Silver Spade Gantry Sanded and Primed.

Silver Spade Gantry Sanded and Primed., originally uploaded by Don Campbell Models.

CHERRY TREES AND APPLE TREES FROST DAMAGE – It did not frost hard last night after all. The Traverse City Cherry Growers were very concerned last night as the trees are in a delicate point in the early blossom stage .
American Idol – This week the producers should not vote off any of the singers and instead just let Paula Abdul be voted out instead, ha,ha. I think her comments are generally kind to all the singers , but they don’t seem to amount to much . Last night she really was in la,la, land !! She didn’t even know they had only sung one song. It’s obvious they had already heard them all sing both songs earlier in the day and she messed up saying that.
Gas Prices $3.80 a gallon- Despite the fact crude oil prices dropped $3.00 a barrel yesterday , the prices continue to rise. Those stimulus checks aren’t going to go too far , ha,ha.
SILVER SPADE PRIMING PROGRESS- Here is a picture of the top Gantry super structure that mounts on the revolving house of the Spade. It is now all sanded and primed. I am now sanding the crowd handle, the stick, dipper , support pulley assembly and the gate . Tomorrow I should have all those parts primed and I will post the next picture.
MOREL MUSHROOMS- With the cold weather the groundis just not warming up yet for mushrooms. Hopefully this weekend (:>).
WALKING 6 MILES A DAY – Deb and I got another day in of walking 6 miles. Last night there was a cold north wind blowing and it was lightly snowing as we walked.
Have a nice Wed.

Silver Spade Track frames , Track pads and Cab now Primed.

Silver Spade Track frames , Track pads and Cab now Primed., originally uploaded by Don Campbell Models.

TWO MILLION PEOPLE LOST THEIR HOMES SO FAR THIS YEAR- The Fed is going to lower interest rates again for the seventh time this year. But it’s just too little too late. Two million and two hundred and fifty thousand homowners have lost their houses in the first quarter this year. The ballooning interest rates on millions more homes continue to rise and the worst is not over according to the experts. It’s very sad someone did not see this would happen a couple years ago. On top of this we have record breaking gas prices every month and the experts say it will continue to rise to $5.00 and $6.00 a gallon. Food prices have also risen so high and no slowdown in sight . It’s going to be a rough year for many people .
SNOWING IN GAYLORD TODAY – Another night in the low 20’s and a heavy frost this morning. It has been lightly snowing this morning.
On our walk last night we just saw one snow pile left from the winter .
SILVER SPADE – This picture shows me out in my old workshop this morning priming the track frames and track pads . I also got the Cab and a couple other parts primed. I am now working on the gantry and will post the picture tomorrow of it getting primed.
Have a nice Tues.

Mason , Michigan John Deere Dealer.

Mason , Michigan John Deere Dealer., originally uploaded by Don Campbell Models.

BACK TO WORK AFTER 12 DAYS OF GOOFING OFF-
It was a great getaway from home and the workshop , but it was nice to get back in the normal routine again this morning. I was up early walking on the treadmill and got to the shop just in time. I am working on the 8 Silver Spade Track frames and track pads today and hope to get them all sanded and primed by tonight.
TEMPS IN THE 20′S THIS MORNING – Because of the very cold weekend temps , our Morel Mushroom source came up empty handed and we did not feast on a batch of fresh , crunchy , lightly salted mushrooms !! umm !! Maybe this weekend ?
JOHN DEERE DEALER REST STOP- On our return trip from Nicole and Bill’s in D.C. we always need a little rest break at Mason Michigan and it just so happens there is a JD Dealer within a block of the expressway, ha,ha. Deb took this picture of me checking out a brand new 5000 series tractor similar to mine. I might buy one with part of my stimulus check money, ha,ha.
WALKED 18 MILES THE LAST THREE DAYS – Even though the cold wind was blowing everyday , Deb and I bundled up and walked 6 miles each day since we got home.  We are on day four of eating good and counting calories . Now vacation is over we should get going great on losing our unwanted weight.
SILVER SPADE PICTURE TOMORROW – I’ll post the next progress picture tomorrow of the Spade tracks and track frames primed.
Have a nice Monday

SUNDAY MESSAGE- FEAR / RESPECT !!

SUNDAY MESSAGE- FEAR / RESPECT !!, originally uploaded by Don Campbell Models.

SUNDAY MESSAGE- I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry , I’m Sorry !! I’m Sorry !!
How many times can we say we’re sorry for the exact same thing and expect people to believe we are truly sorry. After while we don’t believe they are sorry and to us it is just an excuse and a temporary fix. It seems these days so many people have lost respect for each other . Kids are so disrespectful more so than ever before. It is a fine line between fear and respect. As a little boy I feared my dad very much, and that made me respect the things he told me to do. I slipped up one time and did not listen to him, , and here is what happened . We lived next to a grain elevator and they hauled coal in piles on the ground across the street. In the coal there were small dime sized round shiny foil coin shaped things throughout the piles.
I did go one time and collected the cool treasures and my clothes looked like I had worked in the coal mines. My dad was very upset !! to say the least !! He let me know very clear this better never happen again, he was so angry !! I thought my brain had absorbed the message just fine as I cried for two days about the punishment . The next few weeks I saw new loads of coal being dumped off and I could see the shiny treasures reflecting from our porch . About four weeks later, I thought if I just walked by the side of the piles and collected the coin shaped objects, I would not be disrespecting my dad and I would stay clean. And it was a success, I got several goodies and stayed clean. So I did this each week as new coal piles were dumped across the street. Each week I found myself getting more talented and able to explore further up the piles and say perfectly clean except for my shoes. And I would just brush them off and that worked. Well, as things always go, I soon found myself getting a little careless and more relaxed. The day came when i was standing at the top of the pile reaching for just one more nugget of shiny treasure and the whole coal pile gave way under me and I started sliding and lost my balance !! By the time I rolled to the bottom of the large, loose pile of coal and rested at the bottom of the hill.  I was have covered up with coal still flowing down the hill. As I lay for a moment I began to cry, I threw the handful of coin like objects that were so valuable to me moments before and never wanted to see another one!! My dad worked afternoons and I knew he would be home and up. By the time I reached the door I could see him and I was crying as hard as I could to ease any possible future physical pain from him. And I was ready to take it like a man !!. YUPP !!, just like a MAN !! , I took one look at him and saw him grab the BELT and say a couple cuss words and head for me !! I Made a quick about face and headed out the door !!!  I proceeded to do a little sightseeing through neighbor after neighbors back yards trying to flee from this attacker who was within 4 feet of catching me !!. Finally I did shake him and I felt a certain degree of safety. As I stayed huddled in the bushes for several hours until I knew he would be gone to work, I felt so bad !! I kept thinking Why did I do that when it was so clear to me the outcome would be very unpleasant !!
God has also warned us many times over the years to keep our feet clean , don’t worry about collecting nuggets and worldly treasures. I know if God comes back today and sees my faults and sees I have not heeded his warning , I’m afraid no matter how fast I run from him, hiding in a bush will not save me.
So what I am trying to say is we really do need to fear God a little bit to get his respect back . We need to remember he did kill millions of people who did not listen to him with one wave of his mighty hand.