She did her solo!

Daughter #5 finally got to solo today.  She has been trying to for quite some time, but where she goes to school they have had a lot of wind and stormy weather (much like we have had here at the farm).  This afternoon, she went and no birds nest in the engine, no wind gusts, no lightening, not to hot....perfect conditions to fly.  So, she did and she got her solo in.

She is also a military girl,  so she was glad to get this done before she leaves for the US Navy.

We have a barn!!!!

You may remember from a previous post that the March tornado was not our friend.  Among the damage we had, was our barn.

At this point, the tractor was holding up the barn.  To remove the tractor a block and tackle had to be put in place.

Our county had so much damage that it took awhile to locate a contractor.  But, we found a good one, and he was local.
And, he started last week.  He did the demo work,  and framing, then we had to wait a few days for the metal to come in.

After the demo work.

Frame work

The metal is actually a perfect match in color.  It just looks different because it is so shiny and new.

Big barn door so we can get the big tractor back in the barn where it belongs.

Tomorrow, the electric co-op will come and set the electric meter back in place.  It was pulled after the tornado as we had live electrical wires everywhere.  The contractor has rewired and put in fixtures, but will come after the meter is in to ensure it all works.
Once I have lights in the barn, I will start cleaning it up.  Stuff is pretty much still where it landed.  Every time I went to the barn, I was hesitant to do much, as it moved when the wind blew and the roof was banging.  I feared it would come down on me.  And, with the end missing, wasn't really much point it moving too much as the wind would blow it around again.  So, clean up, then to install the security cameras and a couple more outside solar lights,and some stall work, and she will be done.

Now that all the damage is picked up, I can get around the barn to mow again. That will be a full days work.  We still have a load of metal to haul off as well.  We wanted to wait until it was gone in case we needed some of the old metal for patching.  Part of the old metal is going to be reused in another project.

We still need to replace the well house ( the old one also needs to be picked up and trashed-it is still under a tree where it landed).  Then, we want to make a hydrant house by the barn.

Not sure if we will get to the projects that were supposed to be this years projects before fall or not.  before the tornado hit, we were going to start on a green house in April and then our summer project was to be a lean to for the water tank.  The barn though did have some left over materials that will be put to use in the green house--part of the posts and some lumber for the framing.

Airlines want to take over air traffic control

This is from my daughter who is a pilot.  It is a copy of the letter she received from the AOPA

"This week members of the House of Representatives are meeting to discuss House Bill H.R. 2997, the 21^st Century AIRR Act, which would remove air traffic control from the FAA and turn it over to the airlines.
Please call your member of Congress at (202) 225-7041 and ask them to oppose HR 2997 and protect the freedom to fly. You needn’t provide a detailed response, just state your opposition to the bill.
Also, if you have not sent a letter to your representatives, you can do so here.
Privatization would cost tens of billions of dollars and airlines could dictate policy at the expense of general aviation and rural communities. Additionally, costs would go up for every traveler, and a privatized ATC would be inherently “too-big-to fail” resulting in taxpayer bailouts just as we’ve seen Canada and the U.K."

Now, giving the recent behavior of a few airlines and especially the incident of physically dragging a passenger off a plane, that the airline overbooked.....is that who you want in control of air traffic??

Should another 9/11 hit, I sure don't want Southwest, United, American and such controlling the air....

Lee Greenwood and the Army Chorus

Making electric fencer parts

This evening, when (if) it cools down some, I have to string another section of electric wire.

That should be a simple job, since the t posts, connectors, ground rod and fencer are already in place.  All I needed was a simple set of fence jumpers.  Of course, our local farm and feed store most likely carries them, but they are closed today.  We went to the nearest Orscheln store only to discover they don't carry them in the store.   So, I spent over $25 buying supplies to make them.  I could have gotten them online for less than $10 a pair, but we need them tonight.  Part of me (the part that worked for the telephone company for years and years) wanted to used old copper phone wire and scotch-locks and jimmy rig it.  But, the farm wife side of me said to do it right.  So, I did.  So, I had to purchase alligator clips, wire, tape, ground rod connectors, and spade terminals.

Here is what I made.  They were also out of green wire, so I had to use black, but I used green tape on it in several places to remind me it was really green.

I know I could have just made jumper wires from an existing wire to the new wire, but I want each wire to work independently of each other.  When you jumper them together, if one strand goes out, they all do.  I want each strand going to the fencer separately.  I don't want the entire fence to fail if one strand shorts out.

So if you are confused (or my dad, wanting to make sure I did this right) the red wire clips to the fence and the spade connector goes into the fencer.  The black wire (which in this case is green, hence the green tape) runs from the solar fencer to the ground rod.  And, my circuit will be complete.