Friday, August 30, 2019

Friday Night Steam

A few "Old Timers"!







In this video, we take a look at a couple of very old steam locomotives that are all still running today. These steam locomotives were all built before the year 1900. The first is Eureka and Palisades Number 4, a small narrow gauge 4-4-0 built in 1875. It is the oldest narrow gauge steam engine of this type running in the U.S. The engine is privately owned by Las Vegas, NV resident Dan Markoff and occasionally makes public runs on tourist railroads. The second locomotive is Virginia and Truckee 22, the Inyo. This 4-4-0 was also built in 1875 and currently runs on special occasions at the Nevada State RR Museum in Carson City, Nevada. Finally, we see Denver and Rio Grande number 315, built in 1895. It is currently maintained by the Durango Railroad Historical Society in Silverton, CO.

Source: CoasterFan2105

Lots of info here on the Durango Railroad Museum:

https://www.durangotrain.com/dsng-museum


Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Heritage Railroad
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad




The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a 3 ft narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates 45.2 miles of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally designated National Historic Landmark and is also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.


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Today's funny :o)


A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other, except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned he husband never to open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day, the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving! He almost burst with happiness.

"Honey," he said, "that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said. "That's the money I made from selling the dolls."





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Sir Benjamin

Benji is such an odd looking bird!




A face only a Chickenmom can love:



In the afternoon I put all the girls in the run and close the pen get so Benji can walk around a bit without getting pecked on:




He's very skittish and afraid of everything. I sure do hope he grows up FAST!



One of the last flowers to bloom:




Late evening in Coopville:



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Wednesday, August 28, 2019

A most unusual artist...









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Source: s://www.livescience.com/40132-underwater-mystery-circles.html
 
In 1995, divers noticed a beautiful, strange circular pattern on the seafloor off Japan, and soon after, more circles were discovered nearby. Some likened these formations to "underwater crop circles." The geometric formations mysteriously came and went, and for more than a decade, nobody knew what made them.
Finally, the creator of these remarkable formations was found: a newly discovered species of pufferfish. Further study showed these small pufferfish make the ornate circles to attract mates. Males laboriously flap their fins as they swim along the seafloor, resulting in disrupted sediment and amazing circular patterns. Although the fish are only about 12 centimeters (5 inches) long, the formations they make measure about 2 meters (7 feet) in diameter.
When the circles are finished, females come to inspect them. If they like what they see, they reproduce with the males, said Hiroshi Kawase, the curator of the Coastal Branch of Natural History Museum and Institute in Chiba, Japan. But nobody knows exactly what the females are looking for in these circles or what traits they find desirable, Kawase told LiveScience.

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Today's Funny :o)


LOL! Stolen from:  mjazzguitar on Weasel Zippers






Sorry.... here is another version:





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Just stuff

Knew I was going to get more chickens, so we painted the 'ol coop. Looks almost brand new although it is nine years old!








New 'yard art':




One of the new girls taking a dust bath:



Cukes from our garden:



Critter footprints on the deck stairs. Had a heavy dew that morning!



A bee loaded with pollen:


The moon in early morning:




A beautiful sunflower before the wild boids ate all the seeds:





'Hope you enjoyed the pics! 

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Monday, August 26, 2019

A very interesting bird!


The Baya Weaver makes extraordinary hanging nests!







The baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) is a weaverbird found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Flocks of these birds are found in grasslands, cultivated areas, scrub and secondary growth and they are best known for their hanging retort shaped nests woven from leaves. These nest colonies are usually found on thorny trees or palm fronds and the nests are often built near water or hanging over water where predators cannot reach easily. They are widespread and common within their range but are prone to local, seasonal movements mainly in response to rain and food availability.


Baya weaver
                   Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) Male ♂ Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
Male P. p. philippinus (India)
 Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) female ♀ Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg
Female P. p. philippinus (India)






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