2025, animals, Business, dreams, Farming Update, pets, Seasons, Theatre

PICK AX BLUES*

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This weeks Farming Update from BEN

*I used artificial intelligence to give me title suggestions because I had nothing. I didn’t like its ideas, but it spurred me to this one.

Summer padawan and his girlfriend found a hen with baby chicks. Don’t know where she’d been hiding them. That’s the header photo. Kelly and the kids rounded them up and got them in a side pen.


It was a little chilly this week. We had 27 degree’s on Friday AM. I did finally turned on the heat in the house- meaning I turned on the circuit breakers, I haven’t turned UP the heat yet. (Well, we turned on one baseboard heater to burn off the dust and that set off the smoke alarms, much to daughter and Luna’s dismay…) I unhooked the hose on the house faucet. And Bailey even slept in her sink with the blankets. I don’t know, it’s just something she’s always done.

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Honestly, she’s not as pitiful as she looks here.

It’s cold in my theater shop; But that just means I have to work harder. Glad I’m wearing sleeves a few mornings.

I didn’t get much of anything done this week at the theater or the farm because it felt like I had a lot of meetings every day. I became chairman of another board, but that’s just a nominating committee and it’ll be quick and easy.

I got the three broken bolts drilled out and re-tapped for the muffler on the 630.

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Drilled out the old bolts, and cut new threads using this tap.

Now I’m just waiting for the stud bolts that I had to order. And I got a new bolt for the tongue on the wagon that I fixed. The replacement bolt was a little bit different and I needed to drill a hole in it to put in a cotter pin so that the nut doesn’t work loose and come out causing the tongue to fall off, which would be a whole big deal.

Marks on the head of the bolt tell you the hardness of the bolt. If it’s plain it’s soft steel, grade 3. And this is all different for metric, I’m just talking American bolts, SAE. (Society of Automotive Engineers also called US Standard or imperial). Three marks mean it’s a grade 5 and six marks mean it’s a grade 8. A grade three bolt will bend whereas the five and eight will snap and break. There again, information you didn’t know you needed to know.

Bolt markings

I had to re-sharpen the drill bit a couple of times to get this hole drilled through this grade 8 bolt.

Drilling a hole for a cotter pin.

This is what it looks like when finished.


Took the dogs to the vet. Humphrey, being 10 years old and having a sore leg, has been on aspirin for a year and he needed a checkup before they’d give him more aspirin. And all three needed all the shots. And then I took the trailer to save more big money, and bought thirty, 20’ lengths of rebar for the concrete. They make fiberglass rebar now, it’s cheaper and lighter.

In preparation for the concrete, I have finished excavating dirt so that I can put the gravel down as the base. I was able to use the tractor loader to excavate most of the dirt. Then shoveled along the wall and existing concrete. I did have to get the pick out for a couple spots. I bought this at an auction a few years ago. Glad to have it, and it worked great.

There was rain in the forecast for next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (Which turned into Tuesday, Wednesday and is now just Tuesday) depending on who you listen to. I am planning concrete Tuesday. The biggest portion would be inside so that’s not an issue but the whole reason I started this was the two outside slabs and too much rain is an issue for them. I’m trying to decide if I can somehow put a tarp over this or I should just reschedule for another day. And I don’t want to do that. I’m stressed about this and I have help lined up for that day, so I just need to get it done.

Although maybe by the time you read this the forecast will have changed, that’s what I’m counting on.

I’ve rented a plate compactor for the weekend to get the gravel base compacted prior to the concrete. I’m excited and scared about all this. Trying to think of all the little things I’ve seen done when they pour concrete. The biggest slab, inside the shed, is 19’ x 21’. The concrete truck won’t be able to back in there, so I’ll dump it in the loader bucket and drive that into the shed to dump it in place. And I’m adding a trench drain in there just to complicate it and make it more funner.

I’ll be glad when this is done. And smarterish.

Every now and then I have dreams about water. They say water dreams represent your emotions and it’s the depth and clarity that matter in the dream. Clear or shallow mean you’re peaceful. I’ve had dreams of a hose running clear water across the floor. Nice. Last night I was driving through a flooded street which I didn’t realize was flooding until I was pushing a wave in front of the car’s grill. Not sure of the clarity of it… yeah. I need to get this done and get this show open.

This time next week it will all be better.

ARE THERE SONGS ABOUT CONCRETE? OR PREP WORK, OR DIGGING? *

*I tried asking AI for questions, involving all this stuff but its questions were just dumb.

56 thoughts on “PICK AX BLUES*”

  7. Rise and Chair the Board, Baboons,

    (I figure the moniker “Chairman of the Board” is way better than “Dear Leader.”). We are manic song posters this week.

    I like this one, although concrete was not yet invented for Chain Gangs.

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  10. This will be considered “off topic” to the post to which it is appended, but it’s about WordPress.
    Last week, the clown in the oval office began a vanity project with great destruction. Taking my clue from that guy, I introduce the completion of my own vanity project, which has merely destroyed church music, the Revised Common Lectionary, and, perhaps, the Holy Bible. On Saturday morning I completed posting a series of daily songs to the blog found at http://www.aboksu.wordpress.com . If you connect to it and subscribe, you will receive a song every day, complete, in staffs, and with accompaniment (if you click to hear it). You’ll hear what I’ve done to church music, and note (if you’re aware of it) that the songs don’t match the liturgical year as found in the lectionary. As for my destruction of the Bible, as you sing you’ll be learning things that the authors didn’t necessarily intend. If you should attempt to do this, use a computer, not a phone, because the words are too small on a phone screen. Upon completion of the task, I got a note from WordPress that I have exceeded the number of scheduled posts that any of us is allowed. Only 400! At last, I’ve reached the pinnacle of SOMETHING.

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      1. I get the tunes,, all in the public domain, by the way, from smallchurchmusic.com I write the texts myself, mangling scripture both into the chosen tunes and into the meaning I want sung. It’s fun. I’ll probably burn in hell for it.

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    1. Long ago, I worked on a remodel of the Fargo, ND Teamsters hall. There was an old electrical conduit that I jack hammered out. There were a few members helping out. I stop the digging and said, “Jimmy! What are you doing here?!” They came over to look but didn’t like the joke.

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    1. I don’t have an exact identification of the father, but I’ve narrowed the suspects down to the six roosters that we have…

      Keeping the chicks in the pen with Mom makes it pretty easy. I did do fall chicks once, and it was just a little more trouble keeping the water from freezing or keeping them warm enough.
      In this situation it’s not too much trouble.

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  13. Just yesterday, I was having a conversation with the stucco guys. They’re working on my neighbor‘s garage, but they have to be standing in my yard to do that and I was doing a little yardwork. I’m not sure how we got onto the Great Halloween blizzard of 1991 but we did… so thinking about digging made me think about snow!

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  17. Ben, I want you to know that I really appreciate your weekend blogs. I don’t know shit from Shinola when it comes to much of what you’re talking about, and I’m always struck by the good humor with which you approach it all. You are blessed with an ability to roll with the punches, see the silver lining, and not taking yourself too terribly seriously. That makes life a whole lot funner!

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    2. I just sang this song to YA a couple of days ago when we were in the kitchen. I’m trying hard to remember why I thought it was topical. She said “I thought Monty Python was about knights and stuff.” I have clearly clearly neglected her education.

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      1. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! What’s that on the telly, then? Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It’s not particularly silly, is it – I mean the right leg isn’t silly at all.

        The larch.

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        1. Multiple times. But I’ve got 4 helpers
          Lined up for Tuesday. And I hate to get any more Into cooler weather.

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