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S64 Bobcat

Was thinking of getting chains for the bobcat for winter snow plowing and for spring feeding in the mud. Anybody here run chains? Do you run front and back? If you only run two, do you go front or back? Thanks

I go along with everything Lorenzo says. Let me add a bit. Remember, Australia is the same size as the lower 48 (maybe larger). You couldn't see everything in a year. I was there off and on for the better part of 2 years and only saw a small percent of it. (I was working and not a tourist so my time was limited to weekends) If you are only going to be there for a couple weeks, just focus on an area. You'll be disappointed if you try to see to much. If you are planning to drive to Ayers Rock, don't. Fly instead. If you try to drive the Outback be prepared for checkpoints and have the car inspected at check points. If you don't have extra fuel, tires, belts, water, etc you will be turned around. Coober Pedy is worth the trip if you have time. Because of the heat the town is built underground. Not much there, but very interesting. Speaking of heat, remember that the tropic of Capricorn goes through the center of the continent so it will be HOT depending on when you go. I spent time in Canberra. It is their Washington DC. A lot of history and museums if you are interested. If you are a sports person, you could take in a Cricket match or some Australian Football. Don't try to equate Cricket to baseball, it doesn't work. Australian Football is somewhat of a cross between soccer and rugby (I couldn't figure out the rules for it either.) Take in a Lawn Bowling game. Men dressed in their best white suits and the women dressed in full length white dresses. It's as much about tradition as it is the game. The Great Barrier Reef is a must if you have time. March is probably to late for the Sea Turtle hatch. Thousands of baby sea turtles scurrying into the ocean. If you are that far up the coast (the reef) Rockhampton is a must if you are a cattleman. I could go on and on. They were going to pay for my family to move there, but the boys were nearing graduation and wanted to graduate in the states with their friends, so I just flew back and forth. It's a 23 hour flight so you will get jet lagged. I learned that for me the best thing was to go to bed right away and sleep for 12 hours. Don't forget to bring home some Vegamite for all your friends. The beef is all grass fed, and every burger comes with beets instead of pickles. I always considered Sydney as their Los Angeles, and Melbourne as their Chicago. Brisbane (they call it the Gold Coast) is the rich and famous. the northern coast is rain forest. No different than the many geographic regions of the US. The food is similar but different but good. Everything is metric. 80% of the population lives within 50 miles of the coast. So once you get into the 'bush' it's wide open spaces. And don't forget.... they drive on the wrong side of the road. Enjoy yourself, you will want to go back. PS: The Opera House is a he** of a lot bigger than it looks on TV or in pictures.

YellowRose, I just got them from the local farm store. They are Agri(somthing) brand. Not what I would use in a feedlot, but for my small cow herd they will work fine. I'm using railroad ties for posts and 2" heavy gates. They are made for 2" gates and mount on the ties nicely using galvanized lag screws. I don't have easy access to drill stem, else I would have used the spring loaded weld on slam latches and would have built my own gates..

Moved the catch chute. Then adding an alley for a three way sort, or divert to the loadout. Adding slam latches on every gate so that one person can do a lot by himself. Doing this has me finding out my old back isn't what it used to be!!

Dewalt simply because that's what I have the most batteries of. Got a Porter Cable that the batteries last about 10 minutes (second set). Also a Menards drill.(so far so good. if it dies, I'll just toss it.) If I had to start over, I'd go Milwaukee. for the simple reason that "if it can be made cordless, then they probably have one" . They even have a cordless fence staple gun.

A class act all the way.... I remember one of her interviews when she was laughing and said "I costs a lot of money to look this cheap." You will be missed Dolly!

53 Mercury paid $60 for it. Flathead V8. Had to park it on the street next to school so I could roll it down the small incline to start it. Couldn't afford a battery. Heater worked just enough to keep you from freezing. Defroster not much better. Wish I still had it.

First off two things.... 1.) Never done this before 2.) This is to just look better not a restoration. I have an older livestock trailer that isn't used much. I'm making a list of winter projects and it fits the list. I'll put in a new wooden flour, re-wire, weld a little here and there, bushings in springs etc. Just kind of "fix up" stuff. But it's rusty and needs paint. Like I said, not restoration, I just want it to look better. I don't know where /what/how to start. I've got an HVLP gun but have never used it. I was going to go to NAPA, tell them my situation, and just have the sell me 'paint'. But not sure that's the best option. The wife said to just get a case of rattle can RustOlem and call it good. Can I paint over rust? I've heard yes, and I've heard no. I just need some direction, and thoughts from the experienced painters on here,

My brother who is a big time Case collector said the only one he knew was the JI Case page on YT .

My hitchhiking story was told by my Chemistry teacher in high school. He was an Iowa farm boy and after graduating college he said he wanted to see the world before he took a job and settled down. (he may have been trying to avoid Vietnam) Anyway, he said he was in Germany and was hitchhiking along a road where a farmer was baling hay. He said he jumped over the fence, walked out into the field and started throwing bales. The farmer invited him in and he stayed for a week or so helping farm. He couldn't speak German and the farmer nor his wife spoke English. He said when he let, the wife had mended his clothes, and packed a basket of meats, cheese, and bread for him to take along. It was an interesting story and he often spoke of it.

Off topic sorry.....Every Marine has heard of it. WWII battle. First Marine Division. Supposed to last a couple days, it lasted a couple months. Eugene Sledge describes his experiences there in his book "The Old Breed". It has been described as one of the worst battles ever fought by the Marines. Sorry, got off topic.

All my life, it has been "Combining". Picking corn... was when you used a 1 row or 2 row corn picker mounted or pull type. You put the ear corn in a "Crib". SHELLING was when the neighbors got together and helped each other shell. Always some older guy who had a #7 John Deere mounted on a '47 Chevy with a broken windshield, no muffler and missing the driver side window. Husks went for bedding, cobs either went in the 'cob house' to help heat the home or used to fill mud holes in the feedlot. (We had a cob room and a coal room in the basement. Cobs were used to start the coal burning in the furnace. Yes, they burn hot.) Never heard of 'Combining corn' referred to as 'Shelling corn' until I started hanging out with you guys. *grin* What do you call it? Is it called 'pop' or 'soda'.

What was political about a 560 with a turbo?

My neighbor told me about '36. He said they picked (by hand) a 40 acre field and didn't get enough corn to cover the bottom of a 60 bushel wagon. He also said a lot of the farmers let their fences down and just let the cows graze the crops and eat what they could. They butchered a couple of their hogs and sold the rest, there was no feed. (he passed about 20 years ago. I miss talking to him.)

UPDATE........Talked to my renter today. The truck driver is in jail. The DOT or Highway Patrol called the trucking company and they said they had never heard of the guy. What gives??? Probably not his real name anyway. He sent his Hazmat suit off for re-certification or whatever needed done and they wouldn't return it. They said it had to be destroyed and the volunteer FD did not had the proper disposal equipment. He said it was some sort of toxic solvent used in oil drilling(or refining). They told him that it (the solvent) needed to stay cool or it could self ignite. That's probably what happened. He got some of the stuff on his Hazmat gloves and it was disolving the leather, He was lucky nothing on his skin. Regarding the discussions about inspection....He said he got stopped and sat for two hours while DOT checked his truck (he was hauling his own corn) finally gave him a ticket for not having enough reflective tape on his mud flaps. He gets a ticket and this guy runs up and down the road endangering anyone who come close to that truck. Illegal employees is by no means limited to trucking. My old neighbor was a manager at the beef plant in Denison, Iowa. He would tell me stories about ICE would come in, deport these folks, give them a free ride (our dime) back home to visit their family, after their months vacation they would be back with a new name and a new drivers license etc. He told me once that one individual had 5 different names while he worked there. They just think it's a joke. I think it's been said that Denison is 70-80% Spanish speaking.

I've told the story about the "Werner" truck that went through the ditch, through a 5 strand barbed wire fence taking out 3 wooden posts, and ending up 1/4 mile into my corn field. Never found the driver, and I'm still waiting on the reimbursement check from "Werner". This was 15 or more years ago. Forgot to mention.... this was on a gravel road, 3 miles from a paved 2 lane and 15 from I-80. GPS must have said 'turn left' so that's what he did.

My wife's family has many that they inherited from her grandfather. Many date in the 1800's and a couple late 1700's. They have a couple problems. How to divide them among the 4 kids, and what are they worth. Some say sell, some say hand down to next generation, some just sit on their thumb. Because they couldn't agree on what to do with them, they were going to take them to a "dealer" and just accept what was offered. Thank god my wife and I talked them out of that idea. My thoughts were that they would be offered pennies of what they are worth. Agreed that some are probably not much more than face value, but I'm sure that some (18xx silver dollars) are worth more. I've offered to buy the whole lot to pass on to my kids and grandkids but no luck on that either. One of the siblings is (keeping them safe). I'm sure that by the time I'm gone and my kids are next in line, that many will have gotten lost. (it's a family thing) If they haven't already. I don't think anyone has taken an inventory.

https://missourivalleytimes.com/stories/semi-accident-shuts-down-i-29-on-july-11,62800 The young man who rents one of the farms is HazMat certified and was called to this. He ruined a $5800 HazMat suit fighting the fire. Hopefully he has no side effects. Now....!!!!!! The driver had NO drivers license from ANY state or Province. He had NO CDL. He could NOT speak English. And he just listed Canada as his address. First let me apologize to the truckers who are the unsung people who stock the stores and bring us our goods every day. But these other people that are driving up and down the Interstate Highways. This young man put it all on the line for what? The trucking company is as much at fault. Youngest son has said that 80% of the long haul drivers who come into the dealership for repairs etc. have no business inside a truck cab. The dealership (RDO) has even refused to service some of these guys. I could go on and on, but the more I type the more stories (examples) he's told me I think of and the more pizzed I get. I'll stop here. No offense to Sandhiller, WP, IHRon , or any others. I'm sure you have stories of your own. Rant over. gene

Daughter-in-law brought me an ice cream bucket of cucumbers and onions (the kind with just vinegar and sugar) Just enough sweet, but still make you pucker. I think I'll call the volunteer rescue squad and tell them to be prepared to come get me later. I'm gonna founder. The only thing better than cucumbers and onions, is cucumbers and onions, sweet corn and fresh tomatos. Now that will make your toes curl. MMMMM good.

Two local guys were killed using helicopters for spraying. Both hit power lines. Knew them both, as well as their families. One was back in the 70's. Survived two tours in Vietnam flying helicopters. Came home, started a spraying service, and was killed probably a year later.

Been hearing a lot about "Garlic" in cattle mineral. Supposed to keep the flies off. Anybody tried it? Does it work? Would be a lot cheaper and safer than the chemicals. Next time I go to Sam's Club I may pickup two or three restaurant size Garlic Salt and hand mix it with some mineral and see if they will even eat it. It may not keep the flies off, but you probably won't want to stand at either end while they are in the chute. *grin*

Love the Simmenthal cattle. Did I see a Fleckvieh in there? Mmm mmm. Oh, and the mountains are nice too.

Like everything lately, it went past us. Normal windy night, and not enough rain to register in the gauge. Things could sure use a drink.

But today of all days we need to remember what it means to be free....