Happy Halloween!

Grab the popcorn, sit back and watch a classic!

And here's the story behind the movie:

:o)

Today's funny :o)

Still my favorite Halloween cartoon:

:o)

Just stuff...

...... Pretty clouds:

 Cows in a nearby field:

 These clouds were just rolling along:

A hill - a lot of the trees are bare already:

 The next day most of these leaves had fallen off:

 An old barn:

 Coopville from the road:

 Treats for some special friends:

 Watching me as I get closer:

" Hey! Walk faster lady"!

 Nom-nom!

 

 "When 'ya coming back"?

 A pretty sunset at the end of a mostly cloudy, damp day:

:o)

Easy Listenig for a Sunday Afternoon

Charlie Watts

I'm in the mood for love
Simply because you're near me.

Funny, but when you're near me
I'm in the mood for love.

Heaven is in your eyes
Bright as the stars we're under
Oh! Is it any wonder
I'm in the mood for love?

Why stop to think of whether
This little dream might fade?

We've put our hearts together
Now we are one, I'm not afraid!

If there's a cloud above
If it should rain we'll let it
But for tonight, forget it!

I'm in the mood for love

At the Hop!

Bobby Vee

April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016

R.I.P. Bobby, thank you for the memories....

Devil or angel, I can't make up my mind
Which one you are I'd like to wake up and find
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I miss you, I miss you, I miss you

Devil or angel please say you'll be mine
Love me or leave me, I'll go out of my mind
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I need you, I need you, I need you

You look like an angel
Your smile is divine
But you keep me guessing
Will you ever be mine?

Devil or angel please say you'll be mine
Love me or leave, I've made up my mind
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I love you, I love you, I love you

Devil or angel please say you'll be mine
Love me or leave, I've made up my mind
Devil or angel dear, whichever you are
I love you, I love you, I love you

Friday Night Steam

We're off to Germany tonight!

The Saxon IV K were eight-wheeled, narrow gauge, Günther-Meyer type steam engines built for the Royal Saxon State Railways with a track gauge of 750 mm (2 ft 5 ¹⁄₂ in). A total of 96 were built between 1892 and 1921, making the Saxon IV K the most numerous narrow gauge locomotive in Germany. In 1925 the Deutsche Reichsbahn grouped these engines into their DRG Class 99.51–60.

As a result of the constantly rising traffic on the Saxon narrow gauge railways towards the end of the 19th century, the power of the existing Saxon I K and III K soon proved insufficient. So the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik developed an engine with eight coupled wheels and which had a larger boiler and adhesive weight. Unlike its predecessors, it was given two driven bogies in order to be able to cope with winding routes despite its length.
Between 1892 and 1921 a total of 96 locomotives were built with running numbers 103 to 198. To begin with they were designated as class H M T K V, which meant that they were locomotives built by Hartmann (H) to a Meyer design (M) as a tank engine (T) with a 750mm rail gauge (K) and compound engine (V). From 1896 they were reclassified as K IV and from 1900 as IV K. The 'K' stood for Kleinspur or 'small gauge'.
The IV K was used both in front of passenger trains and also goods trains and proved itself so well that it ousted the other locomotive classes completely on several lines.
Five locomotives (123, 139, 147, 148 and 174) were deleted from the roster after World War I. Two had been left behind in Hungary, and three were handed over to Poland as reparations. In 1925 the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft took over the remaining 91 units allocating them the numbers 99 511–546, 99 551–558, 99 561–579 and 99 581–608.

99 568 heading a goods train in Oschatz (1988)

 

From the 1930s onwards the oldest engines were retired. After the Second World War there were still 57 working locomotives of this class on Saxon railways. Nine locomotives later went to the Rügen Kleinbahn and to the Prignitz district Kleinbahnen, where they were fitted with Knorr brakes and in conjunction with that an impressive air reservoir on the boiler.
The DR planned to replace them with the Neubau diesel locomotives of DR Class V 36.48. However, because trials with the two prototypes were not promising, 20 of the former Saxon engines underwent extensive modernisation in 1962. To begin with the locomotives were given new welded boilers, and later a new welded locomotive frame as well. External identification marks of the upgraded locomotives are the missing sandbox on the boiler and the flatter steam dome cover.
By 1973 the last unmodernised locomotives had been retired from duty. Locomotives 99 535 (Dresden Transport Museum), 99 579 (Museum Rittersgrün) und 99 604 (DGEG, today SSB Radebeul), still in their original design, were secured for museum purposes.
The retirement of the reconstructed locomotives did not begin until the mid-1970s, starting with those engines that still had their original rivetted frames.
In 1991 there were only 13 IV K left in the operational fleet of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. In the wake of the merger of the running numbers of the DR and DB these engines were given the new numbers 099 701 to 099 713 on 1 January 1992. Several locomotives were however already sold to railway societies, so that not all of the engines displayed their newly allocated numbers.
Some locomotives ended up on 1 January 1994 in the Deutsche Bahn AG, but from that point on they were no longer used in scheduled services.

Duties

Over the course of time the Saxon IV K locomotives were deployed to all Saxon narrow gauge lines. Even in the 1980s these engines were handling all the traffic on the Wolkenstein–Jöhstadt und Oschatz–Mügeln–Kemmlitz lines.
Saxon IV K
DRG Class 99.51–60

Number(s)	see text
Quantity	96
Manufacturer	Sächsische Maschinenfabrik, Chemnitz
Year(s) of manufacture	1892–1921
Wheel arrangement	0-4-4-0
Axle arrangement	B’B’ n4v
Type	K 44.7 / K 44.8 *
Gauge	750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Length over couplers	9,000 mm (29 ft 6 in)
Height	3,150 mm (10 ft 4 in)
Width	1,980 mm (6 ft 6 in)
Overall wheelbase	6,200 mm (20 ft 4 in)
Empty weight	21.70–22.40 t
Service weight	26.8–29.3 t
Adhesive weight	26.8–29.3 t
Axle load	6.7–7.3 t
Top speed	30 km/h (19 mph)
Indicated Power	210 PSi / 154 kW
Starting tractive effort	36.28 kN / 42.17 kN **
Driving wheel diameter	760 mm (30 in)
Valve gear	Walschaerts (Heusinger)
No. of cylinders	4
LP cylinder bore	370–400 mm (15–16 in)
HP cylinder bore	240 mm (9.4 in)
Piston stroke	380 mm (15 in)
Boiler Overpressure	12/14/15 bar
Grate area	0.97 m2 (10.4 sq ft)
Radiative heating area	4.07 m2 (43.8 sq ft)
Evaporative heating area	49.87 m2 (536.8 sq ft)
Water capacity	2.4 m3 (530 imp gal)
Fuel	0.85 t / 1.02 t ***
Auxiliary brake	Counterweight brake
Locomotive brakes	Vacuum brake
Train brakes	Heberlein brake Vacuum brake
* from 99 581 ** from 99 551 *** from 99 561

Today'sfunny :o)

A dreary day

Yesterday was icky.

 Started out as snow showers then changed to sleet:

 

 Was like that ALL day - the gang didn't even want to go out of the pen. The spoiled critters didn't even meet me by the run to get their afternoon treats. I got soaked. Ugh!

Not having a good day with the animal kingdom. My neighbor's cat:

He hates me - can you tell? 

And the darn squirrels ate all my birdseed.

Ah, well. Perhaps today will be better....

:o)

The Lyre bird

An Amazing Bird...

........ in Australia. You won't believe all the sounds he can make!  

                                                              

Lyrebirds are found along the coast of Australia. They also live in Tasmania, and love dampened forests or wetlands, which are hard to traverse.

They are superb at imitating other birds and in many cases can fool even the most experienced bird watcher with the many bird cries they can imitate, so that they think they are hearing an entirely different bird.

Lyre birds eat from the ground, using their claws to rake over the leaves and soil searching for worms, any insects and sometimes invertebrates’ snails and other small ground creatures.

They have very long claws and strong feet and legs which aid them in the task of looking for food.

One very interesting thing about the Lyrebird is the way they court their mates.

Lyre Bird

The male Lyre bird will build a tall mount of grass and dirt, which he will them climb and stand on. He spreads his tail feathers straight up and over his head, which being shaped like the musical instrument for which the bird is named, look like a lyre.

The only time he will spread his tail is for mating rituals.

While he is doing this, he will mimic the sounds of other birds and sing songs as he moves in circles dancing to attract the female.

Once a female is interested, they will breed anytime from May to August.

Male Lyrebirds may have more than one mate at any given time.

The female Lyrebird then weaves the nest and lays one brown spotted egg.

No assistance is given in either nesting or in rearing the young by the male bird.

The single egg takes about 6 weeks to hatch and the new baby chick is covered in snow white down.

He will stay in the nest for about ten weeks before flying off on his own.

:o)

Today's funny :o)

Sometimes, it's little things....

.... like the temperature when I let the gang out yesterday:

 Frost on the grass and leaves:

 The sun on the mountain top:

 Hubby on his mower:

 A crimson maple leaf:

 A pebble path:

 A leaf from the tulip tree:

 Maude and Charlie:

 The whole gang:

A multi-colored tree: 

 Hubby still having fun:

 Berries on a bush:

Have no idea what this is - it was just pretty!

Just some of the sights around Coopville that make up my day. I am one very lucky ol' lady!

:o)

The machine that does NOTHING!

Super cool!

The Do Nothing Machine, built by Lawrence Wahlstrom, plus stationary engines by Rudy Kouhoupt at the end.

:o)

Today's funny :o)

Why Women Lie

One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river.

When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "My dear child, why are you crying?"

The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family.

The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with pearls. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, "No."

The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a silver thimble ringed with sapphires. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

Again, the seamstress replied, "No."

The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble. "Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

The seamstress replied, "Yes."

The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.

Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water.

When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, "Why are you crying?"

"Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!"

The Lord went down into the water and came up with Brad Pitt. "Is this your husband?" the Lord asked.

"Yes," cried the seamstress.

The Lord was furious. "You lied! That is an untruth!"

The seamstress replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said "No" to Brad Pitt, you would have come up with George Clooney. Then if I said "No" to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said "Yes," you would have
given me all three. Lord, I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S why I said "Yes" to Brad Pitt."

The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it's for a good and honorable reason, and in the best interest of others.

:o)

A special morning

There was a beautiful sunrise yesterday!  It had rained during the night......

... I ran outside with the trusty (sometimes) camera and snapped some pics of the trees:

It was COLD outside!

Just so pretty!

 Just as the sun was starting to shine on the tops of them:

 Just beautiful! I was in my bare feet and getting kinda cold.....

 ............ so I turned around to go back inside when I saw this

 A rainbow in the morning!!!!!

It didn't last long, but boy - what a way to start the day!!!!!

:o)

The Pit Pony

Now this is unusual!

Pit Pony: Incredible Raised-Earth Horse Sculpture in Wales

Try as you might, you just won’t be able to take in the full beauty of this incredible horse sculpture stretching over 650 feet (200 meters) across a grassy landscape in South Wales. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell what it is. That’s where aerial photography comes in handy, showing the people who can see it in person and the rest of the world what the sculpture looks like from above.

Photographer Steve Brockett captured the breadth of the sculpture, named ‘Sultan the Pit Pony’ by its creator Mick Petts, from an airplane. The pony is the largest figurative earth sculpture in the United Kingdom, and you can climb it to access views of the surrounding woods, grasslands, marsh and trails.

The landscape around this area didn’t used to be so beautiful. As hinted by the sculpture’s name, Parc Penalta was once a coal mine. Sultan was constructed using 60,000 tons of coal shale along with stone and earth. 

The pony is modeled on so-called ‘pit ponies’ that were commonly used to haul tubs of coal in underground mines from the mid-18th century until the mid-20th century. The last pit pony was retired in 1999. 

Read more at http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2014/11/30/pit-pony-incredible-raised-earth-horse-sculpture-in-wales/#CoCySvrOa3gMjrTW.99

I found it on Google Earth:

:o)