Before and afters........ not as much as Gregg but enough.

 

so my ragged 52 yr old butt is digging out again this morning and two laborers come buy and we strike a deal......they made $75 and my back doesnt hurt so much.....that was the best money i have spent in a while.


i love those pictures of GREEN

 

so it was the first hot day of summer last year.....the kids break out the little plastic pool for playing in.... after looking at them for a while i said what the hell that looks like too much fun

 

Okay...okay...I know what I said..."no more photo's from me"....but, as I was out clearing the drive and walks, I heard a SWOOOOOOSH! Thankfully, it is my neighbors and not mine....I am still very concerned about mine though....never say never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Stay in tune...

 

Skydog is an Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Blue Healer! She was a she, now she is just a lil' biatch! LOL...but she does think she's wolf ....as long as the prey is running away! So with Squirrels she is a wolf....but when the tabby does a 180 she turns from a cattle dog to a chicken dog!

...and were digging...and shoveling...

 

I bought mine to drive! Luckily we only got 8 inches here in TN and I only have about a 20 mile drive to work.

 

So hear in beaver co. Pa. we got 22 In. of snow fri. nite into sat. morn. I got up got ready and went out ot shed got tractor running hit driveway and started to plow snow very slow but it is ok all of a sudden tractor stalls push into shed bad coil!! well gotta do it by hand 4 hrs later done went to parts stor got coil got tractor running agin but my back is still up on jack stands still!!!! Old age sucks.

 

If they dont salt the raods down there, then this is not much worse than getting caught in a rain storm. Was the rear end slippin' all over the road?

 

Here's one from Fatwood Manor. Taken a little after 3 pm on Wednesday, you can see the little tip of the kids' ruler showing about 11.5 inches at the time. For a while, it looked like we were going to go racing straight to 2 feet or more, but in the end, it stopped at 16 inches. So far, the only major damage we have is the chicken wire cage I built around our vegetable garden to keep the squirrels off the tomatoes collapsed.

 

Obviously not in the amount that the Mid Atlantic states got but Dallas got a record snow fall yesterday of 12.5 inches! According to the weather forecasters, this was a record amount of snowfall within a 24-hour period since records have been kept down here. With not a snow plow within 500 miles (or more possibly), we just have to wait until this melts (which should be next week sometime ).

Although I only measured about 8 inches at my house (a wet, slushy snow that is great for snowman building), this is what it looked like this morning before I cleaned the driveway and sidewalks.

A very quiet peaceful morning.



A scene of our backyard.



The Vettes all clean, warm and dry!



And our dog Abbey. I wonder what she thinks about this stuff!



Enjoy! John

 

oldie but a goodie...




If you're tired of anemic, one-lung snowblowers with their slipping drive belts, you might consider Kai Grundt's V8 snow blower which raises the bar on the traditional snow blower in every respect. With electric start, electric block heater, antifreeze heater and eight cylinders, it has no drive belts to freeze up and you'll never get bored with the job as the 454 cubic inch big block Chevrolet V8 produces 412 horsepower, 430 foot pounds of torque and can throw snow 50 feet at just 3500 rpm.

Nor will you get cold as the machine has been ingeniously designed to route the engine coolant through the handle bars, with the rear mounted, enclosed radiator keeping the operator nice and cozy.

Maneuvering the massive beast (it has a total wet weight of 912 lbs) is a breeze thanks to the hydraulic-drive 4WD skid steer on independent walking beams which offers a zero turning radius. It's also as fast as you like, with an infinitely adjustable speed range on the drive wheels via dash mounted flow control. At the opposite end of the scale, it has more than enough torque to pull your car out of the ditch before the hydraulic motors stall!

Adding to the well-balanced feel of the unit, just 15 pounds of down force on the handlebars will lift the auger blade off the ground in order to climb stairs/walkways for ease of snow removal. Safety has and continues to be paramount with spring return to center "fail safe" type directional controls with emergency stop and tether cords.

Safety is one of the key themes, with a flashing blue light (as required by law in many areas) being the least of the safety features. No-one will fail to hear you with those twin throaty exhausts, which come standard with 92 decibels at the controls, though if the rumble of a V8 exhaust is music to your ears, you can obviously go much louder. Even at the standard baffling, hearing protection is strongly suggested.

The powerful yard machine lights and a dashboard with backlit gauges complete the package to ease the burden of this normally reviled task. The custom 42 inch, two stage auger has a Chevrolet 10 bolt truck differential with spool and a centrifugal auger clutch with shear pin protection, further adding to the image of this "automotive theme blower." As each unit is custom-built, optional extras for the snow blower are both diverse and outrageous as the base unit - there are unlimited auger choices from single to multi stage designs and various motor combinations to suit the religious preferences of the customer (Chevy, Dodge Hemi, Ford) and such exotica as a V-10 or a diesel engine or remote starting can be accommodated. And if, after a while, you feel you've outgrown the 400 horses, this particular engine is well catered for in the performance modification area, with Lunati camshaft, Milodon Gear drive, Holley and Edelbrock components to name a few, and there's always the fuel injection option too, if you feel you need to throw the snow out of the county or ensure your seat in the "neighborhood blower blingster hall of fame."



Personally, I like to shovel...

 

I will now be looking for a good deal on ARIZONA land!!! I hate the cold and snow is for polar bears.I took 9 days off and could not get to my shop at 12:00 noon today I told my wife were going to FLA to pick up vette parts and when I get back I am going in the shop one way or the other. I am on a mission. Baltimore to Orlando and back non stop! I guess you could say I have had it ,or I've lost it????

 

Hey 69 rag....Please remember..... that the snow will melt and our hard and trying time's here shall soon pass. Thats not to say its been a cake walk. This year has been historic...so try and keep that in to perspective.

To add insult to injury...today.... I had to clear my back pad, side walkway, and my neighbor's driveway and walkway. Well, my snow blower just said uncle! Its gone!!!!!!

I hit some ice and it ripped the outer caseing from underneath....I tried in vain to repair it.... just to get through the day...but all my attempts failed. So, I just did it all the old fashion way... with the shovel.

When I was taking a break and realized that the cost to repair it, add in new blades (she was on her last legs to begin with, but still ran well and always started on the first pull) it was apparent that it was toast.

So, I put a "FREE" paper sign on it and rolled her down to the bottom of my court to the main drag...threw it up on top of a 6 foot pile of snow and within 5 minutes it was gone!....I shall miss her...she did a hell of a job for the time and monies. Come spring / summer....I shall purchase a new one...or try to get my neighbors running. But, for now....it will be the ole 10B method of snow removal for me.

Stay in tune....

 

went to shop in monkton the shop still has not been cleared from first storm over 4 ft when I get back from Fla I will hike 1/2 mile drive get tractor and do it my self I could have had my birdcage in along with the rockers.leaving tonite 8 pm.I started this project in april want to get it done

 

Have a nice flight....Cooler heads shall prevail! Let me know what you picked up, upon your return.....

Stay in tune...

 

many of the streets in arlington va are one lane......so if an opposing car comes you need to tuck into a driveway.....the two lane roads are often down to one lane at the intersection of the side streets.....pedestrians walking in the street, its a freaking mess.....i'm not sure how kids are going back to school any time soon.

 

We need burn more hydrocarbons.....that town had about a 20+ years break in snowfall, except for '96-97 ....

so I guess the olde tyme winters have returned....too bad...

this is the worst here since I moved, too, can't even get any work done, just tooooooooo damn cold....

 

I will try to keep this short...My little snow blower is now gone...see my prior post. My neighbor has a Airens 624... used one time and has been sitting for years in a open shed...the one that collapsed. Prior to it collapsing.... this fall I stored it in his larger shed after repeated failed attempts to get it started. He has a manual....but does not now where.

There is not a snow blower for sale nor to be had in the state of MD.

So, I called my neighbor and asked him if I could take it to the shop for repair or other. He said "In deed.... yes". I had to drag this bad boy about 50 feet in 4 feet of snow and over a 3 foot fence...to get it to and in my truck. Drove it up the street and it is in the shop for a complete service. Upon my return I explained the situation to my neighbor, and he said....."I will pay whatever it costs....and you can have it for helping me out". I almost did a Polish jig right there on the spot...but I kept my composure until I was back inside my home.

The bad news is....there are 25 snow blower's in front of me needing repair and they shall come first.

The good news is ....The repair shop just sent me a Airens 624 manual on line. Gentlemen I now will have a fully serviced Airens 624 at no cost to me other than my time.

It probally won't snow over a 1" once I get it back out of the shop...but, I am one happy man to have saved close to a 1k!!!!!!!!!!!





Stay in tune.....

 

In anticipation of the next weather system forecasted to hit my area Mon-Tues 2/15-2/16/2010 I ran across this clip of the 1958 Blizzard here. I remember it well as my father, sister and I got stuck in it less than 2 miles from home. It has lots of great cars from the day in it, and I suspect it shall bring back some memories for other CF members here.

http://www.wgal.com/video/17937119/index.html


Stay in tune....

 

Winter of 58....several months before Patrick entered this world . Those cars didn't do bad in that stuff at all! Of course a few less people and a little more common sense back then probably helped! Thanks for sharing!