Delta Dirt

Thanks to everyone for pictures and reports. Hope you are able to take one of those Cubs home for the Little Man-----Hammer!!! Really liked seeing the MDD (Detroit Diesel)------neat installation. I have always wanted to set a 2-71 into one of my M's. Impressive to an old codger down here in the Delta. How much hp was the 2-71 pulling?? Wishing everyone a safe trip home-----and keep us posted along the way. DD

Been watching Mader's flood reports-----hard to imagine. Wondering about Mt Matt (can't remember his location southwest of Mike and Gary)??? Hope everybody is OK out that way. Unless our mainline Mississippi River Levee breaks-------we are primarily concerned about a slow moving backwater flood in our local area. So throughout my farming and real estate career-----I have always been attentive to drainage flow and patterns. Have seen water run North, South, East and West---------but you can bet your money it is always running downhill. I am hoping for the best from this catastrophe. Hoping to pick up some of those gold and silver coins coming this way via the Missouri and then the Mississippi. DD

Tony--- I always thought those oil wells would make skiprow Cotton much more appealing. Two rows of oil wells and one row of cotton!!! DD

Thanks for the map Mader---- I would think there are some major course changes in streams and backroads out that way. DD

I presumed all of the flood pictures shown were on the eastern side of the continental divide-----looking on maps of Red Lodge, etc, it appears that Red Lodge is near on top of the Continental Divide. How much further West did the rain flush the snow pack off the mountains???. Would not expect the Continental Divide split off the rainfall?? Can still see small snow cap on mountain in background on Mader's last picture of of road to Emerald Lake campround. DD

How many miles do ya'll have on the big camper since new Tony?? Glad to see all of the reports coming in from across the country. Keep us posted with pictures!!!! DD

Damm---- I had some figures on pressure per square inch from just standing water applied against a wall . At 4 or 5 ft depth it was unbelievable. With the current pushing as illustrated in Maders first pictures ----psi would be double unbelievable. Think about the power that would be needed if pushing that rock down the street in the picture. Looks like the "operator" had some real talent to leave it that smooth!!! That Montana water will be heading this way------42% of U.S. flows down the Mississippi. We may see another high stage on the Mississippi. (just got low enough to plant soybeans on some riverside cropland nearby). I am located 12 miles south of Greenville----elevation 115/116 ft. DD

So ----LazyWP: How is the engine performing??? Looks like you are back to rolling at a steady pace. DD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON!!! DD

Ralph----- Good to see your 2090 in the field-----glad to see ya'll now making progress up there with all the rain. Yep----we gonna have to have some drone reports soon.!!! Lots of great photography from everybody up that way. I always enjoy seeing what is going on in other areas. Our planting season was wet and cold with everybody squeezing a little planting in between rains. Most everything got planted and came up on schedule. My tenant farms 4---4,500 acres. They bought 3 new planters for this year------new and big equipment can cover acres in a hurry. He called me one night to tell me they were planting 600 acres per day with the new planters. That's hitting the bull in the a$$ with a big axe here in the Delta. Wayne runs the big JD row crops-----plus 5 or 6 older 4 wheel Versitiles for disk and scratcher work. Sorry but no pictures-----been running slow myself and not out and around much. Crops here in local area are near excellent shape after coming up on schedule-----and then followed by timely rains. Soybeans are beginning to bloom. We should be harvesting by mid-August. I always said-----"better to be lucky than smart"!!! How many hours on the 2090 now?? Still looking good. Hop in the Loadstar and come on by Gary's "old codgers" thread. Hardtail gets by there occasionally. Good luck to everybody with the crops. DD

Do any of ya'll have a harness hitch available???? Wrangler sez he will pull me if I can get him a harness set up. Nothing like a friend's friendship!!!! It is not that I am running to slow----the world is just spinning too damm fast!!!!!! Good luck everybody-------keep on putting one foot in front of the other!!! (getting to be harder and harder to do over here in Mississippi) DD

One other commonly overlooked point on PTO shafts: The u-joint knuckles should be "in phase" with each other. Knuckle slipping onto tractor shaft should be in exact alignment with knuckle slipping onto implement g-box shaft. Out of phase will cause severe vibration as the implement follows over uneven terrain or is over lifted. Purpose of the flexible shaft is for one knuckle to slow down while the other speeds up in the opposite direction angle so the the speed on the output end of drive shaft remains constant. Worth noting-----the tractor PTO shaft and input shaft should sit in a near level plane with each other when working or in lifted position. Not a safety recommendation-----but cut the plastic safety shields off and grease often until grease comes out all 4 corners of the cross assembly. Good luck again. DD

All of what NoMoreJohnDeere says----in my the '60s and 70s, I represented Howard Rotavator here in the mid-south (pto tillers). Dimensions and geometry of the 3 pt lift for different tractors will vary from brand to brand. The Danger of telescoping too far and hitting the dead end of telescoping action is placing pressure on the implement and/or tractor PTO shaft. I have seen more than one tractor PTO shaft pushed back into the tractor transmission housing. Conversily----not enough engagement (overlap) of the male/female shaft will allow the shaft to wiggle---twist until the two pieces strip each other and possible disengage each other-----similar to a socket not engaging enough shoulder of a nut. Probably worth your while to try the middle hole just to see where you are. I always preferred the shorter shaft for strength. Good luck------keep her greased!!! DD

I am afraid my camera would not be clean enough to take a picture of the shovel nose engine!!! Think I will just stick with my AutoWagon. ******* What was the thought process at the time on the location of the radiator at the firewall??? DD

Very colorful Hammer------ DD

Thanks for the Memorial Day reminder Gary. Let's remember the boys that gave it all------along with the ones that suffered major wounds and amputations. There were a little over 100 in our USMC Reserve unit. Never was called for active duty----but we were ready. One night the C/O called all members up to the big class room on the double. We were just getting seated when Capt Ward walked in holding up a telegram saying: "men---I hate to tell you this; but we are activated. It was hot-----in the back of the room standing in the door; we immediately heard a huge k-flopp. Barfield had fainted and hit the concrete floor like a sack of wet potatoes. Activation and service in Viet Nam was definitely on everybody's mind. Turned out it was just a training drill and a sobering thought for everyone. DD

Professor-- Do you still have the steel wheel house moving wagon?? Used to be common to see houses being moved-----don't remember seeing one being moved since I moved Wrangler's barn in place--coming up 20yrs ago???? It was just a two room cypress tenant cabin----not near the size of Uncle Frank's house. Good looking wagon. DD

Nothing iz more evil than a damm Boll Weevil!!!!!! ********** Hay ya'll-------me and old Anson are still around. We just ain't been running no fast horse races recently. SLOOOOWW is the word!!! DD

All of this negative news on the scrap market makes me more nervous than when my bins would be full of unsold soybeans--------and the market would be locked down the limit. Noting that I have my 4 wheeler trailer loaded with 4--5 years worth of aluminum cans!!! We did get a little scrap iron moved from the shop yard. Funny-----how just 2 or 3 days later you want a piece of scrap that just caught a ride on the last truck!!! DD

NEWS FLASH just saw on Fox News that the steamboat NATCHEZ had a fire while in "drydock" for renovations in New Orleans. I did not realize that it was actually steam powered------sorry I can't post the news link, but it will show up in the news for you. Hope it did not harm the steam WHUSTLE. This news hit me like a sledgehammer------I love those old riverboats. Here is to you old friend!!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOO-----Whoooo----whooo!! DD

Good info for the curious Owen----thanks. DD

Looking back through Gary's pictures---- and noting the lit cutting torch: When did bottled compressed OXYGEN become readily available??? How wuz oxygen supplied before the high pressured bottles as pictured??? I am familiar with the "carbide generator" utilized for creating acetylene (?) gas. (wuz there more than one gas in the early days)???--------how about propane) I have a left over generator from my dad's days------will try to get a picture of it soon. uhhhhhhhh-------is the guy wearing a steam cap or a "cutter's cap"?? DD

Not much cotton planted as of now-----we missed a rain last night. Would think everybody that missed last nights rain will be running wide open come tomorrow. Time to get it in the ground!!!! Experts are calling for an increase in cotton acreage for '22. DD

Thanks for posting. Wuz born last week (Apri 26, 1943)----- just a couple of weeks old!!!! DD

Another "Leotis" story------relating to a Harley Davidson very similar to the Professor's 1953 model but maybe 4---5 yrs earlier. Color was near same green as the '71 GMC p-up. (I had same color in a plain jane version------was thinking I paid $3,000????) Anyway------Leotis and his older brother had bought this big Harley used and were excited all week about riding it into Hollandale "dis Satiday night". Well-----Satiday night come and Dub and Leotis draw there paychecks and leave out riding tandem for Hollandale (10 miles east via gravel road)----the gravel road is now paved state Hwy 12. Along 'bout 10:00 pm there iz a knock on the door and its Dub and Leotis wanting to borrow my dad's pick up to bring the Harley Davidson home. "If it's alright with Mistuh Anson-------we will leave the Harley Davidson under the equip shed tonight. Further investigation the next morning revealed that (as Leotis reported)--------"Miztuh Brothers---- we wuz low down crusin out there where the big gravel starts in the big curve where da old man lives that owns them big old RedBone hounds.........(whmmmmm (?)-----I could tell the story was fixing to get interesting!!! And Leotis swore the rest to be the absolute truth........nuthin but the truth::::::: the front wheel of the motorcycle hit that great big RedBone hound in the ribs------it sounded like a 10:00x20 truck tire blowing out--------the dog wuz in the air, the cickle wuz in the air, Dub wuz in the air and I wuz in the air. I passed the dog once, the cickle twice, and Dub three times. We all landed in a pile of rocks with the the dog and cickle on top of us.!!!! It wuz a helluva wreck------sure hope that old man dont find out who run over his big hound!!!!!! Luckily no one beyond the big redbone hound suffered serious injuries (his were fatal)----nd the motorcycle showed no serious damages------but the Harley Davidson set right there in the same spot under the equip shed for 4 or 5 years-------leaving a lasting impression on area residents. DD