An Old Friend Departs

I parted company with an old friend last weekend.

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My 1952 Ford 8N tractor left for a new home with Lawyer's Bro.  Ever since the New Holland diesel - with hydrostatic transmission, modern safety features, padded seat, power steering and cruise control - arrived, the 1950 and 1952 Fords have been sitting in the machine shed like a couple of hanger queens.

They've both seen plenty of hard work over the years.  And when they're running they're actually pretty reliable and easy to maintain.

Good bye old friend.  You've found a good home.

Learn more about the history of this venerable tractor here.

Parade of Bucks

Deer number six.  And the king of the forest...

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A Close Call

Wounded in the line of duty.  That's what happened to Sister yesterday morning.

Our routine lately is to get up early and get a bird hunt under our belt before breakfast.  Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not.  Either way the mornings have been sunny and crisp with a crunch of frost underfoot.

Labrador retrievers are hardly known for their discretion when intent to flush.  Girlfriend bears the scars of a barbed wire fence.

Sister now does too.

That gash beneath her eye was a close call.  A little higher and she might have lost an eye.

Cleaned it up and applied Neosporin.  She'll be fine.

And I'll try to keep her away from the line fence.

Parade of Bucks

Deer number five...

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Parade of Bucks

Boy deer number four.  Is that a half rack...?

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Parade of Bucks

Buck number three...

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Parade of Bucks

Buck number two...

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Parade of Bucks

Down to one trail camera.  In the last week a buck decided to spar with one of the cameras and trashed it.  Remarkably there wasn't even a picture taken of the mayhem.

In any event - here is the first of a series of pictures captured recently...

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Tired Labs Redux

It was chilly and raining the other day.  Some very pooped pups sacked-out in front of the wood burner.

From left to right...

Girlfriend, Sister and Gilligan.

Gilligan is staying with his cousins while his family is out of the country.

Practical Vehicles

A pair of odd but practical automobiles.

This old Willys sported four - count them - four gear shifters.

And this Corvair pick-up had a massive amount of space in the back for hauling. 

I never knew that the Corvair line sported a pick-up version.  The cargo box had a drop-down tailgate located in the rear and a big door that opened on the passenger side. 

Very practical.

Wisconsin Raptors

The king of the raptors.

The bald eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus - a magnificent bird that was almost driven to extinction as a consequence of DDT poisoning  this raptor has made an amazing comeback.

Hard to believe this woman can hold this huge bird with its huge talons...

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Scary post

I don't want anyone to think that I'm superstitious or anything but on more than one occasion my trail cameras have captured pictures of paranormal phenomena.

Yes.

Alien visitations and ghostly phenomena.

Just like this picture of a ghost that was captured recently...

Bow Hunt Interruptus

I went out this afternoon with my bow to see if I might put some fresh venison on the table. It had been threatening rain but things looked OK when I left the house.

From the Park Bench Stand there was a nice view of the fall colors to both the north...

And the west...

The tamaracks are in their full golden glory.

Back at the house as it's pouring rain now.  Time for a fire in the wood burner and a glass of red wine...

What Do You Do With a Leftover WWII Bunker?

Some of my readers know that The Frau and I recently did some traveling in France.  It was all good - the food the wine the people and the cities and countryside.

Part of the trip took us to the Normandy beaches and towns where the invasion to liberate the European continent occurred all so long ago.

The Norman countryside is blissfully pastoral.  Fields and meadows - none of them large by our standards and many surrounded by those infernal sunken roads.  Not only will you note cows and sheep grazing  - but from time-to-time you might also spy a vestige of the German defenses.

Like this machine gun emplacement in a cow pasture.

  
Of course, if you happen to have a substantial bunker on your hands and you have an entrepreneurial streak in your bloodlines then there is always this possibility... 

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Another Buck

Not sure if the deer pee is taking effect yet.

Nevertheless, a nice picture of a nice buck.

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Wisconsin Raptors

Red-tail hawk - Buteo jamaicensis - a hawk we see all the time around here.  As a matter of fact if you are driving up and down the highway this is the raptor you'll likely see perched on a fence post or road sign or tree. 

They're everywhere.

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Individual birds will vary in color from one-another with a wide variety of shades of brown, copper, chocolate, white and grey.

The Return of the Deer Pee

Since the deer are moving again I thought I might try my usual technique to get them to stop and have their picture taken.

Deer pee.

Who can resist deer pee.

I'm sure it will become more effective as fall extends into the rut - or breeding season - but you can never start too soon.

Hot VW

Here's a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle outfitted with dual two-barrel carburetors.

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Having had a 1967 Beetle I know for a fact that a dual carb set-up is a bitch to synchronize.  But when it works that boxer four will really hum.

This buggy had a couple of infant car seats in the back.

What's that all about...?

Wisconsin Raptors

American kestrel - Falco sparverius - formerly known as the sparrow hawk.  It's a falcon for sure and is murder on grasshoppers, small birds, mammals and snakes.

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This is a female - which has conspicuously different markings from that of a male.

Ferrari of the sky...

Nubbin Buck

Deer are moving regularly including this nubbin buck.  A deer in the headlights.

With some luck he'll grow into the antlers of his big brothers...

Wisconsin Raptors

Great horned owl - Bubo virginianus - is one of the most adept of hunters.  Known as the Winged Tiger this bird can live up to thirteen years in the wild.

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No wonder.  It is blessed with excellent hearing allowing it to hear the movement of a rodent underneath a foot of snow.

The trailing wing edges are ragged allowing a silent and deadly flight as it seeks its prey.

Those tufts of feathers (or horns) are not ears. 

They're just feathers.

1941 Buick Roadmaster

Among some of the most impressive of vehicles at the Sturgeon Bay auto show was a 1941 Buick Roadmaster.  This pre-war vehicle sported an eight cylinder in-line motor. 

Amazing.

You can learn more about how this thing worked here.

Nice Buck

Caught this pic of a nice buck over at the creek crossing.

The boy deer have shed their velvet by the time this photo was snapped.

1968 AMX

I wouldn't mind one of these on my new driveway.

A 1968 American Motors AMX.

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The AMX was the only American-built steel-bodied two-seater of its time.  Outfitted with a high-compression 390 cu in (6.4 L) V8 – it was an affordable muscle car competitor to the Chevy fiberglass body Corvette.

Driveway Almost Complete

The driveway project is about 99% complete.

Following the grading and paving everything is looking mighty fine.

All that remains is raising the grade of topsoil (or gravel) around the edges so everything is neat and tidy.  Fall is a great time to spread grass seed and straw for completing the finishing touch.

Bissen Asphalt did a nice job.

Silver Two-Seaters

A couple of classic two-seat sports cars.

A 1955 Porsche - just like the one that James Dean was driving when he crashed and died.

And a 1960 Corvette.

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Very nice!

Black Bear

I read in the paper the other day that the DNR confirmed that there were black bear tracks found on the east side of the southern part of the peninsula.

Not very far from us.

Wouldn't it be interesting if black bears became common around here?

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Just think of the possibilities...

Catch Me If You Can

Brother In Law and I came across a great deal of muscle at the Sturgeon Bay show last month.

Check this out.

Twin superchargers on a Lamborghini...

And a 1964 Chevrolet wagon with a 454 cu in motor.

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I said to Brother In Law - I wonder where you can take something like this to wind it out?

To which he replied - Probably anywhere you want since nobody's going to catch you.

Late Fawn

Beginning of September and this little fella still is sporting his spots.

And he's in a heckuva hurry too.









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1991 Nissan Figaro

Probably one of the strangest cars I've ever seen is the Nissan Figaro.

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According to the owner it was manufactured for one year only.  It was available in four colors: (winter) gray, (spring) green, (summer) blue and (fall) topaz.

Because of the huge demand they were sold by lottery.

A 1 L turbo engine cranked-out 75 hp.  It was equipped with an automatic transmission and was one of the first cars equipped with a CD player. 

Total production was 20,000.

Learn more about it here.