Vacation days 5-8: Michigan and home

[altivo]

Back from my little trip to visit goldenstallion and The Lost Bear. Their horses were fun and cute as usual, as were their dogs. Weather was not cooperative for photos, either raining, cloudy, or gusty wind all three days.

We had a nice visit though, swapped fursuit ideas and techniques, and I got to see their nearly finished rebuild of a Farmall 560 tractor. Being on the east side of Lake Michigan, they are in zone 6 and have fruit trees blooming and bluebirds singing already. Those have not quite reached us, though the fruit trees here are at least showing buds now.

Also got a fantastic tour of goldenstallion's workplace (they rebuild small airplanes, both restoring historic ones and repairing damaged modern ones) and the building it is located in, which is an old paper mill mostly now disused and full of gigantic abandoned equipment. It was a really pleasant distraction.

And now I have three days' worth of LJ to catch up on, as well as a pasture to mow...

Comments

Love

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider,

As I just stated in my email to you, I am so very fond of you a great man and a best friend I will cherish forever. I will never let you go nor let you fall. Mine is yours. Period.

Thank you for all your love and what you have done for me, to oftentimes straighten out my muddy muddled thoughts a bit more and accept me for who I am. That is probably what I cherish the most about you.

I miss you already and yet we are here, always, together.

Imp

Re: Love

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm sorry there wasn't more time. Maybe we shouldn't wait so long between. Anyway, you must keep planning on MFF for November, so we'll see each other then. And let us know about that steam threshing thing in Freeport, when it is and all that.

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

Damn you limosine liberals! Why can't I wander around
swapping fursuit techniques!

XD

I'm joking.

*grumbles*

XD

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. Has nothing to do with being liberal or not. And I sure don't have a limousine, either. Good thing, too. At 25 mpg the trip still cost me nearly $60 in gas money. Ouch.

[jdel.livejournal.com]

Where at in Michigan were you at?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Near Three Rivers.

[jdel.livejournal.com]

Ah, down further than I am in Holland. Drat. Would've been cool to meet more people ^^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, it would be nice to have more time, too. I've always wanted to see Holland when the tulips were out. ;)

[jdel.livejournal.com]

Everyone does ;D

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Traffic jams and crowds huh? What you get for living in a place that's famous for one week out of the year. When is the actual festival?

[jdel.livejournal.com]

May 6 - 13

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Pasture to MOW?

Yeesh, don't you horses graze anymore? ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Horses are selective grazers. They eat what they like, and leave other things untouched. To keep thistles, crabgrass, and other undesirable things from taking over, regular mowing is still needed in most cases.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Tsk tsk tsk. Get a goat.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No thanks. My nose has a powerful dislike for goats. I don't mind mowing once a month or less.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, Hawk's goat didn't smell much at all. She was very independent, and she ate everything ... grass, blackberries, alder saplings, thorns, nettles ... plus, all-natural. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I can smell a female goat at a fair distance, and a male from miles away I swear. And I don't like goat milk either. I'd rather get a donkey but our vet doesn't recommend mixing them with horses because of some parasite interactions. I'll stick with sheep and an occasional mowing.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had a grand old time :) I especially like the sound of the workshop tour ^.^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It was interesting all right. Machines so huge that I can't picture how they were brought in there, let alone how they are being dismantled and taken out.

The remaining (one of two) newsprint mill must be 30 or 40 meters long by 4 meters tall and at least 4 across, with dozens of calendering rollers that each may weigh near 1000 kg I wouldn't be surprised. The other was actually sold, dismantled and shipped away, which must have been a massive job beyond my comprehension. That's especially so since I'm sure the equipment originally arrived by rail and now has to go out by truck.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I love that kind of stuff, huge old machinery, must have been thrilling and a little scary to work on or with.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It was a little scary just looking at it. Those things could kill people easily. This was not the original machinery, which undoubtedly ran from stationary steam engines I think, but something more modern, perhaps dating to the late 1940s or early 1950s. Huge electric motors each developing more than 100 horsepower. Rollers that could apply tons of pressure, and some of which were heated by steam. Mixing vats that could easily swallow you up.

All rather decrepit and covered with dust. No lighting except the outside light that could filter in through the windows, so some areas were shadowy. We had a flashlight, but did not go into the lower levels of the building, which he said are very dark and have some huge holes in the floor. I know people work in such places even today, but I'm timid enough to find it quite nightmarish. Safety warnings were painted on walls and signs everywhere, all about wearing head and eye protection, standing clear, watching for cross traffic, etc. Some spots had red footprints painted on the floor and areas outlined in red. I assume those showed where to stand while some process or other was activated in order to remain at a safe distance.

These large empty and crumbling spaces are full of odd noises too. Creaks, groans, rattles, probably made by rotating ventilators on the roof or loose window panes or something. It was spooky and mysterious.

Fox River Paper Company

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

I always enjoy showing folks through the old mill. Took Bear waay down into the deepest, darkest and oldest part and yes, there is a huge, overhead shafting remains with huge flatbelt pullys the shaft a good foot in diameter that ran all down along the oldest part of the sub-basement to what was a steam engine. That part was built in the teens.

I could tell you were enjoying it or I would have cut it short. Could have spent hours.

Imp

Re: Fox River Paper Company

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Just the place for a cat to skulk about.

Re: Fox River Paper Company

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'll bet it even has rats and raccoons down in the lower parts. ;p

Re: Fox River Paper Company

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I always like historic things, of any age. I'm not sure I'd have liked being in there when it was all running, though, because I'm far too sensitive to noise. Even your present day shop would probably be too much for me.

We need to take both of you to the Illinois Railroad Museum here. It's just a couple of miles away. You can hear the steam whistles in summer right in our own pasture.

Re: Fox River Paper Company

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

There is a point at wich I think you miss.

All is quiet down in the catacombs of the old mill. Yes, it was at one time very miserable, hot, noisy, dusty, etc. and, to me, that is the point of exploring ancient history.

When these shafts and bearings were turning it was a cataclysm of sight and sound and a miserable job to work long hours for low pay just to print the newspapers. Often we gloss over what goes on behind the scenes.

We who are not amid it. Who simply gripe our morning newspaper is late, etc.

Then we can go deeper into the minds, er, the mines of men toiling deep within the earth or on top as farmers and peasants and wonder why and how dare we ever bitch about gas prices or food prices since we simply reach out our hands and pay money, whether cash or credit bank stuff and take our groceries home. Who worked harder than we will ever wish to bend our aching backs to, to bring this to us at a price very reasonable in my hard-earned opinion.

I am simply thinking how most folks take all modern day life has to offer with salt and maybe have inklings into what is involved in bringing this to the table, the household, the garage, without really thinking much about or avoiding the issue of who and what and where this all comes from.

A man or woman has to dig it out of the earth or grow it on the earth. Every single thing we have. It takes a brave soul to explore and you, in spite you agree about the noise, the polluted air, the sights and hardships of bringing it to those of us who too easily take it all for granted, you seem to understand and that is one of the biggest reasons I love you.

Imperator

Re: Fox River Paper Company

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I appreciate the point of contrast between the silence of today and the hustle and noise of yesteryear. It's part of what attracts me to history. The fact that I can tour a battlefield or cemetery today does not keep me from being laden with thoughts of the violence, pain, and noise that were there in the past. Quite the contrary. I have the utmost respect for those who could bear it all and survive, as they had to do. Had I no empathy for those things, I would not be who I am. I do think you know that.

I'm sure I'd find the catacombs as you call them quite fascinating too, but it doesn't mean I still wouldn't feel much relieved to escape them. Claustrophobia and noise intolerance are very strong traits with me, and at this point in my life I have little desire to try to fight them.

You say nice things about me, so let me offer one back. You are strong and determined, and brave when necessary. Yet you aren't afraid to love or to express affection. That is rare, yet very masculine, and I love you for it. I know when you take my hand or throw an arm around me you mean it, and I do not take it lightly. Thank you.