trip.

 

[RickP]

Your trip sounds like a lot of fun!
Punta Cana looks like a perfect place to visit in February.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Good times!
Very happy to see you and mama bear out having some fun without the kids.
I'm a firm believer parents have to take care of themselves before they can take care of the kids.
Now you get to watch your new tan fade away, thanks for sharing.

 

[Seagoon]

At least he didn't show us his tan lines!

 

[madison069]

Good lord what a coincidence! Me and the wife is going to Punta Cana for our 10th anniversary this summer!
She is a Spanish teacher and is very fluence in the language, so I'm sure she will be talking to the local while I just listen for my name as I keep my glass full! We are staying at the Excellence Resort there but your pictures looks very similar to the photos online for the Excellence so it's probably the same setup.

Oh and i got us a room with a private pool so hopefully they don't tell me it's close!

 

[Jayman17]

At least he didn't show us his tan lines!

Yet!

 

[Bob Heine]

Mike, I didn't do due diligence but have discovered the answer to my question. The road to Punta Cana was built by Colgate Palmolive and the Punta Cana airport was a joint venture with Club Med. The airport opened in 1982 and there were very few resorts back then. There were none in sight in either direction from the Club Med beach.

The first all-inclusive place we stayed was the Hedonism II on Negril Beach in Jamaica (there was no Hedonism I). I expected the liquor to be cheap so I brought my own bottle of Johnnie Walker Black. On my first visit to the main bar I noticed the top shelf behind the bar was all high end liquor so I asked how much extra would a Johnnie Walker Black cost. Bartender told me it was included and when I asked why the bottle was so high up he said it was to let people know those brands were available. Ninety percent of the people at the bar were asking for fruity drinks with umbrellas so the bartenders were thrilled to see me approach the bar for a 'no work involved' Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks. The second day at the resort my drink was waiting for me at the bar seconds after I got up from my chair. Every bartender at the resort knew the one-armed guy as "Johnnie Black."

 

[jblnut]

Back from vacation Sunday around noon and chicks come Monday morning at 8am. Back to reality in a hurry


Project Alter Walter is well underway !!!


The first real test of the welding table is a success. Sure is nice to be able to casually put an 8' flatbed chunk on it


Big Green is home !!! Filled er' up with fuel and it took quite a while. It's got a 270gal tank


Run what ya got is the theme of the next few pics


Ya know .... this little jig saw did really really well !!!!


Three 3ah batteries and one broken blade and it's done. All in I think there was 12' of cutting.


Diamond plate top done !!


Gotta leave a hole for the gooseneck ball .....


This is not going to be the piece but it was close to what I was picturing so I put it there for a visual


Rusty piece of diamond plate that I've had around for a while is just begging for a new home !!


This thing will make a man out of you


It does a great job though !! 10min and both sides were cleaned right up.


Oh that looks nice


Gonna make that attached with some button heads


Miss Little wanted to help tap holes so we tapped a hole to make sure everything was working well.


I tapped holes in the rear piece of tubing and Alyssa chased them with a new gr8 bolt.


Yeah ..... I like that a lot !!!





Got the first pieces primered and almost ready to be installed ...


I got this for myself for Christmas and finally got around to using it.


This is going to be sooooooooooooooo nice !!!

 

[Mr.zippy]

I appreciate the updates! Love seeing the kids working…….farm kids are blessed! Even though they may not realize it yet…….

 

[Sifan]

Yeah that ^ When I was hiring people, farm kid, newspaper carrier, babysitter got an interview every time.

 

[jollygreengiant]

You should tell your JD dealer that they missed topping up the fuel tank when they did their PDI.

Flatbed is looking good! But with the back closed in like that are you not worried about road salt sitting on top of the steel tube pieces and rotting it out?