Waking the beast

The Beast

Getting the beast running has been a high priority for me of late.  My neighbor Joey was able to identify that the starter was defective.  We struggled to get it out, but were unable.  Then a friend (Jonathan) with experience on this kind of equipment had some available time and was able to get the get those last two hard to reach nuts.  I think it take patience and forearms the size of a child.  You wouldn't believe the tight space into which the starter is mounted.

In any case, I took the starter in and had it rebuilt at a local auto electronic shop.  In the meantime, Jonathan replaced all the filters, changed the oil and serviced the entire rig.  This included adjusting the track tension and getting lubricant to the planetary drive and all the "bogey" rollers.  

In the process I learned how to prime the fuel line.  The beast has two fuel filters and when you change them it introduces air to the fuel line.  The process reminded me of bleeding brakes only more tedious. 

Business end of the Brush Cutter

Once we got it started we turned our attention to the attachments I had marshaled in our down time.  The brush hog weighs in at almost a ton, cuts through a 6 inch tree and spits out chips while clearing a 72 inch swath.   It has three blades that spin very fast and have lots of inertia with them.  The tip of a blade is visible in the picture.  It is a truly awesome tool.  

Root rake / Grapple

I also purchased a root rake/grapple for pulling up and transporting material that wasn't pulverized by the brush hog.

I hope this doesn't sound like whining.  This is not how I pictured retirement.  While I enjoy not having an office or job to go to, I am very busy.  Have not been fishing in a while and need to fix that soon.  I need to get the farm infrastructure established.  So far it's just land and there is much to do.  I think I had a mental image of me living a genteel laid back life, but I've been wrong about other things too...

Back from our recent cruise

We recently returned from a seven day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.  You can see the route below.  In all honesty, I enjoy the ship so much that I wouldn't care if we ever came to port.  

It's been about eight months since my last post.  I have many reasons but no excuses.  Since then we purchased ten acres of land and I'm working on turning it into a farm.  

To that end I also purchased a skid loader to do the beastie work.  As a matter of fact I call it my little beastie.  Here's a picture of a different ASV 4810.  Mine looks better, but I haven't snapped any pictures of it yet.

I ordered a brush cutter for it and expect it to be delivered tomorrow afternoon.



Our life here is SW Florida is a busy one.  Hope to get back into the blog routine.

Progress on the plane continues

I've been here in the Pacific Northwest since the first of June.  My number one priority has been getting the plane ready to fly.  Today, we rigged the rudder and pulled maintenance on the magneto.  The magneto had a cross threaded screw on the P-lead.  Don't know when that happened, but I'm glad I found it.  So last night with the help of a couple of chapter members, we pulled the mag off.  Then this morning I got some help fixing the problem and putting it all back together again. Because the Mag had been off completely, we had to re-time it.  That was a new experience for me.

We are making good progress and expect to mount the wings later this week.   There are just a few things to finish first.  Once the wings are on the plane it gets much wider and harder to work around.  Bob is in charge of all things electric.  Mostly that means lighting; landing, navigation, and strobes.  In addition there is an electric trim motor and and two servos for the auto-pilot.  Bob is also working on installing an antennae in the left wingtip.  It will provide the signal for the VOR and do it while hidden out of sight in the wingtip.

Here are a couple shots of Mt Rainier I snapped today.  The first one was taken about 0800 and this second was taken around 1800.

If you want to see any of these pictures full size, just click on it and they should go big on you.

Last Thursday we went to the Arlington Air show.  Right away we met these very nice people from Oregon; Ed and Marsha.  Their plane is very similar to ours so we hung around to see how they did various things on the plane.  They were very encouraging and we spent a lot of time visiting with them.Here is a picture of Bob and Linda after a lunch of beef brisket and  pulled pork.  It was poor planning to go on a Thursday as there were not as many planes to look at as there would have been a day later.  But we had a good time.

My buddy Boyd and I did some time on at the BBQ a couple weeks ago and his wife Pam snapped this picture of us.

My sweetheart will be joining me in a couple weeks.  I miss her and am looking forward to driving home together.  This is a picture I took the last time we went to Cayo Costa.  I think we'll take a couple weeks to get there as we are not on any particular schedule.  I hope to visit a few friends along the way.

Mid May update

I was going thru some pictures and came across these that I don't think I've shared.

I keep pretty busy with planting and such.  The weather lately has been wonderful; cool mornings so I can get most of my chores done before my shirt fills with sweat.  We have such refreshing breezes coming in almost constantly.  The forecast is for more dry weather.

This last Saturday we took the boat out to Cayo Costa State Park for the afternoon.  We invited a couple from our local church to come spend the day with us.  He is a commercial fisherman and his wife is a nurse.  He spends so much time on these waters that, his direction came out something like this; steer toward them trees over yonder...Turn left now to avoid the shallows.  

We met up with a neighbor who has been camping on his sailboat for a while.  Then we all took the tram to the West side of the island where we all took a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.  When we returned to the pier, my neighbor fixed us fish tacos.  They were very good.  This is a picture I took of them a they were making their departure from Bokeelia a about ten days ago.

Here is a tortoise that lives near us.  He just comes over to snack on our lawn.

I am fascinated by the way Pelicans look at you.  Their eyes are very intense.

This little guy likes to hang out in a hedge next to the house.  Not to worry; he is a friend and non-venomous.

 I snapped this yesterday as we were installing five Royal Palms across the front of our property.  These are fairly young and reasonable for handling and purchasing.  In a few years they will be tall and stately looking.

We have added four coconut trees beside the pond.  Whacked the line for our phone, TV, and internet doing the last hole.  Had no idea there was a buried line.













These are some red Lychees growing at a local nursery.

I know, it has been months...

I got a call from my friend Ed today.  I was busy feeding the fish in my pond and watching the turtle eat the food.  He's about 8 inches across the shell and maybe a foot long; the turtle, not Ed.  Anyway, he (Ed; not the turtle) pointed out that I have not updated this blog in months.  So, let me bring you up to date.

We moved to Bokeelia Florida in November.  Signed papers on our house the day we got here and moved in that afternoon.  The month that followed was consumed with outfitting the house with furniture, pictures, nick naks and such.  We brought no furniture with us, so we shopped it all thru Craigslist.  We had our back yard cleared of all the invasive species of trees now we are in the process of reforesting with fruit trees.  The clearing job took them about a week to finish.

Here you can see that there were many trees and they hid the neighbor's property from view and gave us lots of privacy, but prevented us from planting the fruit trees that Anh wanted.  

FYI, if you want to see any of these pictures enlarged all you have to do is click on them.

Before we began, you couldn't see the building or the airstream trailer on the neighbor's property.

We have not been sitting idle, although there are times I'd like to.  We bought some bikes and started riding them each morning.  In the process we met a lot of people and have made some good friends.  Miss 'Never met a stranger' has been meeting and networking with the asian community.  Our friends Mike and Susan have been kind enough to include us in a host of activities.  

Our neighbors across the street invited us to their church the second week we were here and we have been going there ever since.  I think it's the friendliest church I've ever been in.  

Here are a few pictures I snapped today around the place.  This is the boat we bought about a month ago.  It's just right for the inter coastal waters.   As it turns out, my neighbor Joey is also an experienced boat mechanic and has taken me under his wing.

You can see that all but a few trees are gone.  In the foreground are the banana trees I have planted.  All the trees we removed were chipped up and piled for mulch in the back corner of the property.  None of these buildings were visible when we started.

This view of the house from the West end of the property shows a Jack fruit tree in the foreground.   If you look close, you can see one of our ducks in the pond.

The pond was made before the house was built.  All the material that was removed to make the pond was piled up to build the house on.

This picture was taken from the South West corner and shows the fruit tree I just planted today and the palm tree that was saved during the clearing.

 This is a collection of herbs that Anh is growing.   There are a few tomato plants that surrond the pool.  You can also see a persimmon tree to the left.

If you look closely,  you can see that these two containers are full of fish parts and salt.  Anh is making fish sauce.  It is sitting on the deck of my boat so as to keep it in the sun and out of reach from critters.

We went on a three day cruise last Friday with Norwegian.  It stopped in two places; Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas and Nassau.  Anymore I'd just as soon stay onboard all the time, but went ashore to be a 'team player'

This is a shot of my first visitor from the old country.  Taken in January... :D










Here are a few odd ball shots from a visit to the Fort Myers Beach.

So forgive me friends if I have been remis in keeping you up to date.  Until next time.

WAR

Israel has been, and is now, under attack from Hamas in the Gaza strip.  Hamas has fired hundreds of missiles into civilian areas in Israel.  For this reason the IDF has to act to defend their country.

 Please pray for the peace of Israel now and in the days to come.

Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the enemy and protect the men and women who are fighting for the safety of Israel.  Cause the weapons of the enemy to malfunction and be ineffective.  Divert the missiles and artillery into areas where no one will be hurt.

Related news:http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=291954
Josh Levine's blog 

Loosing it

This morning I got up bright and early to take the van in for a check up.  They checked her vitals; heart rate, fluid levels, cholesterol; HDLs and LDLs, triglycerides, blood sugar, electrolytes, battery level... You name it, they checked it.  In the end all she needed was an oil change and filter.

Meanwhile, I hung out in the office and visited with the other customers coming and going.  There was a small space heater that made it the most pleasant place on the property.  It was an unexpected pleasure to see an old familiar face from my childhood.  We went to the same elementary school and lived near enough to each other to play as kids.  So we greeted each other and caught up on the high and low spots since the last time we visited; 1994.

He told me of his wife's recent death and his new grandchild.  I asked about his son Nickolas, to which he gave me a very puzzled look.  "Just who do you think I am", he said.  I answered without delay and was totally wrong.  My mind went racing trying to regain its footing.  It was something like the disorientation one experiences coming out of anesthesia.

How could I be so wrong?  I've known this guy for over 56 years!  It's not the same as forgetting the name of someone you've just met.  I know its not the end of the world and life will go on, but it shook me then and bothers me still.  Maybe this is just one of those things we have to expect as we get older.  I hope not.  I'd rather think that I was just off my game and hadn't had my coffee yet.  I'm gonna tune up my game and be ready for him when I see him again in 2032.  Gotta stay sharp for my next test at 82.

Is anyone else troubled as they look at the current events in the news.  I suppose only the unthinking are unconcerned.  It's a struggle for me to maintain the long view at times.  I look at the war that's brewing in Israel.  Our country seems to have lost its mind.  No apparent concern for the runaway government.  All the drama around our insane foreign policy and the new installment of sex scandal.  The world seems to be heading full tilt for catastrophe and (were I king) I'd be doing things differently.  As you know, I'm not now and never will be in charge of anything but myself.  This is a good thing.  So I continue clinging to my Bible and my guns.

We are just a week away from the start of our transcontinental trek.  Monday we start squeezing as much of our stuff as we can into the van.  Once it's full, we are ready to roll.  We're both excited about starting our new life in Florida.