Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

David, many of these plants were tropical, from all over the world.
sure hope all those pics didn't blow up your cell phones...

I found it interesting that the Spencer Turbine Company is not only still around but has been since 1892
but has now moved from Hartford to the suburbs in Windsor Ct. Employee owned and made in USA.

Spencer | Brands | Howden

Engineered blowers and vacuum systems at work around the world

www.spencerturbine.com

they must do some some unique projects for church organs. Can't imagine there are many new church organs still being built. Particularly not anywhere near
this size. There were three or four rooms enclosed in two inch thick glass almost 50 feet long. Two inch thick glass is surely not fooling around; suggests how powerful
this thing is.

Longwood Gardens is funded by the Dupont family all the way back, to when it was called Peirce gardens. Gardens of the very wealthy, made a huge amount of money
first in gunpowder and then in chemicals and plastic. They are building a new greenhouse/exhibition hall the size of a football field to be done in about 2 years.
Must be an almost unlimited amount of old money behind this. They consider themselves the number one garden of its type. A relative bargain at 27 bucks or so to get in; the Biltmore
in Asheville NC wanted something like 60 bucks to walk around. You'd better be throwing rose petals in front of me for sixty bucks...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Felt terrible all day diarrhea and fever of 100 wonderful just wonderful

Buppies, if it wasn’t for bad luck you’d have no luck at all. Get well!!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Drew, thanks for pics, they slowly coming in. I’d go just to see the outdoor railway. Did they have other engines besides James?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Remember Pearl Harbor!!

Roads already pretreated this morning, which made for a dusty white trip. Looks like chance of snow is now gone.

Sitting on the bike trying to catch mostly. I do have my work cut out for me. Wife is complaining I’m not peddling fast enough.

Dropped the 2nd LTE camera off to be returned. Think I’ll order the one from Verizon.

 

[PJSprog]

Drew, I had the good fortune to get to build and service pipe organs for about five years. Aeolian eventually merged with the Skinner Organ Company, and became the premier organ builder in the US through most of the 20th century, Aeolian-Skinner. Their instruments and pipes are still sought at great value. However, they eventually fell in the '70s to the same killer that gets pretty much every organ company; building a giant organ.

While working for Wicks Organ Company, I met a gentleman from Birmingham AL by the name of Barry Norris, who has over the course of many years turned his residence into a giant pipe organ. At 200 ranks (over 12K pipes), it's already considerably larger than the Longwood instrument, and he is still adding to it all the time.

The pipe organ is truly a magnificent instrument. And no, there aren't many still being made. They've gotten so expensive that most churches simply can't afford one. A moderately sized new organ for a moderately sized church will start anywhere from $300-400,000. Even a rebuild and modernization of an old instrument can run $100K and up. Most churches these days just go the route of a digital organ or the praise band direction.

I had a small 2-rank (134 pipes) organ in the living room of my old house. I bought it from a church near Perryville MO after they suffered tornado damage, and didn't want to take it to their new location. I spent a long time rebuilding it with modern wiring and new electrical contacts (it was originally built in the 1940s, and had all cloth-covered wiring). When I got married and moved here, my Wife's old farm house only has eight foot ceilings, and the case for the organ was just under 10 feet tall. So, I put it in storage and eventually sold it to a friend who is still building and servicing organs. I believe it's currently serving a small church in rural Missouri again.

Wicks Opus 1384 in my living room.


Me working on one of the four new wire harnesses for the pedal keyboard, soldering 128 horseshoe connectors onto telephone cables


The top board for the wind chest inside the case, getting new wiring for the electric valves that open to allow air into the pipes


I've been a pipe organ nerd for as long as I can remember. Owning one in my home, even if only for five or six years, was a lifelong goal met.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. 29F for the start, clear, light breeze. Wind stayed light, sky became mostly cloudy, and high temp was 53F, DP 30F. Puttered with old bike data this morning, then trimmed last set of bushes. They were in by far the worst shape. filled 50Gal trash can this morning alone. Bike ride and nap filled afternoon. During bike ride a work from home came out and we rode together most of my ride.
Covid update: Cooke 4231 confirmed cases, 32 active cases, Montague 2701 confirmed cases, 29 active cases, Grayson, 16,591 confirmed cases, 202 active cases. Cooke 4, Montague 1, Grayson 1, new cases.
Doug thanks for the update, good luck with electrician.
Drew hope you can enjoy your day
Bill enjoy your plowing
Drew the sad truth is medical people are human and can and do make mistakes.
Roy sorry about the Nor'easter, thanks for the reminder.
Ron hope you stayed warm today. nice jay pic
Mike that is one big wood pile. no wonder can't tell you have been working on it.
Eric some of the machines used to throw pumpkins resemble science fiction or Rube Goldberg machines, quite entertaining. Must be nice to have more than 1 woos burner
Paul good to hear ready for snow, chicken pot pie sounds good, apple crisp al a mode sounds better
RS are you losing ash tree to the emerald borer?
Don Thanks for the response and info on Omicron case. You got more rain than me out of that front
Ken pie sounds great, Dr story not so much, school threats yup out of hand.
Billy sorry about no rain, won't miss the Medicare supplement commercials either.
Mike thanks for links to the story, never heard it before.
Rich glad quiet day at work hope social went well. Quite the day last year. nice you had some good sleep to help deal with it.
Randy hope you got your motivating working.
PJ, kinda cool up there.
Dennis looks like nice bike
Rob stove looks nice sorry about supply issues
David that is some serious water
Ron nice work on stove.
Thomas glad skidder project going well. Pizza sounds delicious
Buppies sorry about diarrhea and fever prayers sent.
Drew great pics, glad you had good time! train layout looks neat as well
Dennis good luck catching me, my mileage resets to 0 in January.
PJ thanks for the story and pics.
Dennis who is that for
prayer for all, especially Jay/Peg, Kyle's daughter/friend PT from Covid, Bird/aging issues/, Don/whipper, more tests/ Grey 2, health /ring bearer/back broken & infections, Don/ neighbors with Covid, Randy/FIL living alone adjustments /MIL covid, /cancer surgeries, PJ/FIL death, Dennis /wife wrist surgery and recovery, Roy/ palpitations/ angina, wife/ankle recovery, Billy/ wife fall, David(moss)/remodel/divorce, Buppies/new cancer on face /lingering cough, Thomas/gout, Phil/reflux/wife's eyes, Steppenwolfe/son-auto immune disorder, Grev/wife's eye, Ted/knee recovery/retirement, Doug and wife/health issues/nerve and pain/ wife's eyes, Ken/aunt fall injuries, David(sadamo)/Sophie's new eye surgery, Ron/neighbor Covid issues, Chris/neighbor's granddaughter and Covid issues, RS wife/ dog bite recovery, Scaredy/injuries from fall, Paul/ wife's disc issues, Mike/elbow pain, and Country.
stay safe and healthy you all.

 

[daugen]

good morning all
up way too early, went to bed early was so tired.

forecast was for snow flurries today, still might get some, cloudy all day, high in low to mid 40's.

PJ, you are one very talented musician. Build it, play it, when do we get to hear you sing?...

more packages lost by Amazon, says delivered but weren't. I'm hunting a snowblower battery and those packages
today.

the internal fog is lifting, thank you java.

Buppies, hope you are waking up feeling much better.

 

[ronjhall]

Coffee is brewing. 21° with snow this morning. Heading to 32° with cloudy skies in afternoon. Snow will not be enough to get tractor out. Not much got done yesterday as planned. Will get out in shop and work on meters I was putting together a couple months ago. I need the bench space. for other projects.
Lots of these little Junco's at feeders this year.

Drew, great pictures of the garden visit. I was going to make a comment on how well Amazon has been doing with deliveries to my rural place recently. Got 2 same day delivery of orders Sunday and Monday. It all went downhill when I got a delivery email Monday saying a delivery was made to me and item had been handed to resident. When I filed a report they said I had to wait until thursday afternoon to file a report. Item did show up yesterday afternoon. 2 other orders that were supposed to show up yesterday never did. Amazon had a major internet/cloud shut down for Eastern section yesterday. Suppose to be back to working today.

PJ, interesting your working on organs.

Buppies, hope you are feeling better today.

David, hope rain stops soon.

Thomas, I always like it when projects go better than planned.

Everyone stay safe and healthy.

Good Morning All.

 

[RoyJackson]

2021-12-08, 0522

22° right now...high about 30°