Clever little Blipers

I thought I was safe simply cutting off comments and thus winning time. Didn't work more than a few seconds and a hillside scottish shepherdess had posted the first star....... and now I see a whole pile more have arrived.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!

I would like to open up comments but will leave it another 24 hours and beg anyone thinking of writing, not to go back over the last weeks of blurb. I will never catch up!  

Today just a very minor slow down in the fast recovery process of last 48 hours. Luckily managed to remember to reduce cortisone dosis (rather than abrubtly stopping) but think all the various reductions in medication and poisons are playing havoc with the system. At least one good size  (4mm) kidney stone popped out today.

Walk with the dogs in Ottobeuren, the weather picking up after getting a bit cool overnight with some early showers. Popped over to Dr Bulldog (Doc Tractor) who I haven't seen for ages.

Could have used the visit yesterday on TractorTuesday as he's a guarantee. So sorry folks, it's TractorWednesday too this week.

He was busy making the last of the firewood before spring activity starts at the golf course. I don't know how many (old timer) tractors he has in his various barns. Old timer means for him, they have to work. As is the case with the air cooled 3 cylinder Eicher 1965 38HP E300/B, "Königstiger"  or "Bengal Tiger". Eicher used animal names for many of it's tractor models.

To get around in the forest, Jürgen is having to use tyre chains - the ground is still so wet from the snow and the fact it never got a decent frost. I harvested totally unprotected carrots from our vegetable garden last week, in perfect condition.

Of interest to some will be the set up to the right of the tractor. The log saw,  belt driven by a (approx) 1954, 1 cyl. 4 HP Güldner "Hopper Cooling" stationary motor. Unlike the closed cooling system of most engines with a radiator, these old machines had an open system. Simply the evaporating steam out of the top was enough to keep the motor at a constant 100°C (at sea level!). Just need to top up the water from time to time. I guess nowadays you would hook up an electricity producing generator and use the heat to warm the house. In fact many of the motors were used as emergency electricity machines, for instance in railway signalling.

To get some idea of how much firewood he gets to work on, see a small selection of 1m logs stacked up against the building at the rear of the trailer.

Always good to see Dr Bulldog and no doubt some of his other machines will appear again this year.