Friday, June 28, 2019

2019 FARM Club Antique Tractor Show






What do a chainsaw artist, a blacksmith, wood turners, a quilt show and amazing exhibits of hit and miss engines?
It’s a visit to the 2019 FARM Club Antique Tractor Show.
Not only can visitors watch a blacksmith practice their craft and a chain saw artist work his magic on a hunk of wood, they can feast on home made ice cream made by a hit and miss engine powering the ice cream machine, they can turn out a Purple Heart pen on a wood lathe or visit the Tradin' Post where they will find all manner of goods. Visitors will find many other vendors inside the commercial building and outside selling tools, farm toys and other interesting wares.
The star of the show is, of course, the antique tractors on display. History buffs and tractor enthusiast will find dozens of restored antique tractors of every type from John Deer to COOP tractors. Watch a live demonstration of a threshing machine or an old time sawmills turn out boards from logs.
Events include live music, a demolition Derby and a truck drag.
The show runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday from June 27 through June 29 from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM daily. Enjoy the show.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Mossy Feet Books at 2019 Jefferson County Fair

Mossy Feet Books at 2019 Jefferson County Fair
JULY 8 - JULY 13, 2019
See our full display of books while enjoying the farm animals, 4-H exhibits, rides and grandstand events.
Enjoy the fair. 

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Mossy Feet Books at 2019 Ripley County Fair









Mossy Feet Books at 2019 Ripley County Fair
JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2019
Sunday - 5 PM - 7 PM
Monday - Friday - 5 PM - 8 PM
Saturday July 27 - 5 PM - 7 PM
See our full display of books while enjoying the farm animals, 4-H exhibits, rides and grandstand events.
Enjoy the fair. 

Friday, June 14, 2019

Photo of the Day - Quiet Cove in Ogle Lake

Photo of the Day
Quiet Cove in Ogle Lake
Brown County State Park
Nashville, IN

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Photo of the Day - Ducks on Ogle Lake

Photo of the Day
Ducks on Ogle Lake
Brown County State Park
Nashville, IN

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Photo of the Day - Wetland Above Lake Ogle

Photo of the Day
Wetland Above Lake Ogle
Trail 7
Brown County State Park
Nashville, IN

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Photo of the Day - Ogle Lake

Photo of the Day
Ogle Lake
Trail 7 - Brown County State Park
Nashville, IN

Monday, June 10, 2019

Photo of the Day - Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower

Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower
Hoosier National Forest
Elkinsville, Indiana




Indiana Lookout Tower System

Fire was a common problem in the rural countryside in southern Indiana. During the 1930's the state began building fire towers with the goal of having no visibility gap in the system. The first fire towers were simply platforms in tall trees with a ladder steps nailed into the tree leading up to them. Over time, they refined the design to reflect that of the fire towers at McCormick's Creek State Park and Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower in the Hoosier National Forest. The state had constructed thirty-three lookout towers by 1952. The equipment and facilities surrounding the fire tower included communication equipment, a psychrometer, an alidade, a cabin or guard station, a latrine, and a garage. 

Communication Equipment

The communication equipment could include a telephone, radio or both. Since most of these lookout towers were located in remote areas they often served as the communications link between the rural population and the outside world. Many times the telephones or radios were the first ones installed in the area. Telephones required the installation of miles of cable that then had to be maintained between the various towers.

Psychrometer

The tower man used an instrument called a psychrometer to measure the relative humidity. This was important to know as the lower the relative humidity, the greater the fire danger. The psychrometer uses two thermometers, a dry one and a wet one, to determine humidity. The tower man measured the temperature difference between the wet thermometer and the dry thermometer and calculated the humidity using a special chart.

Alidade

The aliade is a circular device invented for use in surveying and map making. It consisted of a circular disc that had compass points marked around outside edge. Two vanes with sighting slits on opposite sides of the wheel attached to a rotating wheel, also on the outer edge of the disc. This is called a swivel range finder. A thin steel rod, called a sighting wire, connected the vanes. A printed topographic map was glued to the disc. The aliade was located in the center of the cabin. When the tower man sighted smoke, he could line up sighting wire with the smoke. The tower man then fixed the precise location of the tower by using a mathematical calculation measuring the angle of intersection with another nearby tower. The tower man could then dispatch a fire crew to the fire's location.

Cabin or Guard Station

Usually located at the base of the tower, the cabin housed the tower man during times of high fire danger. Usually it was a two room cabin.

The Tower man

The tower man spent many hours at the top of the tower during periods when fire danger was high. At other times the tower man helped survey land lines, mark timber, route signs and worked on forest maintenance projects. When fire danger was high, the Forest Service hired local farmers to help staff the tower. During these times they would sometimes station a small fire crew near the tower that could be dispatched out as soon as a fire was sighted. During dry weather there would sometimes be four or five fires a day for these crews to extinguish. Usually staffed by men, women also made up a portion of the tower man ranks, especially during World War II. The tower man had to pass a vision test and be physically fit enough to climb the tower several times a day. In addition to watching for smoke plumes, the tower man coordinated fire crews while they were out fighting a fire, kept records of the fires, kept weather records, cleaned the privy and maintained the grounds around the tower.

Obsolete

The advent of using airplanes and other modern methods of detecting fires has made the fire tower obsolete. Only nine fire towers remain in Indiana.

Follow this link to see the list.

http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/in/

http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/in/

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Mossy Feet Books at the FARM Antique Machinery Show

https://mossyfeetbooks.blogspot.com/2019/04/history-of-4-h-county-fair-southeast.html
I will have a full display of my books on display during the three day event. 
June 27 - 29, 2019
Featuring the Massey Family of Tractors | Ripley County Fairgrounds
Schedule of Events for the show
Video of 2018 Show
There will be a limited number of activities on Sunday, June 30, from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. however it is a clean up day and by late in the day most displays and vendors will have departed.

Friday, June 7, 2019

Photo of the Day - Indiana State Tree - Tulip Tree

Photo of the Day
Indiana State Tree
Tulip Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera

Tulip Poplar

Liriodendron tulipifera
Family - Magnoliaceae - Magnolia

The stately tulip poplar is so called because of the tulip-like blossoms it sports in early spring. Unfortunately, by the time the tree is large enough to begin blooming; it is so tall that the attractive blossoms are too high for most people to enjoy.

The leaf is an easy one to identify, as it is tulip shaped, thus lending another reason to name the tree tulip tree, or tulip poplar. The leaves in autumn change to a lovely shade of yellow, contrasting nicely with the gray, smooth bark.

The yellow poplar is one of only two species of tulip poplars inhabiting the earth. North America’s representative is native to the eastern United States, occupying nearly every state east of the Mississippi River except the extreme northeastern states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Liriodendron tulipifera is a member of the Magnolia family, it being the northernmost member of that tribe.

Tulip poplar is a valuable wildlife tree, as the seed is consumed by various birds, squirrels, mice and rabbits. Rabbits and deer browse the twigs and foliage of young trees and rabbits also sometimes eat the bark of young trees during the hard winter season.  The lumber is also a valuable resource, good for furniture, interior woodworking and plywood.


The majestic yellow poplar, state tree of Indiana, with its golden yellow autumn leaves and smooth gray bark is a lovely addition to the fall woodlands. Easy to identify with its tulip shaped leaves, the seeds are a valuable resource for all types of wildlife.


Thursday, June 6, 2019

Photo of the Day - Panorama View From Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower

Photo of the Day
Panorama View From
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower
Hoosier National Forest
Elkinsville, Indiana

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Photo of the Day - Anderson Falls

Photo of the Day
Anderson Falls
3699 N 1140 County Rd E
Hartsville, IN 

Tuesday, June 4, 2019