mike newman

......as my long departed Dad would say... "'...your eyes are bigger than your stomach"' ..I believe, friend Sandhiller ...that lttle bit of home spun philosphy would be applicable to you...as your dear lady placed your special ''grease trap '' bib under your chin and passed you the electric chainsaw and a bottle of BBQ sauce......and to keep it within the bounds of the thread topic...as your ol' Hound looked enviously on...... Mike (...sitting down to a light salad and perhaps a latte.....)

..yes...Alpaca's are farmed ...in small lots by ''small life stye block'' farmers...More of a 'fad' thing really, but the wool is worth a few dollars.....bit of a effort to remove the wool from the animal, due to its physical size.... ''Mohair '' is another ...this from Angora goats..very valuable..but again a bit finicky to shear... Real farmer's don't mess around with these sort of animals......we call these folk ''Queen Street "' farmers....city folk who immigrate to the country ...dress up like shop dummies...and wander around hand in hand like Hansel and Gretal did , as they gathered mushrooms ..or whatever they gathered.....* Mike *...Hans Kristian Anderson ...guess you folk over there had his tales read to you as kids ..??

...a bit late on the reply, sorry, Robert.....only Merino wool is worth anything today...It is very fine wool.... Merino sheep are specific to the High Country Stations....dry and high !! This year where I work on the Machines, the Stations sold 16, 000 Lambs ...The Lambs go at about 40 lbs carcase weight.....and are chewed up all over the world..including your country !! Mike

...now this little contribution from me....pales into insignificance amongst the many fine picture's from Sledge and others.......however, I chanced by a ''second hand '' shop very recently...and saw this 41/2 lb Plumb axe.....I immediately brought it..it has cleaned up very well....and I reckon 99% of its initial weight is still there....The handle is not original...but has ok shape and feel...and is tight in the head.... I realise for @MacAR...I should have given a Paul Bunyan pose......however, when I last saw Paul , (US 101 ??...I think.)..I looked like a circus midget compared with his stature....so gave that thought a miss.... Mike

Ace.....New Zealand has been a great ''dumping '' ground for many and varied products over the years...Great if you were / are into (old ) American rifles...although the Socialists have ''culled '' many fine old pieces ......There have been very interesting old vehicles sent to NZ, also..including an American "'Brush '' car..circa about 1911...(you know...the model with the wooden front axle......must get a picture of that...in a local car museum...)...Anyway...a lot of stuff was sent to NZ in the early days ....as it became obsolete in the country of manufacture....and no one was going to any traction by sending a complaint via ships then plying the oceans etc and asking for some vital part........Out of sight ..out of mind... The '' Mahindra '' arrived in the late sixties....looked ...vaguely..like an American Jeep circa WW2...total garbage......the kindest thing for any fool buying them , would be to toss it immediately into the nearest landfill......and '' put it down to experience''......as we are wont to say down under...when things go south .....Then the Mahindra tractors arrived....and the tears stated again.... I forget what they used for engines..back then.....India was building a copy of the British Lister single banger...either petrol or diesel....even those were hideous....No, Ace ..in a few words I am not big on Mahindra..... I guess today their products may be a lot better...they surely would want to be...and NO ..I had enough brains to run old American cars (RHD) in my feckless youth...never would have brought one of thse 4x4 things resembling the US Jeep....but some good working acquaintances did..in the Forestry Industry...to their fiscal detriment..... Mike

...mentioning that word ""Mahindra"' in the context of a thing to transport or shift people around .......will have the unfortunate ''Mahindra ''owners in New Zealand going into post traumatic shock....again.....and scrabbling around with twitching fingers for their tranquiliser meds and scatching around the empty Prozac bottles....... In fact to mention the word "Scout "" and then the word "Mahindra "' in the same paragraph is bordering on blasphemy.....Just sayin ' ''ceder farm''... Mike

Howard...I am ashamed to admit I don't know.....and to make this situation even more vague....I am darned if I can remember the 'slang' name for the twin sticks...as we knew them in New Zealand....The old blokes who punched these old trucks over our numerous hills had a 'name ' for any twin stick shift...and...I guess...because of the number we both share...I seem to have lost track of it...sigh I have pondered for several days...still can't come up with it...and I have to confess, I attended a reunion, last Saturday...."'Loggers of last Century "'....There were blokes even older than us, Howard ()...who had driven old F1800's and International's other American offering.'s....and I forgot to ask any of them...... I got caught up in seeing blokes whom I had worked with 40 plus yrs gone...I am not a great 'social ' person...never drink alcohol ...thus I don't ''socialize '' much .... I had a Mercedes Benz with a 16 speed Spicer box...with a typical 'Tuetonic " shift pattern...that was an SOB of a thing I will continue to ponder this matter of twin sticks..... Mike

photo #6 shows the skill of the old welder !!! Great job, Finney Mike

Happy BD Seth !!!

..no worries for the Kiwi peasants getting into Canada ...obviously your 'leader '' is ....or apppears to be, far more benevolent and understanding than his contempory below that border........ Mike ,,apologies to Jeff @sandhiller ,,for taking this thread ''South'' literally......

...just send a ''plan '' to @Sledgehammer of your required ''w'' shape....end of problem !!! Mike

Alan... are you questioning the integrity of your loyal Customs officers who gaurd the Northern Borders ...keeping all those unvaccinated deplorables from Canada....and other places ...coming down to enjoy the fruits , rewards, plus the multiple benefits for the displaced Socialist paradise vagrants....... of the booming American economy.....?? No , sadly , your suggestion was something we thought might work...but my unvaccinated Canadian domiciled Brother and family could not fly to New Zealand, recently, via the US as they had hoped to..No big deal....but again, could not visit US friends...... Thought of getting @td9inidaho to run up the border....which I think is about 60 miles from Mark's place.....chuck Daughhter and I into the car boot ..(ok ''trunk ''.)....and bring us into Bidenville that way...we would exchange some currency with Mark and be gone...however that would require some equally clandestine activities...and pehaps, Mark could also end up in Folsom Prison...so I guess that plan is shelved for the moment ......!!! Mike

Wow ..that was unreal !!! Thanks for that Ryan Mike

....blocked off for the Southern Hemisphere viewers... ....American (?) carnage must be inappropriate content for people of culture and refinement like us buggers...... Mike

...great pictures Todd !!!...I can still remember the odd Blacksmith shop...back in the fifties....long gone now .....makes me want to go and crank up one of three old forges between the Stations around here...however, on a recent trip into the local town, I scored a near perfect 4 and a half pound American 'Plumb' axe...with a non original handle...but an ''ok'' one.....Always pleased to pick up a tool of that quaility....I have a collection of good axes....quite a humble collection.....but I do not allow them to migrate to the woodheap....which causes some friction at times..... ''What is the point of having those good axes ...if we can't use them '' ???.....again ,such is life .... Mike